Softball TOURNAMENT FOR COLTS

Press, Volume C, Issue 29478, 3 April 1961, Page 15

Softball TOURNAMENT FOR COLTS

Good Games At English Park The first national colts’ tournament at present being played at English Park has so far produced some first-class games, with good displays of softball. Conditions on Saturday were pleasant, but the boisterous wind made outfielding an unenviable task. Results of the first two rounds Were:— Hawke's Bay 7, Hutt Valley (late default) 0; Southland 13, Canterbury 8; Wellington 24, Otago 3; Wanganui 13, West Coast 2; Hawke's Bay 7, Canterbury 16: Southland 7. Hutt 0; Wellington 5, West Coast 0; Wanganui 21, Otago fl. With one round to play this morning, the likely semi-final-ists are Wellington, Canterbury, Wanganui, and Southland. The final is to be played at English Park at 3.30 p.m. Southland created the first upset of the tournament by beating Canterbury, 13-8, in a good game. Canterbury yielded six runs in the first innings, drew up to tie the game in the fourth. 7-7, but the rest of the game was all Southland. Southland, with its best team for many years, fielded with real brilliance and showed good batting. In the afternoon game against Hawke's Bay Canterbury showed some of its r6al talents in a first-class game. With the score see-sawing throughout the game, Canterbury batted in several good runs to take the lead, but with some very poor throwing, allowed the keen Hawke’s Bay side to score runs to tie the game at the seventh innings. Extra innings were called for, and Canterbury had first bat. With two runners on bases, K. Smith clean hit into right field, to give Canterbury the lead. His team-mates took the tiring Hawke’s Bay pitcher to task, and before the opposition could apply the closure, Canterbury had scored nine runs for the innings. Hawke’s Bay had its last bat, but could not manage a run, and the game ended with Canterbury winning by a comfortable margin, 16-7.

Wellington v. West Coast Hardly expected to provide practice for the formidable Wellington nine, West Coast surprised many with a display of fielding that was the finest of the day. Wellington took an early lead, with one run, in the first innings, and held Coast scoreless, although they had runners on base. Ward was pitching for Wellington and G. Keen for West Coast. In its second frame, with a flurry of hits, Wellington scored four runs off some cleanly hit drives through the infield from Persice and Priddy, with Ward batting in two runs. The West Coast were held at home plate by Ward. In a rare game of fielding, neither team could gain any advantage as the game progressed. West Coast, in its sixth innings, hit the ball to fill the bases. Ward handed M. Walsh the pitching position in unenviable straits, but Walsh proved to be the man for the job. He struck out the first two batters he faced and forced a high fly ball into the outfield from the third. The ball was safely caught and West Coast had not scored a run. Wellington won. 5-0, with West Coast playing right up to the move experienced Wellington team's standard.

Wanganui played with real fire behind the pitching of G. Phillips to beat Otago easily, and West Coast competently. Phillips, who has struck out 279 batters this season, and who is after the 300 mark, is pitching well, but has not had to show his best form.