Finals 1996-2018
| Year | Winner | Runner-Up | ||
| Galway Blitz | ||||
| 1996 | Marlay Martyrs | Dodder Dynamoes | ||
| 1997 | BatPak | 11 | Marlay Martyrs | 10 (8i) |
| 1998 | Warpak | Marlay Martyrs | ||
| IOST | ||||
| 1999 | Oddsox Megamix | 9 | Marlay Martyrs | 7 |
| 2000 | Dodder Dynamoes | Oddsox Megamix Sharks | ||
| 2001 | Saints Stingers (GB) | |||
| 2002 | Dodder Dynamoes | Saints (GB) | ||
| 2003 | Oddsox Green | Dodder Dynamoes | ||
| 2004 | London Breakers (GB) | 1 | BSUK (GB) | 0 |
| 2005 | BatPak | |||
| 2006 | Stingers (GB) | BatPak | ||
| 2007 | BatPak | Oddsox Green | ||
| 2008 | Stingers (GB) | BatPak | ||
| 2009 | Stingers (GB) | Oddsox Green | ||
| 2010 | Stingers (GB) | Marlay Martyrs | ||
| 2011 | Originals (Limerick) | Dodder Dynamoes | ||
| 2012 | Originals (Limerick) | Stingers (GB) | ||
| 2013 | Dodder Dynamoes | Originals (Limerick) | ||
| 2014 | Dodder Dynamoes | Originals (Limerick) | ||
| 2015 | 2Pac | 10 | Originals (Limerick) | 9 |
| 2016 | Dodder Dynamoes | 12 | Marlay Martyrs | 5 |
| 2017 | TNT | 7 | Marlay Martyrs | 4 |
| 2018 | Originals | Dodder | ||
| 2019 | Dodder Dynamoes | 13 | Sons of Pitches | 4 |
[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
| Note: All teams Dublin and Ireland unless stated |
Venues
| Year | Venue |
| 2001 | Cork |
| 2003-2007 | University of Limerick |
| 2008 | University of Ulster |
| 2009-2010 | Cork IT |
| 2011-2016 | University of Limerick |
| 2017 | Carlow IT |
[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Report
______________________________________________________________________________
The Irish Open Softball Tournament is a weekend-long tournament, usually staged in the University of Limerick, which is open to all Irish Softball teams and, on occasion, invited British teams.[10] It was Previously known as the Galway Blitz [Reference: 12 – Past Seasons – 1999 – Blitzes]
1990s
The Marlay Martyrs and Batpak were the top teams in the 1990s, Marlay winning IOST in 1996 and runners-up to Oddsox Megamix in 1999. Batpak would win two finals, in 1998 and 1999 (as Warpak).[10]
2000s
The 2000s were domintated by British teams, as they won six finals from 2001-2010. The decade started with Dodder Dynamoes defeating Oddsox Megamix before the first of the British wins by Saints Stingers. Dodder Dynamoes would again be the winners the following year, beating holders Saints. Oddsox would get their revenge over Dodder for their 2000 defeat with a victory in 2003. The following year was an all-British final with London Breakers defeating BSUK by an unbelieveable score of 1-0 [6]. A duel lating the rest of the decade between Batpak and the Stingers from Great Britain then followed. Batpak made four appearances in the final in-a-row, winning in 2005 and 2007, whilst the Stingers would win four finals in five years (2006, 2008-2010).[10]
2010s
The 2010s would be notable for the duel between Dodder Dynamoes and Limerick Originals, and the re-appearance of Marlay Martyrs in the Final. Limerick Originals won the first two of five Final appearances from 2011-2015, on home turf in Limerick. Dodder Dynamoes would get revenge for their 2011 loss to Limerick, defeating them in the 2013 and 2014 finals [10]. They would also win the 2016 final against Marlay Martyrs [8]. 2Pac won the 2015 final [7], and TNT defeated Marlay in the 2017 final.[9] Dodder reached two Finals in the last two IOST’s of the decade, losing in 2018 to Originals and winning the 2019 Final 13-4 against Sons of Pitches
References
_______________________________________________________________________
Websites
[1] GeoCities – Dublin Bay Packers (1999) Irish Baseball and Softball Federation Logo[Internet] Available from: http://www.geocities.ws/dbpackers/images/ibsf_logo_99.jpg [Accessed 17 August 2017]
[2] Softball Ireland (2014) Softball Ireland Logo [Internet] Available from: http://www.softball.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/SoftballIreland_MainRetina.png [Accessed 1 March 2018]
[3] Irish Baseball and Softball Federation – Wayback Machine Internet Archive (2001) The 2001 Budweiser Irish Open Softball Trophy [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20010911114544/http://www.ibsf.ie/iost2001.htm [Accessed 25 December 2017]
[4] Irish Softball Association – Wayback Machine Internet Archive (2002) Irish Open Softball Trophy Brief Report [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20021128115920/http://www.softball.ie/ [Accessed 25 December 2017]
[5] Irish Softball Association – Wayback Machine Internet Archive (2003) ISA Irish Open Softball Trophy 2003 [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20031207141342/http://www.softball.ie/isa_iost.htm [Accessed 4 December 2017]
[6] Irish Softball Association – Wayback Machine Internet Archive (2004) ISA Irish Open Softball Trophy Report 2004 [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20041217171318/http://www.softball.ie/isa_iost_results.htm [Accessed 4 December 2017]
[7] Softball Ireland Facebook Page (2015) Post August 16 2015 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/softballireland/posts/10153337352258855 [Accessed 14 November 2016]
[8] Softball Ireland Facebook Page (2016) Post August 15 2016 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/softballireland/posts/10154094260308855:0 [Accessed 14 November 2016]
[9] Softball Ireland (2017) IOST 2017 [Internet] Available from: http://www.softball.ie/calendar/iost-2017/ [Accessed 4 February 2018]
[10] Softball Ireland (2016) IOST Past Winners [Internet] Available from: http://www.softball.ie/i-o-s-t/i-o-s-t-past-winners/ Retreived 23/09/2016[Accessed 23 September 2016]
[11] Sports News Ireland (2018) Munster “Originals” win the Irish Softball Open 2018 [Internet] Available from: https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/other_sports/munster-originals-win-the-irish-softball-open-2018/ [Accessed 15 August 2018]
[12] Wayback Machine Web Archive | Oddsox (2002) Past Seasons [1996][1997][1998] [1999][Main Events/Blitzes][Galway Blitz] [Internet] Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20020328194713/http://www.oddsox.ie/ Accessed 25 December 2017]
[13] Softball Ireland (2019) Calendar: IOST 2019 [Internet] Available from: http://www.softball.ie/calendar/iost-2019/ [Accessed 5 August 2019]
Images
[14] Softball Ireland | Facebook (2019) Post August 4, 2019″ The winners of the 2019 IOST Cup is Dodder – Congratulations! ” [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/softballireland/photos/pcb.10157098591143855/10157098590563855/?type=3&theater [Accessed 13 January 2020]
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Belfast Sliders and Friends. IOST 2016, Marlay Softball Club IOST 2017-2018, Jonathan Spielberg (Renegades) & Brian Ebbs (Oddsox).
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 13 January 2020
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020
You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Resereved.