The outdoor season for Windsor and Maidenhead District Mixed Softball League was officially opened on Saturday 26 April with the annual Windsor First Ball Tournament taking place at Farnham Park near Slough.
The occasional rain shower failed to dampen the spirits of those taking part, with 24 softball teams from across the south of England and Wales playing a total of 54 games to see who would be crowned champion.
The 24 teams initially played round-robins in B-grade and C-grade divisions, but then split into three playoff sections, with teams playing for the Cup, Trophy and Plate.
The final of the Cup competition was played between London Godzillas and the Windsor Knights.
One-sided final
The Knights had only just made it into the final but showed just why they deserved to be there with an exceptional all-round display. Godzillas, on the other hand, failed to show the same level of consistency that had marked their previous performances during the day.
The most bizarre moment of the game came when Knights’ batter Aleš Mravlje, the star of the Slovenian National Team, was intentionally walked to prevent him from hitting a possible home run. As a result, the bases were loaded when Kelvin Harrison stepped to the plate and promptly hit a grand slam! The Berkshire-based team seemed able to score freely throughout, with a strong performance up and down the batting order.
The Knights' batting was more than matched by their fielding, with an outfield that prevented any home runs from the Godzillas and an infield that produced several double plays. The Godzillas could find nothing to match this, and although getting the occasional hit, were unable to turn these into runs.
The result was never in doubt and the final score was 17-3 in favour of the Knights.
Other results
There was disappointment for local teams Chalfont and British Airways, who both failed to to the Cup playoffs.
Maidenhead and Cox Green-based Rattlesnakes got to the Trophy playoffs however, and went head-to-head in the semi-final. Maidenhead took the victory but then narrowly lost to London Blitz in the final.
There was success for the Richings Park Hawks in the Plate Final, as they edged out London Base Invaders by a score of 5-4.
