Category: Domestic Softball

by Colum Lavery

SINCC 2018 Rosters Announced

Belfast Softball Club and Dodder Softball Club have announced their expanded rosters ahead of the 2018 SINCC final to be played in Dublin on Saturday September 15, 2018. Both teams will submit their final 18 player roster on September 15. The SINCC winners will be crowned national champions and also qualify as Ireland’s representative to the 2020 European Slopitch Super Cup.

Softball Ireland National Club Championships

September 15, 2018 – Stanaway Park Dublin @1230

Expanded Rosters
Belfast Softball Club  Dodder Softball Club
Philip Wallace Ken McCarthy
Sean Gottschalk John McCarthy
Tom Napier Frank Geoghegan
Jay Manticahon Leo Farrell
Nathaniel McQueen Carl Ward
Mark White John Austin
Andy Lamont Brian Connolly
Kevin Havekes Stephen Carter
Ryan Kerr Derek Ward
James Calow Ciaran Darcy
Patrick Scullion Andrew O’Hanlon
Richard Simpson Niall Lavery
Glyn Rees Tim Healy
Elaine Barr Graham Sullivan
Deb Gray Jordan Sylver
Audrey Osborne Shawna Walsh
Irena Mihneva Ciara Walsh
Emily Davison Olwen Barrett
Kerry Gottschalk Ruth Brady
Christina Carty Sara Radics
Orlaigh Connor Ashley Downs
Amandine Ledru Noeleen McCarthy
Niamh Donegan Susan McCarthy
Janice Ward
Meabh Hogan
Katerina Prazakova
Siobhain Monerawela
by Colum Lavery

SINCC 2018 Confirmed for September 15, 2018

The 2018 Softball Ireland National Club Championships between the Belfast Softball Club (Ulster League Winners) and Dodder the (Leinster League Winners) will be held on September 15, 2018 in Stanaway Park @ 12:30.

The game is held annually and rotates hosting between Leinster and Ulster will decided one of Ireland’s representatives at the 2020 European Club Championships.

A link to the venue on google maps can be found here.

by Colum Lavery

2017 Year in Review – SI National Club Championships

The 2017 edition of the Softball Ireland National Club Championships (SINCC) was hosted by Softball Ulster on a cold and wet September morning.

The annual competition saw the winner of the 2017 Leinster Premier League – TNT play the 2017 Ulster League Champions – Belfast Brawlers for the National Club Championships.

Softball Ulster were great hosts with both teams arriving to a full fenced diamond and good quality infield considering the time of the year. SINCC acted as a prelude to the Softball Ulster end of season tournament.

The game itself was somewhat one sided with TNT jumping out to a 11-2 lead in the first inning after which they never gave the Brawlers a chance to get back into the game. The final score on the day was 26-3.

TNT as 2017 SINCC winners will join Dodder, the 2016 winners, in representing Ireland at the European Club Championships in Italy in 2018.

by Colum Lavery

Season Is Not Over Yet

Just because the league season is over doesn’t mean the Softball stops … we have an action packed September & October coming up, so don’t put away those gloves just yet!!!

Date What Time Where
       
September 24, 2016 SINCC Final 1000 Terenure Sports Centre
September 24, 2016 Softball Ireland Forum 1145 Terenure Sports Centre
September 24, 2016 T-Bolts Blitz 1400 ALSAA
October 1, 2016 Belfast End of Season 0900 Belfast
October 15, 2016 Masked Ball 1900 Hilton Hotel
October 29, 2016 Indoor Softball 0900 ALSAA

At the time of publishing, Softball Leinster have yet to confirm dates for the 2016 League Playoffs

by Colum Lavery

Softball Ireland “Future of Softball in Ireland Forum”

Softball Ireland are delighted to confirm the timings and format of the “Future of Softball” Forum which will be held at 1145 on September 24, 2016 in the Terenure Sports Club to follow the Softball Ireland National Club Championships – this may start 15 minutes later depending on the finishing time of the SINCC Final. Continue reading “Softball Ireland “Future of Softball in Ireland Forum”” →

by Colum Lavery

Softball Ireland Announce Forum on the Future of the Game

Softball Ireland have today announced that a Forum on the future development of Softball in Ireland will be held on September 24, 2016 at 1230 in the Terenure Sports Grounds.

