Written By: Isaiah Tan Edited By: Valerie Chua & Jolene Wong Photographs by: EusoffWorks
Our very first game of the 18/19 IHG Season kicks off as our Softballers met Sheares Hall (SH) on the field on a scorching Monday morning. A crowd of yellow could be spotted supporting their friends despite the relatively early match. With their warm-up complete, our Softballers were ready to face their first challenge of the day.
EH 3-0 SH
Our team started on defence first as freshie Shawn stepped up to pitch. Despite some solid contact with the strike, Captain Malcolm caught a line drive to force the first batter out. The second batter managed to have a decent hit on the ball but was also tagged out at first base. Captain Malcolm put a stop to Sheares’ attack as he caught another line drive by the third batter. From the expression on his face, you could tell it was no-nonsense plays from our captain right from the get-go.
It was our team’s turn to attack as freshie Big Boy Taka stepped up to bat and did not disappoint his fans as he smashed a home run as our first batter. SH wasn’t sure if he was a man or a beast. Second batter, Gin’s ball was caught mid-air despite good contact, tough luck. Third batter, Malcolm stepped up to bat next and hit a double while fourth batter Regina unluckily gets thrown out at first base. Lorraine hits an amazing double after some sweet contact, allowing Malcolm to reach home. Last but not least, Southpaw Senior, Joshua, also manages to make his way home to earn Eusoff’s third point.
EH 10-1 SH
One of Sheares’ batters managed to make it home while the next 3 were thrown out in quick succession. Another round of no shenanigans defence as expected from our well-trained team!
Deana took a walk to first to start things off. Second batter JJ made it to first while Deana ran to second. Hasya then reaches first, JJ to second and Deana to third base. Up next, Big Boy Taka stepped up to bat. He took everyone home. Need I say more? With that grand slam, Eusoff was now up 7-1. Next up, Gin reaches first followed by Malcolm hitting a home run to allow himself and Gin to reach home safely. Man’s on fire today! Southpaw Senior Josh, who recently returned from exchange, wanted in on some of the action too and hit the game’s 4th home run to end the inning at 10-1.
EH 12-2 SH
After a short break, our team was back on defence. Jowell managed to strike out their first batter with his accurate pitches. The score was now 10-2 in Eusoff’s favour. Malcolm caught another fly ball to put an end to Sheares’ attack once again.
First batter Jia Ling stepped up to bat and after a lovely hit, managed to reach first. Up next, Jowell manages to reach first while Jia Ling reached second. Fourth batter JJ stepped up and managed to reach first while Jowell ran to second and Jia Ling to third. At this point, the current score stood at 11-2 to Eusoff. Big boy Takaj stepped up once again and proved that he’s actually human as he didn’t strike another consecutive home run. He managed to reach first, allowing JJ to reach third and Jowell to run home. Unfortunately, Hasya was thrown out in the process (not physically of course, it’s an actual softball term). Up next, Avelyn stepped up to bat but her ball gets caught mid-air. That wraps up our attack for this round.
For our final defence for the game, sick moves by Big Boy Taka and veteran Billy at first base worked together to take the first batter out. Ex-Captain Jowell shows off his amazing reaction by catching a powerful line drive almost immediately after it had been struck. The game finally came to an end with Taka and Billy working well together again to throw out Sheares’ last batter.
All in all, the game finished 12-2 to Eusoff after an hour of baking under the sun. Our Softballers showed their tenacity and fighting spirit till the very end by not slacking or being overconfident despite the large goal advantage over their opponents. They quickly sought shelter and went for a quick lunch as they still had two matches to play after their lunch break.
After a short lunch break, our Softballers were back on the field under the scorching 12pm Singapore sun, more determined than ever to bag another win. The team was focused on the match ahead of them and no signs of lethargy or the common food coma could be seen. The team’s morale was also high after winning their first game against Sheares earlier in the morning. A larger crowd of yellow could also be spotted; saying you overslept or the match being too early was no longer a valid excuse (for the majority) for a 1pm game. With the players from both Eusoff and King Edward VII (KE) Hall warmed up, we were ready to start of the second match of the day.
EH 5-0 KE7
Our team starts on defence again cos you know what they say about the best defence… it’s the best offence. Ardy made his debut as he catches a nice fly ball to take KE’s first batter out. Following suit, Cannon Arms Marcus catches another fly ball to take out their second batter. Freshies Charmaine and Shermaine tagged team to take the third batter out. Thank goodness their communication skills aren’t as confusing as their names! Just like that, KE’s first attack was quelled by Eusoff’s sturdy defence.
