The Clash of the Titans to name the Champion of Champions
Softball SA - 24 April 2012
Softball SA Media Release
SA Men’s Fastpitch Champions League
The Clash of the Titans to name the Champion of Champions
Yesterday saw the South Australian Men compete for the 2012 Champions League title. The teams invited to the event comprised of the finalists from all of the men’s associations across South Australia. The top four teams were the Roadrunners and Hillbillies from the Northern Area Men’s Softball Association (NAMSA), and Glenelg Rebels and the Raiders from the Men’s Fastpitch SA (MFSA), which is based at West Beach.
The day started out with a round robin format that saw all teams play each other once. Once completed, two semi-finals were played for a place in the grand final. After convincing victories, it was the Rebels and Roadrunners that played off for the title.
The grand final started with a bang, with two consecutive homeruns in the first innings hit by the Roadrunners Team, Bodie Williams and then on the next pitch by Jarryd Farrell. This gave the Roadrunners a great start and something to chase for the Rebels. The following innings saw Roadrunners extend their lead with a grand slam when Jarryd Farrell hit his second homerun for the game, giving the Roadrunners, an even larger advantage. Despite the fight back seen throughout the game by the Rebels, the Roadrunners were victorious to take the 2012 Men’s Champions League title, 6 runs to 3.
Regardless of the sun showers during the grand final, it was pleasing to see that the numerous spectators on the day were there to support the men’s game and the tournament.
Other awards presented on the day included Best Pitcher, Dan Waters (Rebels). He had an impressive championship and finished with the lowest ERA of 3.302. Best Batter, Duke Donohue (Hillbillies). Duke had an amazing batting average of .800 with 4 RBI’s and an incredible on-base average of .833. The final Award presented was for the MVP of the tournament. The MVP award is named after a former Australian Men’s player, and one of the greatest players to come from SA, Wess Frances, The MVP went to Bodie Williams (Roadrunners), with a batting average of .571, an on base average of .800, a slugging average of 1.714, and a fielding average of .941, he was definitely the stand out throughout the day.
Overall it was an excellent result from the second annual Champions League, for Men’s softball in this State and a great way to end the 2011/12 Softball season.
By: Jacqui Dunn and Annali Dolman
