Tue 27 Aug 2013

Two Manchester teams – the Greensox and the Lions – met in the Grand Final of the 23rd Edinburgh Festiball on the weekend of 24-25 August, and the Greensox triumphed 5-3 on a massive late home run by Michael Lee.  Other winners were Blitz and Finsbury Dazzlers from London and Honey Badgers from Glasgow.

Thirty-one teams took part on a weekend that produced drizzle on both mornings but sunshine later, and all eight finals on Sunday were played in glorious conditions.

Grand Final

The Grand Final was played in front of the usual enthusiastic crowd, and it was the third time the Greensox and Lions had met in a final this season, with the Lions having won on both previous occasions.  Was this to be the Lions’ year in their first-ever appearance in the Festiball’s Pentland Cup Final, having secured the Manchester Division 1 title earlier in the week (thus becoming the first team other than the Greensox or Mavericks to win the MSL since 1999)?

The answer was no.  In a thrilling game, Michael Lee hit a massive late home run to secure the win for Greensox by a score of 5-3.

Results

Calton Competition (D-grade)
Winner:  Honey Badgers (Glasgow)
Runner-up:  Inglorious Batters (Edinburgh)
Plate Winner:  Vandals (Edinburgh)
Plate Runner-up:  Bolts (Edinburgh)

MVPs:  Deborah Wilson and John Irving (Honey Badgers)
Blackford Competition (C-grade)
Winner:  Finsbury Dazzlers (London)
Runner-up:  Camels (Manchester)
Plate Winner:  Gogsy’s Gorillas (Edinburgh)
Plate Runner-up:  Touring Tarts (Birmingham)

MVPs:  Bailey Vertovez and Isaac Howard.
Braids Competition (C+/B-grade)
Winner:  Blitz (London)
Runner-up:  Chargers (London)
Plate Winner:  Kamikazi (London)
Plate Runner-up:  Thundercats (London)

MVPs:  Natalie Woolley and Nick Collins.
Pentlands Competition (A/B+-grade)
Winner:  Greensox (Manchester)
Runner-up:  Lions (Manchester)
Plate Winner:  Maverick Souls (UK)
Plate Runner-up:  Clan (UK/USA)

MVPs:  Chloe Llewellyn and Michael Lee (Greensox)

Thu 30 Aug 2012

The Lost Souls, a team made up of NSL/GB players mixed in with players from the Edinburgh league team Souls, held off a late rally by the 2012 Platinum Champions Manchester Greensox to take the top prize – the Pentlands Cup – at the 2012 Edinburgh Festiball, played at Pfeffermill Field in Edinburgh on August 25-26.

Thirty-two teams competed over four levels of play, with eight teams in each level.  Several new teams took part, including a newly-formed Kamikazes B team (the KKs) and the Monmouth Rockets, a group of schoolchildren and their teachers who first started playing earlier this year, and who came all the way from Wales.

After a full round-robin at each level, all teams reached a semi-final in either the Cup or Plate competition at their level, so all 32 teams had the opportunity to win a prize.

As for the weather, it could easily have been worse.  Saturday began with a bit of drizzle followed by afternoon sunshine until the last round of games, which had to endure some heavy rain.  Sunday started dry and overcast, but by mid-morning the sun came out and stayed for the rest of the day.  No wind at all meant very pleasant softball conditions.

Results

Results for the four competition levels were:
PENTLANDS COMPETITION
Cup Winner:  Lost Souls (UK)
Cup Runner-up:  Greensox (Manchester)
Plate Winner:  Slammers (UK)
Plate Runner-up:  Rally Caps (Edinburgh)

MVPs:  Danny Gunn and Liz Knight (Greensox)
BRAIDS COMPETITION
Cup Winner:  Dodgers (Edinburgh)
Cup Runner-up:  Guerillas (London)
Plate Winner:  Chargers (London)
Plate Runner-up:  Outlaws (Manchester)

MVPs:  Lucy Binding and Albert Rodriguez (Dodgers)

Dodgers Captain Gilberto Martinez was overjoyed at the win: “After eight years of trying we finally win the Festiball!”
BLACKFORD COMPETITION
Cup Winner:  Multiple Monkeys (Bristol)
Cup Runner-up:  Spitting Camels (Manchester)
Plate Winner:  Mutant Ears (Manchester)
Plate Runner-up: DohNuts (Edinburgh)

MVPs:  Alex Shelton and Sarah Bennett (Spitting Camels)
CALTON COMPETITION
Cup Winner:  Sporting Hangovers (Edinburgh)
Cup Runner-up:  Vandals Edinburgh)
Plate Winner:  Vultures (Edinburgh)
Plate Runner-up:  Redbacks (Nottingham)

MVPs:  Geraldine Cavanagh and Richard Smith (Sporting Hangovers)

Grand Final

The Final of the Pentlands Competition between the Manchester Greensox and the Lost Souls was played in front of a large crowd and in glorious sunshine.

The Souls took an early lead and were 12-4 up after the top of the sixth inning, but the Greensox battled back.  Two home runs in the bottom of the sixth cut the lead to 12-7, and a bases-loaded triple by Danny Gunn in the bottom of the seventh helped cut the lead to just a single run at 12-11.  But the rally and the game ended with a fly ball out.

The Greensox also just missed a triple play in the fourth inning when Danny Gunn fielded a hard-hit ground ball at shortstop, tagged the runner who had been on second, stepped on second base to force the runner coming from first and then fired to first base – but Liz Knight couldn’t hold the throw.