On Sunday, May 20, the East Midlands Softball League Division 1 Playoff Game,
oft-postponed by bad weather, pitted the Sheriffs against the Tigers to determine who would represent the EMSL at the BSF Silver Nationals on August 11-12 in Wokingham.
The playoff was being held to determine the runner-up in Division 1 for 2011, after both the Sheriffs and Tigers posted identical records of five wins and three losses, with a win each in head-to-head games.
Sheriffs at home
The coin toss was won by Sheriffs and they chose to be home team and duly took the field.
The game started as a tight affair, with both teams failing to score in the first two innings thanks to some good defense.
In the top of the third, the Tigers broke the deadlock, scoring two runs with two outs. But it could have been even better, as they left a runner stranded in scoring position on third base.
The Sheriffs responded with a brilliant example of how to bat consistently to build a score. The first four batters in the bottom of the third hit singles before a home run by Lee Brooks drove in three. More base-hitting and another home run, this time by debutant Michael ‘Mikey’ Boncoeur, and Sheriffs had eight runs in with only one out. And the Tigers leaked a further three runs, including another home run by Dan Snape, before they finally got the third out on the 14th at-bat of the inning.
Shell-shocked
To say the Tigers were shell-shocked as they came to bat in the top of the fourth inning would have been an understatement, although Neal Robinson did his best to lift their spirits by leading off with a solo home run. But that was all they could muster.
The Sheriffs replied immediately, with substitute Shane Sharp leading off with a solo home run of his own, and then a further run scored as Ed Stiles doubled to drive in Rebecca Bullock.
So into the fifth, with the scoreline looking quite final at 13-3 – although Tigers were taking some solace from the fact they had recovered from 9-1 down against the Sheriffs to win the Plate Final of the Labor Day Cup last season. The Tigers needed to put some runs on the board, which they duly did. But it was only a couple, and again Sheriffs outscored them, this time with four runs, to extend their lead to 17-5.
Time was running out for the Tigers and it wasn’t the time for the bottom of their order to go three-up, three-down, the latter two courtesy of an excellent double play by Ed Stiles at shortstop, who forced the runner at second before drilling a throw to Rebecca Bullock at first. The Sheriffs picked up another two runs in the bottom of the sixth and headed into the final inning 19-5 up.
Last-ditch rally
So could Tigers make up a 14-run deficit? Well, the first six innings hadn't shown much promise of this, but when tenth batter Hannah Carter led off with a single against her former team, and then the top four batters in the order all stroked good base hits, the Sheriffs started to look a little less confident.
The score had crept back to 19-10, with no outs.
However, pitcher Steve Davies steadied the nerves, taking a good catch from Kate Jones, and what little belief Tigers may have had started to waver. The next two batters succumbed to a good catch in the outfield and then a groundout to first, and Sheriffs were winners with a bat in hand.
Many thanks to Jason Smith from Broxtowe Softball Club for umpiring the game, and all who turned up on the day to support the teams.
The Sheriffs will now go on to represent the EMSL in the Silver Nationals, and everyone associated with the league would like to wish them every success.