A game of two halves, a game where we made rather too many mistakes but also a game were giving everyone some playing time was definitely a higher priority than chasing the win. League season over we then retired to the pub to celebrate promotion and a very successful first year.
Batting leader was Steve who went 3 for 3, best of the rest were Dave and female leader Rachael who went 2 for 3. In the field TK made some nice plays at home, Dave chalked up a few strike outs, Rachael made an exciting catch in the outfield and Harry made a nice grab running back at short stop.
Enforcers
2
0
0
9
0
1
11
21
Tiggers
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
Enforcers chose to bat first.
MVPs
Base Invaders
After a truly awful start in this game we fought back really well and even though we didn't claim the win we finished the game with heads held high. 12-3 down after 2 innings we tightened up in the field and started to hit with purpose in the second half of the game and really made the Base Invaders fight to the end.
OBP leaders were Steve and Lynsey who each went 5 for 5, Oli, James and Dave (all 4 for 5) were close behind. James was our sole Home Run hero with a 2 run shot in the 7th.
Dave pitched well. Other fielding stand outs included Lynsey, who recovered from a shaky start to put in a really fine performance at 1st, Harry who similarly got better and better at 3rd and Oli who made some nice outs at short stop.
Special mention for Aiden who did a fine job scoring and never complained on nearly but not quite getting some game time on more than one occasion as the evening unfolded.
Tiggers
3
0
4
1
2
7
4
21
Invaders
6
7
3
1
1
5
X
23
MVPs
Bandidos
A good win against Bandidos side missing a few of their regulars. Traffic chaos in South Manchester meant we only had a legal team on the pitch at 6.59 but things calmed down after that early panic and we put in a fine performance to claim the win.
OBP leader was Harry who went 4 for 4 (1000), Sandra was the female leader going 3 for 4 (750). Guest Matty pitched a good game, Becky made a couple of nice catches on pop ups behind home plate, Lynsey put in a good performance on 1st, Mikala did well on 2nd and Harry made some nice plays at 3rd. James and Oli shared the short stop role and both did a good job. All the outfield worked hard and helped keep the opposition's scoring under control by getting the ball back into the infield with impressive speed and regularity.
Bandidos
1
0
1
1
3
0
3
9
Tiggers
2
0
4
5
0
2
X
13
MVPs
Freeze
We started brightly but lost our way somewhat in the 2nd half of the game, sunstroke perhaps? it was very hot. We made a few errors in the field and the runs dried up in the last 5 innings BUT we still did also do a lot of good stuff in the field and we kept the game tight throughout. We were also a bit unlucky with the bounce of the ball at times, which never helps in a close game.
James led the way at the plate, batting 1000 (4 for 4) whilst also adding his weekly Home Run. Best of the rest, and leading the way for the women was Lynsey who went 3 for 4, carrying the good form she's shown at practice into the league. In the field Dave pitched a good game, Harry was excellent on 3rd and Sandra did a lot of good work on 2nd. Steve and Oli came down to base coach on their night off, Jackie came down and did the scoring - team players!
Freeze
0
0
3
1
3
5
1
13
Tiggers
4
3
1
1
0
0
2
11
MVPs
Stingers
A close fought game against an impressive Stingers team, the runs dried up in the 2nd half of the game after a frisky start that left the teams tied 8 all after 3 innings but we then crawled slowly ahead into a lead that was just large enough to give us the win.
James and Mikala were the OBP leaders, each going 4 for 4. James was also our Home Run hero with his weekly four-bagger. Dave pitched a good game. Steve and Oli made some nice plays at third and shortstop and everyone else did good work as we kept the Stingers to just the 1 run in the last 4 innings of the game.
Tiggers
2
1
5
1
0
1
1
11
Stingers
1
5
2
0
0
0
1
9
MVPs
Blue Jays
A good win in the sun on the new pitch 8 with its unblemished batting boxes. Matty pitched well. Oli was good at short, Harry showed up well at 3rd. Sandra was excellent again on 2nd. Mikala did her normal good job at 1st and the outfield didn't get much chance to shine as we shut the blue jays down for most of the game.
Home Run heroes were James, Craig and Matty with 1 apiece. Lynsey hit really well with Rachael not far behind. Harry's batting continues to improve with each game he plays. Male OBP leaders were James and Matty, each going 4 for 4, Lynsey led the way for the women batting 3 for 4.
Thanks to Craig and Matty for helping us in our hour of need. Hopefully we will have a few bodies back off the DL by next week.
Blue Jays
1
0
0
1
0
2
Tiggers
5
2
5
2
3
17
MVPs
Bandidos
We lost this game but we put in a creditable performance against a Bandidos team that included in their ranks a number of players with extensive Division 1 experience.
James was our Home Run Hero with 3 and also led the OBP standings going 4 for 4 at the plate. Dave and Oli were the best of the rest, each going 3 for 4.
We put in a bit of a curates egg performance in the field, there was some really good stuff and also some not quite so good bits. Dave pitched well, James and Sandra took nice catches in the outfield and Becky did a good job at catcher. Everyone else worked hard and we never let the game run away from us.
Tiggers
2
0
2
0
1
3
1
9
Bandidos
1
3
5
6
2
2
X
19
MVPs
Base Invaders
We started brightly but found a hard hitting Base Invaders team too hot to handle. Holidays and other absences meant we had had to swap things round in the field and an early injury to Stevie G. meant another reshuffle mid-game.
Fielding highlights included Evie doing a good job on 1st. Steve took a couple of nice catches in the outfield before his injury forced him into the infield and guest Jackie got a couple of tag outs at home.
