The 2016 season is now well under way for most slowpitch softball leagues around the country. Below are reports on what’s been happening in some of these leagues during May.
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EAST MIDLANDS SOFTBALL LEAGUE
With the East Midlands Softball League a good way through the first half of the season, the fight for places in the top division for teams seeking that all-important Platinum Nationals place is hotting up!
The Sheriffs of Nottingham are leading the way, having won all seven of their games so far, including a recent top-of-the-table clash with the previously undefeated Nottingham Brewers, last year’s league champions. As with all big games, there was pre-match trepidation and the expectation was that it would be a thrilling and exciting match, neck and neck to the last out. However, after a good start by both teams and home runs over the trees by Phil Kielthy (Brewers) and Shane Sharpe (Sheriffs), the Sheriffs ran out mercy rule winners in five innings by 22-6.
The top five teams will go through to Division 1 at the summer split, and there are currently only three points separating them. And three more teams have a chance of gaining a place in the top division if they continue their run of good performances in the last few games.
The Nottingham Redbacks were looking to end the first half with a fifth win against the Leicester Royals, who are only just behind them in the standings, but went down to a 21-10 loss, which also keeps the Royals in contention.
The second team looking to continue their run in the higher division is the Tigers, who pulled off a 14-13 win over the Rebels with a game-winning triple in the bottom of the seventh inning, after seeing a 9-1 lead disappear thanks to Shannon Henry’s MVP-winning pitching for the Rebels. Entering the bottom of the seventh, the Tigers needed three runs to win but managed to get them on a combination of hits and a bit of luck.
Our third contender is the Misfits. They still have four games left to play and lie only six points behind fifth-place Loughborough Softball and Baseball Club (new to the league this year), who have played all of their games. But the Misfits have some tough games left, having to play three out of the top four. Behind the pitching of Nigel Peters, they will need to overcome the big-hitting Sheriffs and both the Pyros and Pyros Juniors. But one win against these teams may be enough as their final game is against the team at the bottom of the table.
With the current 12 teams dropping to nine for the Summer Divisions due to universities finishing and teams disbanding for the break, we are having one of the closest first halves to the EMSL for years. So watch this space to find out how it pans out over the next few weeks!
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SOLENT SOFTBALL LEAGUE
The Solent Softball League entered its 21st season in 2016 with its highest-ever number of teams. Fourteen teams spread across three divisions will battle it out for the divisions titles, for promotion and to avoid relegation.
The current league champions, the Portsmouth Dodgers West, had a terrible start to their season in Division One, as they lost to both the Southampton Spitfires MK1s and the OAPs. Since those defeats, they have gone on to win their next two games against the Southsea Sharks.
The Sharks themselves seem to be struggling in deeper waters, as they have taken only one win in four attempts. Teams in the rest of the division have played four games between them, but all have taken wins. The Sluggers are on two wins, while the Knicks and the OAPs are both on one win apiece.
Whatever division the UPSU Shafters are in always looks a little bit odd. The Shafters are the league’s university team, always good fun to play against, but they have to get their games in before exams. For this reason, they are generally finished before some teams have barely gotten started, and that’s the case this year. The Shafters have already played nine of their scheduled games, which is the reason they are currently top of Division Two on 11 points. However, the Shafters only managed one win out of those nine games, and may find themselves in danger of the drop this year, as all other teams in the division have already won two or more games. When the Shafters come back from holidays, they will need to win all their remaining games and hope for some help elsewhere.
The Spitfires MK1s are second in the division, also on 11 points, but have only played four games, winning three of those and tying the other. The Dodgers East and the Hursley Hurricanes will also be aiming for the top spot in the very tight push for promotion and the Division Two title.
Division Three is hard to predict, and with two new teams this year, it’s anybody’s guess who will take the top spot. The Chichester Falcons were unfortunate to be relegated last year: with two games left in their season, they were pushing for the top spot in Division Two but results didn’t go their way and they ended up being relegated. They should be this year’s favourites to be promoted, but with the two new teams, and two other teams with experience in the division, it’s not going to be a walk in the park.
The Zombies couldn’t muster one win last season, but have already got one under their belt this year; they have added a few new players to their roster and are looking a well-balanced team. The Baffins Brewers, now in their sixth year, and with hopes of getting to the top of the pile and into Division Two, have made a good start with two wins and two losses and currently sit top of the division.
The league’s two new teams, the Spitfire MKIIs and the Redbridge Raiders, have started well. Both teams have already had their first-ever wins in the league, a feat which is hard to achieve in a division with good experience. It will be an interesting season for this division.
Our annual Tom Prince Indoor Tournament was held in April to raise money for the Tom Prince Cancer Trust. League teams turn up to play a little bit of softball and raise as much cash for the charity as we can. This season we raised a nice £1110, which pushed the Trust’s total closer to their million pound goal. The Dodgers West won the tournament, but the Trust was the real winner on the day.
The league also ran its first ever Rookie Ball, an idea thought up by Matt Andrews, where teams from around the country were invited to play in a C-/D-grade mini-tournament. Eight teams took part and also raised money toward the Tom Prince Cancer Trust, and a great day was had by all. A Solent scratch team won the tournament, but, again, it was all for charity.
The league has voted in a new Chair this year after previous Chair Will Taylor stepped down. Mike Doe will now be leading the league forward in exciting times, as we look to keep expanding and bringing in new players from around the Solent and Hampshire areas. There are plenty of untapped sources that we are hoping to reach.
We were also extremely pleased that the BSF inducted our very own Andy ‘Beefy’ Burgess into their Hall of Fame this year as a softball organiser. A very well-deserved honour for a very well-loved individual.
