The Belfast Sliders had an all-day home advantage as the Softball Ulster Carrie Trundle Cup took place at their home grounds at Dixon Playing Fields on Saturday 2nd June 2018. Despite a weather warning for rain and thunderstorms, the weather held out and we had sunshine all day. All clubs in Ulster participated this year, with Belfast Softball, Belfast Angels, Bangor Bucs and Belfast Cubs all sending contingents to Dixon Park.
On show during the tournament were the Sliders’ most recent recruits: Emma D, Michal, Laura, Matias, Emma K and Emma P. The new recruits were joined by seasoned payers Marian, Dan, Timothy, Paul, Jay, Jonny and Andrew. As one of the largest contingents at the Carrie Trundle Cup, the Sliders players also has the opportunity to play for many of the other teams in attendance. A special shout out to Emma P who played for the Belfast Cubs during most of the tournament (please don’t defect permanently!).
Our first game of the day was against the Bangor Buccaneers, which ended with a 5-3 loss to the Sliders. The second game proved equally as unfortunate for the guys in green with a 17-7 loss against the Belfast Cubs (with Emma P playing for the enemy!). The losing streak did not improve as the Sliders faced off against the Belfast Angels with a 14-4 defeat sustained. Thankfully our fourth game turned the tables on Belfast Softball Club as the Sliders won 10-9 on a technicality (BSC were playing with seven boys and incurred a 5 run penalty against them). The outcome of these results was that the Sliders ended up fifth on the tournament points table, however, on a technicality (the Belfast Angels having to fold) the Sliders ascended to fourth on the table and proceeded to the 3rd v 4th final.
Before the final, the Sliders, Bucs and remaining Angels joined together for a friendly game to pass the time. This ended with a 13-13 draw between the Sliders and the Bucs/Angels/Sliders mixed team. For the final the Sliders faced the Cubs once again, successfully winning 6-14 to ascend to third in the tournament standings.
All-in-all the Sliders had a fun day at Dixon Playing Fields and wish to thank Softball Ulster for organising a successful tournament. All the new players gained experience, and the seasoned players were able to brush off a few more cobwebs from the off-season.
Highs: Jay scoring her first home run and Andrew scoring two home runs during the course of the day, Jonny managing to score a home run without spilling much of his beer, Laura remembering to step on home plate and lots of glorious sunshine!
Next up: The Sliders play the Aces at home on Monday 18th June in what will likely be an on-par competition between last years’ 3rd and 4th placed teams.