The BSF’s National Softball League 2 for B-grade teams, which began at the start of this season, now has 11 teams signed up, and the competition for places in the Platinum Nationals became more intense as 10 of the 11 teams competed at Diamond Series 2, played on the weekend of 11-12 June at Farnham Park.
Because the number of teams joining NSL 2 is more than the BSF expected, a decision was made at a recent conference call meeting to increase the number of Platinum Nationals places available through NSL 2 standings from four to six.
With all games played by NSL 2 teams at a wide range of tournaments across the summer counting in the standings, places will eventually be determined by winning percentage, with ties broken by a figure representing the number of wins plus draws.
Manchester in the lead​
So far, nine of the 11 NSL 2 teams have played in both of the first two Diamond Series tournaments, while one team only played at Diamond 2 and one team hasn’t played so far.
The team that only played in Diamond 2, the Outlaws from Manchester, won all five of their pool games at the tournament and so lead the NSL 2 standings with a winning percentage of 1.000. They are followed by their Manchester compatriots, the Dodgers, with a record of 11 wins and a draw from the first two Diamond tournaments and a winning percentage of .917.
Ninos Privados and SPAM occupy third and fourth place, while the KK’s and Misfits are fifth and six and sitting in the final two Platinum Nationals places.
But the Warriors and Bristol Bees “B” are not far behind, and with several tournaments still to go, a lot of teams will move up and down the standings before the merry-go-round finally stops.
The Manchester Mavericks, at the bottom of the table, did not play in either Diamond 1 or Diamond 2.
Standings
Here is how NSL 2 stands after the first two tournaments of the season:
| TEAMS | WON | LOST | DRAWN | WIN % | W + D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlaws | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 5 |
| Dodgers | 11 | 1 | 0 | .917 | 11 |
| Nino Privados | 9 | 2 | 1 | .792 | 9.5 |
| SPAM | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 8 |
| KK's | 6 | 3 | 3 | .625 | 7.5 |
| Misfits | 6 | 5 | 1 | .542 | 6.5 |
| Warriors | 5 | 6 | 1 | .458 | 5.5 |
| Bees "B" | 4 | 6 | 2 | .417 | 5 |
| Mariners | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 4 |
| Royals | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 4 |
| Mavericks | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |