The 2023 edition of the BSF Co-Ed Slowpitch League National Championships took place at the National Baseball & Softball Complex at Farnham Park over the weekend of 12-13 August, with 20 teams from 10 different leagues across the UK taking part.
This tournament gives league teams the opportunity to play inter-league competition against some of the best slowpitch softball teams in the country.
Competitors
Last year’s Platinum winners, the Blue Sox from the Windsor & Maidenhead League, were looking to repeat their 2022 success, along with the 2022 Gold runners-up, the Chichester Falcons. The Travelling Dodgers were well represented once again in the Comp Division, despite the fact that many of the players on their roster were in Bulgaria competing in the European Co-ed Slowpitch Super Cup, won by British side H20 on Saturday.
The 20 teams – up from 18 last year -- were as follows:
COMP GROUP A: Base Invaders (London Softball League), Jets (Bristol Softball Association), MasterBatters (Leeds Softball Association), Meerkats (Manchester Softball League), MI6 (London Softball League).
COMP GROUP B: Blue Sox (Windsor & Maidenhead Softball League), Chichester Falcons (Solent Softball League), MouseRat (London Softball League), Pyros (East Midlands Softball League), Travelling Dodgers (Manchester Softball League).
REC GROUP A: Diamond Dogs (London Softball League), Didsbury Bats (Manchester Softball League), Roundabout Rhinos (Milton Keynes Softball League), Sheriffs (East Midlands Softball League), Valley Wet Socks (Cardiff Softball League).
REC GROUP B: Cheekies (Leeds Softball Association), Clapham Mafia (London Softball League), Rattlesnakes (Windsor & Maidenhead Softball League), Sluggababes (Manchester Softball League), Southport Seagulls (Liverpool Softball League).
Day 1
Saturday was devoted to round-robin play, with each team playing five games through some spectacularly weird weather at Farnham Park, and despite the sun-filled downpours and wind gusts, all of the day’s play was completed.
After the dust had settled and everyone had driven off, four teams were tied at the top of Comp Group B, while MI6, in Comp Group A, was the only team across the entire tournament to end Saturday without a loss.
Over on the Rec side, Milton Keynes’s Roundabout Rhinos led Group A with 4-1 record, with the entire group separated by a razor-thin margin, while the Rattlesnakes held the top spot in Group B, with the Clapham Mafia hot on their heels.
Day 2
The weather held on Sunday morning, despite very windy conditions in the Thames Valley. Under cloudy skies, the round-robin portion of the tournament was completed in the morning, setting up a big afternoon of championships playoffs with a lively crowd in attendance.
Final Round Robin Tables
COMP
REC
Semifinals and placement games
With the round-robin complete, Tournament Controller Matt Tebb made the necessary calculations, setting up the Platinum and Gold semi-finals for the Comp teams, and the Silver and Bronze semi-finals for the Rec sides, plus placement games.
Semi-final scores were:
PLATINUM
Mi6 11 (London), Pyros (East Midlands) 8
Travelling Dodgers (Manchester) 20, Jets (Bristol) 17
GOLD
Meerkats 15 (Manchester), MouseRat (London) 14
Blue Sox 18 (Windsor & Maidenhead), Masterbatters (Leeds) 2
The Comp semi-finals included three very close games in which just seven runs separated the participating teams. Mi6 and the Travelling Dodgers prevailed by three-run margins to set up the Platinum final, while Meerkats edged out MouseRat in the final inning to set up a match up with the Blue Sox, the only team with a comfortable win in the Comp semi-final round, in the Gold final.
SILVER
Rhinos 10 (Milton Keynes), Cheekies (Leeds) 4
Sheriffs 19 (East Midlands), Rattlesnakes (Windsor & Maidenhead) 2
BRONZE
Wet Socks 15 (Cardiff), Mafia (London) 7
Didsbury Bats 10 (Manchester), Southport Seagulls (Liverpool) 7
The Rec semi-finals were far more clearcut than on the Comp side, with the Wet Socks, Sheriffs, Rhinos, and Bats all winning by at least three runs and most of them by a lot more.
Finals
For the first time since 2019, the Platinum Final was broadcast, featuring on the new BSUK-TV network. Rewatch the game here or below
PLATINUM FINAL
Mi6 (London) 23, Travelling Dodgers (Manchester) 8
Mi6 trailed 3-0 after the first half inning of play but scored 10 unanswered runs en route to a walk-off mercy rule victory in the fifth inning. The Agents finished the weekend with just a single loss – to the runner-up Dodgers in the final round-robin game of the weekend.
GOLD FINAL
Blue Sox (Windsor & Maidenhead) 20, Meerkats (Manchester) 8
The Blue Sox continued to score at will in the final, having scored 38 runs across their two playoff games while allowing just 10, as they defeated the Meerkats by a 12-run margin in the longest game of the finals.
SILVER FINAL
Sheriffs (East Midlands) 17, Rhinos (Milton Keynes) 5
Both the Sheriffs and Rhinos game into the final after solid semi-final wins, but the Sheriffs were able to continue the momentum into the final en route to a 12-run victory.
BRONZE FINAL
Wet Socks (Cardiff) 15, Didsbury Bats (Manchester) 14
In the closest of the four finals, the Wet Socks were just able to edge the Bats 15-14 - after trailing 14-5 early in the game!
Comment & Final Standings
Matt Tebb, who served as Tournament Control for the weekend, said, "It was an amazing weekend; seeing a range of players from across the country come to Farnham Park to showcase their abilities is a real treat. The chance for some of these players to play [at the National Baseball & Softball Complex] is great as they often only play at their local fields. Another hugely successful League Nationals!"
The final COMP Standings were as follows:
- Mi6
- Travelling Dodgers
- Pyros
- Jets
- Blue Sox
- Meerkats
- Mouserat
- MasterBatters
- Chichester Falcons
- Base Invaders
Meanwhile, the final REC Standings were:
- Sheriffs
- Roundabout Rhinos
- Rattlesnakes
- Cheekies
- Valley Wet Socks
- Didsbury Bats
- Southport Seagulls
- Clapham Mafia
- Diamond Dogs
- Sluggababes
The next major event on the softball calendar is the National Softball League Championships on the weekend of 2-3 September, featuring teams from NSL1, NSL2 and, for the first time, NSL 3.
The NSL National Championships will take place at the National Baseball & Softball Complex at Farnham Park, with the NSL1 Championship final broadcast live on BSUK-TV here.
More details about the NSL National Championships can be found here.