Spencer Mackay and Dougie Robertson recently collected their mvp awards from Team Scotland's match against Johns Hopkins University of the USA, held back in July 2007 in which the national team fell by a score of 14-3 to one of NCAA Division III's top sides.

Mackay would pace the Scotland attack by collecting 2 rbi's and a double whilst Robertson would pitch three scoreless relief innings to secure the player and pitcher of the game awards, respectively. Their prizes were the t-shirts seen in the photo.

Congratulations to them both...

Team Scotland took the field for the first time in 2008 to play the first leg of the 5-game Challenge Trophy against the Northern Knights at RAF Menwith Hill on Sunday the 3rd of August. The Knights were coming off a successful defence of their NASN Dublin Tournament title and featured the very best players drawn from the National League North and would prove to be a stern test for the Scots.

The following players were selected for the team:

Nick Clark
Jason Derr
Sylvain Morisot
Kris Lee
Spencer Mackay
Bret Griffin
Lukas Rajczuk
Chris Willmott
Richard Corral
Dougie Robertson
Tony Byrne
Joe Ainsworth
Juanito Renau
Daryn McCulloch
Santino De Rosa
Jason Stott

The squad showcased a number of veterans but also had an eye on the future with a number of younger players getting their first experience of international baseball.

Game 1 would see Dougie Robertson get the nod as starting pitcher and he battled through a number of long at-bats, keeping things close whilst the Scottish offense worked hard to score some runs. On defense, Bret Griffin and Juan Renau would supply some terrific play to help take the sting out of the Knights attack.

The score was a tight 3-2 to the Knights before Robertson tired and surrendered a key home run to Mike Waisome (Liverpool Trojans) that helped the hosts pull away. Some key big hits in the later innings saw the English side complete their victory by a score of 12-2, a score that outlined the depth of the Knights team but also proved to be an unfair reflection of what was a tight game until late on. Sylvain Morisot keyed the Scottish attack with 2 rbi’s and a pair of hits whilst Waisome would end the game on a 3-run home run off Jason Derr

Game 2 would see Daryn McCulloch take the ball for the Scots against veteran GB international Martin Godsall. Godsall was his usual self, showcasing pinpoint control and too much pace for the Scottish hitters, whilst McCulloch took some time to settle down but pitched effectively enough to give his team a chance. Another home run for Waisome gave the Knights a cushion but the Scots kept battling, extending the Knights for the full 9 innings but simply could not string enough hits together to get some runs, losing by an eventual score of 9-2. Spencer Mackay was the stand out performer as he proved to be his usual stellar self on the field and at bat.

The games were played in tremendous spirit and a terrific showpiece for baseball in the north of the United Kingdom and everyone at Team Scotland would like to extend their thanks to the Knights for their terrific hospitality.

The series continues with 3 games in Glasgow on the 21st and 22nd of September at the GBA’s Tollcross ground. The 5 game series is now planned to be an annual event between the two sides.

The Northern Knights won the newly created Northern Challenge Series by defeating a very capable and talented Team Scotland by 4 games to 1. The first leg of the series was played at RAF Menwith Hill and the remaining three games were played up in Glasgow under sunny skies with a warm breeze and some fantastic Scottish hospitality.

Game 1 Sat 20 September

With ten players the depleted Knights roster wanted to finish the series on day one and not have to wait until the double header on Sunday.

Dave Mercado pitched a complete game giving his all on every pitch and showing us why he has been selected to play for Great Britain. The Knights faced crafty veteran Jason Derr and his arsenal of quality pitches including his forkball. After some adjustments the Knights put a string of hits together, moved some runners and scored runs in just about every frame whilst playing sound defensively and eventually giving up just one run. Clayton Anstine hit a moon shot over the left field wall late in the game and made a very nice running catch near the line to cap of a fine day for the Knights.

Final Score 13-1

Game 2 & 3 Sun 21 September
Team Scotland came back strong in game 1 with some great all-round play. Daryn McCulloch had the task of stopping the Knights and did an excellent job spotting his pitches and getting the Knights to hit lazy fly balls all game long. Team Scotland easily beat the Knights and should be very proud of their victory because they showed the Knights they can play competitive ball win or lose and the final score of 13-2 proved the point.


Barry Webb would start for the Knights in the final match and his job was to throw strikes and let the defence help him out. Webb did his job and some outstanding base running including stealing home for a crucial run helped the Knights win. Starting pitcher in game 2 Todd Ropella also came on to close the game for the Knights as Webb tired with the bases loaded. Final score was 11-5 but the game had its moments with Team Scotland threatening to score more runs.

Huge thanks go to all the team at Glasgow Baseball Association who must be thanked for providing first class hospitality and well presented baseball diamond led as ever by Gerry McShane and his countless volunteers.

JHU Blue Jays - 14 at Team Scotland - 3

The day of the first Scotland national team game for 5 years proved to be an eventful but ultimately highly enjoyable one as the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays were welcomed to Edinburgh. The first talking point proved to be the weather as relatively dry conditions in the run up to the game gave hope of no interruptions. Sadly this wish proved to be
unfounded.

As both teams finished their warm ups, monsoon-like conditions flooded the field in a very short period of time and thunder and lightning necessitated clearing the area until the rain abated. A monumental effort was then made by everyone to have the field ready for a delayed start and the game finally got underway at 2:45pm.

The game proved to be a terrific match with both teams showing their class. The power hitting of the JHU players showed early as they strung together hit after hit to leave the home team reeling. Scotland starter Jason Derr would battle hard but the Jays simply picked apart the home defence finding the gaps at will. Derr would go five innings before being replaced by Dougie Robertson. Fired-up Robertson would pitch three electric scoreless innings to the delight of the big crowd and pick up the game mvp award for the Scottish team in the process. The final inning would belong to Blair McLelland who also held JHU scoreless but the damage had been done early.

