2024 Winning Captains Comment on a Successful Season

MSL talks to division winners Thunder, Thunder II, Hackers and Barflies.

League Champions: Thunder

Team	P	W	T	L	RS	RC	Pct	GB
Thunder (C)	16	14	0	2	288	145	.875	–
Meerkats	16	13	0	3	262	144	.813	1
Camels	16	11	0	5	234	160	.688	3
Mavericks	16	10	0	6	263	191	.625	4
Mayhem	16	9	0	7	256	198	.563	5
Travelling Dodgers	16	7	0	9	197	212	.438	7
Sharks	16	5	0	11	166	247	.313	9
Manchester Dodgers (R)	16	2	0	14	154	306	.125	12
Camels II (R)	16	1	0	15	102	319	.063	13

Co-captain: Luis Arrevillagas

Thunder have done it again, their second consecutive championship and third in total. How will the team be celebrating the win?

“We have already celebrated on the night at the club with other teams. We will also go out for our annual Thunder Softball Club social. This year we also have Thunder II as Div 2 champions and T3 and T4 having done really well this season too.”

Any standout players from this season?

“We had a couple of new strong players this year who helped us through the year: Luis Allan, Julie and Laura were key to our success this year.”

What was the most memorable game and why?

“We enjoyed every game we played, that was key to our winning this season. We had fun every Wednesday, we played hard but had plenty of fun in the process. We enjoyed a game against the Sharks, which was a very close game and the young pitcher from them had a fantastic game. Great to see new talent coming through.”

Meerkats came a very close second. Can you see them challenging Thunder for first place next season?

“Meerkats have a great team, we had to play hard to beat them, there’s no doubt they now know how to play us and we will have to be extra careful next season.”

You had a huge win against Camels 29-8 at the end of the season. How did you achieve such a big result against such a competitive team?

“Softball is like that, you could have a great team like theirs and fall short sometimes, it happens to all of us. We love playing against Camels, we’re very good friends with them and both teams have a laugh when we meet.”

Division 2 Winners: Thunder II

Team	P	W	T	L	RS	RC	Pct	GB
Thunder II (C)	17	11	3	3	302	211	.735	–
Tigers (P)	17	10	1	6	311	228	.618	2
Titans	17	9	1	7	273	240	.559	3
Speeders	17	8	1	8	225	249	.500	4
Mavericks II	17	9	0	8	287	254	.529	–
Bats	17	8	0	9	210	244	.471	1
Screwballs	17	6	0	11	270	308	.353	3
Stingers (R)	17	4	0	13	193	337	.235	5

Captain: Bryony James

How do the team feel about joining sister team Thunder in the top division next season?

“We’re very happy we won division 2, but one of our players has a nice story about how we feel going into division 1: “When I was 5ish my mom took me to a swimming teacher to learn how to swim. That teacher’s method was to let more and more air out of my arm bands each week, before pushing me into the middle of the deep end of her pool, where I would struggle and fight to keep my head above water. Anyway, I imagine every week next season is going to feel like the last lesson I had with that lunatic, when my mom finally noticed that I was drowning and whisked me away to safety. Except, my mom isn’t coming and I’m really starting to swallow a lot of water. Every week.”

Any standout players from this season?

“I want to say everyone was a standout player because they’ve all played so well as a team. I’d say Ashley stood out for her fantastic batting all season, Amy for consistently improving every time she plays, Jon for being the most consistent overall player, Benji for having his best batting season ever, Kirsty and David for being excellent team players, and Jeivo and Gabby for their team spirit and positivity.”

What was the most memorable game and why?

“Our first win against Tigers was memorable as it’s the first time we’ve ever won against them as this team, when we played Mavs II and definitely should have lost but somehow managed a win, as well as the three tie games we played particularly the last one against the Tigers where we ended up playing 9 innings and still ended with a tie (though this wasn’t too memorable for me because I wasn’t there!)”

You drew against Titans 20-20. How did this run-fest come about?

“The Titans were beating us throughout the whole of that game quite convincingly, until we learnt how to bat in the 7th inning, scoring 6 runs at the bottom of the inning to get the tie. Exciting stuff, and a very Thunder II way of doing things.”

Division 3 Winners: Hackers

Team	P	W	T	L	RS	RC	Pct	GB
Hackers (C)	15	10	0	5	250	226	.667	–
Bandidos (P)	15	10	0	5	301	178	.667	–
Raiders	15	9	0	6	272	245	.600	1
Thunder III	15	8	0	7	267	243	.533	2
Sluggababes (R)	15	8	0	7	214	223	.533	2
Tiggers (R)	15	7	0	8	201	230	.467	3

Captain: Ian Mills

Hackers are division 3 champions and returning to division 2 once again. What are your hopes for Hackers next season?

