The first National Softball League games of the 2014 season were played at Diamond Series 1 at Farnham Park on the weekend of 10-11 May, and while most of the early leaders are as expected, the NSL's new team, Thunder, are sitting in the top four.
In games that counted in the NSL standings and apply towards qualification for the Premier Nationals, Pioneers went undefeated with a 7-0 record and top the first NSL table of the season. Defending National Champions Chromies and Blue Steel, with just one loss each, are right behind them, then come Thunder and last year's runner-up, H2O, with records of 5-2.
Eight of the twelve NSL teams will qualify for the Premier Nationals on 30-31 August, with further NSL competition to come at the second and third Diamond Tournaments and the British Airways Tournament.
Two matches were declared a draw because of a flooded field: Blue Steel v Dragons and Legends v Slammers. These results are not counted as NSL league matches.
Winners
Results from the A-grade playoffs in Diamond 1 (these games do not count in the NSL standings unless the equivalent league match-ups are not played over the season) were:
Cup Semi-Finals
Chromies 14, Thunder 3
Blue Steel 9, Pioneers 4
Cup Final
Chromies 20, Blue Steel 10
Trophy Semi-Finals
H2O beat Slammers
Maniacs 9, Legends 7
Trophy Final
H20 9, Maniacs 7
Plate Semi-Finals
Warriors 11, Dragons 4
Mariners 13, Knights 7
Plate Final
Mariners 18, Warriors 10
Standings
The NSL standings after Diamond 1 are:
| TEAM | W | L | T | RF | RA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 26 |
| Chromies | 6 | 1 | 0 | 84 | 37 |
| Blue Steel | 5 | 1 | 0 | 68 | 41 |
| Thunder | 5 | 2 | 0 | 59 | 39 |
| H2O | 5 | 2 | 0 | 65 | 45 |
| Legends | 3 | 3 | 0 | 64 | 42 |
| Slammers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 76 | 44 |
| Maniacs | 3 | 4 | 0 | 65 | 84 |
| Dragons | 2 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 65 |
| Knights | 1 | 6 | 0 | 43 | 81 |
| Mariners | 0 | 7 | 0 | 49 | 86 |
| Warriors | 0 | 7 | 0 | 24 | 98 |
Results
The full set of results from NSL League matches at Diamond 1, which included a lot of close and exciting games, were as follows:
Saturday
H2O 6, Dragons 4
Chromies 14, Mariners 13
Blue Steel 15, Maniacs 11
Pioneers 6, Slammers 3
Thunder 11, Knights 8
Legends 19, Warriors 3
Blue Steel 5, Chromies 4
H2O 11, Mariners 6
Maniacs 12, Dragons 4
Slammers 19, Warriors 6
Pioneers 14, Knights 3
Thunder 6, Legends 5
Chromies 16, Dragons 4
Blue Steel 16, Mariners 3
H2O 17, Maniacs 6
Pioneers 9, Warriors 1
Legends 18, Knights 8
Thunder 11, Slammers 10
Blue Steel 8, H2O 7
Dragons 11, Mariners 5
Chromies 17, Maniacs 6
Thunder 13, Warriors 1
Pioneers 10, Legends 7
Slammers 17, Knights 5
Chromies 16, H2O 2
Maniacs 19, Mariners 14
Knights 16, Warriors 4
Pioneers 5, Thunder 3
Sunday
Blue Steel 16,Slammers 6
H2O 11, Knights 2
Pioneers 7, Mariners 6
H2O 11, Warriors 3
Legends 10, Blue Steel 9
Thunder 8, Mariners 2
Chromies 6, Knights 1
Dragons 6, Legends 5
Pioneers 10, Maniacs 3
Chromies 11, Warriors 6
Slammers 21, Dragons 1
Maniacs 8, Thunder 7