The umpire was late, the dogs were barking, the children were learning to score... all in all the softball season has returned.

And so to the game. BatPak were defending their second successive Cup title, and intend to make it a hat-trick in 2011 under new Captain Peter Mullen who takes over the reins from wife Emma. The Cup this year has undergone a reformat, with only 16 teams being 'invited' to take part, and seedings based on last year's final standings determining the draw. This meant a visit from Marlay's second team, Mayhem, not the easiest task given the strength of the soutshide club, who this year are fielding an impressibe four teams across the Leinster League. BatPak's lineup had some changes from the end of last year, with Carol O'Toole returning to the infield at 2B, and Caryn Elmes making her competitive debut on First. A late replacement saw Steve Trundle regain his spot at 3B that he played so well for BatPak in Slovenia last year.

Mayhem gave Jon Barry plenty of practise in the first inning, not troubling the scorer. A youthful looking Brian Ebbs was starting pitcher for Mayhem, but unfortunately after walking three batters in a row he claimed an old war wound in his leg and was replaced by Conor Sayles. Pak scored six. This was met with an immediate response from Mayhem, with five runs scored. Captain Mullen had an immediate opportunity to make up for his first inning lead-off disaster, and took it by hitting the first home run of the season. Two further runs kept the holders ahead. But Mayhem were in touch, and a repeat of the second inning would have made this clear, however they could only muster two runs in the next two innings. Pak continued to apply the pressure, and knocked in two sets of five runs, including a Drew Hennessy special over right-field, reminding the soccer players that we hadn't gone away. At the end of the fourth inning the score was 19-7, and Mayhem's initial spriteliness at the plate had deserted them. Two further runs at the top of the fifth was not going to be enough to win the game, and this was confirmed with BatPak running in fourteen runs in response. Drew and Julie hit twice to each return 6/6, Caryn ending her first game with a triple and Dave, courtesy of Steve's bat cover-driving the ball between leftfield and left-centre to achieve his sixth, seventh and eight RBI of the game. Rules applied, and the game came to an end.

Next week the Leinster Premier League starts in earnest, later than normal due to the Easter break. BatPak welcome the Sluggers, a team that is never easy to beat, whether home or away. Rumblings of new recruits will add to the team's level, and BatPak can expect a hard fought game to start their League Campaign. As always we'll have live coverage on the site of inning by inning scores amongst other stuff.

Female MVP - Julie Walsh-Trundle
Male MVP - Dave Pepper