With league seasons winding down around the country, look below to find out what's happening with divisional races and other matters in some of Britain's top slowpitch leagues.
Solent Softball League
by James Clarke
It has been a great and busy season of softball so far this year, and with three quarters of the season gone, Solent League players have been enjoying the beautiful summer the UK has been blessed with.
Division 1
The Itchen Knicks are sitting in the top spot in Division 1 right now with a record of nine wins and two losses. They can’t get too comfortable though, because the OAPs, the only undefeated team left in the Solent League, are close on their heels and visualising first place. The Knicks' last game of the season will be against the OAPs, so the whole season for both teams could come down to this one game!
Division 2
Interesting things are happening in Division 2 this season. There is currently a three-way tie for first place between the Dodgers, Solent Sluggers and UPSU Shafters. Unfortunately for the Shafters, who are a university team, all their games have been played, so their reign at the top of Division 2 won’t last much longer. The Dodgers and Sluggers each have three games left, one of which will be against each other! The Dodgers started off with a five-game win streak but have only seen L’s against their last five games. Can they turn it round, or will the Sluggers hit their way to victory? We will have to wait until September 8 to find out.
Outside The League
Solent League players have been keeping themselves busy outside their league games.
Our university team, the UPSU Shafters, joined in with the Farnham Park Opening Day festivities by playing in the Single-Sex Nationals on the weekend of 20-21 July. With a team of current students from the University of Portsmouth and a few alumni, they walked onto the diamond at Farnham Park excited and ready to play and took third place in the round-robins with a respectable record of four wins and three losses.
They then went on to beat the Knights in the playoffs but ran out of steam in the final against the Exiles. The highlight of the day for the Shafters was posing for a picture with Colin Murray while he donned a Shafters jersey!
Also participating on the day was our veteran Knicks’ player Brad Gilmour, showing what the SSL has to offer in playing for the Puppies. He took home the Male MVP and helped the Puppies to win the Men’s Platinum Final.
A week later, the Chichester Falcons found themselves busy hosting the 2013 Southern Wickes Charity Softball Tournament on 28 July in Brighton. With a record seven stores entering teams, the Falcons' coaches were busy organising and coaching the 70+ players.
After an introduction to softball and a one-game learning curve, the teams all got into the swing of it (pun intended). The winner on the day was the Worthing Warriors, who will go on to play the winner of the Northern Tournament in September.
Falcons' coaches James Clarke, David Morris and Honorary Falcon Matt Oram left feeling proud and happy to be a part of a great afternoon. We couldn’t believe how well 70+ players with little to no experience picked up and embraced the game. The Chichester Falcons would like to thank BSUK for the opportunity to be a part of the Wickes Charity Softball Tournament and look forward to helping out in future tournaments.
Full tournament report and video of the day can be found here: http://solentsoftball.org/news-wickes-softball.html.
GB Charity Kickball Tournament
The Solent Softball League will be hosting a Charity Kickball Tournament in aid of Great Britain National Softball Teams on 29 September at the University of Chichester Playing Fields. The entry cost is £80 per team, with all proceeds going to support GB Softball. To find out more and for a registration form, please visit: http://solentsoftball.org/news-kickball.html.
Solent Lastball
The Solent Softball League will be holding its annual Lastball Tournament on the weekend of 21-22 September. Saturday is for 16 B and C+ teams and the Sunday is for C- and D teams. Please contact Mike Doe at solentlastball@hotmail.co.uk for more information.
Bristol Softball Association
With one playing week of the Bristol season left, the second and third divisions already had their winners sorted, while the first division still had two teams fighting it out for the title and three teams battling to avoid the last relegation spot.
First Division at 02/08/2013
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flyers | 13 | 11 | 2 | 59 |
| Jets | 13 | 10 | 3 | 56 |
| Sliders | 13 | 8 | 5 | 50 |
| Guppy Spotters | 13 | 7 | 6 | 47 |
| Bristol Creamers | 13 | 5 | 8 | 41 |
| T'bolts | 13 | 6 | 7 | 38 |
| Crushers | 13 | 4 | 9 | 38 |
| Buccs Whiz | 13 | 1 | 12 | 29 |
In a repeat of last season, the final game of the season will see the top two teams, Flyers and Jets, playing a winner-take-all match for the division title.
At the bottom end of the table, Tbolts are defying the odds and the penalty points that were imposed when they decided to take an unscheduled mid-season break and didn’t field a team for two games. They came back from that break rejuvenated and have been the form team of the second half of the season, culminating in a winning performance against second-placed Jets despite only having nine players. Tbolts' recent run of form has coincided with the Creamers and Crushers dropping games, and depending on the results of the final games, there is a possibility of a three-way tie for the last relegation spot.