In reply to the JHU hitting, Spencer Mackay brought some cheer to the home crowd, going 2-4 with 2 rbi's and a double whilst Adam Pender chipped in with a sacrifice fly that scored David Donaldson for Scotland's last run of the day. Donaldson and Scott Spurlock would also contribute to the
offense but the JHU pitching proved to be too deep and strong. JHU would use 11 pitchers on the day (as well as 23 position players) in a remarkable exhibition of their depth and talent level.

The game proved to be highly enjoyable in spite of the weather and the Scotland team, especially the younger members of the squad will have learned a great deal from the experience of playing against such a high level of opposition.

Team Scotland extends their thanks to Coach Babb and all the JHU players and best wishes for the future.

Sunday saw a two game international challenge series played between the Northern Knights and the Scotland national team at the home of the Harrogate Tigers Baseball club, set to join the leagues in 2008. The Knights were drawn from the very best of the ball clubs that play in the BBF Northern leagues whilst Team Scotland featured the top players from north of the border.

The event, aimed at promoting the sport to the locals, would prove to be a terrific advertisement for baseball in the northern half of the United Kingdom, showcasing the talent on both sides.

Game 1 would see the power hitting Knights squad pull ahead early as the Scots struggled to adjust to the conditions and wood bats. Liverpool’s Mike Waisome hit a first inning Grand Slam and Tyler Smith added a solo homer in the second. However, as the pitching found its spots and the defense picked up their game, Team Scotland would roar back to overcome a 6-1 deficit to take a 9-6 lead. Two late runs for the Knights, off Bolton’s Tyler Smith’s 2 run homer would ensure an exciting finish but the visitors would hold their nerve to close out a 9-8 win. Knight’s starter Rich Klijn, from Manchester, pitched well through the first four innings and left with a 6-2 lead.

GBA player Juanito Renau was outstanding at the plate going 4 for 4 and scoring 2 runs. GBA pitcher Mark Quinn had a rough start but settled down and collected the win whilst Blair McClelland nailed down the save.


Game 2 would see the Knights yet again get on the scoreboard early but this time their pitching, provided by Bolton’s Tyler Smith, would prove to be too strong for the Scots to muster any reply. Rock solid defense and timely gap hitting to key the Knights attack would keep Scotland off the scoreboard until the 7th inning as the Knights ran out worthy 11-2 winners. Smith would pitch a 2 hit shut out thru five innings striking out 9 while walking 3 to earn the victory. The Knights batters would contribute collectively in a 14 hit attack. Edinburgh Devils pitcher Jason Derr took the loss.

The display put on by both teams illustrated the quality of baseball in the north of England and in Scotland. It also showed a unified spirit focused on improving the game in both regions.

Both teams and their coaches combined, with excellent supporters had a great day for baseball and was just the way to end the season and will no doubt turn into an annual event.

We also must thank Robbie Orme for keeping everyone informed during the game with his unique play by play announcements. Mike Hurkmans and Simon Radge did a fine job umpiring both games.

The Knights Baseball club offers players from both regions a chance to play at a higher level. The aim of the program is to develop better league players who can progress to a National team standard or take back what they have learned and make their club team even better.

Ray Brownlie
Nick Clark
Dave Criss

The team in the North send our best wishes to all Scottish teams playing in this weekend Scottish Cup.

Baseball Scotland is delighted to (finally) announce details of the Scotland team selected to play against Johns Hopkins University on Sunday the 1st of July, as selected by the managers of the respective teams of the SNL:

GBA
Daryn McCulloch
Lee Welsh
Craig Patrick
Sean Fitzpatrick
Mark Quinn

Strathclyde Falcons
Dave Finch
Karl Barry
Stuart Cheyne
Dougie Robertson

Redlands Baseball (Australia)
David Donaldson

Edinburgh Baseball
Billy Sneddon
Spencer Mackay
Scott Spurlock
Adam Pender
David Farr
Blair McLelland
Jason Derr
Dan Putnam
Matt Hamilton
Nick Clark (Manager)

Congratulations to those who have been selected for this historic match against top quality US opposition. We have a challenge on our hands but have a balanced team deep in pitching, hitting and defensive talent.

The details of the day are as follows:

*All players meet at Meadowmill Sports Centre for 10am.*
Practice start time - 11am
Scotland Batting Practice - 11am - 11.45am
JHU Batting Practice - 11.45am - 12.30pm
Scotland pre-game - 12.30pm - 12.40pm
JHU pre-game - 12.40pm-12.50pm
First pitch - 1pm

Directions to Meadowmill can be found on the Edinburgh website (www.edinburghbaseball.com)

Team shirts will be provided but players are asked to bring their respective club caps with them in case our Scotland caps do not come through in time.

Uniform colour scheme - Navy shirt (provided), navy, grey or white undershirt, grey pants, navy or black socks.

IBAF News
The Scotland National Baseball Team's match against Johns Hopkins University was featured on the International Baseball Association's website and in the recent issue of IBAF News - the weekly global baseball newsletter.

The newsletter (in pdf format) is available via the above link...

The Scotland National Team had a solid training session at GBA's Tollcross Park on Sunday 27th of May.

A squad workout and infield/outfield drills were followed by a 2hr, 9 inning scrimmage game where a number of players stepped up and showcased their skills.

Despite a number of high-profile national team players being away with the Northern Knights all-star team, the workout was a good indicator of the talent within the the Scotland National League and bodes well for the future.

Images from the session are available in the Photo Albums page...