The annual "Start of Season Blitz" was hosted by the Irish National Team in ALSAA on Saturday 16th April. Marlay Softball Club entered two teams: Marlay Martyrs 1 comprised primarily of Premier Division players and Marlay Martyrs 2 comprised of Division 1 and Division 2 players.

The day saw club debuts for Breda Moffitt, Sonja Eisenberg, Eoghan Murphy, Brian Ebbs and Bart Barden. The day began with a round robin format, each team playing 4 games with a break for lunch. Both teams took advantage of the opportunity to give all players on the roster a few much needed live game at bats and a rare chance to experiment with defensive line-ups.

Marlay 1 began with a loss against Castleknock. With lots of pre-season rust on show, the Marlay bats never got going and a few defensive errors saw Castleknock to victory. Things picked up though with a close win against the Suspects. The bats started to come together after lunch, and resulted in further wins against the Sluggers and "2Pak" - a combined Batpak - Dublin Bay Packers team.

Meanwhile Marlay 2 finished the round robin with a draw against Renegades 2, and losses to 2Pak, Blazzers and Castleknock. Although they've seen better days on the field, Marlay 2 had lots of laughs and enjoyed shaking off the winter's rust. Strong play by Fiona and Breda were highlights to build on.

The semi finals saw Marlay 1 pitted against 2Pak again, while a UCD team featuring a number of Marlay players faced the Limerick Originals. The Originals' power hitters saw them overcome UCD, and Marlay 1 scored their second win against continuing to show improvement from their early morning form.

So the SOSB final came down to Marlay 1 against the Originals for the third time in five years. Unfortunately it also saw the same result with the Originals picking up their sixth consecutive SOSB win with a 15-8 scoreline. The Originals took a 7-0 first inning lead and managed to tack on a few runs in most innings to stay ahead of a Marlay comeback.

A good day had by all with lots of good to take into the new season and lessons to be worked on at practice! The day finished with the social committee's trip to the Shelbourne dog track and O'Donoghues for a few well deserved refreshments.