The growth of the Milton Keynes Softball League continued with the first appearance of the Northants Praetorians in the outdoor league. But the reigning champions, the Homerun Hornets continued last season’s form with a 23-7 win. The Hornets team had some changes with Karen and Kim Davies joining the line-up. Injured captain Chris Borah took the clipboard to coach the team and direct tactics. A dream come true for Chris. In the early innings, Cathy Ford (eventual MVP) continued her amazing run of hitting as the Hornets got to work. It seemed certain that Chris Flynn would be sent home by third base coach Hedley Bevan, but the runner inexplicably held at third. Hedley protested his innocence
On the 9th of April our MK Diamonds tournament team headed to Farnham Park baseball & softball complex for a day of softball fun on the fancy dirt pitches. The team consisting of players from all four MK softball league teams plus a few Canadian guest stars (thanks Jo & Nicole!) were in great spirits from the off as the weather forecast proved correct for once and the sun shined bright like a diamond! The tournament was a fundraiser for the GB Slowpitch squad which meant we were assigned a GB 'buddy' for the day, Jon Reynolds, who did a fantastic job of scoring and fetching pitchers of beer throughout the day! The first game of the day was against the Oxford Spirits and with a bet already pl
We’ve had the indoor final, we’re back on the green grass of Woughton Playing Fields, we’ve heard enough of Chris Borah’s jokes during the soft toss batting drill, Jake Clarke is excitable – that means the Outdoor League is back in action! The Willow Lakers took on the Double D’s in the eagerly awaited season opener. The match – otherwise known as the Shkurko family derby – was a tense affair, with the Lakers sneaking it 16-13. The game got off to quiet start with the Lakers failing to trouble the scorers in the first. Sophie Shkurko – returning from injury – began an immaculate evening at first-base. If you are running to first and the ball is heading towards her – you know it’s over! The D
The MK Diamonds started the tournament season with an eagerly awaited trip to Loughborough for East Midlands Firstball – and came home as semi-finalists after an excellent day out. A number of the team travelled up the M1 in a 1970s VW camper, which got a number of admiring glances on the M1 as motorists overtook at 60mph. Unfortunately this bordered on the creepy at Leicester Services as Craig Holmes was forced to pull away quickly from a tourist who was staring through the window just a little too long. Tournament organisers must’ve thought that we’d taken a wrong turn on the way to a hippie revival convention, but upon arrival the full squad met up and immediately started asking when the
