The joy of softball

Well, the season has finished for softball for Apollo. I have to take a moment to explain the joy I felt by putting on a helmet and glove. When I first put on a glove my position was second base. I wasn't so great at it so Mr. Petty (my awesome coach) put me in the infield. The ball then came to me and I through it to first base quickly and accurately. From then I knew I should play the game of softball. The next few times I was too excited and overshot first base but it was my first training session. Sadly last year we didn't make it through to district. So this year I had a different mind set. It was get past GKA. We did that quite well. During the early season I was scared that I lost a bit of my form. But then I proved myself wrong. I loved everything in the game. Meeting new friends, scoring winning runs and just playing Softball in general. I loved everything. I have to thank my 2010 and 2011 team that I have played with. They have always supported me and they were always great. But I have to thank Mr. Petty the most. He has taught me new techniques for 2 years and I will never forget that. So that is my last report. I will put up my other blogs so that you can read them.

Apollo A vs. Swan Hill

So Preston girls defeated Swan Hill. Now it's time for Apollo to face the Swans. Apolllo won the toss and chose to field. Swan Hill hit out in the first innings and score 5 runs in the innings. Apollo then stuck strong to the innings and scored 3 runs. Swan Hill were a great team in everything. They fielding though was world class. Swan Hill then scored 2 runs to make the score 7-3. Apollo then only managed 1 run in the innings. This took the score to 7-4 in Swan Hill's way. Swan Hill was then kept scoreless in the third innings. Apollo then managed only one run in the third innings again. Apollo did some great fielding in the fourth innings and kept Swan Hill scoreless. Apollo then came on to bat and sadly they were kept scoreless. The final score was 7-5 in Swan Hill's favour. Apollo did really well to make it to conference. They were then given a reward after the game. So Apollo's campaign was over. Apollo also claimed that the umpire was unfair to them. I thought that the umpire made some good calls and some really bad calls. So she was alright.

Preston vs. Swan Hill

Apollo had another team on the bus to Strathdale Park. That team was Preston. The Preston girls team played Swan Hill. Preston never looked like losing and won by a satisfactory margin. The next game is Apollo A vs. Swan Hill.

Apollo A vs. Swan Hill Pre Game

Apollo A will face Swan Hill next Monday (21/11/11) to decide who is going to be the best 3 teams in the whole of Victoria. Apollo are confident that they can win against their opponents. They will be playing Bendigo. But will the bus tire the Apollo boys out. You will just have to wait and see. Also Apollo won't be on the bus alone. They will be with the girl winners of Regionals, Preston.

Apollo A girls

Apollo A girls went with the Apollo A boys last Monday (13/11/11). Apollo A girls first game was against Oak Park. Apollo smashed Oak Park with a 15-2 win. There next game was against Epping. this game ended up to be a draw. The final score was 9-9. Apollo's next game was against Preston. This time Apollo's luck ran out. Preston knocked out Apollo from the Regional finals. Preston is going to play in state next week (21/11/11). They are going to share a bus with the Apollo boys who made it into conference on Monday.

Apollo A vs. Sunbury West

Apollo know if they win this game they will be through to Conference. They faced Sunbury West. This time a coin was tossed and Apollo won the toss. They chose to field again. Apollo fielded brilliantly and kept Sunbury scoreless. Sunbury did well themselves when Apollo came out to bat, reducing Apollo to only 1 run. Apollo also dug deep in the second and final innings and kept Sunbury scoreless. Apollo then sealed the victory with a 7 run innings. The final score was 8 Apollo, Sunbury 0. This meant that Apollo were through to Conference.

Apollo A vs. Coburg West

Apollo's third game was against Coburg West. The bat was tossed and Apollo won the toss. They chose to field again. Apollo did some great fielding by letting Coburg score no runs in their first innings. Apollo followed it up with a 7 home innings. Coburg West then scored 3 runs in the second innings. Apollo then followed it up with two runs in their innings. The final score was Apollo 9, Coburg West 3.

Apollo A vs. Rosanna P.S

Apollo's next game was against Rosanna. Apollo had seen Rosanna play against Sunbury West so they knew what they were up against. The bat was then tossed and Rosanna won the toss. They chose to field. So Apollo opened up with a 7 home innings. They had watched Rosanna's pitcher play and they realised that he was fast but not accurate. Apollo then followed up their great innings by keeping Rosanna scoreless. Rosanna then scored 7 runs in their second innings. This put the pressure back on Apollo. Apollo then wasted time and scored 2 runs. The end score was 9-7.

Apollo A vs. Westgath

The first game of the North East Region for Apollo was against the side Westgath. Apollo had a bye in the first round. So the bat was tossed and Apollo won the toss. They chose to field. Westgath scored 1 run in the first innings thanks to some great fielding by Apollo. Apollo then crashed out and scored only 2 runs. Westgath then went in for their second innings. Apollo did their homework and kept the runs down. Westgath scored 2 runs in that innings. Apollo then scored 3 runs in that innings. The score is now 5-3 at the end of the third innings. Apollo then worked together and made sure that Westgath didn't score a run in the third innings. Then Apollo scored 5 runs in the third innings to secure their win. The final score was 10-3.

Apollo A vs. Eltham

Apollo played Eltham in the game for zone. Eltham rolled up to Apollo 30 minutes before the game. So let's fast forward to the game. The game was to be played at Apollo's home ground. Apollo won the toss and decided to field. This would prove decisive in the last innings. Apollo fielded first. So Eltham came up to bat. There was some controversy in the base calling system. An Eltham player kept on lefting their base too quickly. Eltham's captain Jacob also said that hit a foul. Though the umpire's let it go and he was forced out. That left Eltham with no runs in the innings. Apollo batted next and scored 2 runs. Eltham then concentrated a little harder in the second innings because they came blasting out of the blocks with a seven home game. This left the scores 7-2. Apollo though was taken aside by their coach.This seemed to power them with confidence as they score seven runs as well. This meant that the scores were 9-7 in Apollo's favour. Eltham then knuckled down and scored seven runs. The score is now 14-9. This was a world class game. The Apollo coach took the Apollo side to talk again. This gave new courage in their hearts as Apollo really pulled together some big hits and score 7 runs in the innings. The score was now 16-14 at the end of the third innings. The forth innings started with 7 minutes to go until the end of the match. Apollo did their best and ran down the clock. Apollo scored a memorable win. The final score was 16-14. The game had an extra sense of joy to it as there was a debutant in the side. Though that debutant did a lot. His name was Jesse. He deserved the man of the match award.

Apollo A vs. Eltham Pre Game

Apollo A will play Eltham on Friday 4/11/11 at 1:15. This is a very important game for both sides as the winner will progress through to the next round. Apollo are going to bring in another player as there is a player that has broken his arm. This replacement will be the second baseman.

Apollo A vs. Montmorency

Apollo A softball were meant to play softball against Montmorency. However Montmorency didn't have a team and Apollo won by walkover. Next Friday they will play Eltham.