At last month’s British Softball Federation (BSF) AGM the Swindon Softball League was awarded the ‘League Glover Cup’ for outstanding development by an affiliated league!
This is fantastic news for our league. We all contribute towards this: all our players, captains, coaches, umpires, and volunteers … anytime you are welcoming to a new player, offer encouragement and help celebrate their successes.
Well done everyone … spread the word, and let’s carry on being outstanding 🙂
Apologies Swindon Softball fans, we haven’t had a news item here for a while; but we’re making up for that with some big news. This year we will be hosting our first Swindon Softball Tournament – Swings and Roundabouts 2025! The event will take place at Moredon Sporting Hub on the weekend of May 10th/11th and will feature two single-day competitions. The Saturday competition will be for B/C Grade teams while the Sunday will be for D Grade Development teams.
If you live locally and want to see what all the fuss is about, you are welcome to come along and check it out. Several of our local teams will be taking part, and there will be many people from the Swindon Softball League present to answer any questions.
Looking forward to the summer … summertime is softball-time!
As we move into the new year, there are still several chances to play softball before spring. Our indoor sessions are held on Thursday and Friday nights, with a beginner’s session on Thursdays for those who are trying softball for the first time:
Thursday 20th February – (18:30-20:00) Beginners Session at Swindon Academy Sports Hall
Friday 21st February – (19:00-20:40) Advanced Session at Croft Sports Centre
Thursday 27th February – (18:30-20:00) Beginners Session at Swindon Academy Sports Hall
Friday 28th February – (19:00-20:40) Advanced Session at Croft Sports Centre
Thursday 6th March – (18:30-20:00) Beginners Session at Swindon Academy Sports Hall
Friday 7th March – (19:00-20:40) Advanced Session at Croft Sports Centre
Friday 14th March – (19:00-20:40) Advanced Session at Croft Sports Centre
Friday 21st March – (19:00-20:40) Advanced Session at Croft Sports Centre
Thursday 27th March – (18:30-20:00) Beginners Session at Swindon Academy Sports Hall
Friday 28th March – (19:00-20:40) Advanced Session at Croft Sports Centre
Championship Division
The Championship Division was joined by new team Cubs this year and made up of four teams with the return of Panthers, Aries and Spitfires.
Congratulations to champions Panthers, consistently top of the league table with few defeats.
The Cubs were formed this year with a mix of Swindon and Oxford league players. They made their mark with strong plays beating the opposition and narrow loses landing them in 2nd place.
Aries started off the season with a few player changes. Welcoming new players to the team, once, solidified as a team the wins started to happen and gave the rest of the league competition to think about.
Spitfires stepped up their form this year giving the league some tight games. A memorable one against Panthers in which they put 19 runs in one innings against Spitfires. The team rallied together not letting Panthers add much more to their scoreline and got their runs going losing in the end 31-32 and showing how to come back fighting.
The last game of the season came down to an Aries and Spitfires playoff for 3rd place. Both teams went in with attitudes to win and played well. In the end the Spitfires got the win for 3rd place with strong fielding holding back the Aries runs.
Development Division
The 2023 season saw all 2022 Development teams return as Dodgers, Hawks, Hurricanes and Phoenix with new players welcomed into each. The division welcomed fifth team Centurions, made up of the Cirencester rugby team and family, who brought with them a new home ground for the league to play away games.
At the start of the season our coaches held training sessions in Cirencester introducing the game to the rugby team players. Centurions adjusted quickly to the new sport with formidable batting skills and team work. They were a good match for division and got a few wins under their belt, a very good first season show.
Hurricanes freshened up their logo and gave it their all, improving each game individually and a team. They were full of energy and wining spirit and put in a good effort over the summer.
Hawks were looking to take the division by storm again this year off the back of their success in 2022. They started strong and kept up their attitudes to have a good time on the field. Continuing to play well they were in it to win it, but it wasn’t to be this time around.
Phoenix started the season without a full squad and built up over the summer as new players joined the league. They struggled to score until the team was established towards the end, with their first win against Centurions, and holding a draw against a strong Hawks. As Phoenix start to settle in with their team mates and find their positions they could start strong next year.
The Dodgers came second last year and had the top of the table in their sights for this season. With their determination and focus on training to improve they made it to the top winning the majority of their games.
The Swindon Bombers travelled up to Edinburgh for the Festiball tournament over the bank holiday weekend. The team enjoyed themselves in quite a hot Scotland and brought home the trophy in the form of Hamish the doorstop!
Bombers travelled the length of the UK to compete at Festiball, with train cancellations and standing in train corridors not getting in the way of the tournament fun to be had.
The first day went well, with home runs starting off our scoreline and good fielding teamwork, the Bombers were on form. The day was hot, but the Bombers kept their cool and got 2 wins, 1 loss and a very close draw, placing 4th in the group half way through the tournament. The team prepared for the next day by relaxing in hot tubs and enjoying the Scottish summer evening.
The Bombers went into Sunday with a can do attitude and had some close games. Winning the semi-final Bombers reached the final against the Badgers and had to fight for the win, going into the second inning 12-2 down, they had some batting to do! A smart switch in the fielding positions started to hold the Badgers runs back, a bit of high tempo music and encouragement on the sidelines, the team stepped up the bats and got the runs going. The final inning saw Bombers chasing 3 runs for the win, with Nigel the winning run on second base, Dan hit a strong ball into left field bringing Nigel home securing the win. The team were ecstatic to bring home the trophy which just topped off the already great weekend.
Special mentions to plays of the tournament go to Alex with a storming backwards catch while running way into the outfield, Anwen and Barney’s epic home runs to get us started on Saturday and Nigel’s magic catch when he and Alex were on course to collide, only just avoiding disaster, and no one knowing who caught the out – the only thing we did know is the ball didn’t hit the ground!
