The Jersey Softball Association’s Summer league continued their second round of games at Les Quennevais over the weekend which saw the top four teams in the league flex their experience.

The DMS Flyers opened their double header on Sunday against Trinity Tyres Phoenix with a large lead after the first inning. Phoenix made some fielding changes and managed to hold the Flyers towards the end of the game but they couldn’t get their bats going against a strong Flyers defence resulting in a Flyers win 24 – 8.

Flyers continued their double header with a second game right afterwards against Watergate Warriors where they battled back and forth with a team of fairly new players to the sport showing their competitive edge. Flyers pulled together though and showed their experience with the bats and pulled out another win for the day 24 – 6.

Corefocus Cubs also had a double header and started their fixture off with a tough game against CPA Global Pirates. They found the competition tough with Pirates coming out strong and in full form early on. Pirates dominated the game and finished 27 – 4.

The Cubs were able to bounce back in their second game from their earlier defeat to put up a good defence against the hard charging Romerils Raiders. Each side traded blows across the six innings played, with both teams’ pitchers battling against difficult wind conditions. Raiders edged the Cubs with a few well-timed grand slams with bases loaded, creating a comfortable lead of eight runs by the end of the game, winning 13 – 5.

Finally, the last game of the day saw the seasoned Jacksons Falcons take on their sister team, Motormall Eagles in a friendly match. Their skilled fielding and expert batting proved too strong for the Eagles on this occasion who were suffering a key loss in players due to injury and absence. Falcons took the win 26 – 1.  

The Summer League continues its fixtures on the 17th June. 

Two teams of Jersey softballers, the Thundercats and Transformers, competed in the Bristol DD Cup tournament over the bank holiday weekend with both teams taking home silverware.

The Thundercats had an excellent first day as they won all six of their games. The offense was working well with home runs, triples, and doubles had all around. Robin Tadier, team captain and trip organiser, pitched five of the day’s six games, and kept his opponents on their toes with some tactical pitching, resulting in strikeouts throughout the day.

The defense was working spectacularly, with some exciting plays like newbie to the sport, Rhys Benest, having a diving catch off a line drive down the third base line in his first ever game. A more exciting play came in the fifth game of the day when Scott Roberts caught a deep pop-up in right center field with runners on second and third base. He launched the ball towards home plate where Kelly Tadier expertly tagged out the runner coming to steal home, and quickly threw the ball to Chelsey Warner, who tagged out the runner attempting to steal third resulting in a rare triple play to close out the inning.  

Transformers also did well in the morning of their first day but found some tough competition in the afternoon which resulted in two wins, one tie, and three losses on the Saturday. Transformers pushed through the fatigue on the second day and found their groove again after their first game. Team captain Paulo Dos Reis also pitched an excellent weekend and even shutout an inning with three consecutive strikeouts. Short stop Stuart Emmanuel had some great diving catches throughout the weekend and one in particular noted by the umpire as ‘catch of the weekend.’ Other great plays included Caitlyn Hennessy’s first ever home run and some amazing left field catches by Cameron Ramsay.

The second day saw Thundercats drop a game from their winning record as they struggled to get the bats going against a strong defensive opponent. They met the same team in the semi-finals which was a tense and very competitive game, where both sides were tied on runs for three innings before Anthony O’Grady hit a home run, bringing in another runner on base to come ahead. A further home run by Niall Boylan sealed the victory, Thundercats finishing strong on the defensive side by holding their opponents to no runs to make it into the Cup final.

Transformers stomped their opponents in the semi-final 21:1 with some excellent batting securing their place in the Plate final. They battled through the final and pulled out all the stops including a sneaky play by third baseman Andy Romeril, where he defended home plate with a convincing fake throw to second in order to tag the runner on third base. Despite every player leaving their absolute best on the pitch they came up just short and finished runner-up in the Plate final.

Thundercats met a tough team in the Cup final and faced some very difficult but expert pitching against the female MVP from their opponents. It was back and forth on the runs in the first few innings but Thundercats kept their bats going and came out ahead later in the game whilst simultaneously holding their opponents in the field. They won the final 14-5.

Robin Tadier, Thundercats team captain and trip organiser, commented on the win: “The final score doesn’t do justice to how tough a game this was. The opposition’s fielding was almost impenetrable. We were inching around one base at a time, and it seemed that we were always getting closed down just as we had all bases loaded. We were all flagging, and how the team kept their nerves I do not know. I am incredibly proud of how everyone played across both teams.”

He continued: “After the Cup final players were recognised for their performance and Chrissie Hennessy from Transformers received female MVP in the plate final, whilst male MVP in the Cup final was our short stop on Thundercats, Anthony O’Grady, for his excellent batting and clutch field play.”
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Robin Tadier and the Thundercats will compete abroad again towards the end of the season in October this year as they return to their annual American tournament, Ad World Series, due to take place in Orlando, Florida.

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The first games of the 2018 Jersey softball summer league kicked off on Sunday with four exciting games at Les Quennevais playing fields.

The first game of the day saw the seasoned Jacksons Falcons take on a new team filled with returning players to the league this year, Romerils Raiders. It was a close game from start to finish as the Raiders worked together for the first time as a new team and boasted some excellent fielding. However, the Falcons proved a strong side and kept their lead for the majority of the game flexing their experience and training by taking home a win 10 – 5.

One of the two games in the middle of the day saw the Motormall Eagles take on the Watergate Warriors in a match that saw the Warriors gain an exceptional lead over their closely contested rivals. The Eagles offensive side wasn’t strong enough to keep them in the game as the Warriors took this one away 38 – 9.

At the same time on pitch 2 the champions of the 2017 Summer League, DMS Flyers, took on the Corefocus Cubs in a dramatic fashion as both teams tied in the final innings. The Cubs were up by 11 runs in the last inning with assurance it was a big enough lead, but in an unlikely comeback attempt the Flyers got the bats going to whittle away their deficit to a tie.

Finally, the last game between the CPA Global Pirates and the Trinity Tyres Phoenix closed out the day with a largely competitive and exciting match. Phoenix started out the game well with a lead in their batting, however, their defensive side was not strong enough to hold back the runs from their opponents who were keen to gain a lead. It was overall another close game as the Pirates came away ahead 16 – 11.

Next weekend will see two teams of Jersey players compete in the annual Bristol DD Cup Tournament. The Thundercats and the Transformers, a mix of players from different teams as well as players abroad, will compete in the two-day tournament vying for the chance to compete against some tough UK competition. We'd like to wish our Jersey players abroad the best of luck next weekend and we hope to see you come back with some shiny silverware to show off!

It was a rather tense Sunday for Jersey softballers as they competed in their final games this past weekend. With the main event being the DMS Flyers versus the CPA Pirates game which saw a battle for first place between the top two teams of the indoor season this year. The Flyers kicked the game off with an advantage in their run difference meaning the Pirates had to fight for at least a 44-run win against a very tough team.

Pirates came out strong against their opponents though and fielded a strong defensive side to keep the runs against them low. There were some close calls and a few heated debates, and even though Pirates won their game 48 – 34 it wasn’t enough of a run difference to take the title away from the Flyers who remain the indoor champions for another year.

 The first game of the day saw another exciting game between two of the newer teams to Jersey softball, the Motormall Eagles and the Watergate Warriors. The Eagles won their previous game against the Warriors and were hoping to pull out another win against their closest adversaries. Warriors came out strong though and showed off their pre-season training by taking a 44 – 17 win and thus keeping them in the running for their tied position at fourth place with Phoenix.

The last game on Sunday saw a friendly game between two close teams the Jacksons Falcons and Trinity Tyres Phoenix. However, this weekend, Phoenix needed the win in order to break their tie at fourth place in the table with Warriors. Falcons came out with a strong side for their final game and were not going to give up a win easily for their sister team. Phoenix were unable to get the bats going that they needed and the final game of the day turned out a very low score 9 to negative 6 in favour of the Falcons, pushing Phoenix down the table to fifth place. 

 

Have a listen to former DMS Flyers captain, Chris Le Lion, chat with Ashlea Tracey on the BBC Radio Jersey Breakfast Show about the final games this weekend for our 2018 indoor season.

It also featured on BBC Radio Jersey's Sportscene with Jack Murley. 

We're expecting a 'nail biting' finish to the season and we wish the best of luck to all our teams this weekend!

Interested in becoming a BASU certified umpire? The Jersey Softball Association are hosting a BASU Umpire Training course this year before the 2018 outdoor season starts. 

BASU Trainer Chris Moon will be coming to Jersey the weekend of May 12th and 13th to lead the course. This session is ideal for people interested in learning more about umpiring softball, becoming a BASU certified umpire, and even for those who would like a refresher on the intricacies of umpiring a softball game. 

If you're keen to join this training session, or to find out more information, please get in touch with Steve Le Monnier our Chief Umpire, or your team captain, to register your interest and attendance. 

Steve's email: chiefumpire@jerseysoftball.com 

Nominations for the 2017 John Rive Memorial Award are now open.
John was a great sportsman and so it is fitting that the criteria for such an award should be similar to John's qualities - supportiveness, respect for everyone (for players and umpires alike), enjoyment of the game, honesty, assisting all players whether experienced players or new players.
He never had a bad word to say about anyone on or off the field, he may have thought it but never voiced it. He was always smiling, he always accepted the umpire's calls whether he agreed or not although no one ever knew either way, he kept it to himself as he just loved the game of softball. He was also very modest and got slightly embarrassed when anyone praised him for his play.  
John was just such a nice person through and through and he is still greatly missed as being one not only a great softballer but mainly one of the nicest people to set foot on the softball diamond.
To nominate a member of the JSA for the Award please follow the link below to complete the form, stating the reasons why you are nominating that person.
 
https://goo.gl/forms/zmJsGYJ4vARgYbWD2

The JSA team

This August will see Jersey’s first, all-female softball team compete in Slough in a women’s slow-pitch softball tournament.
 
The team, known as the Crystal Knights, has been kindly sponsored by Jersey firm, Crystal Public Relations, which has funded the kit for the team and has eased the financial cost for each player.
 
The tournament, known as “Let the Girls Play” is the only all-female two-day tournament in the UK, besides the National Championships, and will see teams compete at the Farnham Park Sports Ground in Slough on the first weekend of August.
 
The ladies will compete in at least eight games over the two-day tournament and will test themselves as a team for the first time against some high calibre players from across the UK.​

Lindsay Satchell, Vice President, Jersey Softball Association, commented on the tournament:
“We’re all very excited to be going away as an all-female team this year and compete at a level different to one we’re used to here in Jersey. All the Crystal Knights’ ladies play on different co-ed summer league teams and therefore having this opportunity to play together on an all-female team is very exciting and will offer a very different and welcome dynamic for everyone.”
 
“I’d also like to extend my gratitude to our corporate sponsors, Crystal Public Relations, as they generously offered to cover the cost of our kit. Travelling off island to compete always has a sometimes-prohibitive cost to it, so it’s excellent to have a sponsor that is willing to ease that financial burden in some way.”
 
Mike Sunier, Managing Director, Crystal Public Relations commented:
“Since a member of the agency team is a part of the newly formed softball team, we were pleased to be able to make a contribution through sponsorship as they embark on their first competitive tournament in the UK.”

Registration for the JSA 2017 Corefocus Summer & Corporate Leagues is now open with teams of all levels and abilities welcome.

The season commences in May with Summer League games played on Sunday afternoons and Corporate League games played on weekday evenings.   If you would like to find out more about entering a team or joining an existing one then please get in touch by completing this form.
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See you on the diamond!

The JSA Team