MSL 2006 Season
At the start of the season it was hard to know what to expect of a Lions
team that had lost four male players, including the best three, over the
close season. We had recruited well, but with a much changed line up would
we be able to come together as a team quickly enough to do ourselves justice
in the league ?
We need not have worried. We rattled through the Second division with a 5 &
1 record, the only loss being the Wednesday after an exhausting trip to
London. In the Play Off division we overcame an opening day loss and continued our good form achieving the
promotion place that eluded us last year.
Our biggest strength over the season was our team spirit but some
individuals did stand out. Amongst the blokes Darrell was a revelation, a
team player with both bat and glove, Gordon was excellent in the outfield,
Mitch did a fine job at shortstop, Adam hit well all year and grew in
stature as a pitcher as the season went on. Derek wreaked his customary
havoc on the base paths, Dave played well at first and hit well for average
(though pre season operations on shoulder and elbow hampered him all year).
Tony hit well, though his pitching took a step back from the heights of
2005.
For the women Lindsay was excellent all season, Vicky showed glimpses of how
awesomely good she will be in future years, Carrol hit well, Michelle
excelled at third whilst remaining fit all season for the first time, Kelly
hit like a dream, Nhan improved more than anyone else, Angela was excellent
at catcher whilst the Gaffa made light of the burdens of captaincy, hitting
for power and showing speed and determination on the bases.
Play Off Division results and reports, 2006
| June 14 | Rangers (a) | L. 7-9 (6.5) |
| June 21 | Runners (h) | W. 25-16 |
| June 28 | Allstars (h) | W. 23-3 (4) |
| July 05 | Rangers (h) | W. 10-6 (6.5) |
| July 12 | Runners (a) | W. 24-4 (6) |
| July 19 | Allstars (a) | W. 24-9 (7) |
| July 26 | Rangers (a) | L. 4-19 (5) |
| Aug 02 | Runners (h) | W. 7-0 (Forfeit) |
| Aug 09 | Allstars (h) | W. 14-8 (6.5) |
August 09: All Stars W.14-8 (6.5)
A thirteen run second innings settled this one.
Apart from this and an early scoring spree from the Allstars the two teams spent most of the game swapping zeros.
Gordon hit 2 homers and Adam and Vicky got one each. Angela's batting was also a highlight.
For the most part though fashion was the main talking point in a game that meant little and had a definite end of season air about it.
Male MVP: Gordon
Female MVP: Vicky
Aug 02: Runners W. 7-0 (Forfeit)
The Runners could only muster 8 players so we got the points by default at a cold and wet Parrs Wood.
July 26: Rangers L. 4-19 (5)
A generous Lions side were well beaten by an impressive Rangers team who
never looked back after scoring 9 runs in the bottom of the first.
When batting we picked out the better Rangers fielders with unerring
accuracy and in the field we chased the runners round the bases in fine
style.
Adam played well amongst the general lethargy going 2 for 2 at the plate
including a home run and looking impressive in the outfield after Gordon
succumbed to a reoccurrence of his ankle injury. Vicky hit the ball hard
whilst Michelle made some impressive plays at third.
Male MVP: Adam
Female MVP: Michelle
July 19: Allstars W. 24-9 (7)
The Lions registered a comfortable win against an All Stars team
who hit a few homers but otherwise struggled to get runners on base.
The batting was strong again from top to bottom of the order and the runs
flowed all through the game. In the field Mitch put in a first class
performance at short stop to add to his two homers. Adam pitched an
excellent game. Kelly looked good at Catcher and made an excellent tag at
home to deny Steve Melo a home run. Thanks to Chris Gresty who did a fine
job as blue.
MVP (male): Adam
MVP (female): Kelly
July 12: Runners W.24-4 (6)
Another solid performance gave us a satisfying win against a Runners side that included several rookies.
We coasted home on a flood of home runs
highlighted by our 11 run third innings. The base running was again good and
we took great advantage of some forced errors to keep piling on the
pressure.
Defensively we looked solid with Michelle and Gordon both staring again.
Kelly looked good at 2, highlighted by her throw to get a tag out at home.
Tony pitched well in the first half of the game and Adam closed the game out
strongly, finishing things with a nice 1-3 double play.
Special brownie points also for Gill - dropping herself for the first game
after the arrival of her new bat !
Male MVP: Gordon
Female MVP: Michelle
July 5: Rangers W.10-6 (6.5)
A hard fought win gave us some revenge for the loss we suffered in our
first play off game.Scoring runs was always hard work after a 6 run
first innings but we certainly did the business in the field.
Amongst many
strong personal performances Gordon did a lot of good work in the outfield,
Mitch was excellent at short, Angela made a fine tag at home and Gill made
some good plays at second, but Michelle outshone them all with a brilliant
display at third base.
We never built a big innings after the first but we did keep the score board
ticking over all the way through and that gave us the cushion to hold off
the Rangers when they did begin to score in dribs and drabs towards the end.
