TKGS beat Crescent Girls’ for 8th B Division Softball Championship title in a row

Story and pictures by Marvin Lowe

Kallang Diamond, Thursday, March 5, 2009 – Tanjong Katong Girls’ School, titans in the softball arena, claimed their eight consecutive B Division championship title by disposing first-time finalists Crescent Girls’ School 10-6.

Although TKGS dominated the game, they were given a few scares along the way by the feisty Crescent girls.

TKGS, with their long heritage in softball, looked set to take the match with ease. Right from the get go, the TKGS team stuck to their strategy, hitting and running hard. The TKGS girls were skilled in stealing bases and their lightning pace made it hard for opponents to tag them out.

Natasha Saddiq, the lead-off batter, got the TKGS team started when she was walked. Lingqi, the pitcher from Crescent, struck out Zoe from TKGS. Sally from TKGS was the next to be walked and TKGS now had two players in run scoring positions.

The Crescent team then gave the next batter a special walk to first base. This was part of their strategy to achieve a double play but it was risky with all the bases loaded. However, this plan failed and TKGS managed to score two runs instead. Linqi then managed to retire the side without conceding anymore runs.

In a surprise twist to the game, Crescent came out with all guns blazing when they batted and turned the tables on TKGS. They ran boldy while stealing bases and scored twice when the TKGS infield fumbled. Good running and sliding also saw them avoid being tagged out as well.

Asri, the starting pitcher for TKGS, failed to gain control over her pitches. She was replaced by Diyana, who was fielding at third base. She did exceptionally well to shut out the Crescent team, limiting the damage to four runs only.

Trailing 2-4, TKGS started the second inning with a vengeance and began piling on the runs to restore the lead. The first three batters from TKGS all scored to give TKGS back the lead at 6-4.

Diyana, taking on the responsibility as pitcher, did extremely well in the face of the strong opposition and pressure. She effectively shut out Crescent in the second and third inning, allowing TKGS to extend their lead.

In the third inning, with another player on first base, Natasha hit a magnificent two-run homer, sending the ball high and between the fielders. As she rounded home plate, her excited teammates greeted her with cheers and hugs. Diyana also added one more run in the fourth inning.

With a five-run lead now, Asri, the starting pitcher, was brought back on for a second stint. However, she wasn’t able to control her pitches well. She walked a batter and hit her second batter, allowing Crescent to creep back to within three runs again. Although Asri tried her best, she was duly replaced by Diyana again and she duly tightened the screw on Crescent and prevented them from scoring anymore runs.

In the very last inning, Natasha opened up with yet another run, making her the only batter to score a run at every at bat. However, her fellow batters failed to add any more runs. This now means that TKGS only have a 4 run lead with all to play for in the bottom of the 5th inning. Charlotte, the first batter from Crescent made a solid hit and it seemed like she was going to score when, Natasha, fielding at shortstop, made a spectacular catch. This ended the Crescent resistence and Diyana duly struck out the last two batters.