[ratings]
The twentieth season is in the books for the Huntsville Ladies’ Slo Pitch league as the Kelsey’s team were crowned playoff champions for a second straight year at the McCulley-Robertson baseball diamonds.
Kelsey’s, who only lost one game heading into the post-season, were undefeated in the playoffs, although not without a nail-biting finale. The eventual champs overcame a strong performance from the Twits to win 13-11 in the exciting ‘A’ Division Final Saturday afternoon.
The other side of the board also saw a repeat champion as PT College defeated Moose Delaney’s in the ‘B’ Division finals to defend their crown as the tier-two playoff winners. It was a satisfying end to another great summer of baseball in the eyes of PT College pitcher Nicole Marshall.
“It was a good season, the girls played really well and we had a good time,” said Marshall, while still receiving congratulations and good-natured joking from her teammates. Having a good time is what it’s all about, according to the outfielder-turned-pitcher, who will be entering her sixth season in the league next spring.
“Just the fun of it, hanging out with a bunch of fun girls, coming out and meeting new people. It’s a good league to be in and it’s competitive at the same time which makes it fun.”
Full results from the double-elimination A and B Division playoffs
With a storied history during its 20 years of operation, the league expanded this summer to a total of 13 teams each with an average of 12 players, the majority of which hail from Huntsville, Burks Falls and Bracebridge. The regular season of 24 games sees every team play each other twice, while the postseason is a single day, double-elimination tournament for both A and B Divisions.
Repeat champions in this league are not entirely rare, as teams like Robinson’s Independent and Nadrofsky’s Lumber have put together strong winning runs in recent years according to league president Connie Spratt.
Spratt, who herself has been playing for ten seasons, sees the games as offering multiple benefits and a healthy outlet for active women in the community.
A member of the Twits breaks for home to score a run after an outfield hit on Saturday
“It’s a good night out, it’s exercise, you get out with the ladies, and it’s a night away from home. I think that’s how the majority of us look at it, a night out to have fun.”
The finals themselves presented an opportunity for more than just the ladies to have fun. Many of the players had loud cheering sections in the form of friends and family who came out to enjoy the late summer baseball. For the fourth year in a row, the league also rented the Huntsville Fairgrounds across the road from the diamonds, for people to camp over Friday and Saturday night and fully enjoy the festivities including an awards presentation and banquet after the finals.
With interest and involvement in ladies slo pitch in the area growing, as evidenced by the addition of a 13th team this season, the idea of a more dramatic league expansion also comes with some challenges. The main issue with adding more teams would be the inevitable bottleneck in the availability of playing time at the McCully-Roberston complex, given the number of other leagues that also use the facilities every summer.
Members of the Kelsey’s team celebrating a teammate’s RBI in the championship game
“I’d like to add more teams, but there’s just not enough diamond time,” said Spratt. “The men’s league plays here, little league plays here, a mixed league plays here. So we only have so many time spots open.”
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