The 2024 British University and College Sport National Baseball Championship was held on 17-18 April at the National Baseball & Softball Complex at Farnham Park. Rescheduled from a rain-soaked weekend in March, 10 of Britain’s best University teams converged in Farnham Royal with a new national champion guaranteed.

The teams were divided into three groups, with the top two teams from Group A, along with the Group B and C winners advancing to the semifinals. The remaining teams battled it out for placement and all-important BUCS points. Check out the results here.

Group A Group B Group C
University of Central Lancashire Oxford University University of Nottingham
Swansea University University of East Anglia Durham University
University of Kent Southampton University University of Essex
University of Edinburgh    

Cold, clear, and crisp weather greeted the student-athletes on the 17th, with fields in fantastic condition thanks to the hard work of the Farnham Park staff. With 10 hours of non-stop game action, every field featured quality baseball. Read the recap of day 1 here.

Following the first day’s action, the semifinals were set, with 2023 runners-up UCLan facing Durham, and an extreme North-South matchup between Southampton and Edinburgh to decide the championship contest.

Semifinals - 18 April

Durham 6, UCLan 5

A final-inning win in a come-from-behind effort for Durham shocked UCLan in a game that saw the lead change every half-inning.

Southampton 12, Edinburgh 11

In another close contest, Southampton were able to hold on to a 12-11 victory.

5-10th Place Scores

Essex 8, Oxford 7

Swansea 15, Kent 0

Nottingham 11, UEA 1

UEA 10, Swansea 5

Oxford 25, Kent 2

Nottingham 14, Kent 3

Essex 10, Swansea 9

Oxford 11, UEA 7

Championship Final

Durham 13, Southampton 2

Watch the final on BSUK-TV here.

The Wolves jumped out to a six-run lead in the bottom of the first inning, with their batters showing extreme patience and walking eight times in the first two frames. In the top of the second, an injury to Durham's shortstop left them with only eight available players, with the Wolves opting to use a two-outfielder setup. Despite the disadvantage, which included an automatic out in the batting order, Durham was able to add seven runs in the second inning. With Southampton scoring in each of the second and third innings, their pitching held Durham off the board in the third, 

While this is Durham's first BUCS National Championship, it is their third overall – counting the pre-BUCS University Championships before 2022. This is also the first BUCS baseball or softball competition won by a team other than Loughborough in the three-year history of the competition.

UCLan claimed a 15-1 victory over Edinburgh to secure third place, and their second straight top-3 finished in BUCS Baseball play.

Final standings + BUCS Points

Position Team BUCS Points
1 Durham 50
2 Southampton 35
3 UCLan 24
4 Edinburgh 16
5 Nottingham 14
6 Oxford 12
7 UEA 10
8 Essex 8
9 Swansea 6
10 Kent 6

 

Up Next: BUCS National Softball Championship

The top twelve BUCS Softball Teams will make their annual trip to Farnham Park on 11-12 May 2024. Defending champions Loughborough look to win their third consecutive BUCS Softball Championship, but will face a weekend of stiff competition. Come down to Farnham Park and watch for FREE! The Championship Final will be broadcast live on BSUK-TV and the BUCS YouTube Channel.

All Photos: Jody Demay-Davies/BaseballSoftballUK