ACS(I) triumph over Catholic High 6-1 to bring home the championship!

SOFTBALL

National ‘B’ Division Inter-School Boys Championship Final 2007
Catholic High School vs Anglo Chinese School (Independent)
Wednesday, 18 April 2007, at Kallang Softball Pitch

Story and pictures by Mr Bernard Han, a teacher from Catholic High. Thanks again, Bernard!

It was finally the day of reckoning when the two best softball teams met in the finals of the National ‘B’ Division Softball Championship. The boys from Catholic High were raring to go despite having played the semi-finals only two days ago. Sitting in the opposite dugout were the players from ACS(I). The stage was all set when raindrops started falling 30 minutes before the game.

The weather conditions were exactly the same when both sides met in the quarter-finals stage as the sky began to clear after an hour of waiting. Some boys were promptly dispatched onto the field to scoop out water from the pitch and the players were already warming up some distance away.

Zak of ACS(I) brings the bat down to bunt the ball. © Bernard Han

ACS(I) won the toss and chose to field, leaving Catholic High to start off the game at bat. During the final team talk, Coach Ronghan told the boys, "It’s not about the talent, it’s about the heart. It’s about how much you want it. We have come so far because we played good softball. Now, go out there and show everyone what we are capable of!" With that, the boys let out a confident cheer and Benjamin stepped up for the first bat of the game.

Leo of Catholic High gets ready to hit. © Bernard Han

Benjamin, Leo and Poon of Catholic High did well to get themselves on the bases. Wai Kuong took up his batting position in an attempt to bring his teammates home, but unfortunately the ACS(I) pitcher, Jon Whye, got the better of him and Wai Kuong failed to connect on a third strike. Hamin was given the same treatment and none of the runners were able to come home. Joshua was next to bat and his ground ball went towards the third base fielder who attempted to put out Leo from second base. Leo was just a second faster as he dived in. Joshua and Poon made it to first and second base respectively, and Benjamin scored Catholic High’s first run to lead 1-0! With the bases loaded, Yiming struck a good hit straight to the outfield, only to have the center fielder catch the fly ball to end the top of the first inning.

Catholic High’s Elphin swings with all his strength to hit a hard one to the outfield. © Bernard Han

Luke of ACS(I) was their first batter and much was expected of him. However, Leo was in form and Luke had to retire to the dugout after he swung and missed on the third strike. Vernon was next and he did his team a favour to get onto the first base. Shawn tried to advance his teammate on a steal as he missed on a swing. Vernon was already halfway to the second base, but the ever-reliable catcher from Catholic High, Poon, caught the ball and fired the ball straight to Benjamin at the second base. Vernon slid in, but the ball was faster and he was tagged out.

Jon Whye of ACS(I) misses a strike as it lands into Poon’s gloves. © Bernard Han

Catholic High’s turn at bat in the second inning was over very quickly because both hits by Kun Seng and Elphin were caught by the center fielder and the short-stop respectively. Benjamin managed to draw a walk to get on first base, but Leo could not connect with the pitch and was struck out. The coach immediately called the boys in to calm them down. "Be patient. So long as you know what you need to do, you will be able to hold them." Leo promptly took the batters on and with his tip-top pitching, it was no surprise that the next three batters from ACS(I) were put out consecutively. None of them touched the ball and advanced in this inning.

The third inning got off to a good start for Catholic High as Leo bunted the ball down and got himself safe on first base. Poon attempted to repeat Leo’s feat only to see the ball fly up and caught by the third base fielder. Wai Kuong connected well and reached the first base before the ball arrived. Leo advanced to second base on this play. The fielders from ACS(I) were quiet as their usual verbal tauntings were absent in this inning. Perhaps they were concentrating on the game, which explained the well-caught fly ball by their center fielder on a hit by Hamin.

