The Pavilion Fields at Waterhall are running behind schedule because of the weather, but it’s oh-so-close to being ready! All it needs is a bit of help from Brighton’s ball players, and we’ll be able to play our league games on beautifully flat, dedicated fields!

The infield of the baseball diamond has now been mowed for the first time and it looks amazing. We can have a Softball field of similar quality if we just put some effort in. The grounds staff have moved the whole for the pitching area to the correct position and have marked out the deadball lines so we can start positioning the infield fence.

So, we’re asking for one big push this Sunday, May 20th, from 10:00 onwards. Let’s make it happen, let’s build a softball legacy for this city.

Get on our Facebook page to confirm, arrange lifts, etc!

But they won’t next time…luck always runs out.

BLACK SOX RULE!

Excitement, tempers and nerves were all clearly present from the very beginning (a special mention goes to Ben for shouting and pointing everyone in the direction of his scrotum before the first pitch had even been thrown), and the damp and muddy field was a suitably battlefield-like backdrop for the game.

The first inning provided a snapshot of how the whole game would unfold: the top of the Bright Sox’ batting order went 3-up-3-down in quick succession; the Badgers, loaded up with A- and B-grade players, hit the ball hard but their inning was closed down by a double-play with only 1 run on the board.

For the rest of the game the Brights were only able to string together enough hits to earn themselves 4 runs, with the top 4 batters in the lineup only achieving 2 hits between them.

The Badgers’ experienced players hit the ball hard as expected, but were frequently denied by the Brights’ tidy fielding; a special mention goes to Tracey and Sarah for some crucial outfield catches. It is a testament to the tenacity of the Brights defence that a team largely composed of higher-grade players was only able to score 9 runs in a 7-inning game. How different things could have been if the Brights had turned on their bats!

Moment of the game? Without a doubt, the look on the Badgers’ outfielders’ faces when rookie Rochelle smashed a ball over their heads in the last inning. I bet that felt good.

Final score: Badgers 9 – 4 Bright Sox

Lineups:

Badgers: Ben Taylor, Becky Taylor, Liam Morrison, Hannah Fautley, Sean Wright, Elizabeth Koukladas, Phil Bedford, Elizabeth (Blaggards), Max Williams, Tor Seacombe, Sean Parsons

Brigh Sox: Rachid Nori, Sarah Digon, Chris Gault, Tracey Tarrant, Martin Digon, Wendy Maples, Roger Sharratt, Bridget Slater, Michael Yeoman, Rochelle Enticknap

So the attendees were split into Bright Sox regulars versus an anyone-who-showed-up team. This was undertaken on a park that is slowly turning into a mudbath. So much so that the bases and homeplate had to be shifted about 6ft back and to the left.

The rain came, the rain went, the rain came again and then went again but it didn’t douse the spirits of either Bright Sox captains Roger and Wendy, or Any Sox skipper Thom.

Making the most of the game, we played to six outs and managed to get a fair few innings in under those rules and the weather conditions. Here’s hoping the worst of the weather holds off today for the game as well. Go Bright Sox!

It should be noted that this week was also supposed to the first game for the new Odd Sox team but Hove Tuesday called off the game due to line-up troubles. That game will be re-arranged for another day, perhaps.

Pub of choice this week was the Open House who don’t serve as good a burger as The World’s End but do do a nice fish’n'chips so it’s not all bad.

In Other News

Games coming up over the next few Days

Always check the calendar but games of note coming up,

Thursday 10th May (PRESTON PARK – TODAY at 18:45!) – Infamous Honey Badgers (H) vs Bright Sox
Tuesday 15th May (venue TBC)- Hove Tuesday (H) vs Black Sox
Thursday 17th May (venue TBC) – Odd Sox (H) vs Blaggards

Showing no concern for the cold and wind, the Bright Sox came out hitting, scoring 11 runs in the first 2 innings with home team Black Sox struggling to score 2. When the Brights added a further 4 runs in the top of 3, it was all looking as bleak as the weather for the Blacks; captain Steve Lyons must have said something inspirational to his squad though, because the Blacks turned on the heat and 7 of their batters scored back-to-back in the bottom of 3.

The Brights continued to pound the ball through the Blacks’ field in the top of 4, with 6 more runs on the board. This time the Blacks could not respond in kind and were trailing by 21-9 by the end of the 4th inning.