The purpose of the forum is to provide members an opportunity to discuss what is working in the sport, what is not and consider way’s to promote and develop the game of Softball in Ireland. In advance of the forum each club will receive a survey to assist in assessing the current state of the Game in Ireland.

We would encourage as many players/ex-players from all divisions to attend.

by Colum Lavery

SINCC Confirmed for September 24, 2016

Softball Ireland are delighted to confirm that the Softball Ireland National Club Championship (SINCC) Game will be played on Saturday September 24, 2016 in the Terenure Sports Grounds at 1000. The game will be played between Dublin’s Dodder Dynamoes and the BSC Brawlers.
 
The SINCC will be followed by an Open Forum on the Future of Softball at 1230 and further details on this event will be sent directly to your Club Captain.
by Colum Lavery

Around The Leagues – Week 1

Week one of the Leinster and Ulster Leagues saw the sun come out to welcome back Softball to Ireland. The scores for week 1 of the Softball Leinster and Softball Ulster Leagues are below. Up to date league tables for the Leinster League can be found here and for Ulster League here

Softball Ulster

Ulster League Results

Week 1 Results
Date
Time
Home
Score
Score
Away
24/4/16 2pm Bucs 22 35 Brawlers
25/4/16 7pm Sliders 25 24 Angels
25/4/16 7pm Aces 32 12 Mariners

Softball Leinster

Premier Division Results

Match Score
19th April 2016 7:00 pm Castleknock College
SL All Stars – Kegs		 0 – 7
19th April 2016 7:00 pm Mount Temple
Batpak – Temple Bar Hippety’s		 21 – 5
19th April 2016 7:00 pm Santry Sportslink
TNT – Marlay Martyrs		 8 – 18
19th April 2016 7:00 pm Terenure Sports Club
Dodder Dynamoes – The Renegade Reapers		 31 – 4

Continue reading “Around The Leagues – Week 1” →

by Colum Lavery

Softball Leinster 2015 Year in review

2015 saw another boost in the number of teams in the Leinster League bringing our number up to 28 teams. With 13 teams playing in a crowded 2nd division, 8 teams in the 1st division and only 7 teams in Prem, it was a rollercoaster of a season with new a few teams upsetting the status quo.

Leinster's TNT 2015

Never short on entertainment, Division Two has always been a popular breeding ground for new players and new teams, and 2015 was no different. Three brand new teams entered the league, along with Softball Leinster stalwarts, the Blazzers, making up a thirteen team, three-county-division to play out over a total of six months. The division ran as follows; Each team would play each other once before the division split into three conferences based on their placing in the league after the initial twelve games. Each team would play the others in its conference once again to decide final league standings.

The Renegade Reapers and Dodder Dynamites joined the Sauce Monsters in Conference A, leaving one spot to be claimed. With SWAT, the Blazzers and the Castleknock Wildcats contending, the Tullamore Tigers were favourites for the spot, putting eight wins in a row together on their way towards the top conference. However, the Castleknock Wildcats had other plans, beating the Blazzers and Tullamore Tigers to edge that fourth place spot. The Homers would claim the eighth place spot in Conference B, squeezing out the Oddsox Blacks.

August then played host to the Conference stage of Division Two. The Oddsox Blacks would lay claim to Conference C, outdoing both the Deadly Suspects and Renegade Titans. The Tullamore Tigers, were unlucky missing out on a spot in Conference A, but coming out on top of Conference B. In Conference A, the Sauce Monsters slipped up in losses to the Castleknock Wildcats and Renegade Reapers, with both of the latter sides also claiming wins over the Dodder Dynamites, setting up an exciting final day of the season at the top with the Renegade Reapers beating the Castleknock Wildcats.

This season’s First Division saw some exciting competitive play. The division lined up as follows: Dublin Bay Packers, Base Devils, Thunderbolts, Temple Bar Hippities, The Usual Suspects, Marlay Meteors, Kielys Chuggers and Castleknock Bearcats. The Packers were relegated from the premier division last season and Thunderbolts came up from division 2. The 1st division winners were the Temple Bar Hippities thanks to a ten-game winning streak in the middle of their season leaving their nearest contender, the Castleknock Bearcats one win short of the title. The Chuggers finished with their best season yet with a strong 8-5 season. The Dublin Bay Packers slipped from Prem and had to forfeit two games during the season due to a lack of players, they finished just ahead of their 2Pak clubmates, the Thunderbolts. The rest of the division saw the Usual Suspects, Marlay Meteors and the Base Devils rounding out the division.

