Softball and Baseball Update

Chromies Retain Title for The Premier Nationals

by Bob Fromer

The Chromies turned on the power at the end of their Premier Nationals final against the Pioneers at Farnham Park on Sunday 31 August and quickly turned a small deficit into a large lead to win a third straight Co-ed Slowpitch A-grade National Championship. But being the Chromies, they had to do it the hard way.

Four home runs over the left field fence in the final – two by Eric Kelly and two by Ales Mravlje – accounted for 12 of the Chromies 15 runs, as a close game that looked like it might be going towards the Pioneers turned into a 15-8 Chromies victory.

The win ensured that the Chromies will be one of Britain’s representatives at the next European Slowpitch Super Cup in 2016, and it marked the first time that any team had captured three straight A-grade National Championships since Baker Tomkins took four in a row from 1998 through 2001.

But the past decade has been one of dominance by the Chromies, who have won seven of the last 11 titles and eight altogether, and no other team in the history of British softball has more than half that total.

The Premier Nationals was contested by the top eight teams from this season’s 12-team National Softball League on a cool but dry weekend that ended with Pitch 1 at Farnham Park bathed in late summer sunshine. The final between Chromies and Pioneers was filmed by JP Productions for BSUK, and the full is now available to watch via a new BSUKTV section on baseballsoftballuk.com. It’s a game worth watching.

MVP awards for the final went to Laura Brockman-Hill and inevitably, given his seven RBIs and some good work at shortstop, to Ales Mravlje.

The five home runs hit by the Chromies, including Danny Gunn’s inside-the-parker that led off the game, were undoubtedly the key to the Chromies’ victory. But the conventional wisdom that co-ed softball games are decided by women still played a part. Laura Brockman-Hill deservedly won the female MVP award for her three straight singles and two RBIs for the Pioneers – but she had the only hits by a Pioneers’ female player. All their other women went a collective 0-for-10, while the Chromies’ women were 6-for-20 and scored four runs.

Premier Nationals Notes

The Premier Nationals – which may be combined with all the other Co-ed Nationals on the same weekend next year if BSF intentions finally come to fruition – enjoyed excellent weather and were well-run by BSF Tournaments Officer Fiona Thorley.

In order to give as many umpires as possible practice in working the three-umpire system used in ESF competitions, BASU provided a large crew under Umpire-in-Chief Jes Sandhu, and every game had the benefit of three umpires throughout the weekend.

While the Premier Nationals were played out on the two softball diamonds at Farnham Park, the British Baseball Federation National Championships for National Baseball League and AAA Division teams were taking place on the baseball diamond, the first time the softball and baseball Nationals have been played together since 2006. But interaction and the exchange of spectators was less than might have been hoped.

There was a lot of positive reaction to the fact that the final between Chromies and Pioneers was filmed and will be available on 3 September through the BSUK website after editing and the addition of graphics. This was a trial for what BSUK hopes will be live webstreaming of more baseball and softball events in 2015. The second part of the trial will come on Sunday 7 September when the final of the AA Baseball National Championship will be filmed and also posted on the BSUK website a few days later. Commentators for the Premier Nationals final were Erik Janssen, former producer of Major League Baseball broadcasts on Channel 5 and GB Under-19 Women’s Team Head Coach Rachael Watkeys.

Premier Nationals Softball final placings

1 – Chromies

2 – Pioneers

3 – Blue Steel

4 – H2O

5 – Slammers

6 – Legends

7 – Thunder

8 – Maniacs

For more information on Softball: http://www.britishsoftball.org/ or http://www.baseballsoftballuk.com/

Group Photo by Phil Kielthy

Essex Arrows are National Baseball Champions and Cambridge wins the AAA title

By Clive Barker & Anthony Hulme

National Baseball Championships for the BBF’s National Baseball League and AAA Divisions were held at Farnham Park on the weekend of 30-31 August. The Essex Arrows were crowned as National Champions for 2014 and the Cambridge Royals captured the 2014 AAA title.

National Baseball Championships for the BBF’s National Baseball League and AAA Divisions were held at Farnham Park on the weekend of 30-31 August. The Essex Arrows were crowned as National Champions for 2014 and the Cambridge Royals captured the 2014 AAA title.

Reports from all games played at Farnham Park over the weekend are posted on the BBF website. Below, reporters Clive Barker and Anthony Hulme sum up the two NBC events.

NATIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE

After 14 weeks of regular-season games and one weekend of playoff games, the BBF National Baseball League concluded with the National Championship finals on 30-31 August at Farnham Park near Slough.

The Essex Arrows faced off against the London Mets in a three-game series that would see one of them crowned National Champions for 2014.

Over the weekend, the teams faced all varieties of the great British weather, as it alternated from bright sunshine to dark clouds with a bit of rain and back the other way again. Despite this, the baseball diamond at Farnham Park looked magnificent and it was clear to see the love and care that had been put into preparing it by the ground staff.

Coming into the games, the history between the two teams indicated that it would be a very close series, and many people believed that the full three games would be required, with extra innings a distinct possibility.

The Mets were looking to re-take the title they last held in 2010, before the Southern Nationals won it three times in a row. For the Arrows, this was their first time in the finals, and they had been building up to these games since the beginning of the season.

In the end, the competition was close, but the Arrows proved to be just that bit too strong for the Mets, winning the title in two games.

Essex won Game One 5-1 on the back of a solid pitching effort by Lance Louw, who had been one of the league’s top pitchers all year long. He was backed up by a strong team effort on both offense and defense as the Arrows went on to score in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings to take the victory.

Game Two was a much closer affair, with the Arrows winning 5-4. Both pitchers, Pietro Sollecito for the Mets and Rich Chesterton for the Arrows, put up strong performances and it eventually came down to the defense to make the difference. The game went right down to the final inning and the Mets were on the verge of tying the score until the Arrows managed a game-ending double play with the tying run on third base.

The series was well fought and could well have gone either way had the Mets been able to force Game Three. But in the end, the Arrows had the tenacity to hold on and win.

Essex Manager Steve Simmons said: “It’s been an unbelievable weekend, a tremendously competitive final against a really good team.”

Simmons went on to say that the win was down to the effort of the whole team and that everyone had played their part. “The team has worked hard all season long,” he said, “and always taken it one game at a time. The team’s ultimate goal all season has been to win the national championship in the club’s 30th anniversary year.”

Both teams had their stars, such as Martin Tucker for the Mets, who went 3-for-3 in Game Two with two RBIs. On the Arrows side, Gio Escalona went 5-for-6 over the two games with two RBIs, and was a key part of the Arrows’ offense.

With the whole team storming onto the field after the final out, much like a Major League team that has won the World Series, it was clear to see how much this meant to all involved. The Mets were subdued afterwards and the pain of coming so close will no doubt linger for a while. But thoughts will now turn to 2015.

The Arrows are now the team with a target on their back and will need to be at their best to stay ahead next season, with the Mets and others in the closely-contested National Baseball League ready to fight for the title.

For more information on Baseball: http://www.britishbaseball.org/