APRIL ROUND UP
Milton Keynes Softball League continues to go from strength to strength
The Milton Keynes Softball League is now entering its eighth year and has added a new team to its ranks. The eight-team competition is now underway each Tuesday, and now also Thursdays, at Conniburrow Sports Pavilion in Milton Keynes – a purpose built dirt diamond that has been our home since last season.
After record player sign ups a new team, The Tribe, joins the league line-up, which includes established Milton Keynes teams – reigning champions for 2021 and 2022 seasons, the Roundabout Rhinos, three-time champions, the Homerun Hornets, four-time runners-up the Willow Lakers, 2018 champions the OddSox, 2016 runners-up the Double Ds and finally, the Base Cadets, who joined the league last season. The league is completed by local neighbours, the Towcester Tigers who are always a tough game for any opponent.
In the league opener, the OddSox recorded a 16-6 win over the Lakers with Jarrod Pretorius becoming the first player of the season to hit a homerun over the fences – not once, but twice!
The league’s first-ever Thursday game then saw both the Hornets and Rhinos get a real soaking by the weather, but the Rhinos came out on top in the rain winning 8-6 in a game notable for brilliant defense from both teams.
The following week the league saw the first draw since 2018; Tigers started strong and led the whole game until Ds captain Jon Reynolds hit a home-run in the bottom of the final inning on two outs to bring the score level 14-14. There have only been four draws in MK Softball League history and all four have involved Tigers as the away team!
Sadly the final game of round one between the Cadets and the Tribe had to be postponed until later in the season so we will have to wait a few more weeks to see both teams in action.
Training takes place each week alongside Tuesday games led by our excellent team of coaches and we enter tournaments at different levels around the country under the banner of Milton Keynes Diamonds. Our new NSL team was promoted from NSL3 in its first season and will now battle it out in NSL2.
This year, our committee is running two tournaments – the popular award-winning Codebreakers Cup will be back in late September, and we recently ran the inaugural Milton Keynes Charity Cup, a smaller tournament for local teams which raised £850 for domestic violence support charity, MK:Act.
On top of all that we will be running our first ever ‘Dinky Diamonds’ sessions at Conniburrow across the Spring and Summer for children aged four to seven.
So, we are looking forward to our biggest league season yet, and in particular, if any small ball hitters in the area are looking for regular league games, there are plenty of spaces in our teams!
Photos of the Charity Cup by Benton Philips
