The 2013 National Softball League season wrapped up at the third Diamond Series tournament at Farnham Park on the weekend of 27-28 July, and the clear winner and #1 seed for the Premier Nationals will be H2O, who have yet to win their first national title.
H2O lost only one NSL game all season and drew another while winning 18, putting them 3.5 games ahead of second-place Pioneers and four games ahead of third-place Chromies.
The other teams to qualify for the Premier Nationals, to be held on the weekend of August 31-September 1 at Farnham Park, are: Blue Steel, Maniacs, Legends, Mariners and Slammers, who took the eighth and final qualification place by half a game over the Dragons. The teams will be seeded in the order shown in the final NSL table below.
The other teams to miss out on the Premier Nationals along with Dragons are Knights and Warriors.
Much at stake
There will be much at stake when the Premier Nationals are played – not just the National Championship, but a place in next year's expanded European Slowpitch Cup, with countries able to send more than one team in 2014 for the first time.
Chromies, as the 2012 Premier Nationals winners, have already booked a place, and will be joined by the winners of this year's Premier Nationals. Should Chromies win the national title again, the second European Slowpitch Cup place would go to H2O as this year's NSL winners.
But H2O, who have been trying to win the Premier Nationals for years and have often been so near and yet so far, would love to crown a dominant year by finally capturing the title that has frustratingly eluded them, even when, as this year, they have been the best A-grade team during the regular season.
Final NSL table
| TEAM | WON | LOST | TIES | GB | RF | RA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H2O | 18 | 1 | 1 | --- | 256 | 137 |
| Pioneers | 15 | 5 | 0 | 3.5 | 220 | 135 |
| Chromies | 14 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 234 | 106 |
| Blue Steel | 13 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 245 | 123 |
| Maniacs | 10 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 174 | 182 |
| Legends | 8 | 10 | 2 | 9.5 | 140 | 166 |
| Mariners | 7 | 13 | 0 | 11.5 | 151 | 197 |
| Slammers | 5 | 11 | 4 | 11.5 | 128 | 162 |
| Dragons | 6 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 117 | 195 |
| Knights | 4 | 12 | 2 | 13.5 | 106 | 242 |
| Warriors | 2 | 17 | 1 | 16 | 123 | 249 |