The 2016 season has now passed the halfway point for most slowpitch softball leagues around the country. Below are reports on what’s been happening in some of these leagues during June.
MANCHESTER SOFTBALL LEAGUE
Divisions 1 and 2 in Manchester completed their first rotations at the end of June, with the Lions recording their seventh win out of seven in Division 1, and sitting comfortably two games ahead of second-placed Thunder, who narrowly defeated the Dodgers to ease into second place.
Behind these two are the champion Greensox, who rather surprisingly have already lost three times this season, along with the Dodgers and Mavericks, all with 4-3 records. That these five teams are all taking points off each other will suit the Lions just fine, though with the second rotation to come, followed by a mini-league among the top four, it is perhaps too early to start engraving the trophy.
Outlaws are sixth with a 3-4 record, while the two promoted teams, Camels and Mutineers, have only one win between them, that being in the game where they played each other (the Camels won).
Division 2, which has only seven teams this year, is similarly topped by a team having a so-far perfect season, the Meerkats. Relegated last season with only two wins, they look like a classic yo-yo team.
Just behind, both with 4-2 records, are the Lightning and Bullfrogs. The other relegated team from last year, Mayhem, are struggling with a 2-4 record, the same as the promoted Sefton Sharks.
Propping up the table are the also-promoted Storm, yet to win a game, and looking likely to return to Division 3.
Divisions 3 and 4, with nine teams in each (and a tenth set to join Division 4 shortly) are still a couple of games short of the turn-around, especially since a number of games have been rained off (rain in Manchester? Surely not!).
Mavericks II, who won Division 4 last year with a perfect record, remain unbeaten at the top of Division 3. Camels II and Enforcers, with two losses each, are the nearest challengers, with the rest strung neatly out behind.
With league restructuring likely at the end of the season, in which the division will be reduced in size, any team in the bottom half will be wary of facing the drop.
The Tigers find themselves top of Division 4 with five wins and an opening-day tie (due to bad light) from their first seven games. But three teams, including the rookie Urmston Rippers in their first season, are just one game behind.
The standings are complicated by the fact that Tigers were due to “rest” recently, and so will be half a game ahead of the others until the last day of the season, when the postponed games are played and the “stagger” will unwind.
The Falcons, in their first full season, have yet to record a win, but will be the as-yet un-named new team’s first opponents -- though to judge from the friendly between the Rippers and the new recruits last week, the newbies will hit the ground running.
GREATER LONDON SOFTBALL MIXED LEAGUE​
Despite the British summer’s refusal to turn up this season, there have been underdog upsets, nail-biting eighth inning victories and even a trophy heist to keep us entertained between rainouts.
The big story in the first six weeks of the season has been Trevor the Trophy. When MI6 secured an emphatic victory at the GLSML First Ball in May, they may have been looking forward to sharing the trophy around and quaffing champagne from it. Their joy was short-lived, however, after the Fuzzy Ducks stole the trophy at the after-tournament party. Since the heist, the trophy has been showing off how much of an eccentric jet-setter it is, turning up in exotic locations such as Paris, Nigeria and Slough. The Ducks are yet to hear if the league will be sending a humiliating punishment their way at the Last Ball.
Meanwhile, some softball has been played as well. In Majors 1, Mescalitos endured a torrid day at the First Ball back in May, but have bounced back strongly in the league and are currently top of the pile, having lost just a solitary game. The 2015 champions, LNZ, have been pretty much eliminated from the running after losing three games – including home and away defeats to last season’s runners-up MI6.
The Majors 2 title race looked particularly interesting early on in the season, with the OddSox making a great start to the campaign before faltering in recent weeks. Meteors 1 remain strong candidates for a return to the top flight after beating the Fuzzy Ducks in a top-of-the-table clash last week. Meteors 1 are one of only two unbeaten sides in the GLSML this season.
Promotion from Majors 3 appears to be done and dusted, with Beyond Bermuda Guns and Raiders Blue sitting top of the pile on 24 and 21 points respectively, and no challenger anywhere near the top two as things stand. The relegation battle, however, could be nerve-racking for the other six sides in the division – and interesting for the neutral observer. Just three points divide positions three to eight in the division as we enter the second half of the campaign.
