The lesson of changing a winning formula

The Marlow Mariners Softball Club learnt the lesson of not changing a winning formula as they suffered a 25-13 defeat at the hands of the Richings Park Hawks at the Marlow Sports club. Despite being on level terms for most of the match, a disastrous fifth innings proved costly as some shaky fielding allowed too many runs to be given away cheaply.

The Mariners could have claimed the win right at the start as the Richings Park Hawks turned up late and under the rules should have forfeited the game. All the Marlow players agreed it would be better to play and lose than to not play and win and that the most important thing was to get more experience. It was decided that the opposition should be given more time and eventually the game got underway.

Up until the fifth innings Marlow had played some excellent softball with batting, pitching and fielding all of a high standard, but at the top of the fifth several players were moved around in order to develop them in other positions. Eddy and Andrew were both removed from the outfield with the latter taking the position of short stop. This left the Mariners with inexperience in several areas and it showed. By the end of the innings, the Hawks had a 21-10 lead that proved unassailable.

There is no need for the Mariners to panic yet. The performance throughout the other six innings showed that they can hold their own against more established opposition and this will no doubt be shown in their next game when Marlow take on the Blue Jays at Lock's Ride in Ascot on the 25th July.