The 2007 Senior Softball title race continues this weekend with all of the top contenders in action and competitive handball guaranteed.

Meath’s Tom Sheridan and Michael Gregan of Wicklow open the weekend proceedings with a quarter-final meeting in Garryhill on Friday night. Sheridan was defeated in last year’s Senior Softball final, but this match-up with Gregan could prove a tight affair after the Coolboy player notching an impressive win over Sheridan at last weekend’s Munster Open.

The second quarter-final at the Carlow venue sees 14-time champion, Kilkenny’s Michael ‘Ducksy’ Walsh in action against Tipperary’s Ger Coonan. The Ballina clubman won the U-21 Softball title last year, and caused an upset in his last game where he overcame Wexford’s Colin Keeling after three games. Walsh is probably the most noted handballer of his generation and having already collected 14 senior softball titles, he now has his sights firmly set on dethroning the current champion.

On Saturday night, at the new state-of-the-art complex at Abbeylara, defending champion, Eoin Kennedy of Dublin will be up against Mayo’s Joe McCann. McCann won the Intermediate title in 2004, and has collected numerous All-Ireland Club titles with Ballaghaderreen. Kennedy overcame Wexford’s Gavin Buggy with ease in his first outing of the competition two weeks ago and will be hot favourite against the Mayo player. Kennedy remains at 4/5 on to retain his title, and is now gunning for an amazing fourth in a row.

The last of the quarter-finals will be played on Monday next, where the winner of Mayo’s Vinny Moran and Cavan’s Michael Finnegan will meet Moran’s fellow Ballaghaderreen clubman, Dessie Keegan. Keegan will go into that quarter-final battle as favourite, but Moran and Finnegan are both familiar opponents and will definitely rise to the occasion.

M Donnelly All Ireland Senior Softball Fixtures:

At Garryhill on Friday, July 27th at 7.30pm
Michael Gregan (Wicklow) v Tom Sheridan (Meath)
Michael Walsh (Kilkenny) v Ger Coonan (Tipperary)

At Abbeylara on Saturday, July 28th at 7.00pm
Eoin Kennedy (Dublin) v Joe McCann (Mayo)
Michael Finnegan (Cavan) v Vinny Moran (Mayo)

At Abbeylara on Monday, July 30th Time TBC
Dessie Keegan (Mayo) v Michael Finnegan (Cavan)/Vinny Moran (Mayo)

Mayo's Joe McCann in floor action.