A Night to Remember: Scenes from the 2025 MSL End of Season Gala
The 2025 Manchester Softball League End of Season Gala was held Saturday, 4th October in Manchester. Combining a night of entertainment with awards for some of the high achievers across the city’s softball landscape, more than 100 players, umpires, and leaders throughout MSL were dressed to impress at Rylands Rooftop Terrace at Manchester Hall.
Below, we share a rundown of the award winners and slideshow of some of the sights and sounds of a night that commemorates a truly remarkable season.
The Final Awards Ledger for the 2025 Manchester Softball League season
Home Run Champions
Small Ball Hitters
- Division 1: Maddy Gresty, Camels (11)
- Division 2: Izzy Rendell, Titans (8)
- Division 3: Nikki Bradshaw, Stingers (6)
- Division 4: Annie Downes, Sluggababes (3)
SOME NOTES: Maddy’s 11 homers equals the single season record for homers by a SBH. Izzy’s power and defence earned her consideration as a nominee for the Division 2 SBH MVP. Nikki is one of two lefty hitters on the home run tally. Annie doubles as one of the Sluggababes main pitchers, and played every single game. The leaders of Divisions 2-4 correlated with team success this year: the Titans, Stingers and Sluggababes all earned promotion.
Big Ball Hitters
- Division 1: Dan Downes, Dodgy Sharks (27)
- Division 2: Ross Maskell, Screwballs (22)
- Division 3: Nic Sims, Stingers (13)
- Division 4: Chris Mannion, Thunder IV (23)
SOME NOTES: Downesy is no stranger to the home run leaderboard, but he outdid himself in 2025, setting a new Top Division single-season record. Ross didn’t miss a game for the Pink and Blue, and they needed him: his home run total set a team record. The Nic and Nikki combo gave Stingers a new dimension of power to pace Division 3. Chris had a banner season, earning plaudits as both top slugger and the BBH MVP.
League MVPs
Small Ball Hitters
- Division 1: (TIE) Maddy Gresty, Camels & Anissa Aghtarafi, Tigers – While Maddy displayed power and several other abilities, Anissa equally proved to be one of Division 1’s strongest performers in 2025.
- Division 2: Olivia Thompson-Westmacott, Screwballs – Liv is consistently one of the most reliable players in all facets of the sport.
- Division 3: Kerry Brown, Raiders – The Raiders had one of their best finishes in team history thanks in large part to Brown’s consistent play.
- Division 4: Rachel Thorpe, Toras – The second-year Toras showed regular improvement each week, paced by the reliable Thorpe.
OTHER NOMINEES:
- Christa Reed-Thomas, Dodgy Sharks & Jess Wooden, Meerkats
- Izzy Rendell, Titans & Emma Bennett, Speeders
- Laura Somers, Thunder 3 & Lisa Williams, Fireballs
- Hollie Glennie, Seagulls & Chika Sharples, Base Invaders
Big Ball Hitters
- Division 1: (SHARED) Dan Downes, Dodgy Sharks & Matthew Green, Mayhem – Downes brought the slugging, but Mayhem proved a tough side all year thanks to the durable Green, who belted 10 homers and didn’t miss a single game.
- Division 2: David Martin Baez, Mavericks 2 – David was integral to Mavs 2’s strong second half push, pacing the side with 10 homers of his own and strong defence.
- Division 3: Chris Radford, Barflies & Cris Newhall, Fireballs – With these versatile standouts with the glove and bat, Hollywood isn’t the only place with a overabundance of talented Chrises.
- Division 4: Chris Mannion, Thunder IV – Speaking of Chrises, the tall lefty hitter set the standard for power in 2025 as Thunder IV completed a strong season that barely missed out on promotion.
OTHER NOMINEES:
- Keith Altena, Meerkats & Max Fagan, Camels
- David Grice, Speeders & Brian Slusarek, Dodgers
- Rory Casey-Wright, Stingers & Owen Salfred-Ingham, Freeze
- Kieran Farrell, Base Invaders
Other Awards
- Rookie of the Year Award: Sebastian Parker, Toras
- NOMINEES: Carmen Arrevillagas, Hackers; Anna Berry, Barflies; Hatti Greenhow, Screwballs; Stan O’Leary, Sluggababes; Hannah Sturt, Seagulls
- Young Players of the Year Award: Carmen Arrevillagas, Hackers & Ben Acton, Thunder III
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Paul Fagan
If you want to learn more the 2025 award winners and nominees, please have a look at the Season Wrapup issue of Bases Loaded.
2025 End of Season Special