Second Division at 02/08/2013
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scorgs | 17 | 13 | 4 | 73 |
| LSDs | 17 | 12 | 5 | 70 |
| Team Phoenix | 17 | 11 | 6 | 67 |
| The Force | 17 | 11 | 6 | 67 |
| Lucky Strikes | 17 | 11 | 6 | 67 |
| Cheeky Monkeys | 17 | 9 | 8 | 61 |
| Greasy Mitts | 17 | 8 | 9 | 58 |
| Desperadoes | 17 | 5 | 12 | 49 |
| Grandslammers | 17 | 3 | 14 | 43 |
| Friendly Fire | 17 | 2 | 15 | 38 |
With one match remaining, Scorgs secured the Second Division title and promotion to the First Division with a win over the Greasy Mitts. Second spot in the division is less clear-cut, with four teams still in the hunt depending on results from their final games. At the bottom end of the division, there is no escape from the relegation spots for Grandslammers and Friendly Fire.
Third Division at 01/08/2013
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base Invaders | 13 | 11 | 2 | 59 |
| Monmouth Rockets | 13 | 10 | 3 | 56 |
| Ice Cold Pitches | 13 | 9 | 4 | 53 |
| Run 'n' Base | 13 | 7 | 6 | 47 |
| Chipmonks | 13 | 6 | 7 | 44 |
| Go Balls Deep | 13 | 5 | 8 | 41 |
| Thunder | 13 | 4 | 9 | 28 |
| Keeners | 13 | 0 | 13 | 22 |
Base Invaders sewed up their division title and promotion with a match remaining with a solid win over Go Balls Deep. Monmouth Rockets occupy the second spot at the moment, but if they slip up in their final game and Ice Cold Pitches win, the two teams will be tied.
Youth Development Taster Sessions
by Glenn Tom (Bristol Youth Development Officer)
In June and July, the Bristol Softball Association decided to run a six-week series of taster sessions for softball and baseball, targeting youth players below the age of 16. There was a lot of uncertainty around who should be targeted as an initial audience, and it was decided to promote the sessions to the children of parents who are already involved in the league.
Eight players from ages four through 12 attended the first session, and there was a lot of enthusiasm from both the participants and the coaches that carried on from week to week. As the weeks passed, the numbers started to grow, to the point where the youth development programme had 18 children ranging from four to 14 with a range of ability levels.
We felt that the youth development programme was a success because we kept the children interested and kept things really simple. The idea was to get the kids out playing, learning the basic skills and having fun, regardless of whether they were doing the right thing or not.
Moving forward, we are looking at possibly introducing a series of indoor training sessions for youth players. These might take place on the same evening as either the intermediates' or beginners' training sessions. The aim is to keep the kids interested in playing the game and keep working on the skills they have started learning. We are looking to canvass the participants' parents to get an idea of the most suitable day/evening to host these sessions.
The aim for next season is to have enough players in the youth development programme to be able to play an exhibition showcase game at the Bristol Main Tournament.
I would like to thank my assistant coaches, Mark Saunders and Brett McIntyre, for all their support and assistance during the initial taster sessions. And I would like to thank all of the participants and their parents for coming out each week and participating.
Manchester Softball League
by Adam Roberts
MSL Fixtures Secretary
With a very exciting season entering the final few weeks, there is still lot to play for throughout the Manchester Softball League.
After a close race in Division 1, the Lions have pulled themselves to the front after going on a 10-game unbeaten run through June and July. The only team that can now prevent the Lions from taking their first league title are the defending champion Greensox, who lie 1.5 games behind with three games to play. Below the top two, the division remains close, with the remaining four teams all still in with a chance of finishing in the top three.
In the Playoff Division, there is an exciting battle to decide which three teams will move into Division 1 for next season. Lightning, who have opened up a two-game lead at the top of the table, look likely to take one of the places, but behind them there are four teams (Mayhem, Bullfrogs, Camels and Mutineers) fighting over the other two spots.
It is a two-horse race for the Division 2 title, with the Meerkats leading the Outlaws II by just one game. These two teams are scheduled to meet on the last day of the season in what could be a winner-take-all encounter. At the other end of the table, the last day of the season may also bring a relegation shoot-out, with the Storm due to play the Bats in a game that may decide which team joins the seemingly doomed Dragons.
With only one round of games left in Division 3, the top two teams, Enforcers and Hurricanes, are tied with a 10-4 record. Luckily, they are scheduled to play each other in the last game, which will decide the destination of the title. The Blu Gnus, with a 9-5 record, have also had a very successful season. At the bottom, the Hackers have already been relegated and will be joined by either Drizzle or Pirates.
Division 4 is the only one where we already know who the winners are, as Camels II wrapped up the title with a couple of weeks to spare. Behind them, the Wildcats are favourites to take the second promotion spot in their debut season. Another team in their first season, Mayhem II, are likely to finish third.
This season, the teams in Divisions 3 and 4, plus three guest teams, are also competing in a Cup competition on alternate weeks in July and August. The Cup has now reached the semi-final stage with Hurricanes, Drizzle, Wildcats and Dragons still in with a shot at the trophy.
And finally, the weekend of 3-4 August saw a great turnout to the annual Manchester Tournament, so a big thank you to the teams who came from all over the country and to everyone else who helped to make it run smoothly.