By Michelle Lee (26S07A) and Teng Yifan (26S06H) 

Cover photo and all photos by Siua Jia Xuan (25S03R).

One word to describe RI’s softball team? Aura. Staying undefeated for the 4th year in a row? Even more aura. 

The RI Softball boys team were runners-up in the 2018 and 2019 A Division finals until NSG was suspended during Covid. But ever since NSG resumed in 2022, the RI team has been on a win streak, facing rivals EJC. The EJC and RI softball boys have met each other in the A Division Finals every year since 2022, and in this year alone, the finals would be their third time facing them. 

Despite their previous win-streak, no one could be too confident about the win. RI had won last year’s finals games against the same EJC team just by one run at 7 – 6, and lost the most recent game at a score of 8-9 against EJC just two weeks before finals with their star pitcher Kevin Liu (#16) (25S06L) being hospitalised. The season was also accompanied by many challenges: besides Kevin’s hospitalisation due to stomach flu, he also broke his ankle during one of the games against ACS(I) and had an eye infection in another. The team captain Raoul Gunalan (25A01E) also tore his ligament and was sitting out of the final. 

Before the action, understand the rules

Each team has 9 players, and each game has 7 innings. An inning is made up of two rounds, and each round ends when three outs occur, which is the objective of the defensive team – to accumulate outs for the batting team. The batting team takes turns, and after batting, becomes runners. 

The defense team consists of a pitcher, a catcher, a shortstop, the first, second, and third basemen, and three outfielders. There are different ways to achieve an out:

1. The pitcher throws three pitches that the batter swings at but fails to hit. 
2. A force out: The defensive team catches the ball and runs to any of the bases before the runner (previously the batter) does
3. A fly out: The defensive team catches the ball before it touches ground.
4. Tagging out the runner: The runner runs past the base before the ball reaches it, but that bases’ baseman catches the ball soon after, and chases down the runner before he reaches the next base.  

Rules explained with reference to ActiveSG. 

The Game that continued the streak

As the game began, there were definitely nerves, pressure, and expectations. Nerves from knowing that they needed to give it their all and expectations to keep the trophy for at least another year. But at the same time, confidence. Confidence that they’d done it before, and they just had to do it again. 

The first two innings were quiet with no runs from either team. Both sides seemed evenly matched. However, nearing the end of the third inning, the RI boys scored an incredible 6 runs. In the 4th inning, EJC managed to break through, scoring 1 run. 

As the team’s pitcher for the entire game, Kevin had an impressive performance on the field. He struck out more than half of the batters he faced, to be precise, 11 out of the 18 batters (statistics from Infiniti Sports). This meant that the opposing team could barely even hit the ball, let alone advance runners. Similarly as a batter, he brought in 1 of the total 6 runs.  

The win wouldn’t have been possible without the rest of the team, who also put up strong performances, making no mistakes throughout the game. There were no fielding errors, contributing to the tight and clean defense while Kevin was pitching. During the first two innings, even though both teams were equally matched, it seemed promising for the EJC team, with student supporters celebrating at the beginning of the game. However, the RI team held onto hope. 

Chen Xingyu (#5) (26S06R), Lim Ding Kai (#19) (26S06N), Bryan Sim (#77) (26S06D), Rayner Kok (#48) (25S03H) and Sengamedu Karthikeyan Sreevatsav (#10) (25S06C) each also scored a run during the 3rd inning. Notably, Sree’s hit was a double, reaching second base right away.

In the 5th inning, the team knew victory was close. Parents, student supporters and past RI softball team players shared the same confidence, but no one dared to celebrate too early. Not with the tension hanging thick in the air, and not with the pressure of defending a legacy. 

Then, with a beautiful strike by Kevin – victory came. A victory with a widened gap at 6-1, and greater confidence. One that meant the end of the team’s final season together, and one that proved that they’d done it — and done it well. 

In that moment, it was all noise, colour, and pure joy. Arms shot into the air, cheers erupted from the stands, and for a second, it was impossible to focus on any one player because the celebration was a glorious blur.

When asked what contributed to this decisive win, especially despite the odds and narrow win the previous year, the team shared that it was because of the work they put in. The motivation behind putting in the work? Their performance in their game against HCI which was below expectations, and underdog mentality – a mindset introduced by their coach. 

