Baseball: Falcons boost championship potential with Salas signing

Herts Baseball Club has bolstered its National Championship potential with the signing of Abel Salas.

It has been exactly 20 weeks since the Herts Falcons’ one-run semi-final defeat to the Harlow Nationals, a loss that brought a season full of hope to an abrupt halt.

Looking to get over the semi-final hump and into the big game, Herts have signed the 35-year-old Mexican, who plays in the left field, first base and pitcher positions.

He pitches and bats left-handed, adding to a Falcons batting line-up packed with hard-hitting lefties such as Ryan Bird, Phil Clark and Dave Tretheway.

Salas has previously played in the National Baseball League for the Mildenhall Bulldogs during the 2011 season. In that year he had a batting average of .405 and slugging average of .568, with 12 runs batted in and only two strikeouts in 37 at bats. He also picked up seven stolen bases.*

As a pitcher, in 22 and 2/3 innings of work he had an ERA (earned run average) of 4.76 with a record of one win and two losses, two complete games, striking out 19 batters at an average of 7.5 strikeouts per 9 innings.*

When he joins up with the players shortly there will be familiar face for Salas as he will be reunited with his 2011 Mildehall Bulldogs teammate John Blose, who joined Herts last year.

The NBL teams are preparing for the new season and the next two months are critical as everyone looks to strengthen ahead of opening day on April 6