The four umpires on our team also helped out the tournament umpiring eight games between our own which was much appreciated by the tournament organisers.
After all the softball fun the team headed into Edinburgh the next morning for a Champions breakfast before taking the train home. Trophy ‘Hamish the Coo’ also squeezed in some sight seeing, and ensured we had a good journey, with the whole team arriving safely back in Swindon in the evening. Thanks Captain Alex for planning and herding us well over the whole weekend.
The Bombshells, our sister team to the Burderop Bombers, competed in the all ladies Chicks with Sticks Tournament last weekend.
The Chicks with Sticks tournament is a 3 part series of ladies tournament days held at Farnham Park between August and October. The Swindon Bombshells played in the first day of the series on the 4th of August in the middle of Storm Antoni but didn’t let that dampen their spirits throughout the day!
The team set the playlist on the sidelines, got the bats swinging, and supported each other enjoying having the pitch to themselves. The team commanded the plays catching outs in the outfield, backed each other up for the relays to plays at home and kept it tight in field with precision throws.
Bombshells definitely ‘Let the girls play’, shook off the rain, maintaining the Bombers spirit to play with enthusiasm and have fun on the field.
It was a wet start with drizzle in play for the first two games which were closely fought games with great fielding plays and good hits matched by the opposition. The afternoon saw a break for the thunder and lightning giving the team opportunity to fuel up on a Home Plate lunch. The day finished off with blue skies, no silverware, but motivation to come back fighting in October to take the competition on again and get a trophy!
The Bombers competed in the Leeds softball tournament in July and won the Bronze cup!
Leeds held their tournament on the 8th and 9th July hosting Bronze (Recreational), Silver (intermediate) and Gold (Competitive) tiers of play. The Bombers entered the Bronze competing in a group of 8 teams over the weekend. Starting with group games the Bombers got off to a great start narrowly missing out on a win in the first game. As the day went on the team got the bats swinging and the fielding tight landing them in 4th place going into the play offs.
The team joined in with the tournament’s karaoke party on Saturday night. A well earned break from all the games earlier that day. Singing and line dancing the night away, fun was had by all, and after a duet with the Cardiff Valley Wet Socks recreating Gavin and Stacey’s Island in the Stream called time to get rest for day 2.
Taking on their local rivals Bristol Bam, who had finished top of the group, in the semi final Bombers pulled out all the stops. Having solidified their form the day before Bombers came together with home runs coming out to build up the score line they got into the cup final
In the final the Bombers continued to build up the runs. They kept it going encouraging each other to play to their best with a grand slam from Captain Josh securing the win. The team all got medals for their performance and Lisa and David awarded MVPs for their extra noticeable plays in the field.
There was only one way for Bombers to celebrate their success over the weekend, with a 4 hour drive back home, they stopped off for a KFC on the motorway. Convoying their way home with the trophy held high a very successful weekend.
Swindon’s Burderop Bombers and Panthers compete in the final weekend of the Windsor-Maidenhead Indoor Series, read on for how they did!
The Panthers and Bombers were on the field (or hall!) once again for the last meet of the Windsor and Maidenhead Softball Leagues’ 2022-23 Indoor Series on Sunday 19th March. Swindon were well represented with both teams reaching finals – the Panthers in the Cup and Bombers in the Plate.
The Swindon derby took the teams head to head with a good match played by all. This time the Bombers came out on top.
Though losing their final, the Bombers ended their winter season on a high with their best indoor placing of the series.
Panthers only lost two matches all Series and by winning the Cup final against their closest rivals in the overall Series standings, the Panthers are WMSL Indoor Series Champions.
It was a great day to mark the end to the Indoor season with some close, exciting games. We’re now going outdoors for the Swindon League and competing in tournaments throughout the UK and abroad.
Hello everyone! The clocks changed last weekend so that means only one thing: OUTDOOR SOFTBALL!
Continue reading “2023 Preseason Begins!”
Swindon’s Burderop Bombers and Panthers compete in the Windsor-Maidenhead Indoor Series, read on for how they did!
Read more: Swindon teams compete in the Indoor Tournament SeriesThe Windsor-Maidenhead Indoor Series is a multi-tournament competition played on a number of dates through the winter at Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. The team with the best results over the series of the tournament wins the Series Cup. Swindon’s Burderop Bombers and Panthers are taking on the challenge and recently competed in the second tournament day of the series in January.
Having come top of the table in the first tournament the Panthers had a slow start to the day struggling to score in their first innings and while their defence was good were 2 runs down at half time. Being behind helped give Panthers the determination to attack in the second innings and went on to win 19-16.
The Bombers opening two games were hard fought with both teams in each being equal opponents standing toe-to-toe and dealing blows though not going in Bombers favour resulting in loses.
It went head to head in the local derby with Bombers and Panthers facing up against each other. The game was tied at half time with all to play for in the second inning. The continued training throughout the winter helped the Bombers when the Panthers captain (and one of the league coaches) was trapped in a run-down, Bombers training of backing each fielder up between bases paid off as they tagged the runner out at 3rd base. Panthers went on to win the derby (this time!).
Panthers won a further 2 games and put in a good effort against the Blue Jays but narrowly missed out on another win with the score at 12-10. A win in the 3rd/4th play off means that Panthers are leading the series after 2 events, but only with 1 point over the Blue Jays. The challenge is on to see if Panthers can hold on to the top spot after the final of the series in March, they can’t wait!
The Bomber’s determination eventually swung their way, winning their afternoon games, though against tough competition with tight score-lines. The Bombers will be looking to carry on their momentum into the final event of the series and come away with more wins.