SEFTON SOFTBALL LEAGUE
The Sefton Softball League will again be contested by five teams this season, but reigning champions Crosby Vikings look like they will face much stiffer competition this time around.
At a mini-competition held on May Day, last season’s newest team, the St Helen’s Sabres, won three and drew one of their four games to show how much they have improved over the winter, with a large part of their team having played indoors at some point during the break.
With a couple of new recruits from the Liverpool Trojans Baseball team, the Sefton Sharks are starting to look more like the team that has won back-to-back promotions in the Manchester Softball League.
The Formby Fins have consolidated after missing out to the Vikings last season and are also performing well in the league.
The Southport Seagulls have experienced the biggest changes. Having lost a number of players, they now feature six new players, but with some experienced ex-baseballers mixed in with some rookies, they are also performing well.
After three weeks of the season, the Sefton Sharks lead the way with a 2-1 record, followed by the Formby Fins, Crosby Vikings and St Helen’s Sabres, all with one win.
Teams are still looking for new recruits. Details and all results are featured on the league’s website: www.seftonsoftball.com.
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PUBLISHING SOFTBALL LEAGUE
The venerable London Publishing League, one of the oldest and friendliest leagues in the capital, playing at C and D-grade standard, has recruited two new teams this year and has had interest from two more, who are considering joining later in the season.
The league now has two divisions, with six teams in Division 1 and five teams in Division 2. Division 2 teams play on Tuesday evening and Division 1 on Wednesday at Primrose Hill, and there are free chips for teams in the Princess pub afterwards.
The season started around the second week in May and will finish at the end of July or beginning of August.
In other news, the Publishing League has inaugurated a Hall of Fame, and the first two inductees were Julie Hadingham and Ross Whamond.
Umpire fees have increased from £14 to £20, to recompense umpires for giving up their time and to hopefully encourage more people to umpire.
The league will have an end-of-season tournament for 12 teams at Old Deer Park in Richmond in the first week of September, followed by an end-of-season party with a charity raffle.
WINDSOR AND MAIDENHEAD SOFTBALL LEAGUE
The WMSL got into full swing in May, and with new structures and a longer season, teams started campaigns that will run into September.
Division 1 started with a familiar sight, as the Farnham Park Phoenix, the defending champions, won all five of their opening fixtures. The Windsor Knights seemed to be the nearest challengers, matching the Phoenix before two defeats in a row dented their early charge.
This allowed the RG Blue Sox to close the gap, closely followed by the Maidenhead Royals and BA Jets, who both lost two games to weather during the month.
At the bottom, the newly-promoted Rattlesnakes were coming to terms with the division. The Rattlesnakes were unbeaten in 2015 as they won the Division 2 title, but they struggled to score runs in May, ending the month winless.
Just above the Rattlesnakes, Thames Valley, formerly Richings Park, also found May a struggle. They too had trouble scoring runs until their final game of the month, when they were had a 25-24 win over the Rattlesnakes.
Division 2 in the WMSL is divided into Eastern and Western sections, and both divisions completed the first of three round-robin fixtures in May.
The Eastern section was dominated early by the Maidenhead Rebels, who won all four of their opening fixtures, but the Thames Valley Hurricanes, Farnham Flames and BA Flyers all traded results with each other to tuck in just behind the Rebels.
At the bottom of the division are the RG Blue Sox 2, who started the season with three defeats. But this division is very open: the chasing pack will all feel they have a good chance of catching the Rebels, and with over a dozen more games to play, this one could go down to the wire.
The Western section, on paper, is very strong, containing the 2015 runners-up, the relegated Wildcats and newly-formed Thames Valley Typhoons. All three had good starts to the season and have begun to pull away from the Maidenhead Rascals and Farnham Park Firebirds.
The Wildcats lead with four wins and one defeat, but the Typhoons are close behind with three wins from three games, having lost a game to the weather, and having already beaten the Wildcats and the Scorchers. The Scorchers are tucked in just behind the Typhoons.
This division looks to be a three-horse race for the title and play-off game, with the Rascals and Firebirds probably fighting it out for fourth place.
LEEDS SOFTBALL LEAGUE
The Leeds Softball League’s 2016 outdoor season got under way in mid-April, to a colder reception than most were expecting!
This year, the league has moved back to Adel Bedquilts Playing Fields from Roundhay Park, with the new (old) fields boasting a much flatter surface and its own unique micro-climate.
Major regulation changes this year include going back to the five men and five women rule from the six-and-four system that has proved contentious in recent years, and most welcomed the return to an equal split. The other innovation is the use of light metres to determine when no new inning is called, prompted by a judgment issue during the last game of the 2015 season that had a sizeable impact on the final standings.
Ten teams have re-entered the fray from previous years, with the welcome addition of York University to make 11 sides battling it out for Yorkshire softball supremacy.
The Bobcats and Cheeky Monkeys have been quickest out of the gate, both winning their first three games, though league stalwarts Masterbatters and Chokers are closing in with their sights on the top. The Yorkshire Dales, Coyotes and Firecrackers have also separated themselves from the pack with two wins apiece as they chase their third.
New side York University won their first game against Firecrackers, and their fresh-faced enthusiasm will prove a threat to more teams they become more settled and confident across the season. Dynamite and Diamond Knights are eyeing up their second win, with both teams having had close games in their first few fixtures. Only the Detonators are hunting for their first win this year, but as the season develops they will no doubt hit their stride.
There have been some unexpectedly close results so far, and it’s really anyone’s guess what the final league standings will look like. At this point, all that captains can be assured of is that nothing is for certain and it’s all to play for as we enter the middle third of the league season.
There’s more information on our website: http://leedssoftball.leaguerepublic.com/l/standingsForDate/720085879/2/-1/-1.html.