Category: Winners

2019 Winners

Travelling Dodgers win Grand Final at sweltering Edinburgh Festiball

Tue 27 Aug 2019

The 29th Edinburgh Festival was played over an extremely hot Bank Holiday weekend on 24-25 August at Peffermill Playing Fields under the towering Arthur’s Seat.

The tournament is split into three levels, and this year eight teams played at Competitive level, eight teams at Intermediate level and 12 teams at Recreational level.

The Grand Final, played as always in front of a large crowd, was won by the Travelling Dodgers, this year’s NSL1 league winners, who defeated the Manchester Mavericks by a score of 23-14.

Here are the full results:

Competitive

Cup Winner:  Travelling Dodgers (UK)
Cup Runner-up:  Mavericks (Manchester)
Final:  Travelling Dodgers 23, Mavericks 14
MVPs:  Jade Shaw and Justin Maddis (Travelling Dodgers)

Plate Winner:  Honey Badgers (Glasgow)
Plate Runner-up:  Bombers (Liverpool/Manchester)
Final:  Honey Badgers 17, Bombers 3
MVPs:  Deb Wilson and Tyler Spence (Honey Badgers)

Intermediate

Blackford Cup Winner:  Misfits (East Midlands)
Blackford Cup Runner-up:  Sharks (Liverpool)
Final:  Misfits 21, Sharks 4
MVPs:  Katie Jessop and Nicholas Kaczmierczag (Misfits)
Both these teams had stepped up a level from the previous season.

Blackford Plate Winner:  Dazzlers (London)
Blackford Plate Runner-up:  Camels (Manchester)
Final:  Dazzlers 10, Camels 7
MVPs: Suzi Hall and Herling Alvarez (Dazzlers)

Recreational

Calton Cup Winner:  Gladiators (Jersey)
Calton Cup Runner-up:  Maidenhead Royals (Windsor)
Final:  Gladiators 4, Maidenhead Royals 3
MVPs:  Liz Warner (Maidenhead Royals) and Mat Satchell (Gladiators)

Calton Trophy Winner:  Soft Boiled (London)
Calton Trophy Runner-up:  Beavers (London)
Final:  Soft Boiled 22, Beavers 4
MVPs:  Fiona Shannon (Soft Boiled) and Matt Delima (Beavers)

Calton Plate Winner:  Lucky Strikes (Bristol)
Calton Plate Runner-up:  Fockers (Glasgow)
Final:  Lucky Strikes 13, Fockers 9
MVPs:  Anna Sehn (Fockers) and Tom Russell (Lucky Strikes)

Live-streaming

The Grand Final at the tournament between the Travelling Dodgers and Manchester was live-streamed and can be seen here.

2018 Winners

MI6 capture top title at Edinburgh for the second straight year

Twenty-eight teams contested the 2018 Edinburgh Festiball Tournament over the weekend of 25-26 August, with MI6 from London winning the top title for the second year in a row with a 7-1 win over the Manchester Lions in the Grand Final.

The game was a repeat of last year’s final, and the unfortunate Lions have now been the losers in the last three Grand Finals at the tournament.

On Saturday, the weather was warm and sunny, but there was rain on Sunday morning and though Sunday afternoon turned dry, it also turned cold.

Comp Division

Pentlands Cup
MI6 7, Manchester Lions 1
MVPs:  Natalie Woolley & Chris Kerstetter (MI6)

Pentlands Plate
Glasgow Hairy Coos 19, Manchester Mavericks 15
MVPs:  Megan Watson & Josh Hahn (Coos)

Pentlands Spoon
Bristol Bees 15, Bristol Monkeys 6
MVPs: Cerri McGuinness & Joe Golightly (Bees)

Rec Division

Braids Cup
Sefton Vikings 23, Sefton Sharks 8
MVPs: Julie Lott & Ray Bennett (Vikings)

Braids Plate
MK Diamonds 9, Bristol Lucky Strikes 4
MVPs: Kat Peters & Nigel Peters (Diamonds)

Calton Cup
Edinburgh Inglorious Batters 12, GLSML Game of Throws 6
MVPs:  Nicole Bancroft & Craig Hamnett (Inglorious Batters)

Calton Plate
Glasgow Fockers 19, Bristol BAM 3
MVPs:  Anna Sehn & Dean McLelland (Fockers)

2017 Winners

MI6 captures the top trophy at the 2017 Edinburgh Festiball

The 2017 Edinburgh Festiball drew 28 teams from around the country up to Scotland on the weekend of 26-27 August, where they faced the usual Bank Holiday mix of sunshine, clouds and a couple of Saturday showers at the Peffermill Playing Fields.

As usual, the tournament broke down into multiple groups after initial Comp and Rec round-robins, with a total of 14 trophies on offer for winners and runners-up.

