The inaugural Chicks with Sticks Women’s Slowpitch Tournament, run by Maidenhead Softball Club and hosted by Phoenix Cricket Club at Farnham Park, was played on Sunday 22 May.
The tournament was designed to provide women’s slowpitch teams with a new event in which to compete.
Seven teams took part. Alongside Maidenhead Softball Club’s Diamond Squeezers, the other teams were Pink Ladies, No Balls, Pitch Perfect, Portsmouth Dodgers, Chavs and Lakenheath Ladies.
Plate final
The tournament began with all seven teams playing each other in a round-robin format. It was lot of games in a short period, but the softball was never lacking in quality.
The final round-robin standings meant that Pink Ladies would play the Diamond Squeezers in the Plate final, while Lakenheath Ladies would play No Balls in the Cup final.
Pink Ladies had narrowly lost out to the Diamond Squeezers by 10-8 in their first meeting, and determined not to repeat that result, Pink Ladies got off to a fast start.
In the end, the 18-6 score line reflected the dominance that the Pink Ladies had in the Plate final.
Cup final
On the main pitch, No Balls took on Lakenheath in the Cup final.
No Balls had come through the day as the biggest hitters and the meanest defense. Lakenheath were second in both categories, but at 5-1 had the best record.
The final turned into everything you would have hoped for. Defenses were dominant and runs at a premium.
The final went all the way to the wire, with the teams always separated by just the odd run, and Lakenheath finally came out on top 13-12 thanks to two priceless runs in the last inning.
High quality
For the first year of this event, not only did the weather stay fine, but the softball was a great advert for the women’s game. There were plenty of great defensive plays and some serious hitting saw the teams score a combined 424 runs during the day.
With plenty of great feedback from the teams, Chicks with Sticks will be back again next year.