Results 2008
I feel that 2008 is going to be a great year for the Beachcombers.
How great? Find out here (most recent results first).
2008-09-23
Season Ends With A Trophy
Last weekend saw the last outdoor tournament of 2008 being held at the Southampton University grounds.
The Solent Last ball is a great way to end the season, and the Beachcombers were out in force with nearly 20 players putting on their orange shirts for one last time.
After a slow start on Saturday, we turned on the pressure on Sunday to go undefeated and win the Plate competition.
Another huge monstrosity of a trophy for our cabinet!
A big congratulations to everyone!
The webmaster is now on holiday for 2 weeks, but after that look out for information about the indoor season practices and one-to-one coaching we are planning.
One last thing: our End Of Season Party has been set for October 11th. Check your email for details!
2008-09-14
Whoops! Beachcombers Get Beaten
The Beachcombers played their last league game of 2008 today at Preston Park against the Dodgers.
We built an early 8-4 lead by the second inning, but the Dodgers came back at us and won the game by 13-10.
What does that mean for our league standings? No idea. I'm sure the Solent League will announce the final league results soon!
And a few thanks: many thanks to the Dodgers for taking our field-booking problems in their stride and waiting for a late game start. Thanks to Ben for captaining, and thanks to Phil for his first outing as an umpire (easy money!).
2008-09-08
Softball Washout Weekend
The following is Martin's opinion about the events surrounding this year's cancelled C Nationals. It does not necessarily represent the view of any other Beachcomber members or of the club itself.
It has been edited following feedback from the organisers of the tournament.
You may have already heard that the C Nationals were cancelled last weekend because of the severe weather.
The decision was made after inspecting the Keele University fields on Saturday morning: all C-grade competition was cancelled and a reduced B-grade competition was held.
It is very disappointing for the Beachcombers after all the hard work that had gone into preparing a team that stood a great chance of winning it and was one of the best Brighton squads in recent memory.
I would like to make two comments about the way events unfolded:
- Firstly, I want to thank and congratulate all the players in the team who made the effort to prepare for this tournament, including many a windy and soggy evening down the park and all the organisational difficulties that go with herding a bunch of Brightonians. I was very impressed at how you were willing to travel all the way to Keele on the Friday despite the uncertainty about the weather, and at how well you all dealt with the blow of not being able to take the field. You make me very proud.
- Secondly, I am very disappointed with the way in which the tournament cancellation was handled. It seemed obvious to me that the fields were going to be unusable based on the clear and consistent forecast for persistent heavy rain coming up to the tournament. And yet they allowed 200 recreational softballers to travel all the way to Keele before stepping out to the field on Saturday morning and acknowledging that the fields were unplayable.
Once the Nationals were cancelled many of our players wanted to play at the Vampire Batters' tournament in Leigh, Surrey, instead.
The Vampires were out on the field the day before their tournament to mark and check the fields, and made the wise decision to cancel the tournament.
So, not the best weekend for softball, but it does focus the mind on the upcoming games: the season is coming to an end, so make sure you come out and play before it's all over for another year!
The Solent Last Ball, on September 20th-21st, is a great tournament held at Southampton University, the great venue that saw the Beachcombers lift the Euroball trophy back in July. Let us know if you want to play!
I believe there may be a couple of Solent League catch-up games coming up too, more details as and when they're ready.
Martin.
2008-08-13
Solent Solidarity
Despite a the lack of teams able to attend Midball 08, Waterhall playing fields saw an army of softballers brave the ominous weather and impressive gale force winds.
It's been a rare opportunity this year to have the Portsmouth-based teams on our turf, so coach Martin put us all through a vigorous training regime to show that the Beachcombers play hard.
The first half of the day was spent on throwing and batting drills. Fielders were put through their paces with a combination of ground and flyballs, unforgivingly launched by Martin. Batters had a chance to refine their technique under the watchful eyes of Wendy.
The day was rounded-off with a game that produced some impressive homeruns and skillfull pitching in the relentless wind.
Many thanks to all who volunteered and to all who attended, especially those who made the effort to come from Portsmouth.
And a special hello to Jared and Vicky who put their bodies on the line for softball, broken finger included!
2008-08-07
Beachcombers Battle It Out In Portsmouth
Despite the post-Pride headache and grim weather we trooped down to Portsmouth on Sunday 3rd to battle it out on Tangiers Field.
