The Thai Tigers softball team had the 4th place in the BISL league standings in their sights when they lined up for a double header against old powerhouse TILAC last weekend. On paper things looked good for the Tigers as they were able to field a strong team.
After a slow, scoreless first three innings in Game 1, the Tigers decided to open with the big guns at the top of the fourth and ran up a 9-2 lead. It looked as though that onslaught upset the gods however as the flood gates then literally opened, resulting in a 40 minute rain delay.
The Thai Tigers line up for their game against TILAC.
With the ball and the field now extremely damp, defensive play became real tough and the old but nifty TILAC crew took full advantage to come back strong and score a whopping 15 runs in their last 3 innings. The Tigers didn’t keep quiet themselves and kept firing back so at the end on the little table score sheet it read 17-16 with advantage to TILAC, though our own score keeper’s card read 17-17!
After some checking the mistake was found on the official score card so the effective score was 17-17 but the officials declared that TILAC were the winners nonetheless as they said the mistake was found too late? Not sure what that means as all the players were still present to start the extra inning to find a real winner of the game. TILAC thought it was the honorable thing to do to walk away and take a victory that never happened. Real guys!
The Tigers knew now what type of opponents they were facing and in the second game they kept their claws sharpened and put TILAC under constant pressure, running out with a 12-10 victory that could not be taken away this time by the officials.
So, what could have been a 2-0 day for the Tigers ended in 1-1 tie and left a sour taste in the mouth after seeing that elusive 4th spot fly away. The team could protest the result but they have decided to let karma take its course and the Thai Tigers will be primed and ready to strike next time.
Note: If you would like to get involved in some fun baseball or softball in Pattaya, contact Dirk at [email protected] who is the team’s player/head coach. Or you can also come by Fraser’s Sports Bar and Restaurant on Thappraya Road and ask Stewart on how to find us.
