Resplendent in our new Beachcombers shirts which were like by many of the opposition (thanks Phil), the BA tournament last weekend got off to a great start by beating our fellow league team the Itchen Knicks in the first game.

The tournament provided an opportunity for players to try new positions (Warren at 3rd and Shortstop), gain more experience (Phil as Pitcher) and to welcome tournament virgins Serge and Emma.

Despite the forecasted poor weather it was still sunny enough for Amy and Becky to wear their Jackie O sunglasses on Saturday. Whilst the journey to the Concorde Centre near Heathrow on Sunday was a constant downpour, by the time our first match was due to start the rain had stopped. A theme which carried on throughout the day as the rain stopped in sequence with our games whilst non-game time was spent in the pleasant surroundings of the clubhouse as everyone else playing got soaked.

Becky, Sarah and Wendy showed their considerable skills off the field in showing how not to quickly put up the tent to hold our gear. A new pop-up tent was requested by all.

By winning 2 out of 3 of our first games we finished 2nd in our group, we progressed to the silver group along with the other 2nd placed group teams. Obviously, it was going to be tougher and whilst we played some good and improving softball the other teams we too strong for us. Our final game was against the team who had come first in the silver group and who had earlier beaten us. By now fielding partnerships and understanding had developed in the team (even husband and wife) and we rose to the challenge. At the bottom of the last inning The Clapham Thunder were 3 behind with their last chance to score. Unfortunately, despite Steve running all over the outfield making catches, the pressure of the situation and their big hitting meant we gave up the remaining runs but did we give them a big scare and they were mighty relieved.

Wendy won the team female MVP narrowly piping Becky with her 3 votes over 2 days.

Hi Combers,

It's Lee from Manchester Lions.

I'd personally like to thank you guys for coming over to support us in the final this weekend in Slough. It looks like you were supporting the right team as we won it in the end after a nailbiting game.

I look forward to playing with you guys in the future. Like ourselves you seem to have a fun team ethos about you.

Hopefully when we play you next the weather will be better, I'm sure you're not used to weather like that in Brighton!

The Lions are made up that we won the C Comp. Have you seen the size of that trophy!? What made it better is meeting friendly teams like yourselves over the weekend along the way.

A word of advice. Remember your bats next time!

Hopefully see you all soon.

Lee

Hi Beachcombers,

The first tournament of the season kicked off with the Firstball in beautiful warm weather. Leaving Brighton around 8am on Sunday in a fleet of cars, the Beachcombers arrived in good time to warm-up for their first match at 10:15.

The draw had grouped us with The Shafters from Portsmouth Uni, the Southsea Sharks and the Oxford Spirits. The fixtures also meant we would have an additional 2/3 games depending on the knockout phase.

We had 7 men and 6 women players with Tania and Ben new to playing with us and Becky taking on the role of captain for the first time.

We stormed the group stage winning all three games comfortably to top our group, which was no easy feat given the quality of the opposition. As a result, we drew The Sluggers, who had won the league last year, in the Semi-final. After about 3 tight innings we started to pull away with our strong hitting and often inspired fielding all round to progress to the final.

There we met the Itchen Knicks in a full 7 innings final. In a game which both side traded the lead throughout it all came down to the final inning with the score tied at 10-10

Unfortunately, we failed to score a run in the last and had to prevent them from scoring but their big hitters were next up and we could not stop them from taking the trophy.

Nevertheless, our performances throughout the day were excellent and everyone was more than happy with what we had achieved.

Team:Captain Becky, Sarah, Bridget, Wendy, Sabine, Tania, Phil, Matt, John, Mark, Scott, Fran, Ben and scorer Jo

Scott.

Hi Beachcombers,

So the Softball season kicked off with the first Wednesday session. It was an excellent turnout of 30+ players with some returning and several newcomers. I hope it wasn’t too daunting for the new players – it will take a few sessions for it to start to fall into place and you will see a rise in your understanding and enjoyment. Check the simplified Idiot's Guide and always ask us questions either via email or at the weekly sessions. Also you will start to know who is who.

Competitive games are a part of the season and we play in a league (Sundays from June) and in tournaments (Apr-Sept) at Recreational level. If you are interested in taking your softball further than the Wednesday sessions please let us know! Safety is always important so we will make sure you are ready but from what I saw on Wednesday everybody was there or not far off.

Check the calendar for a list of tournaments – we normally take 12 players (6 female & 6 male) for 1-day tournaments and 14 (7&7) for 2-day tournaments. However, if the level of interest is high we can look to enter a 2nd team. Priority will be given to members of the club as they will be registered with BaseballSoftballUK which is required to play in tournaments.

Feedback is always welcomed either positive or negative. Please tell us what you think so we can all get the most fun out of Softball.

Scott.