Bendigo Masters 2009
Raiders win GOLD in the cold
by Kerry
On the long weekend in June, the Raiders Masters team made their way to Bendigo to compete in the 2009 Victorian Softball Masters Tournament. We travelled by mini bus to our destination and thanks must go to Anna, our trustworthy bus driver for the weekend. Thanks also to Mary-Anne, our organiser extraordinaire, who put the whole thing together, as well as providing drinks and nibbles for the bus trip. There was much gaiety on the bus as we anticipated a great weekend away in the Greater City of Bendigo.
Our accommodation was very comfortable (thanks again Mary-Anne) and the players that did not travel on the bus started arriving early in the evening, albeit via the fountain (four times) or the funeral home. Mary-Anne provided her extended family with lasagne for dinner, along with a few bottles of refreshing bubbly. We were in bed before midnight (just), not necessarily because we were conscientious, but because the landlady threatened to fine us for disturbing the peace!!
Bendigo was very cold and foggy and the diamonds were not what we were used to. There was complaining that we were registered in B Grade (and not C), but we had to suck it up and move on. We played our first game against Peninsula Braves and had a good win, which was great for team morale.
In the afternoon we played Geelong Sliders, and regrettably lost 9 runs to 2. They were a very good team and tipped to be in the grand final at the end of the weekend.
On the Sunday we had wins against Phoenix and Tassie Sharks and Monday morning we beat Rebels 10 runs to 4. This put us in second place on the ladder to play off in the Grand Final against Geelong Sliders, which had been our only loss for the weekend.
We were not confident going into the grand final game, however we had nothing to lose, except perhaps our pride. The game was very tight and at bottom 4, the score was one run all. Geelong went into the 5th innings and scored 5 runs, and unfortunately we could only answer with 1 run in that inning, so at bottom 5 the score was 6 runs to 2. The brave decision was made for Vanessa to come into pitch, her debut for the weekend and luckily she kept them scoreless, even achieving a strike out. It was the bottom of the sixth innings when our luck changed. The skies opened and the drizzling rain came down. Vanessa, Claire and Sheryl all got safe hits. Then Fran put down a great bunt, which put the pressure on and caused a wild throw. The momentum was unstoppable with further hits from Mary-Anne, Glenys and Caz and that was the ball game with Raiders winning 7-6.
Some may say that Geelong appealing against Vanessa's home run may have brought them a bit of bad karma.
This was a great comeback by Raiders that will have to go down in the history books. It was a fantastic team effort and at the end of the day we walked away with GOLD medals, which has to be good. The trip home on the bus was very noisy, with lots of tired, but excited (and excitable) girls. There was champagne, and lots of it, to celebrate our fabulous win. There was music and singing some of it actually in tune. This capped off a great weekend away, with the only downside being that training for A GRADE starts soon!!!
Players: Sue Arnett, Sheryl Ecker, Claire Shelvey, Fran Smethurst, Kerry Trevethan, Vanessa O'Shea, Carolyn Di Paola, Mary-Anne Tyler, Tania Tatterson, Margie May, Glenys Bryce
| Team Co-ordinator | Mary-Anne Tyler |
| Team Manager | Sam Zsolt |
| On Diamond Coach | Stuart Tyler |
| Statistician | Allison Pendlebury |
| Bus Driver | Anna Chmiel |
A big thank you to Allison for scoring the weekend and also to Sam, our team manager for her support, especially for washing our uniforms and her special privileges. Also thanks to Stuart, who ran from playing his own games to coach us on the diamond, which took the pressure off the players.