REDBACKS Baseball & Softball celebrated a "terrific day" when they hosted their first softball tournament on Sunday.
Forest Glade in Billericay played host to the event between teams from Wickes DIY stores across the region.
Teams from Maldon, Chelmsford, Rayleigh, Chadwell Heath and Ipswich took part in the round-robin tournament, where the winners would go through to represent the region in the national final on September 8, at the new British National Baseball & Softball Ground at Farnham Park, Slough.
The day kicked off with games between Maldon and Chadwell Heath and Rayleigh and Ipswich, while Chelmsford had the luxury of sussing out the competition before their first match.
The tournament was the latest of a number of sports that Wickes staff have tried in order to raise money for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. It's the first time that teams from Essex, Suffolk and North London have taken part in the national softball competition.
As the day went on, Maldon and Ipswich emerged as the teams to beat. Ipswich won all three of their first games while Maldon, who lost to Ipswich, won three of their four throughout the afternoon. However, in order to win the tournament it came down to Ipswich's final game against Chelmsford.
But a shock was on the cards as the Chelmsford team defied their position in the standings as they kept it close against the talented Ipswich side. In the bottom of the final inning, things got very tense and some tactical changes from Ipswich backfired as Chelmsford nabbed the victoryhanding the title to Maldon on run-difference.
Redbacks softball coordinator Michael Jones said: "It was a terrific day for softball at our Forest Glade home and I'm delighted to have seen so many people trying the sport and enjoying it here with the Redbacks, especially given the high-level of energy and competitiveness they brought to the afternoon.
"We look forward to working with Wickes stores more regularly in the future and helping Maldon to prepare for the national final later this summer.
"We'd also like to thank the Wickes staff, BaseballSoftballUK and our volunteers on the day for helping the event run so smoothly."
This year the Redbacks have been running softball development sessions for new players and for people to try the sport with the club in Essex. If you are interested in taking part in softball, contact Michael Jones at: mike@essexredbacks.com or on 07712 717470, or visit: www.essexredbacks.com/softball for more information.