Male MVP: Gordon
Female MVP: Michelle
June 28: Allstars W.23-3 (4)
The Lions turned in another powerful performance, everyone playing well in an efficient display that
again hinted at the potential within the team that we are beginning to unlock as the season
goes on. Aggressive base running combined with a strong batting display to
keep the score board ticking over whilst in the field we took all the easy
outs and squeezed the life out of the All Stars offence. In an impressive
display of commitment Gill and Tony both put the team before their personal
health by rising from their respective (& separate!) sick beds to play.
Michelle was awesome at third and Tony pitched
another good game whilst Adam and Darrell again led the offence.
Male MVP: Darrell
Female MVP: Michelle
June 21: Runners W.25-16
The Lions gained their first Play Off Division win with a powerful batting display against the Runners.
Darrell's two Grand Slams highlighted an impressive all round performance. We kept getting on base and we kept driving the runs in.
There were a few wobbles in the field, but except for one dodgy innings we kept the Runners bats under control and certainly deserved the win.
Vicky deserves special mention, great at bat and in the field.
Gordon also excelled despite a couple of early wobbles, turning things round to put in his normal top class display in left field.
Male MVP: Darrell
Female MVP: Vicky
Remedial Maths award: Tony for thinking we were losing when we were 9 runs up.
June 14: Rangers L.7-9 (6.5)
The Lions came out with considerable credit despite losing a low scoring
first play off game against the Rangers, where the opposition's first
division experience was perhaps the difference between victory and defeat.
The Lions seemed 'tight' all the way through the game but despite never
playing well we kept the score tight, and in the last couple of innings we
got into a position to win even if we lacked the experience to close the
deal. Good team defence kept us in the game when the bats were quiet.
Darrell did impress at the plate and even took a walk - possibly a first !
Division 2 results and reports, 2006
| Apr 26 | All Stars (h) | W 23-8 (5) |
| May 3 | Blu Gnus (a) | W. 24-8 (7) |
| May 10 | Hackers (h) | W 22-2 (4) |
| May 17 | Bats (a) | W 21-11 (7) |
| May 24 | Piranhas (h) | L 20-19 (8) |
| May 31 | Speeders (a) | W 33-7 (4) |
| June 7 | REST | |
May 31: Speeders (a) W.33-7 (4)
The Lions made the Speeders pay for our loss of the week before with an awesome display of batting power and control.
The Speeders could hit, as they showed in the first innings, but after that we shut them down and they just couldn't live with us.
What was remarkable was that we only hit one home run, with Lindsay claiming her first of the season - the first of many ?
Everyone contributed to a real team performance, play off division here we come.......
Male MVP: Mitch
Female MVP: Lindsay
May 24: Piranhas (h) L.20-19 (8)
A tired Lions team couldn't back up after their weekend adventure. A mistake ridden performance brought our unbeaten start to the season to an abrupt halt.
A brave 7th innings rally took the game into extra innings but the fight back came up short.
The Piranhas hit, ran and fielded well and the Lions looked second best for all but one half innings.
Michelle played well in defeat and the big 7th innings fight back rattled the fish, but in the end we didn't deserve to win.
Male MVP: Derek
Female MVP: Michelle
May 17: Bats (a) W.21-11 (7)
The Lions chalked up 20+ runs for the 4th consecutive week.
The promising but naive Bats were this week's victims.
For the jungle kings only the catcher remained of last week's infield but the replacements still shut out the furry fliers in 4 consecutive innings in the middle of the game and that was enough to seal their fate.
So good batting and a solid infield.
On the mound Adam pitched well and fielded his position even better.
The outfield also looked a class act throughout.
The singing still needs a bit of work though.
Male MVP: Adam
Female MVP: Angela
May 10: Hackers (h) W.22-2 (4)
This was our most complete performance of the season so far.
Strong batting from 1 to 12 was combined with a fielding performance that looked increasingly polished as the game went on.
Number one on the highlight reel was short stop Mitch fielding a ground ball well past second and then turning to throw from shallow right
and getting the runner at first.
Male MVP: Mitch
Female MVP: Lindsay
May 3: Blu Gnus W.24-8 (7)
In a strong team performance an 8 run 3rd innings gave the Lions a lead they never looked like losing against a good Blu Gnus team.
Tony's pitching encouraged the opposition batters to get themselves out again, and Kelly's batting was also again a highlight.
The strengths of the team shone through again;
miserly defence means the opposition have to earn every run they score and our batting line up is strong from top to bottom, wearing teams out with hit after hit.
Male MVP: Tony
Female MVP: Kelly
April 26: All Stars W.23-8 (5)
The Lions overcame a team flu epidemic and a shaky start to record a comfortable
win against a talented All Stars team that will improve as they get used to playing together.
Highlights included a strong pitching performance by Tony and good hitting all round,
Kelly looked particularly good after missing the friendlies on Sunday.
In the field a poor pitch and trespassing rugby players didn't help an uneven performance.
Male MVP: Mitch
Female MVP: Kelly
Purple heart: Tony for battling on after taking a line drive to his knee.
Birthday girl: Michelle