Up first, Shermaine strikes so much fear into the opponent’s pitcher that she’s invited to take a walk to the first base. Cannon Arms Marcus finally stepped away from the position of coach and showed his teammates what smacking a ball to field 1 really means. With his rocket launch of a strike, Shermaine and him take a safe walk home. For our third batter, we have TM of the month Shu Yi who hides a smile while trying to maintain a serious face. She took a huge swing but unfortunately her ball was caught mid-air. Better luck next time Shu Yi! Fourth batter, freshie Ken Jun, with Japanese blood in his veins, stepped up to the plate next and with an excellent hit, makes a double to reach second base. Up next, star freshie Charmaine also manages to hit a double, which allowed Ken Jun to run home. Sixth batter, Ardy managed to dash to first base while Charmaine managed to sprint home to safety. Another freshie, Colin then hits a sweet strike to take himself to second, Lorraine to third and for Ardy to run home. 9th batter (who’s even counting anymore?) Farah then steps up to bat but unfortunately hits a foul ball. This lovely attacking half ended with the score 5-0 in favour of Eusoff.
EH 8-0 KE7
After a short water break and team talk, our players stepped out onto the field once again to resume their dominating defence. Charmaine steps on one to take out the first batter while Jowell and Shermaine work together to get the second batter out. In a quick series of events, their third batter gets thrown out as well. Solid job with the defence, lads!
Our first batter for this attack was Marcus The Tank, which we could see some of the KE fielders making their way almost to U-Hall and Field 1 to prep for another of his rocket balls. However, intelligent Marcus struck a ‘not so far’ ball and still managed to race to second while Shermaine reached third. Up next, Ken Jun hits a lovely triple to allow Marcus and Sharmaine to run home. Following Ken Jun, Ardy’s sky ball gets caught mid-air, #feelsbadbro. Tough luck for Lorraine as her ball gets caught as well. 6th batter Colin’s ‘good eye’ allows him to take a walk to second, allowing Farah to walk to first. Following, long haired veteran Billy hits a double, Farah makes it to third while Colin sprints home. Eusoff’s attack ends with the score 8-0.
EH 15-0 KE7
With their quick reflexes, Ardy and Shawn take out KE’s first two batters in a similar fashion. A spark of individual brilliance as Soccer (M) Captain Amos makes an amazing catch to take out their third batter.
Our first batter for the final attack, Trevor, made it to first. He managed to sprint to third while Avelyn’s ball gets caught in the meantime, #feelsbadgirl. Another crazy play from Amos as he hits a home run, bringing him and Trevor to home, with the former diving and rolling to the base as if he’s on a soccer field. This isn’t soccer, Amos. Fourth batter, Charmaine hits a nice double and makes her way to third as Ardy runs to first. 6th batter Lorraine runs to first, JJ to second ad Charmaine runs home. You might be wondering what happened to Ardy and how did JJ even get into the game? JJ had to substitute the cramping Ardy. Moving on, Soo then steps up to bat and makes it to first, Shawn to second and Lorraine at third. KE’s pitcher is then frightened by Billy and his luscious locks and gives him a free pass to second, Soo progressed to third while both Shawn and Lorraine walk home. 9th batter Sharmaine then makes it to first, Billy to second while Soo runs home. Score update: Eusoff 15-0.
Trevor takes a stroll to second, Sharmaine to third while Billy struts home. Sharmaine then manages to run home while Trevor makes it to third. Up next, superstar Amos hits another home run to take both and himself home. We’ve witnessed something special here, folks.
With the score capped at 15-0 (yeah, this reporter knew somewhere the math didn’t add up) Eusoff took their second victory of the day somewhat comfortably while being gracious winners. Their hard work during their trainings had finally paid off and they’re still feeling energetic and looking forward to their third and final game of the day despite the merciless weather.
Eusoff’s Softball team had to play back-to-back match after beating KE7 in their previous match. They were about to face their toughest opponents yet, Kent Ridge (KR) Hall. Despite knowing that it would a tough challenge ahead, our players remained focused in their warm up and kept their head in the game. With both teams warmed up and ready to go, a sense of nervousness filled the atmosphere as the players headed to the field for their final game of the day. EH 1-0 KR
For the first inning, our team starts on defence yet again, reinforcing their belief in defence is the best defence (yes you read that right). Captain Malcolm starts the game with a sick line drive catch yet again, leading the team’s excellent defence by example. After a series of pitches and bats, KR was in a dangerous position of landing a grand slam as each base was occupied by a player. Heroic Hasya came to the rescue as she caught a ball on the fly, which was struck so sweetly that it fell from the heavens above. With that lovely play, she denied all 3 runners while also taking the last batter out. Well done superstar!