Game 1 against the 2007 league winners the Dodgers, was always going to be a tough match whatever we got up to the night before. After what can only be described as sleepy batting in the first inning it was as if someone had wired us into the mains, our bats were on fire! Bit hitting and big outs, this was nail-biting stuff. Great hitting by all and some great plays by both the in-field and out-field meant that we were up until the 5th inning. Sadly, fielder errors gave away too many runs and the final score was 23:17 to the Dodgers.
Game 2 against the previous week's losers the Killer Whales was a grudge match. Our bats were still burning and we held a comfortable, but not complacent lead throughout this match. The classic Beachcomber syndrome of taking it easy in good times did not appear and our base running was aggressive, our hitting was strong and our fielding was bold, with the in-field going for those double-plays wherever they arose. The Whales fought hard with some truly enormous home runs that cleared the boundary fence, but our lead was such that they were never able to recover. Final score: 33:18 to the Beachcombers.
Well-played to all and thank you for making the journey and playing in miserable conditions after a long night. Well done to our home-runners Scott and J-Rod, aka Jarod. Thank you to Phil and Scott for some awesome pitching in gale-like conditions and well done to Becky and Sarah for getting 3 base hits. Thanks also goes to Owen, who came along for the ride, for taking the role of scorer and line-up caller. A final thank you and goodbye goes to our recent graduate Alex, who is heading back to Budapest this week. Perhaps he'll head back to Blighty for an internship in London and we'll see him on the softball field again.
2008-07-29
Beachcombers Battle For Victory At League Games
Well done and thanks to all who played and came to watch on Sunday 27th for not only surviving the heat, sun and our longest game ever, but for the spectacular wins. We beat the Mets by an impressive 24-8. Thank you to Martin for umpiring and well done to Tabetha for getting her first home run.
We knew our 2nd game against the Killer Whales was going to be a hard slog, but little did we know we'd be there for 2.5 hours in the midday sun! Well done (and apologies) to our umpires Ben and John for enduring the heat and pressure, and a huge congratulations to the team for not crumbling when faced with such a strong opponent. The game was tied for at least three innings and in the 7th inning our victory depended on us getting at 4 runs to win. We're proud to say that the Beachcombers rose to the challenge to score 6 runs, winning the game. We're playing the Killer Whales again on Sunday 3rd August, so if you want a piece of the action please let us know.
2008-07-29
Windsor Woes? Not Quite But Close
Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th July saw the biggest softball tournament in Europe take place just outside of Windsor.
52 A, B and C grade UK teams were there to show off their softball prowess and enjoying sunshine and one of the most anticipated events on the UK softball calendar.
The Beachcombers brought 12 players on each day and played good solid softball with some successes.
The results for Saturday were 2 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw and on Sunday 1 win and 3 losses. Overthrows, chasing runs, not calling for the ball and the occasional spate of bad batting led to our losses, all of which are classic softball mistakes that occur and all levels.
Tournament-wise, the sheer number of sweaty softball players caused the showers to stop flowing, nearly causing a riot and lots of grumpy and slightly smelly softballers. Thank God for the invention of the shower-in-a-can and private port-a-loos!
Despite the slightly disappointing result there were some definite highs of the tournament that need to mentioned: home runs by Warren, Ben Scott and Phil, a whopping 3 base hit by Liz, Becky causing chaos in the Knick’s outfield after hitting a whopper over their heads, smooth double-plays by Pete, Ben and Amy and last but not least, one of our newest players Tor getting around the bases for the first time. Well done lady!
Thank you to all Beachcombers who came, and special thanks go to Scott and Ben for sterling captaining and our new players, Tor, Chris, Nial and Tabetha for playing too. Last but not least, Pete’s performance can only be due to the return of those denim shorts. What more can we say?!
2008-07-14
What's occurring? Winning Euroball, that's what!
All the hard work at our Wednesday night practices paid off when the Brighton Beachcombers beat the Ascot Blues (12-6) to win the recreational division cup in the first ever Euroball softball tournament in Eastleigh on Sunday 13 July.
Sophie, Martin, Steve, Ben, Pete, John, Becky, Emma, Liz and Wendy.
The Blues put up a solid fight in the final but could not match the power of the Beachcombers' batting, nor break the team's defensive composure.
Easy money.
Team captain Ben Taylor led from the front with a lead-off homer in the first inning. As the game progressed, the Beachcombers continued to put runs on the board while holding back any Blues counter-attack.