Taylor of ACS(I) swings up in anticipation. © Bernard Han

Taylor of ACS(I) then took up the bat and swung hard at the first pitch at bat. The ball went up and seemed headed out of play when Yiming’s glove reached out in time to catch the ball. Hamin then picked up a weak hit from Aravind of ACS(I) and threw the ball to Wai Kuong at first to put him out. Jon Whye did no better as his fly ball dropped towards Leo. There was silence from the bench as Wai Kuong and Benjamin converged towards him. The inevitable happened. Leo dropped the ball, allowing Jon Whye to advance to the second base. This was to be the turning point of the inning as Luke batted to the left outfield to send Jon Whye home. Vernon hit again to the same area and Luke scored ACS(I)’s second run. Shawn batted to the center outfield and Vernon came home as well. The enthusiastic cheering from the Catholic High supporters were to no avail as ACS(I) scored 3 run from 3 consecutive plays. The inning finally ended when Hamin caught Yao Zhong’s fly ball. Catholic High were now trailing 1-3.

Hamin of Catholic High bunts foul as the catcher tries to retrieve the ball. © Bernard Han

It was the fourth inning, and it was Joshua’s turn to bat for Catholic High. Both Joshua and Yiming managed to get themselves safe on third and second base respectively, after errors from the first base fielder. Kun Seng then connected with a pitch, but the ball landed too near the home plate and Joshua was tagged out when he attempted to run home. Elphin and Benjamin both hit fly balls which were caught by the first base fielder to end the top of the fourth inning.

Everything seemed to be going fine for Catholic High in the bottom half of the fourth inning when they recovered the ball from left outfield and stopped Gerann of ACS(I) on third base. Zak then hit a fly ball which was caught by Wai Kuong as well. Unfortunately, an error at second base allowed Gerann to score another run for ACS(I) while keeping Tim Chua, who came in for Taylor, and Aravind safe on the bases. Jon Whye inflicted further damage with some good batting to send Tim Chua home, but he was caught in no-man’s land between first and second base and was tagged out by Wai Kuong. Luke stepped up to send the ball over Joshua in the center outfield. Aravind took the opportunity to score a run to stretch their lead further. In an unexpected run of play, Catholic High were now trailing 1-6. Catholic High finally ended their agony when Hamin and Wai Kuong combined to put Vernon out at first base.

The situation was now dire for Catholic High. If the boys could not score 5 runs or more in their final turn at bat, the game would be over. There was confidence among the Catholic High players because Leo and Poon were next to bat. So long as they could get themselves onto the bases, there was always the chance of scoring the runs. It was to everybody’s dismay as both batted fly balls to the outfield which were caught by the center fielder. The championship was slipping away from Catholic High. Wai Kuong gave a good account of himself by hitting low and hard, but he could not advance to the second base as ACS(I) recovered quickly to stop the play. All hopes were now on Hamin as he prepared himself. He made good contact with the ball and the hit looked promising. However, all was lost when the center fielder, who had proven to be our nemesis this time round, caught the ball to send the ACS(I) players into esctasy.

The boys from Catholic High came in and the reality hit them hard. They had lost the softball finals. Tears were streaming down their cheeks as they struggled to hold them back. For almost half of the team, it was to be their last shot at glory. The boys might have lost, but it was remarkable the way they went on an undefeated streak from the preliminary rounds all the way to the finals, with only 9 players and no reserves. All the supporters knew that the boys gave it their all and as Coach Ronghan said, "We came to the finals not based on luck, but sometimes, we need that little bit of luck to win the championship."

Indeed, and to the neutrals who were watching the game, both teams were champions in their own rights. Most importantly, schools’ softball was the winner today.

In the 3rd/4th placing match played concurrently, Peicai Secondary School edged out Orchid Park Secondary School with a score of 3-2 to claim the second runners-up position.

Batting line up for Catholic High:

Benjamin (8), Leo (14), Poon (91), Hamin (55), Wai Kuong (3), Elphin (24), Kun Seng (49), Joshua (28), Yiming (12).
Reserves: –

Batting line up for ACS(I):

Luke (2), Vernon (26), Shawn (96), Yao Zhong (12), Gerann (9), Zak (69), Taylor (32), Aravind (21), Jon Whye (11).
Reserves: Navin (10), Daryl (22), Reuben (36), Ronald (37), Wei Ian (16), Tim Chua (15).