Another 7 runs in the top of 5 meant that the Blacks went into the bottom of the inning having to score 4 runs just to stay in the game and avoid the “15 run difference after 5 innings” mercy rule. Could they find a way? The Bright Sox infield chose to show its only weaknesses of the game at this point, with errors by Martin Digon and Roger Sharratt, followed by a walk by pitcher Rachid Nori, allowing the Blacks to score 5 runs to stay alive. Game on.

The Brights continued to string hits together in the 6th, with 6 runs scored and no reply from the Blacks.  The home team conceded a further 3 runs in the top of 7, and their single run in the bottom of 7 hardly made a dent in the massive 23 run deficit they were trying to overcome.

What a thriller! Final score: Black Sox 15 – 37 Bright Sox

The game felt closer than the score may suggest, and it demonstrated the importance of a well-thought-out batting line-up that hits consistently through the innings. The Bright Sox scored at least 3 runs per inning, and the top half of their batting order alone raked in a massive 28 runs. The Black Sox showed a lot of spunk in the 3rd and the 5th innings, but could not keep it up and didn’t score for 3 out of the 7 innings.

Special mentions go to Phil Watts and Johnny Burbridge for stepping up from the Odd Sox and putting in some great batting and fielding performances while still trying to learn the rules, and to Jazz Dhaliwal for smashing the ball over the Bright Sox outfield to fire up her team’s 7-run rally.

Bright Sox victorious

Line-ups

Bright Sox: Johnny Burbridge, Martin Digon, Sarah Digon, Chris Gault, Emma McCrea, Rachid Nori, Roger Sharratt (co-captain), Tracey Tarrant, Wendy Maples (co-captain), Phil Watts

Black Sox: Nic Bowker, Paul Eustice, Scott Muir, Steve Lyons (captain), Simon Elliott, Thom Hill, Amy Holtz, Jazz Dhaliwal, Jenny Diplock, Julia Kidd

With the BHSL season starting on Sunday, the team coaches saw this week’s training session as a practice for both the Black Sox and Bright Sox teams – who will be playing each other on Sunday afternoon – and a chance for the respective captains to organise their teams with a full game practice.

Short of a few players on each side, the Odd Sox players filled out the line-ups, rotating to various positions.

For some of the Beachcombers, this was the first experience of an extended, competitive game – not the more easy-going short game sessions of the past few weeks. For other, more seasoned veterans, the game was a chance to find consistency and work out some of those kinks in their swing and throw.

In total we got seven innings out of the evening. Some great hits (including more than a couple of inside-the-park home runs), great base-running and sharp fielding was juxtaposed against some frustrating strike-outs, ignored base coaches (won’t happen again, Chris) and moments of defensive confusion on both sides.

A great and close game until the last inning when the Black Sox opened up a five run lead that the Brights were unable to claw back. We’re sure the official repeat of this game on Sunday afternoon is going to be even more tense as both teams look to start their season with the win.

Pub of the week was the World’s End and the culinary action film that is the BBQ Shack.

In Other News

Start of the Season
As mentioned, the BHSL season starts this weekend. On Sunday 6th May at 2pm the Bright Sox team will face the Black Sox team. The venue has now been confirmed as Preston Park. A couple of Odd Sox have been drafted in to help both teams, and everyone is welcome to come along to cheer your softball mates along.

Pitch ‘n Fit (No Boys Allowed)
The beachcombers have organised a couple of women-only training sessions in May. Check the Pitch’n'Fit page for more information.

Because we are entering 3 teams into the league, we are going to struggle for players and our teams will have to borrow players from eachother occasionally. In particular, players from the Odd Sox (our development team) will be asked to play up in the Bright Sox or Black Sox where possible. Plenty of gametime for everyone!

Our calendar contains the latest draft league schedule; it should be finalised soon with maybe one or two changes from what you can see there.

What we do know for sure is that the league will start with 2 games being played at the new Waterhall fields on Sunday, 6th May. Defending champions Hove Tuesday will be playing against new team Honey Badgers, and then the Bright Sox will be playing against the Black Sox, with both teams probably borrowing players from the Odd Sox; the Beachcombers are going to be out there in force! Put it in your diary and await instructions from your captains!

http://www.raintoday.co.uk

Unfortunately, for the rest of us, said info was imparted after we’d all turned up to practice thinking that the dry weather would hold out.

After a brief batting practice session, teams were chosen for a game but captain Roger Sharatt hadn’t even decided his batting order for the opening inning before the heavens opened. A hasty retreat to the pub followed.

Still, the enthusiasm cannot be faulted.

Next week for sure, peeps!

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