Leksand wins 3rd Official Swedish Indoor Championships

09 Feb 2015

Leksand wins 3rd Official Swedish Indoor Championships - Summary of the Championship by Kristian Pälviä

When the 3rd edition of the Official Swedish Softball Indoor Championships were played at the Conventum Arena in Örebro, Leksand was the strongest team and took home the Indoor Championship after beating Söder, 7-2.

Skövde took bronze after beating Enköping, 7-3 in the final.

The group stage was filled with fast-paced and close games, and the teams displayed surprisingly good pitching despite the tournament being played in the middle of winter.

The level of softball this year was high and above previous year's editions, the girls clearly shows that they have developed a lot, commented Mattias Grimstoft, national team head coach.

The tournament was held in an unusual setting. For the event, the Conventum Arena, a multi-purpose exhibition center right in the middle of Örebro, was transformed into a softball field - just hours after the X-trial motorcycle event was decided in the same venue.

Not to be confused with the SIM (Swedish Indoor Masters) tournament played in Enköping each year, the Official Swedish Softball Indoor Championships have been played for three straight years under the umbrella of the Swedish Winter Championships Week, a joint project between the Swedish Sports Conferedation (RF) and Swedisn National Television (SVT) - with 24 different sports participating in this years event.

Thanks to this, the softball tournament received great television coverage with several segments of the final game being televised live during the "Winter Studio" broadcast on National Swedish Television, and an in-depth interview with MVP Anna-Karin Solén Westling live on TV:

Live segment from the final games on Swedish Television (2:44)

Live segment 2 from the final games (5:07)

Recap from the game (3:18)

Interview with MVP Anna-Karin Solén Westling (8:22)

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:

Best batter: Emilia Carlsson, Leksand (.667 average, 8 hits, 5 runs and 5 stolen bases)

Best pitcher: Frida Höglund, Leksand (3-0, 10.1 innings, 8 strikeouts)

Most Valuable Player: Anna-Karin Solén Westling (.556 average, 6 rbi's, plus several game-deciding plays as catcher in the tournament)

RESULTS, group stage

Enköping - Skövde 2-3

Leksand - Söder 3-5

Leksand - Enköping 5-4