AN EASY WIN AND TO THE FINALS WE GO!!!!

Pubz Comm Reporter: Chrissy Phoong

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12^th January 2008: Today’s a day that seems to favour all softball players. The weather’s bright and sunny; and our softball players were the first amongst the four finalists to arrive in the field preparing to fight our way through to win the gold award. But before advancing to the finals, we were up against Kent Ridge, the blue warriors.

From day one of training, softball players have been mentally and physically prepared for days like this, days when the scorching sun is one with the waterlogged, muddy fields; when even your ever-reliable spiked boots seem to be sinking into the muddy field. Today, batters had to prepare themselves to place their foot into the batter’s box which was conveniently flooded with yesterday’s downpour. All softball players will be leaving the field today, tanned, dehydrated with mud-splattered clothes.

During the top half of the 1^st inning, we were to bat first. That means we would have the chance to score points first. We were off with a good start with KR’s pitcher giving 4 balls (bad pitches) to our 1^st batter, Mei Hui who thus received a walk to advance to the 1^st base.  It was to be the first of the many ‘walks’ we’ll be receiving later. In fact, we ended up walking mostly during the course of the top half of this inning. The only exceptions were the hits by Ellen and Woon Yang, who both hit ground balls that proved too difficult for the KR fielders to catch. The top half of the 1^st inning ended with us scoring 6 runs, instead of the maximum 7 runs, due to a minor mistake by us not stepping on the required bases.

Next, it was KR’s turn to be the offensive team during the bottom half of the 1^st inning. We had a major advantage on our side as our pitcher, Mei Hui was unquestionably, one of the best if not the best, pitcher in NUS (this is proven as a fact, later during our play with Temasek). She managed to strike out 2 of KR’s batters. Excitement grew by a notch for a moment when there were KR players in the 2^nd and 3^rd bases who were prepared to run home when their KR captain stepped up to the batter’s position. Our players readied themselves for a very strong hit by the KR captain as Mei Hui delivered the ball. The ball was hit with a loud “WHACK” and it flew. But, it didn’t manage to travel far as that line drive ball was caught by our own captain, Woon Yang. With that excellent catch, the inning was over with the score still remaining at 6-0.

If our softball team thought that the walks they’ve received during the 1^st inning were the most they would get, boy, were they wrong! During the top 2^nd inning, we walked throughout the entire inning. We did not even bother to hit any of the balls tossed by the pitcher. Kent Ridge players, feeling the pressure to win mounting on them, decided to substitute their overly-frustrated pitcher after he gave walks to 3 of our players. Regrettably for them, the newly-substituted pitcher gave walks to another 3 of our players. He was then, substituted with the KR captain, who tried to reduce the effects of the loss but to no avail. He, too, gave another 3 walks. In this inning, we easily scored 7 runs, the maximum we can score due to the mercy rule implemented for IHG. The inning ended with the score of 13-0.

By this time, we knew that we have won the game. There was no chance of KR winning due to the mercy rule and the lack of time for another inning. But, during the bottom 2^nd inning, KR still tried their hardest to score runs. Thus, this inning was a little bit more exhilarating compared to the previous inning. There was a grounder caught by our 3^rd base, Licia, another KR batter struck out by Mei Hui, and not forgetting a fly ball magnificently caught by Laura, our centre field. However, despite their efforts, the KR team did not score any runs. The score remained 13-0. Their efforts were worth commending, though, as they still played hard although they knew they already lost. Great sportsmanship displayed by KR today!

All in all, we trashed KR. It was a relatively docile game with us obtaining 18 walks and only hitting 2 balls. It was an easy win with our exceptional first-class pitcher, excellent fielders and tactical thinking by our softball captain. Later, we would realize that the many walks served its purpose to allowing our players to conserve their energy to compete against the ultimate and the toughest opponent we would face, Temasek Hall. But for now, let’s celebrate! KE Softball team to the Finals! KE History in the making…

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KE ROCKS! KEVII Softball team, you made us proud.