Big Softball Wins By Papanui A, Richmond

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32235, 2 March 1970, Page 14

Big Softball Wins By Papanui A, Richmond

Papanui A and Richmond, the leading teams in the senior men’s knockout softball competition, had shut-out wins over Deep Freeze, 7-0, and Papanui Aces, 10-0, respectively, on Saturday.

By not allowing their opposition to score a run Papanui! A and Richmond prevented, use of considerable handicaps. Richmond won its other game of the day, against Services, 16-3. United and West I ern Suburbs also had wins. Papanui A 7, Deep Freeze 0 Controlled pitching by M. A. Reid, who struck out 11 Deep Freeze batters while giving up a solitary hit to G. Lay in the second innings was the major contribution towards Papanui As shut-out win. Eight safe hits off the pitching of J. B. Guerrero helped Papanui A to score six runs (plus its one-run handicap) and Deep Freeze, which was not able to score, forfeited its fiverun handicap. Papanui A was scoreless until the top of the third innings when it scored two runs. G. Clarkson got to second-base with a hit to right-field, was advanced by a sacrifice from his brother. L. Clarkson, and scored on a bunt by, Reid. Successive hits to centre-field by C. I. Chee and I. R. Pollock then hf’-M’d (o score Reid. Deep Freeze fielding etrors. hits by G. Phillips (a double)

land G. Clarkson, and a sacrii five into centre-field by D. J. j Patterson were the main conitributors to the four runs, (scored by Pollock, L. A. Scherp, G. Phillips and G. Clarkson, for ‘Papanui A in the sixth innings. Fresh from its John Lennon iTrophy effort at Blenheim last j week-end, Papanui A was without error in the field, but the depleted Deep Freeze team committed four errors. Richmond 16, Services 13 Undeterred by the .huge 10run handicap the Services team had been awarded. Richmond set about the pitching with a wilt to score runs steadily throughout and win the game. Richmond got a total of 11 hits off the pitching of J. McIver. The main contributors were N. Mattison, who got three safe hits, including a home run in the third innings, P. Joyce and D. Lew, b.oth of whom gol two hits. Richmonds best effort was during the middle stages, for it scored five runs in both the third and fourth innings and three more in the ’fifth. Mclver scored Services first run in the first innings after' a hit by M. Kidd and a wild pitch. In the seventh innings a fine:, home run by A. Hanton also scored P. Kirdy, who had!

reached base with a hit, for two more runs. The Richmond pitcher, K. Smith, took 12 strike-outs and gave up three hits to Services batters. United 20, Services 11 Playing its second game of the afternoon, Services failed to halt the steady flow of runs hit home by nearly all the United batters. United got 10 of its runs in its first turn at bat, to lead by 14 runs (a handicap of four) to nil. Hits by B. Mountford and K. Thorne (both with two hits), and J. Crookston, J. Peterson and D. Lanini were the chief contributions to the runs as the United team went right through its batting order. J. Mclver and M. