The _SystemLabs’ Jersey Softball team recently returned home from the recreational slowpitch cup in England as runners up. The Tournament was held over two days at Farnham Park the home of Baseball Softball UK.
A team made up of various Jersey Softball Association players and coached by Phil Bouchard travelled to Farnham Park with high hopes of putting Jersey Softball back on the map after an enforced break from tournament play due to Covid.
A team made up of various Jersey Softball Association players and coached by Phil Bouchard travelled to Farnham Park with high hopes of putting Jersey Softball back on the map after an enforced break from tournament play due to Covid.
Drawn in a group of seven including Teams from Reading, Coventry, Bracknell, Chichester, Portsmouth and Maidenhead the Jersey squad finished the first day of the tournament with four wins from five games, losing narrowly to Maidenhead 26-24.
The second day of play saw the final game of the group stage play out with another win for Jersey leaving the island team in second position going into the semifinals.
One last hurdle meant a re-match against Maidenhead for the BSUK Recreational Slowpitch Cup title would be on the cards. Jersey delivered another win against Coventry Blitz who had also made the semifinals.
Having completed a closely contested first fixture against Maidenhead, meeting then again in the final was always going to be a tight tussle.
Despite a few tired and bruised bodies from seven consecutive games to get to this point, the Jersey squad entered into the final with plenty to play for and a renewed strategic plan. Coach Bouchard along with assistant Claudine Snape made adjustments to the defensive setup and rotated the batting lineup to give Jersey the best chance of victory. Despite valiant efforts across the park including some heroic fielding and well timed pinch-hitting sadly the hoped-for win did not emerge and Maidenhead Spartans walked off in the bottom of the seventh with a victory by one run.
On collecting the runners up trophy Bouchard said, “It’s been an amazing weekend with a brand-new Jersey squad who have never played competitively as a unit before now. I’m really proud of how everybody trained and prepared to get to this point. Our younger players and our older ones all showed what could be done and stepped up and performed well under pressure in the final. The Jersey Softball Association Under Chris Halford and Lindsey Satchell can be rightly proud of the way the island has been represented on the mainland this weekend. Of course we are greatly appreciative of our team sponsor _SystemLabs without whom we would not have been able to compete, and our team scorer Ali Wade who kept us all on track.”
Next the JSA will prepare for a mid-season tournament and build on the initial success of this first foray back into tournament play outside of the island.
The second day of play saw the final game of the group stage play out with another win for Jersey leaving the island team in second position going into the semifinals.
One last hurdle meant a re-match against Maidenhead for the BSUK Recreational Slowpitch Cup title would be on the cards. Jersey delivered another win against Coventry Blitz who had also made the semifinals.
Having completed a closely contested first fixture against Maidenhead, meeting then again in the final was always going to be a tight tussle.
Despite a few tired and bruised bodies from seven consecutive games to get to this point, the Jersey squad entered into the final with plenty to play for and a renewed strategic plan. Coach Bouchard along with assistant Claudine Snape made adjustments to the defensive setup and rotated the batting lineup to give Jersey the best chance of victory. Despite valiant efforts across the park including some heroic fielding and well timed pinch-hitting sadly the hoped-for win did not emerge and Maidenhead Spartans walked off in the bottom of the seventh with a victory by one run.
On collecting the runners up trophy Bouchard said, “It’s been an amazing weekend with a brand-new Jersey squad who have never played competitively as a unit before now. I’m really proud of how everybody trained and prepared to get to this point. Our younger players and our older ones all showed what could be done and stepped up and performed well under pressure in the final. The Jersey Softball Association Under Chris Halford and Lindsey Satchell can be rightly proud of the way the island has been represented on the mainland this weekend. Of course we are greatly appreciative of our team sponsor _SystemLabs without whom we would not have been able to compete, and our team scorer Ali Wade who kept us all on track.”
Next the JSA will prepare for a mid-season tournament and build on the initial success of this first foray back into tournament play outside of the island.
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