On a splendid, sunny Sunday morning, with the smell of hot dogs and hamburgers wafting in the breeze, our Pattaya Phanaddicts challenged our US navy visitors to a three game softball tournament. The setting could not have been more ideal. Jimmy and his crew spend the entire weekend cutting, cropping, and dusting the diamond and field areas. Leo, owner of Leo’s Blues Bar on Naklua road and Soi 18 brought along dogs, burgers, beers, sports drinks, and his entire staff to service (not in that way) the refreshment stand for the tournament. Even mother nature did her part, by clearing away the cloudy skies, and letting the sun do its magic. If you took away the palm trees in the background, it could just have been a typical Sunday at the ball park, playing softball with friends in the summer sun in any North American town.

The US navy boys and girl (Sam, who was steady at second base, and hit the ball hard all day), were a tough match for our slightly older and pudgier local boys. They youth, speed, and endurance were huge obstacles that needed to be overcome. The Phanaddicts from Pattaya would have to dig deep if they were to win this 3 game sporting event. So with a worried look in his eye, team captain and pitcher Perry took to the mound, as Jimmy yelled the familiar words “PLAY BALL”!

Game 1 started as a tight defensive affair, with neither team able to get a runner around the bases until the 3rd inning. The Navy team struck first in the bottom of the third with hits from their meat of the order (Brown, Mike and Rickard), scoring Rice to move ahead 1-0. Pattaya struck back in the 4th with four runs, but the tough Navy team answered back with three of their own to level the game. The turning point was in the 6th inning, with teams tied 4-4 and both scheduled to have their top of the order up to bat. Diego managed to hit a solo homer that seemed to pump up the local team, and deflate the visitors. Perry, Mike, Rhys and Rick followed with singles that scored two more runs. The Navy team could only counter with one run scored by their leadoff man, Pennington. So at the end of the sixth inning it was Pattaya 7 and the US Navy 5. The last inning showed why the Pattaya team is a force to be reckoned with. Knowing they needed at least a couple of insurance runs, the boys from Pattaya put on a hitting display. Donny, Peter, Greg, Diego (who hit for the cycle), Rhys, Mick, Scotty and Tom all scored in the top of the 7th to give our boys a 15-5 lead. It was truly a wonderful spectacle to watch, as our boys found holes to hit to, with pinpoint accuracy. The US navy to their credit, never gave up, and managed to score two in the bottom of the inning to lose the game 15-7.
Game 2 saw the Navy team seek and find vengeance against the Pattaya old boys. They scored three in the top of the first and led from start to finish. Pattaya scored 4 runs in the last inning through hits from Bill, Jack, Scotty, Mike, Josh and Ron, to make the score respectable. It ended up US Navy 10, Pattaya Sports Club Phanaddicts 7.

Game 3 was the rubber match, but it had to wait until after lunch. Burgers and dogs were served by Leo’s Blues Bar girls, and a few sports drinks and other beverages were also consumed as the fans and players eagerly awaited the final game. The US Navy were now battling the elements as well as the local team, as the sun was turning them all a darker shade of pink. With the last hot dog consumed, it was time again for umpires Jimmy and Lee to scream, “play ball” and get on with the finals.

Those Navy boys and girl came off the starting blocks flying, by hitting back to back to back doubles and scoring 4 runs in the top of the first. Pattaya managed to get one back when Diego blooped a Texas leaguer to right field that scored our only Texan on the team, Greg. Great defence by the Pattaya team stopped the Navy from scoring in the next 4 innings, which gave the Pattaya bats time to warm up. The homeys scored 5 runs in the second, and 5 more in the third, with hot bats from Donny, Peter, Diego, Jack and Joe leading the way. The Navy team wouldn’t quit though, and they scored one in the sixth, and two in the seventh to make it close. The final score was, Pattaya Phanaddicts 12, the US Navy 7. For the complete box scores of all three games, see below.

In the end, the Pattaya Softball mini tournament was a huge success. It wouldn’t have been possible without so much effort by the following people. I would again like to thank our sponsors, the Pattaya Sports Club, Leo’s Blues Bar in Naklua for coming through for us financially and supporting us in many other ways as well. Our president John CF, and his crew of organizers, Tommy, Alan (whose presence was greatly missed by all, get well soon buddy!), Perry & Scotty. Special thanks must also go to Jimmy and his crew of Rocky and Lee, and John CF, as they did an outstanding job of turning our diamond into Pattaya’s own field of dreams.

In closing, I just want to add that our Pattaya softball league will be starting soon, and we are always on the look out for a few more players. Even if you have little experience playing the game, come on out, every Sunday, at Jimmy’s field of dreams in Jomtiem, for an enjoyable afternoon at the ball park. For more details contact me at iamwishingwells@yahoo.com or call me at 0879943531. Darryl “Diego” Wells