As per tradition, the team ended their final game together with a victory lap around the Jurong East Softball Field. Afterwards, they had a mini celebration (before the formal one at their annual chalet with Softball Girls) – ordering food into school and playing basketball. Still, they didn’t dare stay too late as they had TPs the next day. Their pride was unmistakable as they shared, almost boastfully, that every single one of them showed up.

The Team

During the finals, it was evident that EJC was going strong and had a promising start.  However, it was also clear that the RI team had no intention to back down, nor did they seem intimidated. This can be attributed to two factors – mentality, and team unity. 

From the very beginning of the interview, it was clear they were more than just teammates – they were family. The constant banter and bursts of laughter made the intense finals match sound less like a high-stakes competition and more like a cherished memory. When asked about their formal celebration at their annual chalet, the team couldn’t resist teasing Kevin, joking that he couldn’t attend because he was grounded, even though his ego wasn’t. When asked how they felt knowing that finals was the last time they would be playing softball as a team, everyone took turns sharing their thoughts, with Kevin even shedding a couple of tears.

To Sree, the team is his second family. He spent the last 10 years playing softball alongside Raoul and Kevin, putting in 10 to 12 hours every week training with them, spending “too much time with these guys”. Yet to his disappointment, this would be his last year playing softball competitively. He will not be able to continue on to play in the National team as he is not a citizen. 

“It’s really bittersweet to leave something that has been a part of more than half of my life.”

Sengamedu Karthikeyan Sreevatsav

The batch’s only DSA, Matthew Soh (25S06B), joined the team last year. However, he felt incredibly welcomed by the rest of the team who have been playing together since they were in Y1-4.  He was heartened by the fact that he had made a difference and contributed to their many wins. Rayner Kok (25S03H), who joined the team in Y1, did so as Sree, Raoul and Kevin were in his class and “coerced” “encouraged” him to join them. Still, he shared that this was a decision that he never regretted. Rayner added that it was sad to see all his teammates go, but is confident that they’ll get to continue playing Softball together in the Old Rafflesians Association softball team, even when they graduate. 

When asked about their post game rituals, Sree mentioned that he would listen to a song from the Kung Fu Panda 3 soundtrack, as part of a longstanding tradition he and Raoul have had since Y1. He adds that it’s “damn aura”, though he’s “not sure whether Raoul still does it”. While Sree listens to his song of choice on the bus, the rest of the team would be blasting “chill pop” in the beginning or rap music, so that those who wanted to sleep could do so in the first half of their journey back to school, and everyone would get hyped up towards the end. 

What’s next for the team?

As Raoul steps down as captain, he hopes that the next batch remains united and maintains a culture of improvement, even as they continue to be defending champions. They hope to maintain their winning streak, especially since the junior batch is very strong and passionate. 

Yet the team may face an uphill battle, as they’re likely to meet EJC again — a team with an exceptionally skilled pitcher, Kevin noted, speaking as a pitcher himself. This pitcher was unfortunately injured during this year’s NSG, but will be ready to pitch for the team next year. 

Despite their upcoming challenge, Raoul is confident that the team will continue to do well, as long as they stay level-headed. He hopes that the juniors don’t have the mindset that they’ve “won four years in a row, we’re gonna go five.” Nothing came easy for this team, and it definitely was not a breeze winning this year’s NSG. 

He comments that softball has a culture whereby “every successive batch should be and hopes to be better than the previous.” Given this, he has confidence that the next batch will perform even better than his batch has. 

The team would like to thank their teachers and coach for all the support they have given the past few years.

List of players: 

#8 Raoul Abay Gunalan (25A01E) – Captain

#64 Alexander Koo Jun Bin (25S07A) – Vice-Captain

#16 Kevin Liu Junkai (25S06L)

#7 Soh Jun Jie Matthew (25S06B)

#74 Naarya Rajalingam (25S06R)

#48 Rayner Kok Rui Neng (25S03H)

#10 Sengamedu Karthikeyan Sreevatsav (25S06C)

#19 Lim Ding Kai (26S06N)

#77 Bryan Sim Yang (26S06D)

#27 Ethan Lim Zi En (26S06E)

#71 Ethan Wong (26S06Q) 

#15 Lai Keng Yeong (26S05B) 

#5 Chen Xingyu (26S06R)#21 Muhammad Syabil Bin Muhammad Khairi (26S03D)