The Winter season in the fifth year of play in the Manchester Indoor Softball League has now concluded, with the Mavs taking the Division 1 title (for the eighth time in 11 Autumn and Winter seasons) while the Division 2 Winter season championship was won by the Tigers.
But the Tigers only narrowly held off the University of Manchester Maelstrom in Division 2. The teams were equal on wins and head-to-head record and the title was decided on runs conceded.
Standings
The final standings in each division were:
DIVISION 1
1 -- Mavs
2 -- Sharks
3 -- Camels
4 -- Mayhem
5 -- Thunder
6 -- Outlaws
7 -- Grippers
8 -- Bats
DIVISION 2
1 -- Tigers
2 -- Maelstrom
3 -- Drizzle
4 -- Basehunters
5 -- Meteors
6 -- Base Invaders
7 -- Stingers
8 -- Rippers
BaseballSoftballUK North West Development Manager Luis Arrevillagas said, “The Indoor League in Manchester was just a concept in my mind seven years ago. People would get in touch in September or October wanting to join a team to play ball after seeing the MLB World Series. But at that time all I could say was ‘I’ll keep your contact and get back to you in the new year’.
“Five years ago, we found the right venue for a league, recruited three amazing captains and the rest is history. We now have 16 teams playing every Tuesday night for 20 weeks from September to March. We also run two very popular Indoor tournaments every autumn and winter, with teams coming from London, Scotland, Leeds, Liverpool and of course Manchester. This year we’re about to run our first Single-Sex Indoor Tournament on 24 March – contact us if you want to enter a team!
“Through this league,” Luis added, “we have been able to create new teams and existing teams have been able to recruit new players for the outdoor season. It’s a fantastic achievement for the region and we thank all the captains and players involved for their support.”
Season summary
Over the Manchester Indoor Winter season, each team played every other team in their division six times, adding up to 336 games over nine weeks.
A total of 636 home runs were hit. Andy Smith from Meteors topped the Division 2 male home run table with 20 and Zoe Le Roux, Manchester Maelstrom captain, hit nine to win the women’s home run trophy.
In Division 1, Gareth Evans and Adam Hugill from the Camels remarkably tied for the top spot, both with 29 home runs to their name. Mayhem captain Martine Knight took the female Division 1 trophy with nine home runs.
Cup competition
Week 10 of the league consisted of Cup games, with Gold, Silver, Bronze and Spoon groups determined from league standings. Each group of four played a round-robin, followed by semi-finals and a final. The results were:
Gold Winner -- Sharks
Silver Winner – Grippers (pictured below)
Bronze Winner – Tigers
Spoon Winner – Base Invaders
BaseballSoftballUK North West Coach Linni Mitchell said, “Indoor softball has grown in popularity incredibly since we set up the league in 2014. We get new faces every week, with existing players bringing down their friends, colleagues and spouses to try it out. We have a great venue and 16 great captains who organise their teams every week – without them this league literally wouldn’t be possible.
“Everyone is looking forward to the outdoor season, but we will be back for the Autumn 2019 season in October to bring people even more rain-less softball!”