Close Scores In Softball

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32199, 19 January 1970, Page 7

Close Scores In Softball

Richmond, the 1969 club champion, was taken to nine innings by a determined Deep Freeze team before it finally won 10-6 when the senior men's softball com* petition resumed at English Park on Saturday.

In another exciting game, Kaiapoi could not equal the

finish of the Papanui Aces and finally lost the game, 2-1, after establishing a one-run lead at the bottom of the fifth innings. With Papanui A and Western Suburbs in Nelson for the zone five elimination round of the national inter-club John Lennon chanwionship, Richmond and the Papanui Aces were forced to play “Double-headers,” a

task which they both completed successfully. RICHMOND 16, DEEP FREEZE 6 Richmond appeared likely to gain a comfortable 6-3 win when Deep Freeze began its final innings of the game at English Park. However, a spirited batting rally • by Deep Freeze which scored three runs, mainly because of hits by S. Reilly, D. Krauss and B. Mansfield, and a bunt by J. Dunn, allowed it to tie the game with no batters out. With J. B. Guerrero the first batter out, a hit by J. Boyd to right-field advanced Krauss to third-base, but he was tagged out at home plate when attempting to score what would have been the winning run off a fielder’s choice by H. Gable. Deep Freeze's innings ended when R. Foster could not beat the throw to D. Lew at firstbase.

Stirred into action by this lucky reprieve the Richmond batters secured the game for their side at the top of the ninth innings by hitting four runs. D. Lew led them off once again with a walk. K. Smith, R. McKenzie and G. Smith got hits and G. Storer hit a sacrifice.

A feature of the game was the uncommonly high number of safe hits recorded during the game off the four pitchers used. There were 25 in all, 15 of them by Richmond. Richmond’s tactics of using D. Lew. K. Smith and R. McKenzie in consecutive order in the batting list paid off handsomely, for they got 10 hits between them to secure runs in each of their team's five batting rallies.

From five turns at bat, Lew got on and scored every time, his feat including three safe hits. K. Smith hit safely four times and McKenzie three times. P. Joyce also hit a home run in Richmond’s fifth innings.

Mansfield, Gable and Krauss were the best Deep Freeze batters, each getting two safe hits. Mansfield, his side’s first batter in the game, hit a .home run that set the pattern for both teams. Gable was the first Deep Freeze batter in the second innings and he hit an even longer home run over left-field.

For Richmond, McKenzie pitched until the middle of the seventh innings, when he was replaced by K. Smith, after Deep Freeze had drawn level with three runs. McKenzie gave up nine hits and Smith one. J. Dunn gave up 12 hits while on the mound for Deep Freeze. He was also replaced in the seventh innings, by Guerrero, who gave up the other three hits. Umpires: Messrs D. Lanini, J. Rochford (plate), B. Mountford and J. Anderson. PAPANUI ACES 2, KAIAPOI 1 This game was always a tensely-fought one with the decision remaining doubtful until the final innings. While the Papanui Aces outbatted their opponents by four hits to two, they committed four errors compared to a solitary Kaiapoi fielding error. Both teams were tied at nilall until the bottom of the fifth innings, when J. O’Neill scored for Kaiapoi. O’Neill drove past K. Easton at short-stop, advanced to second-base on an error by A. Easterbrook, the Aces third-baseman, who tried to throw out J. Mundy, a Kaiapoi pinch hitter, and scored when Easterbrook threw wildly to second base in attempting to prevent him stealing third. With two batters out at the top of the sixth innings, M. Barker then hit a home run over centre field and into a strong head wind, to tie the game at one-all. Kaiapoi was three up, three down with its sixth turn at bat, and the Papanui. Aces secured the game with some good teamwork. M. Clarkson hit into left-field, was advanced with a sacrifice by W. Conn, and scored on a two-base hit by A. J. w. Prescott. Umpires: Mr J. Simpson and Mrs J. Phillips. RICHMOND 4, UNITED 1 Equal to Richmond in almost every aspect of the game, including pitching and batting, United could place much of the responsibility for its loss on its third baseman, J. Peterson, and first baseman, J. Maule. Face with a one-run deficit at the top of the fourth innings Richmond resorted to using a' series of bunts which were unsuccessfully handled by Peterson. fielding in the “hot spot” of the softball field. K. Smith tied the scores when he ran home on a sacrifice bunt by N. Mattison, after reaching first base on an error by Maule,,

and stealing both second and third bases.

In the fifth innings, G. Storer, who was walked, scored on a vild throw by Peterson, who was attempting to get R. Storer out at first base. R. Storer later scored on a passed ball. United was perhaps fortunate to concede only one run in Richmond’s sixth innings, when it ended the innings with a clever double-play to retire Mattison and G. Smith. Earlier, R. McKenzie and Mattison had got on because of more errors between Peterson and Maule, and P. Joyce also, with a fielder’s choice. K. Thorn gave United its third-innings lead when he ran to second base on an overthrow from the Richmond third base, G. Storer stole third base, and scored on another error by Storer. P. Joyce (Richmond) was the best batter in the game, with two safe hits. D. Bradbury took eight strike-outs for United, walked two batters, and gave up three hits. His opposite, K. Smith, took nine strike-outs, walked none, and also gave up only three hits. Umpires; Messrs Anderson and Rochford. PAPANUI ACES 7, SERVICES 3 After several of its players taking part in the inter-provin-cial Beatty Cup tournament at Invercargill recently,’as members of the R.N.Z.A.F. team, Services gave an improved display to hold the Papanui Aces to a four-run deficit. However, the Aces were never really pushed into a maximum effort and led by five runs at the beginning of the bottom of the third innings and 7-1 after their fourth innings. .. Aces best innings was the third, when four runs were scored, mainly because of hits by R. Newsome, the best batter in the game, and M. Barker a sacrifice by K. Easton, and errors by the Services infield. In the Aces’ fourth innings, a three-base hit by Easton scored A. Austing and Newsome. L. Cross scored the Services first run in the third innings when he was walked, reach second base on an error, third base on a fielder’s choice, and came home on a hit to centrefield by p. Grant. ♦u Tw^,”! ore runs were added in the fifth innings when Cross and M. Kidd both scored on errors.

For the Aces, A, J. w Prescott struck out 10 Services batters« wa lked three, and gave up three hits. J. Mclver, his opponent, gave up seven hits to the Aces.

Umpires: Messrs Currie and Grimes.