Steve and James were our Home Run Heroes. James (3 for 3) also headed the OBP standings along with Dave (2 for 2).
Thanks to Jackie for guesting and here's wishing a quick recovery to Steve, with his dodgy ankle, and Lynsey who took a nasty blow to the jaw from a VERY hard hit ball at 3rd that ricocheted up off her glove.
Invaders
1
1
13
3
6
24
Tiggers
4
0
1
0
0
5
MVPs
Thunder IV
A slow start in the field but we came back well and chalked up another win. Our 10 run 3rd innings was the decisive turning point in the game, and our initially leaky defence tightened up impressively in the last 4 innings and helped nail down the result.
Defensively it was very much a team effort, the wet conditions meant there were inevitably a large number of handling errors but we didn't panic, kept plugging away and eventually got the result. Dave pitched well and finished with a number of strike outs including one to finish the game.
James was our Home Run Hero and Steve and Mikala were the OBP leaders, each going 4 for 4 at the plate. There were lots of other strong performance up and down the order and almost everyone got at least 1 hit.
It was another lengthy affair and it was nearly half past nine before some of us got back to the pub. Sally and Janine made their Tiggers league debuts and so did Rob, it was a great to see them all out on the pitch.
Tiggers
2
0
10
2
0
4
0
18
Freeze
6
1
5
1
1
1
0
15
MVPs
Enforcers
At 13-5 down half way through the 5th we were looking down the barrel of our first league defeat of the season but we didn't give up and a 6 run bottom of the 5th put us right back in contention. One run behind with 2 down and no one on base in the bottom of the 7th things looked grim again but the rookie middle of the order did the business sending home the tying and then the winning run.
In the field Sandra did a fine job on 2nd, James looked good after moving to short stop half way through the game and Dave pitched a good game.
James (4 for 4) and Dave (3 for 3) both batted 1000 and James was also our Home Run hero, his 3 run Homer in the 5th being central to our come back. There were lots of other good performances up and down the line up. Oli C. and Harry each went 3 for 4 as they made their debuts for the team with both looked promising.
Enforcers
2
2
0
0
1
1
0
6
Tiggers
2
5
1
1
6
1
X
16
MVPs
Rippers
An efficient defensive performance combined with just enough good hitting gave us the win. A five run bottom of the 2nd gave us a lead that was never seriously threatened by a Rippers team who had to reorganise their line up part way through the game due to injury.
Steve G. was our Home Run hero with a Grand Slam that highlighted our 6 run 5th inning. OBP queen was Mikala who went 5 for 5. In the field guest Steve B. pitched well, Sandra did a fine job at 2nd and Mikala was a rock at 1st. Everyone else also did their bit in a good team performance.
Thanks to Steve for guesting and to Ed for playing for us in these first 4 league games, an injury crisis for the Mayhem team has meant that he's been called up to the majors rather earlier in the season than originally planned.
Rippers
2
2
0
0
1
1
0
6
Tiggers
2
5
1
1
6
1
X
16
MVPs
Freeze
A fine team performance gave us the win against the previously undefeated Freeze. An 8 run second inning gave us a lead that we never gave up. Freeze came close in the bottom of the 6th but a 5 run top of the 7th put us back in a comfortable lead.
In the field there were lots of good performances all over the park. Dave pitched his best game of the season so far. Ed did a fine job at short stop. Lynsey put in a promising performance at 3rd. Aiden did lots of good stuff at 2nd, Mikala did her customary fine job at 1st, James and Oli both took good catches in the outfield (with Oli doing a similarly fine job at 2nd in the 7th) and all the rest of the team also contributed.
With the bats Dave (5 for 5) was the male OBP leader with Mikala (4 for 5) leading the way for the women. Evie also deserves a mention for her best batting performance of the season so far. There were lots of other good performances up and down the line-up and the whole team ran the bases with aggression that didn't tip over into stupidity.
Our initial plans to bat 6 and 6 in this game were scuppered by the unfortunate but unavoidable withdrawal of one of the male players. Janine was the unfortunate one who missed out as a result, but took the set back without complaining and did valuable work with the camera over the evening.
Tiggers
0
8
0
3
2
2
5
20
Freeze
2
0
3
2
1
6
0
14
MVPs
Swingers
Our second league win was a much more straightforward affair than the first. The Swingers tried hard but didn't have a reliable pitcher and struggled in the field.
We took lots of walks, boosted a lot of batting averages and got better in the field as the game went on. Steve in particular did a lot of good work at 3rd and Mikala was as reliable as ever at 1st.
James was our Home Run hero, Sandra (5 for 5), Ed and Aiden (both 4 for 4) were all perfect at the plate with everyone else getting on base at least twice. It wasn't a game to live long in the memory but we did an efficient job and chalked up the win. Thanks to guest Jackie for helping out in our hour of need.
Swingers
2
3
0
0
5
Tiggers
7
10
5
3
25
MVPs
Colt 45s
Our first league game as a team ended in a deserved victory over a spirited Colt 45s team that never went away. It was nip and tuck for the first 4 innings before an 8 run top of the 5th gave us a big lead that set up our win.
There were lots of good performances in the field. Oli was excellent at 3rd, Ed gave us some welcome experience at short stop, Lynsey put in a really promising performance on 2nd and Mikala was impressive at 1st. Steve made some nice plays in centre right and James made one really excellent catch of a line drive in left.
At the plate Oli was the OBP leader, going 6 for 6. Female leaders were Rachael and Mikala, each going 4 for 5. Home Run Hero was James who hit a screaming line drive to lead off the 5th.
Overall we produced a really impressive first performance and deserved our win. Special thanks to Jackie for coming along on her night off and scoring and being generally supportive.
