Canterbury Loses Softball Cup

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31317, 13 March 1967, Page 16

Canterbury Loses Softball Cup

Superior batting in the final stages enabled the Southland men’s softball team to take the South Island trophy—the Jeffrey’s Cup—from Canterbury at English Park on Saturday.

The match was played in wet, south-westerly conditions.

Southland batted first but fabled to score in this innings because of good catches by P. Joyce, R. McKenzie, and I. Pollack. Joyce made first base when he was walked by the Southland and New Zealand pitcher, G. Tattersfield, in Canterbury’s first innings, but was forced out at second base.

E. Noonan sacrificed to advance C. Chee to second base but B. Chee, in a vain attempt to score his brother, was well caught by G. Pankhurst at left field.

Southland was first to score when Tattersfield crossed the home plate after a hit by Pankhurst.

Both teams scored in the third innings. S. Somerville scored for Southland after strong batting by G. Bryce and F. Goodall. D. Phillips scored for Canterbury after a fine hit by C. Chee.

PhUiMips, in good batting form, scored for Canterbury again in its fifth innings to tie the score at 2-2. Excellent hitting by Joyce and C. Chee contributed to Phillips’s run. Canterbury went into the lead when K. Smith, after being walked by Tattersfield, scored the easiest of runs after an error at third base by J. Egan. The home team failed to add to its score in the seventh innings because of the fast, varied pitching of Tattersfield who mostly handled the greasy ball well.

Southland began its last innings one run in arrears but the Southland captain, A. Craig, hit a three-bagger off the first pitch.

Somerville hit the next pitch from Smith over Phillips’s head at left field to win the cup which was lost to Canterbury last season.

Somerville (2), Craig and Tattersfield scored runs for Southland; Phillips (2) and Smith scored for Canterbury.

The umpires were Messrs J. Richford (plate), M. Jackson and J. Anderson (bases).