Manchester Softball League Reports 2011

23/08/11: Hurricanes

The last game of the league season brought us a well deserved win. We were defensively solid all the way through but half way through the 3rd we were 4-0 down as we weren't hitting at all. Fortunately that didn't last, 6 runs in the 3rd and 7 in the 4th gave us a commanding lead that never really came under threat. In the field James made some nice plays at 3rd, Michelle was solid at first, Martyn fielded his position well and Sarah looked promising at 2nd.

With the bat Ed hit his first league home run and went 4 for 5, James went 4 for 4, Alex 4 for 5 and Martyn and Aimee went 3 for 4. Alex and James also found the time to do a bit of dancing as both tried to catch the same pop up with Alex winning out in the end.

Hurricanes	0	1	3	0	0	0	2	6
Tigers	0	0	6	7	0	4	X	15

MVP (M) James MVP (F) Michelle

16/08/11: Mayhem

We were down to the bare bones this week but played with a lot more energy than we had the week before and made a real fight of it before going down to a solid Mayhem side. Michelle and Alex led the way, each going 4 for 5 with Karen D and James close behind as each went 3 for 4.

Defensively we looked frail and that cost us in the end as we were unable to hold on to big lead we had half way through the 3rd, but Sharon deserves a mention for some solid work at first that didn't always get the reward it deserved.

Tigers	5	0	7	1	0	0	0	13
Mayhem	2	2	7	1	2	1	X	15

MVP (M): Alex MVP (F): Michelle

09/08/11: Enforcers

We started brightly this week but it didn't take long for fatigue to kick in following on our impressive exploits at the Manchester tournament last weekend. As soon as the Enforcers put pressure on us we fell away badly and they won at a canter.

Sam showed his experience and class by both pitching and hitting well. Martyn hit a home run and tried hard all the way through the game. Ellie showed a lot of guts by staying on the field after taking a ball to the face, took a good catch and hit the ball hard without any success. Ed also hit the ball hard and Sharon played well on first.

Enforcers	0	0	1	8	1	5	0	15
Tigers	3	0	0	0	1	1	0	05

MVP (M): Sam MVP (F): Ellie

02/08/11: Dragons

For the first 2nd week on the trot we were outclassed, this time by an impressive Dragons side who judged purely by their league performances against us should be in Division 1 !

In the field Sam took a couple of excellent catches in the outfield before moving in to shore things up in the infield and Martyn despite the scoreline pitched a fine game.

On the hitting side Michelle was the hero going 3 for 3, whilst Richard went 3 for 4 with a triple.

Dragons	1	2	3	4	9	4	23
Tigers	0	2	0	2	1	0	05

MVP (M): Sam MVP (F): Ellie

26/07/11: Meerkats

For the first 3 innings we looked second best but we kept it fairly tight, then the roof fell in. The Meerkats played really well, we just couldn't get anybody out and a few heads dropped. On the hitting side things weren't too bad, James and Martyn went 3 for 3, Sam went 3 for 4, Michelle 2 for 3 and Richard hit a home run. Defensive highlights were Michelle's performance on 1 and a gutsy display by Ellie on 2.

Tigers	2	1	1	2	1	07
Meerkats	3	3	3	14	X	23

MVP (M): Martyn MVP (F): Michelle

19/07/11: Hurricanes

An efficient performance that gave us a well deserved win. There were lots of impressive performances. Martyn pitched a good game and hit a home run. Michelle was excellent at first. Sharon went 5 for 5, Alex 4 for 4 with 1 homer and Sam even better, 5 for 5 with 2 homers. Karen D went 3 for 4 and hit the ball hard, James also hit hard but with no luck.

Hurricanes	0	0	0	1	4	0	1	06
Tigers	2	3	2	2	3	6	X	18

MVP (M): Sam MVP (F): Michelle

12/07/11: Drizzle

One bad innings proved the difference in this game. We played well defensively for six innings out of seven but didn't score enough runs to survive the bad innings. Sam made an impressive debut at short stop whilst also going 3 for 3 at bat. Alex went 2 for 3 with a home run. Kate took a cracking catch in the outfield to take away a likely homer from Griff.

Our run of bad luck with injuries continued with Ed having to pay a visit to A&E. Many thanks to Michelle for taking him both there and then to home.

