Match Report: Softball Guys vs ACS(I)
May 21st, 2010 by CCA PROIt was all gloom and doom the afternoon of 19th May. Gloom and doom for Anglo-Chinese School Independent, the unwitting victims of Hwachong’s rout in the ‘A’ Division Softball Finals! Having conceded a match to ACS(I) in a previous round, we were looking to avenge the loss and bring the trophy home.
Softball Whoosh
The pitch conditions at Ayer Rajah-Japanese Association of Singapore Sports Centre (AR-JAS) weren’t the best after some afternoon showers. It was more mud than grass, and we were left wondering how this might affect both teams’ performance.
The first inning was kept dead even through both halves, as both defenses kept their bases watertight. 3 of our batters were consecutively struck out, despite many accurate judgments made.
Undaunted by our failure to penetrate their defense, we moved on to the second inning. We replied with an efficient defense. While ACS(I)’s #32 managed to bat the ball, it was caught by our outfield and quickly translated to him being struck out.
Then came our turn to go on the offense. This would be the longest inning of the game, thanks to our seamless teamwork and a number of careless blunders by ACS(I).
Our first breakthrough came when our #8 Ben Oh beautifully thwacked the ball, letting #4 Wai Kuong and #2 Dom run home, and himself to 2nd base. 2-0 up. While Joel himself was called out, Ben Oh managed to capitalize on the confusion and run home. 3-0 up, with only 1 striker out.
Adrenaline pumping, our team went on to render ACS(I)’s defense hapless. A spectacular bat by #10 saw him one base from a home run, with his 3 teammates all scoring runs. The score-line now read 7-0.
Having exhausted an entire cycle of batters, #4 Lei was now up to bat again. Duly, he delivered. More runs from #2 Dominic and #8 Ben, Joel and Tommy rounded off an incredible inning.
After such a free-scoring inning, we were effectively 12-0. It was hard to see how ACS(I) would fight back.
Kudos and respect to our opponents though, for they kept their resolve to do well. They managed to score a single run on their turn to bat. Conversely, we held our defense well, even after losing our first-choice short-stop to injury (:
Heavy rain began pelting down on the already-muddy turf at the start of the bottom half of the 3rd inning, forcing match officials to postpone the match. It was highly fortunate that play could resume about an hour later. Had the match been called off, our hard-fought lead would have been reset.
Our team continued fighting their very hardest despite our more-than-comfortable lead. #6 Yizhang managed to steal second base, a risky tactic that needs an opportunistic eye and killer instinct, and went on to score a run. #10 Mousheng earned a walk and stole home due to a pitching error that saw the ball go through the catcher’s defense. Our next two batters were unfortunately struck out, leaving us 14-1 up.
We went into the first half of the second inning determined to defend our lead. We saw some spectacular defensive play. #2 Dominic stopped a fast grounder to 2nd base and fired to first base, striking the first AC batter out. Despite the occasional slip, solid teamwork covered the defense where individuals could not. We managed to contain ACSI and secure our victory.
After the 4th inning, a mercy clause was invoked. Because Hwachong was more than 10 runs up, the match did not continue into the final inning.
To keep a long story short, the final scoreline stood at 14-2, with a flurry of 12 runs scored in Hwachong’s fateful 2nd inning. Despite the abysmal conditions of the field, our supporters were clearly in high spirits by this time. We had stormed a decisive victory through.
We’re proud of you Softball (: This win makes us 5-time defending champions!
We were privileged to have an interview with the softball team:
How do you feel right now?
Fantastic. Excellent. It’s the 3rd time HC has defeated the same opponents (ACSI) in finals. This year the team was less certain of a win because we lost to ACS(I) previously this season. This led the team to become more motivated and train harder.
Could you describe your season in 1 sentence?
The journey has been long, difficult and definitely challenging. We didn’t do well for the Singapore Recreational Carnival Club Carnival. So the team became motivated to work harder to strive for better performance in the nationals.
Any words to other HC athletes?
We wish them all the best, especially for netball whose finals are on Friday! Hope they add a title to Hwachong’s collection (:
Any words of thanks?
We’d like to thank our coach, Ms Teo, and our seniors for coming down to support us for every game.
All photos: Credits to Aaron Kho of 10A13 
Popularity: 1% [?]