Comp 1 Upper (Fleming Cup)
Winner — MI6 (GLMSL)
Runner-up — Lions (Manchester)
MVPs:  Duncan Waugh and Kim Robertson (MI6)

Comp 1 Lower (Bell Cup)
Winner — Hairy Coos (Glasgow)
Runner-up — KK’s (Windsor)
MVPs:  Jenny Helgit and Tristan Gibbons (Hairy Coos)

Comp 2 Upper (Watt Cup)
Winner — Honey Badgers (Glasgow)
Runner-up — Mavericks (Manchester)
MVPs:  Teppi Itoh and Debbie Wilson (Honey Badgers)

Comp 2 Lower (Baird Cup)
Winner — Dazzlers (GLMSL)
Runner-up — Chargers (GLMSL)
MVPs:  Isaac Howard and Adaly Perez (Dazzlers)

Rec 1 (Lister Cup)
Winner — Misfits (East Midlands)
Runner-up — Loan Sharks (Sefton Softball League)
MVPs:  Chase Martin (Misfits) and Emma Lott (Loan Sharks)

Rec 2 (Dewar Cup)
Winner — Lucky Strikes (Bristol)
Runner-up — Inglorious Batters (Edinburgh)
MVPs:  Rich Foggarty and Vicky Sully (Lucky Strikes)

Rec 3 (Scott Cup)
Winner — Forgers (Edinburgh)
Runner-up –Vandals (Edinburgh)
MVPs:  Adam Slater and Corrin Belkin (Forgers)

2016 Winners

Mixed NSL Team wins the 2016 Edinburgh Festiball

The Battle Cruisers, made up of players from National Softball League teams Pioneers, Blue Steel and Legends, edged out the Manchester Lions by a score of 12-11 to win the top competition at the 2016 Edinburgh Festiball, played on the weekend of 27-28 August.

The tournament, with 32 teams in four separate competitions, was played in warm sunshine with only a bit of cloud on Saturday morning.

The opportunity was taken at the tournament to present the BSF Hall of Fame trophy to Jim and Karen Murray for long-term services to coaching, and awards were also presented to the teams that finished as winners and runner-up in this season’s inaugural NSL 2 competition: Dodgers and Blitz.

COMP 1: PENTLANDS CUP

Cup Final:  Battle Cruisers 12, Manchester Lions 11
Plate Final:  A Team (Bristol) 24, Hairy Coos (Glasgow) 9

MVPs:  Natalie Wooley (Battle Cruisers) and Adam Roberts (Lions)
COMP 2: BRAIDS CUP

Cup Final:  Honey Badgers 11, Storks 9
Plate Final:  Scorgs 17, Legends 9

MVPs:  Jen Prior and Teppi Ito (Honey Badgers)

COMP 3: BLACKFORD CUP

Cup Final:  MouseRats (London) 21, Chargers (London ) 14
Plate Final:  Capitals (Edinburgh) 10, Little Fish (Manchester) 6

MVPs:  Emma Ko and Joe Hippensteel (MouseRats)
COMP 4: CALTON CUP

Cup Final:  Inglorious Batters (Edinburgh) 21, Bolts (Edinburgh) 14
Plate Final:  Flycatchers (Bristol) 15, Game of Throws (London) 14

MVPs:  Billy Anderson and Nicole Bancroft (Inglorious Batters)

2015 Winners – 25th Anniversary

Edinburgh Festiball celebrates 25th Anniversary with whiskey

A beautiful sunny weekend provided the setting for the 25th anniversary edition of the Edinburgh Festiball, held on 28-29 August at Peffermill Fields in Edinburgh.

Thirty-two teams took part – 12 Comp and 20 Rec – and awards were given for eight different competitions named after Scottish whiskeys.

All players received a special memento from the tournament (shown on the right), and former BASU Umpire of the Year Jeff Robinson flew over from Doha to be part of the umpire crew.

Grand Final

The Grand Final, between the Manchester Greensox and the Battle Cruisers, a mix of players from Pioneers and Blue Steel, was a great game watched by around 200 spectators, who participated in the fun between innings by running up and down withscoreboards in exchange for beer.

The Battle Cruisers led 6 – 0 until the fourth inning, but Greensox came back to tie the game with a series of solid base hits. The Cruisers pulled ahead by one, the Sox tied the game again, but the Cruisers took the lead with three runs in the top of the seventh inning, only to see the Greensox come back and score the four they needed to win. The final tally was 12-11.

Competitive Level

GLENGOYNE
Final:  Manchester Greensox 12, London Battle Cruisers 11
MVPs:  Sadie Hamilton (Battle Cruisers and Leo Hernandez (Greensox).

GLENLIVET
Final:  Rally Caps (Edinburgh) 12, Terriers (Leeds) 10
MVPs:  Ellie Lane (Terriers) and Brandon Nihmey (Rally Caps).

GLENMORANGIE
Final:  KKs (London) 13, Cheeky Monkeys (Bristol) 8
MVPs:  Caroline Meads and Jeff Unsworth (KKs).

Recreational Level

BEN RIACH
Final:  Fish (Manchester) 9, Honey Badgers (Glasgow) 6
MVPs:  Sherry Kenyon and Carl McCarthy (Fish).