Tigers	3	0	1	2	1	0	0	07
Drizzle	0	0	9	0	1	2	X	12

MVP (M): Sam MVP (F): Kate

05/07/11: Camels II

We started well this week with a 4 run 1st innings and a 6 - 1 lead after 4 innings but we couldn't build on the lead, and then when the Camels put their big guns into the game in the 5th we couldn't hold it either. The Camels hit the ball well but it was our fielding blunders that gave them the base runners for their big hitters to drive in.

On the plus side Sam pitched a good game, and he and Dave both went 3 for 3 at the plate. Kate hit the ball hard and Karen G. did the same but with less luck. Richard hit an enormous home run to left field.

Camels II	1	0	0	0	5	4	3	13
Tigers	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	6

MVP (M): Sam MVP (F): Michelle

28/06/11: Armadillos

The Armadillos gave us some lessons in aggressive base running in this game, and we struggled to cope at times, but fortunately we scored much more freely than we have done over the last few weeks with contributions up and down the order.

In the field it was a largely forgetable performance, though Martyn pitched well again whilst Dave caught lots of balls he couldn't actually see at first and also claimed a couple of important tags including the last out of the game.

It was a different tales with the bats, Sam and Martyn both went 4 for 4, with Steve, Sian, Kate, Michelle and Adam all 3 for 4, contributing to an 18 run total that was our highest for 7 games.

A special mention for Sara who took a nasty blow to the head at catcher when a foul tip span back and hit her, get well soon !

Armadillos	1	0	0	3	7	1	4	16
Tigers	5	0	1	7	0	5	X	18

MVP (M): Adam MVP (F): Sain

21/06/11: Hurricanes W.11-9 (8)

Plenty of defensive gems this week, plus some excellent pitching from Sam, which together proved just enough to get us the win. Ellie came up with a fine debut performance on 2nd, Sian showed good style at short and Martyn at 3rd got some fine outs, especially in the second half of the game, attacking the ball and slinging it across the diamond in fine style.

After starting well with the bats they went to sleep in the 2nd half of the game, but there were signs of improvement to come even when we weren't putting runs on the board. We hit the ball hard with little luck, Sharon and Kate in particular could feel a little miffed that their best blows went for nothing and there were other signs of improvement up and down the line up.

For all our good defensive play it's hard to win when scoring only 7 runs and a couple of bad bounces combined with a big hit or two contributed to a 4 run bottom of the 7th for the Hurricanes which put us into extra innings. Fortunately the bats came alive just in time and we regained a 4 run lead which this time was enough to get us the win despite a 2 run homer from the Hurricanes linked GB player (Zak).

Tigers	2	4	1	0	0	0	0	4	11
Hurricanes	0	2	0	0	1	0	4	2	9

MVP (M): Sam MVP (F): Ellie

14/06/11: Blue Sox: L 7-11

Another anaemic batting performance allied to some fielding blunders on our part gave the Blue Sox a well deserved win. In the top of the 1st we gifted them 4 runs, but in the bottom of the innings we scored 5 to claim a one run lead. Unfortunately our bats went quiet after that, we didn't score again until the 6th by which time the game was gone. We did stay ahead until the 4th, but then some good hitting on their part, helped by a couple of fielding errors, gave them a lead they never looked like losing.

There were some bright spots amidst the gloom, Kate hit the ball hard, Sharon and Michelle recorded some pressure outs at 1st and 2nd respectively, Karen took a good catch in the outfield, Martyn snared a line drive over his head and Alex made an excellent take moving across behind 3rd. Emma won the purple heart for rising from her sick bed and playing when she perhaps shouldn't have.

Ironically it was a good evening in other ways, the other results mean that we'll definitely be in the top half of the table when the division splits in a couple of weeks time.

Blue Sox	4	0	0	4	1	1	1	11
Tigers	5	0	0	0	0	2	0	7

MVP (M): Martyn MVP (F): Sharon

07/06/11: Enforcers: W 15-3

Another slow burner, and tight in the first half with us only 4-3 in the lead after 4 innings, but we did eventually start batting and pulled away to what was in the end a comfortable win.

Batting heroes were Sian, who hit her first home run as well as going 4 for 4, and Richard who hit two home runs and a triple.

We looked good in the field from start to finish, a couple of mis-plays along the way, but we more than made up for them with some nifty glove work all round the diamond. A special mention for James who made a series of fine grabs in the outfield.

Tigers	3	0	0	1	3	2	6	15
Enforcers	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	3

MVP (M): Richard MVP (F): Sian

31/05/11: Meerkats: W 10-9

Another flat start, but this week we paced it just right scoring 4 in the 6th and 3 in the 7th to peg back a 6 run Meerkats lead and sneak the win. The wind and the sun combined to make it a low scoring game and that helped us to stay in touch.

