Rob, Jeremy, Dean, Gary, Dave, Tom, Darrell
Sally, Fi, Bev, Michelle, Nhan
The Sun shone on the More Lions at Festiball, and we had a great time with some very good performances before losing a tight final to the Outlaws (3-5). We got off to a slow start in the round robin with a poor performance against the same Outlaws we would eventually meet in the final. That was followed by better performances against Festiberts and Raiders, before a well played game against the Thunder which ended in a 3-3 tie. Very early on Sunday we finished our initial group games with a comfortable win against the XXth Legion.
A record of 3 wins, a tie and 1 loss put us into the cup and a second round robin. In that we had good wins against the Fish and the Thunder folowed by a close and controversial loss to the Power Squad. The 2 and 1 record coupled to a good for and against record put us into the final.
Both sides played well in the final, with good pitching and fine fielding dominating. The Outlaws outfield excelled themselves and that in the long run proved the difference.
Over the weekend Darrell was our stand out player, but there were plenty of other excellent performances. Amongst many others Bev was impressive at third, Jeremy's pitching was excellent and Rob showed what a good player he has become both in the field and at bat.
Rob, Jeremy, Dean, Gary, Dave, Tom, Darrell
Sally, Fi, Bev, Michelle, Nhan
Despite some awful weather we had a great time at the Manchester tournament, going down by one run (9-8) in an exciting final against the Sting. Our initial group was a tight one, with one win, one loss and a no result being just enough to get us into the cup on run difference. When the weather eased up in the afternoon we put down a marker for Sunday with a good (15-0) win against the Blu Gnus to round off the day.
On Sunday morning we put in another good performance to beat the big hitting sheriffs 11-8, then finished top of our group with a 3-1 win against the Power Squad, a game which was 1-0 until the final innings.
In the semi we faced the Thunder and gained revenge win for our mid-week keague defeat with another 3-1 win. That took us through to the final , another tight well played game that ebbed and flowed.
Gary did a sterling job at pitcher, Michelle was brilliant in the field, Rob put in his normal awesome performance with bat and glove, Fi was great at 2 and Bev looked a natural at 3rd. Everyone else contributed enormously to what was a great TEAM performance.
Gary, Rob, Darrell, Tom, Dave, Dean
Nhan, Fi, Sally, Bev, Michelle, Emma
Another tournament and another winning record (just - 4 & 3 with a tie). The long trip to Southampton allowed us to combine playing with ring side seats at the European championship finals. In our initial group games we recorded a win against the Shafters, followed by a creditable close defeat to the Beachcombers and then a heavy loss to the Blue Sox. In our first plate game, the last Saturday game, we recorded a good win against Meteors 3. On Sunday morning a somewhat bleary eyed team tied with the Killa Whales before recording good wins against the Swingers and Bats to reach the semi final. In that semi we faced the Swingers again, and fatigue played a part in a close loss. Darrell was the star of the weekend with an awesome batting display, particularly on Sunday. Dave pitched well (until his arm fell off), Michelle showed how good she's going to be, Bev and Rob continued to shine, Dean played well with bat and ball, Ian sorted his hitting out and everyone else looked good.
Rob, Darrell, Ian, Dean, Dave, Tom
Bev, Chris, Mel, Emma, Michelle, Nhan
A combined C Lions and More Lions squad had a great time at the Leeds tournament, despite some vile weather, and finished with a winning (5&3) record overall, including 2 wins over first division MSL teams (Mets and Mutineers). In our first group game we performed creditably in defeat against the Mavericks, but suffered against the Puddings in the quarter final. Finest performance of the weekend was probably the 12-10 win over a strong Terriers team in our last game on Saturday. The Terriers jumped into a 6-2 lead after the first innings, but were then gradually overhauled in an exciting and well played contest.
Chris, Mel, Nhan, Bev, Louise, Emma, Manda
Andy, Ash, Ian, Rob, Dave, Dean, Darrell
Darrell led the way with the bat, with Andy, Rob and Ash also showing up well. Manda, Nhan and Mel were the best female batters. Ian's pitching was a real strength all weekend in some of the worst conditions imaginable, with torrential rain on Saturday followed by gale force winds on the Sunday. Defensively the whole team worked hard all weekend. Team spirit was great and everyone had fun. Leeds Photos
The More Lions got the new season off to an excellent, if rather muddy and wet, start by winning the C comp competition at the 2008 Mets tournament. We went 6 & 1 in group play before a comfortable 12-2 win over the Titans in the Semi set us up for a 6 innings 26-7 mercy rule win over the Sting and their assorted ringers in the final.
There were many stand out performances. Amongst others: Bev was the well deserved winner of the tournament MVP award. Dean already looks like a veteran at short stop. Manda and Darrell crushed the ball (as usual). Gary also stood out with his excellent pitching and awesome hitting. Emma and Sally started to hit with real power as the weekend went on. Everyone played hard and did their bit in an impressive team showing.
Thanks to the two Chris's from the C Lions who played all weekend and didn't look out of place, not forgetting Claire who played two games on Saturday morning and Adam who pitched us to a win on Saturday afternoon.
