by Matthew Waller
The GLSML Firstball for 2013 took place on Saturday 18 May at a surprisingly sunny Riverside Lands in Chiswick with eight fully-fenced pitches, all but one to a distance of 250 to 270 feet. There were three grades of play, with 24 teams entered overall, eight in each grade.
- Red for the First and Second Divisions, roughly A and B Comp.
- White for the Third and Fourth Divisions, roughly B and C Comp.
- Blue for the Fifth and Sixth Divisions, roughly C and D Comp.
Round-robin results
In Red grade, Mescalitos emerged as clear leaders, going 4-0 in the round-robin stage, while Muppets and Beyond Bermuda Guns snapped at their heels on 3-1 and Agents finished fourth on 2-1-1.
In White grade, Dazzlers were unbeaten, Meteors 2 were 3-1, and three teams – Thundercats, MBEs and Tecumsehs – finished on 2-2.
In Blue grade, The Fuzzy Ducks went 4-0, The Mob 3-1 and Loan Wolves, Werewolves and Voodoos finished on 2-2.
Finals
The top four teams from each grade had a chance of making the finals (the remaining teams had placing playoffs). The top team was allowed to choose which of the next three teams they would meet in their semi-final, while the remaining two teams would compete in the other semi-final.
In Red grade, Mescalitos hammered BBG while Agents beat Muppets. Earlier in the day, Mescalitos had beaten Agents comfortably, but in the final previous form was thrown on its head as Agents triumphed 14-9.
In Blue grade, Fuzzy Ducks beat the Werewolves, and The Mob powered past the Loan Wolves. The final took place on the only pitch with home run fences shorter than 250 feet (to allow vehicular access), and Fuzzy Ducks took full advantage. Despite The Mob being an experienced team with some very good players, they had a few injuries, and were blown away 26-1 by the Fuzzy Ducks. The Fuzzy Ducks, last year’s new development team supplemented with the stars of various B-grade Ad League rookie sides, will be competing in White grade at the Lastball!
The pick of the bunch was the White grade final. In the semi-finals, Dazzlers beat MBEs, Meteors 2 beat Thundercats, and then the two winners went at each other hammer and tongs. After two innings, Dazzlers had raced to a 4-1 lead thanks to great batting and even greater defense. This continued for five full innings, after which Dazzlers led 6-2. Then the Meteors 2 worked out what their bats were for, tying the score at 6-6 going into the seventh inning.
The last inning was a nerve-racking affair, as the Dazzlers, succumbing to injuries, didn’t score. The first batter for Meteors 2 led off with a double. Then there was an out. One down, one run needed. Then a (possibly intentional) sacrifice fly deep into right field drove the runner at second around to score the winning run. A great game, and both teams will surely be contesting promotion to Majors 2.
Shurely shome mishtake
Then it was onto the tournament party overlooking the Thames. It was perfect -- until the presentation ceremony.
As the winning teams stepped up and accepted their trophies they noticed the engraving: “Fisrtball 2013”...!