BOWMORE
Final:  Fechin Focialas (Edinburgh) 8, Lucky Strikes (Bristol) 7
MVPs:  Lindi Smith and Andrew Owens (Fechin Focialas).

GLEN GARIOCH
Final:  Mavsmix (Manchester) 17, Dazzlers (London) 15
MVPs:  Kayleigh Chamberlain (Mavsmix) and Gregor McMaster (Dazzlers).

GLEN MORAY
Final:  Capitals (Edinburgh) 19, Demons (Edinburgh) 7,
MVPs:  Tara and Dan Hertzfeldt (Capitals).

TOBERMORY
Final:  MouseRats (London) 18, Forgers (Edinburgh) 10
MVPs:  Emma Ko and Joe Hippensteel (Mouserats).

2014 Winners

Blue Steel warmed up for the Premier Nationals by taking the main trophy, the Pentlands Cup, at the 2014 Edinburgh Festiball, played at Peffermill Fields in Edinburgh on the Bank Holiday weekend of 23-24 August.

Twenty-seven teams competed in four divisions, in generally good weather apart from a few showers on the Saturday.

For a video of the Grand Final, filmed by Phil Kielthy, go to: http://youtu.be/SZOFc44MHVk.

Results

Pentlands Competition

Cup Winner:  Blue Steel (London)
Cup Runner-up:  Greensox (Manchester)
Cup Final:  Blue Steel 10, Greensox 9
MVPs:  Jason Kittinger and Cassie Woodard (Blue Steel)

Plate Winner:  Legends (Glasgow)
Plate Runner-up:  Souls (Edinburgh)
Plate Final:  Legends 13, Souls 4

Braids Competition

Cup Winner:  KKs (London)
Cup Runner-up:  Rally Caps (Edinburgh)
Cup Final:  KKs 12, Rally Caps 10
MVPs:  Nigel Davidson and Caroline Meads (KKs)

Plate Winner:  Chargers (London)
Plate Runner-up:  Cheeky Monkeys (Bristol)
Plate Final:  Chargers 16, Cheeky Monkeys 10

Blackford Competition

Cup Winner:  Lucky Strikes (Bristol)
Cup Runner-up:  Honey Badgers (Glasgow)
Cup Final:  Lucky Strikes 16, Honey Badgers 6
MVPs:  Deb Wilson (Honey Badgers) and Marcus Webb (Lucky Strikes)

Plate Winner:  Demons (Edinburgh)
Plate Runner-up:  Pirates (London)

Calton Competition

Cup Winner:  Highland Chargers (Glasgow)
Cup Runner-up:  Vandals (Edinburgh)
Cup Final:  Highland Chargers 11, Vandals 4
MVPs:  Clare MacManus and Stephen Coll (Highland Chargers)

Plate Winner:  More Nuts (Edinburgh)
Plate Runner-up:  Inglorious Batters (Edinburgh)
Plate Final:  More Nuts 13, Inglorious Batters 12

2013 Winners

Greensox win Grand Final at 23rd Edinburgh Festiball

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)

2012 Winners

Lost Souls take top prize at the Festiball

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.

2011 Winners

Slammers make a statement in Edinburgh

Tue 30 Aug 2011

The 21st edition of the Edinburgh Festiball was played at Peffermill Fields on the weekend of August 27-28. Thirty-two teams took part, playing at four competition levels, and 50% of them won prizes (trophies and beer).

 

The last few hours on Sunday were played in the rain, but before that, the tournament was blessed with dry weather and occasional sunshine, despite the storms swirling around Scotland.

 

RESULTS

In the Pentlands Division (Comp 1), a Slammers team made up of players from London and Edinburgh defeated the GB Development Team in the Cup Final by a score of 6-2. In the Plate Final, the Manchester Lions overwhelmed the Glasgow Legends, 18-2. Cup MVPs were Fiona Hunter and Bruce Wilson of Slammers.

 

In the Braids Division (Comp 2), the Outlaws from Manchester won the Cup with a 13-6 drubbing of the Leeds Terriers. The Plate Final was an all-London affair, with the Chargers defeating Clapham Thunder by 13-5. Cup MVPs were Sarah Todd and Karl McCarthy from Outlaws.

 

In the Blackford Division (Comp 3), the Splitters from Bristol lifted the Cup after a 10-4 win over the Manchester Mutineers. The Chalfont Flames and the Dohnuts from Edinburgh played for a record two-and-a-half hours in the rain the Plate Final, with the Windsor side prevailing 17-16. Cup MVPs were Carol Nash and Tom Russell from the Mutineers.

 

Finally, in the Calton Division (Comp 4), there were two keenly contested finals. Two Edinburgh teams met in the Cup Final, with the Hangovers edging out the Vultures 15-14. In the Plate Final, another Edinburgh team, the Vandals, defeated the Hampstead Heat from London by 14-13. Cup MVPs were Geraldine Cavanagh and Scott Archer from the Hangovers.