A unique event in the annals of British baseball and softball had its inception on Sunday, September 23 when Leicestershire met Nottinghamshire in the first “Battle of the Shires” Challenge – a one-day, three-game series consisting of fastpitch softball, baseball and slowpitch softball, with both counties forming co-ed teams in each discipline.
The teams were made up of players from the Nottingham Rebels Baseball and Softball Club, East Midlands Softball League, Leicester Blue Sox Baseball Club, Leicester Royals Softball Club and the Nottingham Fastpitch Softball Club.
Fastpitch
Game 1 was the fastpitch game in which Notts were leading most of the way thanks to some hard throwing from Josh Peat and some great catching from Beth Perkins.
Leicester hung in with some gritty pitching from Giovanni Ciotti, timely hitting from Claire Bunford and a solid overall performance from catcher Dave Burke.
Trailing 5-4, Leicester was patient and scored eight runs in the final inning, putting them in front 12-5. This proved too big a mountain to climb for Notts, giving the Game 1 victory to Leicestershire.
Baseball
Game 2 was the baseball game, which was a tight affair, with experienced pitching proving quite a challenge for many of the new batters.
Solid hitting and pitching by Shannon Henry and hits from Adam Taylor gave the Notts side a 4-1 victory. Michael Hadley threw three solid innings and hit well for Leicester, but it wasn't enough to keep Nottinghamshire from tying the series at one game each.
Slowpitch
This meant that everything hung on Game 3's slowpitch softball affair.
With quality players filling both sides, the game was deadlocked at 4-4 after the final inning. Spencer Barrs and Leanne Plummer were strong for Leicester, with Josh Saunders and Matt Tomlin turning in solid performances for Notts.
Leicester's Michael Hadley, who pitched in his side's losing baseball game, would play hero in the extra inning, lashing a two-RBI single for the game's winning runs.
Exciting day
This ended an exciting day for an event that brought together players from the area's baseball and softball communities to share each other's company and have a go at a different version of their respective sports.
While Leicester took the Battle of the Shires Cup this year, Nottinghamshire will certainly be looking to win it back at next year's event.
Results
Fastpitch Softball:
Leicestershire 12, Nottinghamshire 6
Baseball:
Nottinghamshire 4, Leicestershire 1
Slowpitch Softball:
Leicestershire 6, Nottinghamshire 4
Leicestershire wins the series by 2 games to 1.
Thanks
A big thank you to all who played, and special thanks to Clare and Ian Tomlin for being a big part of the event's umpiring and picnic.
The organisers foresee this becoming a regular fixture, growing even bigger next year with the knowledge that the format works.