Sam was the main architect of victory with a virtuoso pitching performance that kept us in touch all the way through the game. He also went 4 for 4 at the plate and drove in the winning runs in the bottom of the 7th.

We looked shaky in the field but Michelle played well on 1st and Sian got some good outs at 2nd. Sian went 3 for 3 at the plate as did Richard, including his vital 3 run homer in the 6th that put us back in the game.

Meerkats	1	4	0	0	2	2	0	9
Tigers	1	0	1	1	0	4	3	10

MVP (M): Sam MVP (F): Sian

24/05/11: Dragons: L 9-20

Back to earth with a bump this week against a strong Dragons team whose performance suggested that they were perhaps a bit unlucky to get relegated last season. Injuries didn't help, Ed had to come out after the 4th with a bad leg injury and Richard suffered a broken finger that confined him to DH duties for the 2nd half of the game but the injuries were not the reason for our defeat.

We were flat from the get go, never really looked like winning and our rookie status was plain to see at times with some naïve defensive play that gift the Dragons bases and runs. A spirited rally in the 5th showed that we could still bat and there was no lack of effort at any time during the game, but we were always second best.

Sam, Sian and Karen G. were the best at the plate, all going 3 for 4 and Steve took an excellent catch in the outfield whilst going 2 for 3 with the bat. Last but not least Kate made a belated but welcome league debut, hitting the ball hard and backing up well in the outfield.

Tigers	0	1	0	1	5	0	1	9
Dragons	4	4	0	8	0	0	2	19

MVP (M): Steve MVP (F): Sian

10/05/11: Drizzle: W 10-6

A bit of a different feel to tonight's game with defences well on top for the most part. We scored 8 runs in the first two innings and that gave us the cushion we needed as tight defence took us through the rest of the game. We shut Drizzle out for 4 of the 7 innings, including wriggling free unscathed when they had the bases loaded with one out. No home runs this week but best at the plate were Sian (4 for 4) Karen G. and Dave (both 3 for 3). A special word for Michelle and Ed who made their league debuts. Sam pitched a fine game, Sharon was good again on first and Richard took some good catches in left, we also got a couple of nice tag plays on balls returned from the outfield.

Drizzle	2	0	2	0	0	0	2	6
Tigers	5	3	0	0	1	1	X	10

MVP (M): Sam MVP (F): Sian

03/05/11: Space Cadets: W 22-7

Another good team performance. We shot out into a strong early lead that we never looked like losing and rolled on to a comfortable win. Batting stand outs where Alex with his first home run on his return from injury and Martyn who topped that with two. Sian went 5 for 5 at the plate and Sam, Richard and Karen G. were close behind going 4 for 5. We were defensively sound throughout the game, Martyn pitched well again, and the whole infield looked impressive.

Tigers	7	5	0	2	4	0	4	22
Space Cadets	0	1	4	0	0	0	2	7

MVP (M): Martyn MVP (F): Sian

26/04/11: Mayhem: W 18-6

A good solid team performance with both bats and gloves that got us a first league win. Batting hero was Richard, going 4 for 4 with 2 Home Runs. Steve was also perfect at the plate and Karen G would have been but for a stunning catch that robbed her of her fourth hit. Sam pitched an excellent game, changing speed, height and location in a way that baffled the Mayhem batters. Sian put in another excellent performance at short stop and Sharon surprised herself, but no one, else by producing an accomplished display at first. Martyn and Richard also shone in the field. Everyone else also contributed, and perhaps the biggest thing was that we didn't get rattled on those occasions when the opposition did get runners on base, we continued to work together as a team, doing the basics well and getting the outs.

Mayhem	1	1	1	0	1	0	2	6
Tigers	2	0	7	5	0	4	X	18

MVP (M): Richard MVP (F): Sian

19/04/11: Camels 2: L 10-19

No fairy tale start to the league campaign, but a decent performance against a heavy hitting Camels team. Defensive highlight of the game was the successful run down play between Sian and Richard geting the out between first and second. Martyn also pitched a good game looking every inch the equal of his Division 1 counterpart. There are lots of good things happening with the bats that aren't yet fully reflected on the score sheet but the quality of hitting is improving with each outing and the runs will come in time. All in all a respectable showing and a friendly game played in a sporting spirit.

Tigers	3	2	0	1	0	0	4	10
Camels II	7	1	0	3	5	3	X	19

MVP (M): Martyn MVP (F): Sian