The new league is the brainchild of the club, who play their home matches at Grovehill Park and will involve 10 teams from the south of England, three of them being provided by Herts BC themselves.
And as club president Aspi Dimitrov pointed out, the HSL, which is the first of its type in Britain, will be of great benefit to those who have signed up.

"Usually over the last few years in Britain, teams would prepare for the new season by organising one or two friendly games," he said.

"But we decided that rather than have a handful of exhibition games, we'd try and make it a little more competitive with a league.

"We got in touch with 12 teams and the response was great and the teams competing in the league are nicely spread around the south.

"The league will provide a little healthy competition and will hopefully attract a few fans who are interested in having a look at baseball and hopefully getting involved as well."

Another way that Dimitrov and company are aiming to garner greater participation in the sport in Hertfordshire, is by the creation of a third team, the Raptors, who will join the Falcons and the Hawks in the HSL.

"We've had a 400 per cent increase in interest in the last year and we were joined by so many new guys that it was time to start a third team," revealed Dimitrov.

"It's a team made up mainly of players who are completely new to the game.

"They consist of a lot of British people who have seen the game and like it, but this is their first time playing it.

"Baseball is not yet a big sport in this country and it still remains behind football, rugby and cricket in terms of popularity, but we're hoping that will change.

"We don't know how they'll do, but it could prove that one or two of the guys are naturals at the sport and could turn out to be big stars.

"This competition will allow the managers of the three teams to have a look at all of the players at our disposal and use them accordingly when the season starts.

"Hopefully we'll see one or two real prospects from the new guys in the Raptors."

While the newly-created Herts third string will be trying to make a name for themselves in HSL2, alongside stable mates the Hawks, Dimitrov is equally excited at what the 'A' team, Falcons, have in store in HSL1.

"We're hoping that the Falcons will do well but in the second game we're meeting our old rivals Burgess Hill, who relegated us to the
National League Division One in 2006," he said.

"It'll be the first chance to get a little bit of revenge over them but it's still uncertain how we'll fare because it's been two years since we last played them.

"Northampton will also be strong and finally there's a team from the American School in London, who are not actually part of the British League.
"They're very much an unknown quantity and it will be very hard to predict how we will get on against them.

"I think they could possibly be the favourites because they have the baseball history, mentality, good coaching and I think they have the best facilities.

"But you never know, the Brits may prove the Americans wrong!"

Although the HSL has been primarily set up for the teams involved to gain a bit of match practice for the start of the British League in April, there is likely to be some very competitive fixtures over the coming weeks.

The opening day's action from HSL1 will unfold at Grovehill Park from 10.30am this Sunday, with Falcons taking on Northampton in the first game before their grudge match with Burgess Hill at 3pm.

Meanwhile, both the Hawks and the Raptors will be hoping to get their HSL2 campaigns off to a great start when they travel to Richmond the same day.

And Dimitrov is certain the three teams' involvement will be vital for the club's national campaign.

"As soon as the HSL ends, the new season starts and we're hoping to gain a bit of momentum," he said.

"There are a few teams that are not going to be involved and I think they're definitely going to be at a disadvantage because they will not have had much of a pre-season.

"So it's definitely an advantage to those who've decided to sign up to the Spring League."