The 2024 BUCS National Softball Championship had a beautifully sunny spring day to kick off the competition at the National Baseball & Softball Complex at Farnham Park, with nine teams fighting it out for the title on Saturday, 11 May.

The nine attending teams - with two unable to make the rescheduled tournament, and one not attending - were divided into two groups for an opening round round-robin. Following the opening round, the top three teams from each group advanced to a second round-robin, with head-to-head results carried over from the opening round, and forming a top six. The remaining teams continue in the lower round-robin. The second round will conclude tomorrow, 12 May, with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals and finals, and all nine participating teams battling it out for crucial BUCS points!

Make sure to catch the Championship Final on BSUK-TV here at 3 PM, with Chris Knoblock and Michael Thomas bringing you all the action.

Group A Group B
UCLan Oxford Brookes
Reading Nottingham
Loughborough York
Southampton Bournemouth
Manchester Essex*

*Essex did not attend Nationals, with rules stating that all games be considered a 7-0 forfeit to the opposition.

Saturday - Day 1

Opening Round

Nottingham 14, Oxford Brookes 11-4

Reading 13, UCLan 4

Loughborough 9, Southampton 6 

Reading 10, Manchester 3

York 8, Nottingham 5

Loughborough 10, UCLan 6

Nottingham 13, Bournemouth 1

York 6, Oxford Brookes 3

Loughborough 15, Manchester 4

Reading 12, Southampton 5

Manchester 14, UCLan 13

York 11, Bournemouth 1

Standings After Round One

Rank Team Rank Team
A1 Reading B1 York
A2 Loughborough B2 Nottingham
A3 Manchester B3 Oxford Brookes
A4 UCLan B4 Bournemouth
A5 Southampton  

 

 

Second Round - Day 1

Upper Group

(A1) Reading 15, (B3) Oxford Brookes 1

(B1) York 12, (A3) Manchester 3

(B2) Nottingham 10, (A2) Loughborough 8

Lower Group

(B4) Bournemouth 11, (A4) UCLAN 9

(B4) Bournemouth9, (A5) Southampton 6

Sunday - Second Round, Semifinals & Finals

Second Round Schedule

Upper Group - Pitch 1 & 10

9 AM: (A1) Reading vs. (B1) York | (A3) Manchester vs. (B3) Oxford Brookes

10 AM: (A2) Loughborough vs. (B1) York | (B2) Nottingham vs. (A1) Reading

11 AM: (A2) Loughborough vs. (B3) Oxford Brookes | (A3) Manchester vs. (B2) Nottingham

Lower Group - Pitch 9

9 AM:  (A4) UCLan vs. (A5) Southampton

10 AM: (B4) Bournemouth vs. (A4) UCLan

11 AM: (A5) Southampton vs. (B4) Bournemouth

12 PM: (A4) UCLan vs. (A5) Southampton

Placement Games 

5/6 Playoff - Pitch 1, 12:30 PM

Semifinals & Final

Semifinal 1 - Pitch 1, 12:30 PM: 1st vs. 4th

Semifinal 2- Pitch 1, 1:45 PM: 2nd vs. 3rd

Bronze Playoff - Pitch 10, 3 PM

Final - Pitch 1, 3 PM, BSUK-TV and BUCS Youtube Channel

All Photos: Phil Rocker/BaseballSoftballUK