LCSL Newsletter Week 13 – semi’s, captains game announcement & more

Well, it’s been an extraordinarily busy week in the League, so here is a busy email as we enter crunch time. An email that you’ll notice looks rubbish as my laptop doesn’t let me use the MailerLite design platform we usually use. So, apologies for that one.

This week saw the busiest that Hyde Park has probably ever been on a Monday, with quarter finals that couldn’t be played last week played. Thanks to all captains for getting games in, some getting teams to play two games in a row, some playing double headers on the same night. Also, a massive thank you to everyone who has umpired this week. I know all the teams really value having the pressure of calling taken away at this stage of the year.

Some very tight games this week, including my Parkinson’s Peacocks sadly bowing out 12-9 to the brilliant Mind team, one of the most enjoyable knock-out games I’ve played, so a thank you to team Mind for making it so fun. Sporks also overcame the brilliant Sustrans Sluggers to set-up a semi-final grudge match between captains (and real-life couple) Sam and Kathryn. I am sure the mind games are rife in that household currently.

So, with nearly all the Quarters in the book, this is how our semi-finals look:

The Cup

1. Cancer Research UK vs Sporks
2. Mind vs the Saints

The Plate

1. The Corn Stars vs RNLI or Diabetes UK
2. Independent Rage vs Young Ducks

The Shield

1. The BearOs vs Wellcome Funderbolts
2. MS Society Mammoths vs Versus Arthritis

As we do every year, all semi-finals must be held in Hyde Park, this ensures we can allocate an umpire to every game. Good luck everyone!

Captain’s game – Wednesday 17th August

For those of you who have captained for a little while you’ll remember we previously used to hold an end of season Captain’s game. We didn’t get the game back going last year, partly because Claude who used to organise it upped and left us to move to Jersey. But this year it’s back with a bang. The captain’s game will be held on Wednesday 17th August in Hyde Park from 1800. All captains and vice-captains (yes that’s you), are invited to come along to Hyde Park, where we’ll sort everyone into teams and play a friendly game of softball. There are usually a few extra challenges thrown into the mix too. Look forward to seeing lots of you there!

Finals night

By now you should all know finals night is on Thursday 11th August (so soon!). We have some exciting additions to finals night this year that many of you have been calling for, so I hope your excitement levels are building!

If you are attending, it is essential you let us know how many of you will be coming along via our helpful google form. If you do not fill this out, we will not have food and alcohol for you. This is your second last warning on this!

Also, a reminder that the Plate and Shield games kick-off at 4:30pm on finals night. So if you are in the semi-finals do start preparing for the eventuality of an early start on the 11th.

Competitions reminder

Just a quick reminder that two of our lovely sponsors, BlueStep and Coopah, are both running competitions at the moment. Comment your favourite softball memory on BlueSteps LinkedIn post to be in with a chance of winning a £50 Virgin Experience Day voucher. Meanwhile, Coopah are giving you the chance to win a massive £200 bar tab which you can enter here.

A message from Harris Hill

Have a fantastic final fortnight!

Just a quick note from us this time to salute the semi-finalists and indeed everyone who’s thrown themselves into the season with so much gusto.

Our South London correspondent reports that if ‘levels of vocal enthusiasm’ are anything to go by, any of the teams who’ve recently played the Kennington Dustbowl (formerly known as the park) must surely be in with a shout, but we’ve no doubt it’s the same story elsewhere too!

Sadly we can’t be there in person for this year’s finale, but fear not, we’ll be sending a trusted delegation of representatives – canned and (hopefully) chilled – for every team to keep you refreshed through the afternoon’s festivities.

Schedules permitting, we’re hoping to bring you some pre-match punditry from the finalists themselves once the six teams are known, but for now, the very best of luck for the semis next week, and even better luck for the grand finals!

Team HH x

Oh, and we should probably mention something about jobs: basically, if you’re up for a new one after all this, do go and check out our website - we’ve got LOADS.

3 Views - Last updated: 22/03/23