“Straight back down please. This season was disastrous with Hackers and Bandidos being out manoeuvred by the other teams in the fight to come 3rd. It also means that we may never play the Stingers again in the league as we always pass them going the other way between the divisions.”

Any standout players from this season?

“Looking at the stats page for the team, Ella and Alex took the most MVPs. I would say Alex has really improved with his hitting this year but Kyle did well in his first season too, hitting over 500. Abbie and Emma have improved the most in the girls with their hitting and Abbie’s outfield catches meant that we forgot who Grace was!”

Division 4 Winners: Barflies

Team	P	W	T	L	RS	RC	Pct	GB
Barflies (C)	16	9	0	7	319	277	.563	–
Fireballs * (P)	16	8	0	8	270	235	.469	1½
Freeze	16	7	0	9	242	222	.438	2
Thunder IV *	16	7	0	9	277	305	.406	2½
Seagulls	16	6	0	10	196	272	.375	3
Toras	6	2	0	4	93	159	.125	(7)
Base Invaders	6	0	0	6	31	118	.000	(9)

Captain: Chris Radford

Barflies are division 4 champions and returning to division 3 once again. What are your hopes for Barflies next season?

“Survival…! It’s been brilliant winning division 4 and I’m really pleased with how we’ve played (most of the time!) this season. But I’m keen to see how we fare in division 3. Obviously we didn’t manage to stay in the top half before the div 3/4 split this year, but when we play well, I think we’ve got enough about us to hold our own at div 3 level so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do!”

Any standout players from this season?

“I don’t think I can single any one player out in particular – as always, it’s been a real team effort from everyone. Loads of great play at times, mixed in with the odd howler or two! I’m grateful for the team pulling together and being flexible in playing different positions, particularly at times when we’ve struggled to get a team together and people have been able to move things around in their non-softball lives to help us get a team together! And a big thanks has to go to those who guested for us – without those players, we’d have really struggled!”

What was the most memorable game and why?

“An easy one for me to choose – our 18-16 win against the Fireballs on 13th August. That one is particularly memorable for me, not just because it was a really tight game against our closest rivals for the title…but because I managed to break my finger diving for a ball in the outfield early on in the game and cut my season short. Whilst I sat on the sidelines trying not to feint (I’m a wimp when it comes to pain), the team battled and managed to hold on for the win despite some rubbish weather and being a player down. If I ignore the fact that my finger was hanging off (a slight exaggeration), it was a great game to watch! The team were absolutely superb that night, with some key hits to keep the scoreboard ticking over and keeping runs to a relative minimum as well. And a special mention should also go to Fireballs’ Andy Whatmore for reaching out after the game to see how I was…thankfully I was able to reply to his messages with my fully functioning hand!”

Any words of wisdom for our two new rookie teams?

“Enjoy it and stick with it! Despite softball being, in theory, a relatively simple game, it does take time to get your heads around the tactics and nuances of the game…I still don’t think we’ve fully figured that out yet! What I will say is both teams showed real promise and played at a level which didn’t suggest they were brand new teams. They’re great additions to the league and we look forward to playing them again!”

There was a tough game against the Sluggababes at the start of the season, 31-12. Tell me how Barflies bounce back.

“Yeah that was a rough start to the season…Sluggababes are a good side with some big hitters! Considering we didn’t train or have a proper warm up, we did pretty well to score 12 in that game! We’ve often been slow starters so I don’t think it was a case of ‘bouncing back’ as such, but more just making sure that we remembered how to hit, run and field from game 2 onwards. It goes without saying we weren’t always consistent at doing that, but I’m really pleased we were able to find some form, pick up a few wins and have a great season. The only downside with winning the league is that I’ve been told that I’m not allowed to keep the div 4 shield at home as it’s too big, so I’ll be looking for one of my fellow ‘Flies to take it off my hands…!”

Thanks to all our players this season and everyone who came to the rookie sessions. Indoor sessions begin in October and outdoor play resumes in April 2025.

Indoor Softball

Sundays, 2-4pm
Platt Lane Sorts Complex, M14 7UU
£6 per session

6th October – 22nd December 2024
5th January – 13th April 2025

Sign up via Spond with group code BGZFP