Ascot had some big hitters, but their efforts to reach the outfield fence fell with spirit-crushing regularity into the gloves of Californian outfielders Elizabeth Kouklades, Wendy Maples and John Stokdyk.
In the top of the fifth inning, Pete Beaumont blasted a steepling drive to left field. The westerly wind prevented a spectacular home run, but his 274ft double crowned a majestic team effort.
Ben holding the trophy. A happy chap.
The Beachcombers went into the two-day tournament without our usual starting pitcher, Scott Muir. Not the best preparation for such a prestigious event, but Martin Digon, Ben Taylor and Becky Taylor all pitched in as the Beachcombers cruised unbeaten through the Saturday group games. The only blemish on proceedings was an error-strewn loss on Sunday morning to the Manchester Thundercats, but solid batting and an 18-8 crushing of the Zambesi Warriors saw the Beachcombers win the Sunday group on run difference.
Local rivals the Hursley Hurricanes were beaten in the Cup semi-final to set up a return match against the Ascot Blues, who were beaten 10-9 the previous day. Having won the semi-final, team coach Martin Digon was selected to pitch in the final and had a flawless game to set the tone for our Euroball triumph.
Let's see that trophy once more:
Oh, and Team GB won the European Slowpitch Championship 2008. Or something.
2008-06-23
Looking Good In The League, When We Get To Play!
After a traumatic week of a cancelled game, a possible lack of opposition players and some gale-like conditions, we're pleased to say that the Beachcombers effortlessly and convincingly beat the Hursley Hurricanes 25:9 on their home turf.
Our new female players for the season Julia, Helen and our newest arrival from Arizona, Tabetha, shone and played like they'd been part of the team for years. Scott, our expert pitcher, wasn't fazed by the relentless wind powering across Tangiers Field, and used it to his advantage to confuse his prey. Our strong batting and endless stream of home runs put us in the lead very quickly. Our fielding, especially the fly-ball catches and in-field plays, would have made our Coach weep with pride.
Sadly we only got the chance to beat one team as the Solent Sluggers weren't able to get a team together for the day. Oh well...looks like we'll have to save that beating for another day!
Well done everyone! This was a performance to be very proud of. A special thanks and congratulations goes to Ben on his captaining debut.
Warren, Amy, Jeff, Sarah, Ben, Becky, Phil, Helen, Julia and Tabetha.
Next game: Beachcombers Vs Beachcombers at the TakePart Festival of Sport this Saturday 28th!
2008-06-08
League games in Brighton cancelled.
Unfortunately, both the Dodgers and the Shafters had to pull out of the league fixtures on Sunday 8th (scared, huh?); nevertheless, the Beachcombers went out to the field on Preston Park and played a friendly game, featuring the appearance of team Hall-Of-Famer Annika!
2008-05-19
The Solent League has begun.
The Beachcombers started off ther 2008 league campaign with a win and a loss in Portsmouth on Sunday.
Check out the league dates now on the Calendar and let Sarah know your availability so you can help us win this year!
PS: You'll notice I haven't been updating the site much lately... been busy! But stay tuned for a new and improved site with lots of extra goodies.
2008-01-06
Beachcombers Come Oh So Close In Portsmouth
Ah, the first tournament of 2008, and also the only indoor tournament on our calendar.
8 slightly lethargic Beachcombers drove over to the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth to compete in the Tom Prince Indoor Softball Tournament, in aid of the Tom Prince Cancer Trust.
Sarah, Sam, Emma, Liz, John, Martin, Scott and Jacob.
The tournament organisers were kind enough to give us a late start at 10:00, but unkind enough to make our first game against the already-warm favourites, the Mariners.
We lost that game by a narrow margin and won all the others, but unfortunately that wasn't enough to get us through to the final.
We won our 2nd place playoff though, so we have our first piece of silverware of 2008:
Tom Prince Tournament 2008: 2nd Place!
(You may wonder how we can finish 2nd without playing in the final... but we're not going to argue.)
The highlights of the tournament were: having our newest recruit, Jacob, turn up and show us what some youth and reflexes can do; and the fact that everyone in the team scored at least one home run!
Unfortunately we have to mention the lowlight too, which was Sam's behaviour that earned her a 1 minute penalty in the naughty corner. I wish I could remember why!
Lastly, thanks to the player, whose name I didn't catch, who took our team photos, praised our website and tried his best to get me to fulfill my New Year's resolution of learning to do handstands. Cheers!
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