Change of half now as it was Eusoff’s turn to attack. Up first, was experienced southpaw senior Josh as he quickly made his way to first. Second batter Sharmaine then struck a sweet ball to allow herself to run to first, while allowing Josh to run to second. Third batter, Cannon Arms, Marcus, then calmly stepped up to bat next. Unfortunately, his ball was caught but it still allowed Josh to run home and Sharmaine to make her way to second. Next up, Gin managed to run to first while Sharmaine gets tagged out. Fifth batter, Captain Malcolm was next to bat and made his way to first while Gin sprinted to second. After a stroke of tough luck and a few hiccups, our batter was thrown out with the round ending in favour of Eusoff 1-0 KR. EH 1-4 KR
The team continued its formidable defence throughout the day as former captain Jowell’s, with his lightning quick reflexes, catches the batters ball as soon as it is struck. How does the man do it? M&M (Malcolm and Marcus) worked well together to throw KR’s second batter out at second base. After a series of events, KR found themselves in yet another grand slam opportunity (4-point play). Despite Eusoff’s best efforts, the well-experienced KR batter landed a nice strike to take all four runners home. Following that play, soccer captain, Amos, caught a fly ball to throw out the third batter. It was now our turn to attack as Lorraine stepped up to bat. She kicked things off to a fantastic start with a double. Second batter Amos hits his ball slightly too high and it gets caught but fortunately, Lorraine was able to reach second safely. Next up, Hasya got thrown out at first which ends the inning. Score update: EH 1-4 KR. EH 3-4 KR
Back on defence our Softballers looked ready to stage a comeback. BIG BOI Cannon Arms Marcus performed a sick fly ball catch got the first batter out. An intense and nail-biting game was on our hands as our captain and ex-captain worked together, with Malcolm throwing to home base as Jowell tags another batter out. These men have laser aiming devices built into their systems as their powerful and precise throws left this reporter speechless. One moment you would see their arms move and the next, the ball magically appears in another teammates’ glove. Anyway, our solid defence managed to contain the score at 1-4 to KR. Leading the attack, first batter Josh stepped up to bat with a confident look on his face. He hits a lovely double. As a result, Sharmaine runs to first while Josh stays on second. BIG BOI MONSTER CANNON ARMS HUGE CHEST Marcus then hits another double as Sharmaine runs to third while Josh runs home. Tough luck for fourth batter Malcolm as he hits his ball a tad bit high and it gets caught while Sharmaine runs home. With that, the Inning ends with Eusoff down by one and the score at 3-4 KR.
EH 8-4 KR
After a quick motivational speech by Captain Malcolm, our players looked determined to win the game. Defence is the best defence once again as Marcus made a solid catch to get the first batter out. Following suit, star freshie Charmaine made an excellent catch to get the second batter out. Jowell and Josh worked together to take out the last batter at first base. In just a few instances, Eusoff’s defence proved to be a tough nut to crack.
First batter Jowell, made it to first while Lorraine takes a walk to third, allowing Jowell to walk to second. Third batter Soccer (M) Captain Amos Cheah then makes a triple play with some jaw dropping skills as his home run allowed himself, Lorraine and Jowell to make it home. With that, the score stood at EH 7-4 KR, what a comeback!
Tough luck for Hasya as her hit gets caught mid-air. Josh then bats another lovely double. 6th batter Sharmaine takes a walk to first while Josh stays on second. BIG BOI MONSTER CANNON ARMS HUGE CHEST SUPER HANDSOME Marcus hits another lovely double, allowing Sharmaine to reach third as Josh runs home. Next, Gin’s ball gets caught mid-air while Marcus stays on second and Sharmaine on third. 9th batter Charmaine then races to first while Marcus runs to third and Sharmaine walks home. Ah, a pity as Jowell’s hit gets caught as Eusoff end the inning at EH 8-4 KR.
The last stand for Eusoff was another test to our defence. KR had a lovely double after Malcolm nearly made an amazing lay out catch to save the ball. Amos made another nice catch to take one out. The final moments of the game happened so quickly that it left majority of the supporters confused as to what happened. After pitching, Jowell immediately caught the batters ball, and with a sleek flick of the wrist, he launched another fast ass ball to throw the other batter out as well. WHAT. A. BEAST!
This match clearly showed the character and fighting spirit of our athletes as they made a lovely comeback to take the victory home. Three wins out of three and our team is looking in mighty fine form. Looking forward to the upcoming matches where our talented squad can once again put on a display of their top level set of skills. Let’s go, team Eusoff!
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