Tournaments
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[edit] Tournaments 2008
Tim is sorting out the tournaments this year. So far we're definitely down for the London Softball Federation - First Ball on 26 April and possibly the Manchester Tournament on 9/10 August.
Further details of tournaments for the 2008 season will appear here as we get them.
[edit] Tournaments 2007
We went to one. We got thrashed and ended up playing killer darts in deepest darkest Harringey. There was good quiche and chocolate brownies.
[edit] Tournaments 2006
[edit] LSF First Ball 2006
Spell check is a treacherous thing. For one thing it converts "Rhiannon" to "Rhino" which is unlikely to endear one to a member of any Human Resources department, regardless of the actual dress size of the recipient. In a similar vein, predictive text renders "Smirnoff" as "poisoned" which is, after several months testing Russian vodka on behalf of the Tecumsehs, I can confirm, entirely accurate.
There is, as the Tecumseh server proved a couple of weeks ago, an inherent danger in relying on technology to perform even the simplest of tasks (or at least relying on it to perform that task only once).
It came as something as a surprise therefore, when we discovered some time ago that Micosoft Word's spell-checker feels compelled to change "tournament" to "torment". As with many Microsoft products, it's not entirely on the money. "Torment" does not really do justice to the Tecumseh day out at the LSF First Ball. A draw and a win interspersed with beer and homemade pie does not really qualify as a terrible, heart-rending time. The day after, and the day after that, now that's torment. Sunday is a day of rest. Especially after a softball Saturday. It is not a day of cricket or charity bicycle rides. You nutters.
In the absence of a suitably qualified North American to step up and take the traditional tournament random facial injury to a Canadian, Kat bravely supplied both a change of nationality and anatomical part to seal the bruise of the day award for the Tecumsehs for the third consecutive year.
It should be a source of enduring shame to the more filthy minded of the team that it has taken fifteen years in the GLSML to develop the antithesis of all motivational chants. The Raiders may have a fully choreographed cheerleading squad, but on the 13 May 2006 a new battle cry was added to the Tecumseh repetoire. Anyone thinking that Give me a "T"/Give me an "ecumsehs" was wearing a little thin will be relieved to hear that this week at the top of the Tecumseh top 40 is a new entry; Jane Culpan feat. Shell Grayson with Who put the cum in Tecumsehs? (Seth did) (the extended 3rd innings batting collapse remix).
It was somewhat fitting, especially for the men behind the plate all day, that the evening should be spent in Crouch End, where Laura showed herself to be a true Tecumseh by blagging chips from a reluctant management and Seth resolved the great potato stand-off in the most decisive of manners, leaving Culpan chipped at the post.
[edit] Tournaments 2005
[edit] GLSML Superball 2005
Drawn in a round robin pool containing SPAM, Mi6, The Finsbury Dazzlers and The Raiders, we decided we'd be disappointed if we didn't make it to some kind of play-off but with the Mob and the Diamonds in the other pool no-one gave a thought to the final, which is where we found ourselves twelve hours, six games and several beers and bruises later.
Having beaten everyone but SPAM in the round robin we found ourselves up against the Mob for a place in the final (this time with a blue, BASU qualified no less and still not a rookie in sight...). And so it was that we ambled back to pitch 1, exhausted and slightly bemused, with a seven innings final ahead of us and a simple aim: how close could we get to them and could we actually win? Well, no. But we came very, very close.
Our first game, which took place at the snooze-inducing time of 9am was against Mi6. After the briefest of warm-ups and winning the toss we took to the field and shut the Agents out without conceding a run. The first three Tecumsehs up to bat were awake and just about everyone got on base. At the top of the second we were up 3. Mi6 scored 3. We scored 3 (including a home run for Steve who had clearly had his Weetabix). So had Richie of the Agents who countered with his own ...but a 6 run stint in the fourth and solid defense sealed the match.
Next up were SPAM who wasted no time in sticking 10 past us with a couple of home runs and some good running capitalising on some bad fielding errors. They then rubbed it in by shutting us out for a big fat duck. It was just the wake up call we needed and the next three innings were fairly even, with SPAM only scoring one more run than us over the rest of the game. So if you discount the first innings we did quite well. But they wouldn't let us, so it was an 18-7 defeat.
Two hours of kicking our collective heels, lunch, a few drills and Andrew and Hillary showing us why they are the most feared couple on the pub quiz circuit followed before we faced the Dazzlers. A division 4 side, but we were taking nothing for granted. Especially when we only scored one run in the first innings. Having shaken off our lunchtime torpor we added 3 in the second and some sterling work from the infield saw the Dazzlers go 3 up, 3 down. Adding 5 in each of the next two innings meant that even a late comeback by the Dazzlers wasn't enough and the result was a not entirely comfortable 14-9 win.
The Raiders were looking to even up this season's meetings after their defeat at Clissold Park but the Tecumsehs had just about remembered what their gloves were for and everything that went into the outfield came out in a glove. The shortstop/second baseman interplay could be described as poetry (but that would be unnecessarily w*nkerish, so it won't be). It was also in this match that the Tecumsehs, being creatures of habit sustained their traditional random facial injury to a Canadian. As Larry was the only Cannuck on board he stood up and took one for the team, right on the nose. Disappointed by the lack of proper stitches and lollipops in the first aid tent, he retired injured and sugar-deprived.
As the blue called "ballgame" the realisation gradually dawned that we'd beaten everybody but SPAM. A quick check by Seth on the clipboard of power confirmed that we'd be in the trophy semis. Someone made a flip remark about meeting SPAM in the final. They were laughed at. Someone else muttered that it's be just our luck to be up against the Mob. We looked up and there they were.
We won the toss and good defense saw the Mob take to the field again having added just 3. By the top of the third we were 7-9 up. And it was the third innings that marked the turning point of the game, two strike outs and an infield catch that surprised the baseman most of all saw the scores tied at 10-10. Top of the order and the first two runners made it home. If there was ever a time to turn a double play this was it. Steve at shortstop hit Sally who hit Seth. Two down and the final out came next ball. Bottom of the fourth, no new inning. Three runs needed and three scored. No one was really sure whether the all-over numbness was shock at the result or bodies which, for the regular team at least, are not used to 5 games in a day, asking whether it was time to go to the pub yet.
As we swapped pitches again and approached the spot where some of SPAM had set up camp (quite literally) we were asked if we'd come to watch the final. SPAM seemed very comfortable with the thought of facing us in the final given our performance earlier in the day. The end of the first innings saw us 12-8 down. Much better than 10-0 but not ideal. Just to prove they had some energy left Adam and Steve decided to see who could hit over the rugby posts and came very, very close. As the outfield on both sides dropped deeper and deeper Gail put in a stunning series of catches to keep us in the game. Both teams were tired and it started to show as the final turned into a defensive war of attrition. By the time we got to the top of the fifth it was just the teams, the blues and the organisers left. Digging deep, everyone found the energy to stop SPAM getting too far ahead. At the bottom of the seventh we needed 5 runs. We only got 3.
So everyone went home happy. SPAM were saved the ignominy of losing to a C graded side. We got a little bit of glass saying "runners up" that we acquired legitimately and a nice warm fuzzy feeling inside, but no beer. The collective Tecumseh thanks goes to: Adam, Steve, Mark, Gail and Sally, the blues, the organisers and the other teams. We couldn't have done it without you.
Next weekend: The Tecumsehs go to IKEA in search of a trophy cabinet.