Minors 1 is a much more even affair at the top of the table. Meteors 3 had been formidable in the first half of the season, but two successive defeats have given Raiders Red a firmer hold on first place as well as allowing the Badgers to sneak into second place. At the other end of the table, it’s very difficult to predict anything as all the teams are taking points off each other. The Tornadoes had looked in trouble early on, but now have a lot of games in hand.
Mouse Rat are still unbeaten this season, so the Minors 2 title is theirs to lose. The Voodoos will certainly be looking to capitalise on any mistakes Mouse Rat may make in the final stretch. The division has had an astonishing four games taken to the eighth inning, making it seem like one of the most balanced and exciting tiers of softball in the capital.
Minors 3 is a close-run race in 2016. Game of Throws have charged ahead, casting all aside – almost. Disco Inferno felled the Throws at home last week after a two-week rain-enforced hiatus. Throws are still in the driving seat but the chasing pack will smell blood. Behind them are Bat to the Future, Knight Sliders and Disco Inferno – all of whom have contested some incredibly tight games this season. A promotion playoff seems likely for the second year running.
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SEFTON SOFTBALL LEAGUE
June has seen a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of the Southport Seagulls in the hotly-contested Sefton Softball League. After finishing May at the bottom of the table, the Seagulls have since won all four games to take them top of the table with a record of four wins and two losses.
In contrast, the Crosby Vikings suffered back-to-back losses against the Formby Fins and Seagulls, sandwiched between two mercy rule wins against the Sefton Sharks and St Helen’s Sabres, leaving them with a record of three wins and three losses.
Also sporting a 3-3 record are the Sefton Sharks, who responded to their 19-0 loss to the Vikings with a 14-13 win against the Formby Fins to replace them at the top of the table -- only to suffer a defeat to the Seagulls the following week.
The Fins have only lost only two games all season, both of them to their bogey team, the Sefton Sharks, typifying the nature of the league this season, where competition is very close among the four established teams.
The St Helen’s Sabres have suffered with two of their most experienced players missing for much of the season, but the rest of the team have showed tremendous improvement, which will stand them in good stead when their seasoned players return.
Teams are still looking for new recruits, with details and all results featured on the league website: www.seftonsoftball.com.
You can also check us out on Twitter (@seftonsoftball) and Facebook.com/Seftonsoftball.
MILTON KEYNES DIAMONDS
The summer may have been a wet one so far, but it has been raining home runs in Milton Keynes after the successful launch of a new slowpitch softball league.
To celebrate its fifth birthday, the Milton Keynes Diamonds announced the formation of a new competition by dividing its squad into three teams – the Homerun Hornets, the Double D’s and the Willow Lakers. The league line-up was completed by a neighbouring team, the Towcester Tigers, who had previously only played fastpitch.
Each team was allocated a male and female captain who help to coach and organise, and all teams will play each other twice over the season on Tuesday nights before a playoff final is held to decide the champions. Training continues on non-match nights, allowing new players to develop skills before being drafted to a team.
The first pitch was thrown on Tuesday 3 May when the Willow Lakers edged out the Homerun Hornets 17-9. Even more drama was to follow two weeks later when the Double D’s and the Towcester Tigers fought out an epic 29-29 tie. An outstanding 13 home runs left the scorers reaching for their calculators!
On 31 May, The Double D’s reached the top of the table with a 21-15 win over the Homerun Hornets, and a fortnight later the improving Towcester Tigers braved difficult wet conditions to pick up their first win by 19-15 over the Willow Lakers.
The first half of the season was wrapped up on 28 June with a doubleheader night in which all four teams took to the diamond. The Double D’s hung on to their top spot with a 21-13 win over the Lakers, while on the other pitch the Towcester Tigers secured a narrow 9-8 victory over the Hornets, leaving the next match as a top-of-the-table clash between the two leading teams.
The league has been a great success so far, with a number of close and exciting games helping players of all levels put their skills to the test in friendly but competitive action. Each team has its own uniforms and social media groups, helping players make new friends and learn the game so that they are ready to represent the Milton Keynes Diamonds club in national tournaments.
The season will end with a club dinner on Saturday 8 October at the Three Locks Golf Club, where the top players will receive awards and the champions will be crowned.
Keep an eye on the league’s dedicated website -- www.mksoftball.co.uk -- for more news, results and fixtures.
If you are interested in taking part, please email: MKDiamondsSoftball@gmail.com.