By Matt Tebb
The 2022 BSF Co-ed Slowpitch League National Championships were contested by 18 teams from around the country in warm sunshine on the weekend 
of 6-7 August at Farnham Park and eventually produced worthy Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze winners.
The eight Comp teams kicked off the weekend on time on Saturday morning – a bonus compared to 2021 when rain delayed the start -- and the tournament was off to a winner.
Then the 10 Rec teams continued the fun in the sunshine.
Across the weekend, teams from both levels showcased some brilliant softball.
Saturday
Saturday passed by quickly, with both players and umpires feeling the heat by the end of the day, and at the end of Day 1 the Comp standings had started to split comfortably into those who would eventually be in the Platinum and Gold playoffs.
The Rec Division, however, was much closer in the middle of the table at the end of Saturday, with plenty to fight for on Day 2.
A special mention goes to the Leicester Royals, who played hard to come away with three draws, often coming back in the final innings to achieve them.
Sunday
Sunday was just a little bit warmer, adding to the pressure to complete the round-robins and set up the semi-finals.
Final round-robin standings in the Comp Division were similar to those at the close of play on Saturday, and demonstrated the spread of quality between North and South:
| TEAMS | Won | Lost | Drawn | RF | RA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Sox (Windsor & Maidenhead) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 94 | 48 | 21 |
| Pyros (East Midlands) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 39 | 18 |
| Thunder (Manchester) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 76 | 39 | 15 |
| Knicks (Solent) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 70 | 65 | 12 |
| Archway Thunder (Bristol) | 2 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 65 | 6 |
| Chichester Falcons (Solent) | 2 | 5 | 0 | 51 | 80 | 6 |
| Titans (Windsor & Maidenhead) | 1 | 6 | 0 | 44 | 99 | 3 |
| Sharks (Manchester) | 1 | 6 | 0 | 43 | 91 | 3 |
In the Rec Division, it came down to head-to-head results to sort out places for the Silver semi-finals, and it needed runs conceded to decide sixth and seventh to set up the Bronze semi-finals:
| TEAMS | Won | Lost | Drawn | RF | RA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharks (Liverpool) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 105 | 48 | 18 |
| Rattlenakes (Windsor & Maidenhead) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 90 | 42 | 18 |
| Mafia (London) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 89 | 67 | 15 |
| Angels (Oxford) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 74 | 40 | 15 |
| Seagulls (Liverpool) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 97 | 87 | 13 |
| Rhinos (Milton Keynes) | 2 | 4 | 1 | 63 | 70 | 7 |
| Redbridge Raiders (Solent) | 2 | 5 | 0 | 45 | 73 | 6 |
| Leicester Royals (East Midlands) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 78 | 95 | 6 |
| Seagulls (Manchester) | 1 | 6 | 0 | 53 | 110 | 3 |
| Hippos (Leeds) | 0 | 6 | 1 | 44 | 106 | 1 |
Semi-finals
The level of play in the semi-finals stepped up even more.
In the Platinum semi-finals, the Knicks just lost out to Blue Sox by 12-11 after leading them until the final moments, and Manchester Thunder got revenge over the Pyros by a score of 12-5 after losing to the same team during the round-robin.
In the Gold semi-finals, Archway Thunder overturned the round-robin result by knocking out the Manchester Sharks by 9-5 while the Falcons repeated a round-robin win over the Titans by a score of 9-7, but with the Titans holding the Falcons to a much lower score.
In the Silver semi-finals, the Liverpool Sharks really turned it on with a 13-0 whitewash of the Mafia, while the Oxford Angels took care of the Rattlesnakes by a score of 9-3.
In the Bronze semi-finals, the Liverpool Seagulls flew away from the Redbridge Raiders, who couldn't quite get their bats firing, by a score of 17-5. Meanwhile, the Rhinos from Milton Keynes faced the Leicester Royals in the other semi-final. During the round-robin, these teams had drawn 15-15, but this time the Royals’ defense got the better of the Rhinos in a tight contest that finished 11-9.
In a final placing game for the only two teams that didn’t make the semi-finals, the Leeds Hippos defeated the Manchester Seagulls by 21-10.
The finals
The Platinum final between the Blue Sox and Manchester Thunder went back and forth until the fifth inning, when the Blue Sox base-hit their way to the trophy, building up a 22-7 mercy rule lead. The Blue Sox were the only team to go undefeated over the weekend.
In the Gold final, Archway Thunder clipped the wings of the Falcons by 16-2.
In the Silver final, the Liverpool Sharks kept their batting form from the semi-final, seeing off the Angels by 14-5.
In the Bronze final, the Leicester Royals looked like they might bring the game to yet another draw, forcing extra innings, but the defense of the Liverpool Seagulls took them through to a 16-10 win.
Overall, the weekend was brilliant, with lots of smiling faces, lots of fun and laughter and some excellent softball in all the games. It will be great to see the winners come back next year and try to retain their titles.