Finally, a smaller Prem division with only 7 teams who played 12 games this season, with each team having a two bye weeks, was rocked this year by the upstart team made up of former Renegade Reds and Sluggers players who formed “The New Team” – AKA TNT. TNT went on to win the Prem division in their inaugural season. Coming right up behind TNT with the same amount of wins was 2014’s division champions Odd Sox Green. The rest of the Prem division finished up with the Dodder Dynamoes, Batpak, Kiely’s Kegs, Marlay Martyrs and the Renegade Beachers rounding out the 7 team division.

Thanks to all the teams and players who played this year and contributed to a great 2015 season. We are looking forward to the 2016 season and looking forward to seeing you all back on the diamond!

by Colum Lavery

Softball Ulster – 2015 Year in Review

2015 has been a successful year for Softball Ulster!

 SU League 2015

  • In 2015 we had seven teams competing in the league including the Angels in their first season of softball – with Sliders winning their third title in their first unbeaten season. We had 128 registered players a cross the seven teams – let’s continue to do our best to grow our sport. Any suggestions on how to do this are welcome.
  • The new league fixture structure in 2015 meant that league positions were not decided until almost the final games of the season which made the league more interesting for everyone! There were a number of upsets and generally a higher level of softball all around.
  • In the end, the league finished with the Sliders on top, Brawlers second, Cubs third, the new Angels entered the league in fourth spot, The Buccs climbed up to Fifth in their second season, The Aces avoided the wooden spoon in sixth and the Aviators finished in seventh after failing to capitalise on a promising start to the season.
  • SU hosted the Softball Ireland National Club Championships for the first time in our history in 2015. The Sliders represented Ulster and took on TNT of Dublin. They couldn’t quite win th e 2015 championship, even with home advantage… but one of these days an Ulster team will take home that silverware!
  • The Sliders also made a clean sweep of the MVP awards with Daniel Taylor, William Mitchell and Suze Kennedy all victorious and Maarten Blanken winning the Umpire of the year award. The MVP voting system was changed this year and seemed to be a success and we will continue to consider the decision making process in 2016.

Tournaments

There were a number of successful tournaments held in Ulster in 2015.

  •  SU SOS saw entries from the Homers, Sons of Pitches and the Irish National Fastpitch team as well as lots of interest from the Ulster league.  It was great to see interest from teams from further away and would be fantastic to see this continue – we will continue to work with SI and SL to encourage participation. SOPs ran out the winners of this one.
  • The Carrie Trundle Cup saw a mediocre fancy dress effort but was a great day of softball with BSC taking the honours. Our proposed competitions president (John Mitchell) already has some ideas about re-vamping this tournament in 2016.
  • The End of Season tournament was another success and saw the Cubs defeat a fast improving Aces side in the final and also saw SU host SINCC for the first time.
  • The two club-run tournaments were very popular and well run – congrats to the Cubs and the Buccs for organising The Teddy bear’s picnic (won by the Buccin’ Sliders) and Buccfest (won by BSC).
  • It was also great to see Ulster representation at most of the SL/SI tournaments this year. BSC attended The SOS/Brian Walshe blitz, Cas tleknock Niall Mellon blitz, Renegades 4 July blitz, EOS/Thunderbolts blitz and IOST, as well as both indoor tournaments, while the Cubs made an appearance at the Suspects pink blitz. Other SU members (mainly from the Sliders and Cubs) also went down as solo players or joined other teams in order to take part in blitzes. This was great to see and SU feel that it should be encouraged – and so in 2016 IOST weekend will be left completely clear of league games in Ulster. IOST is the most prestigious tournament in the SI calendar and we feel that everyone should have the opportunity to attend.

International representation

SU had its largest ever representation on an international level as Marian Neill, Shawna Walsh and Suze Kennedy of the Sliders all represented Ireland at the European fast pitch championships while Marian and Chris Barr of the Cubs also represented Ireland at the World Series event in London. Huge congratulations to all of you – it’s great to see our region represented on the international stage – let’s hope even more of us qualify in 2016.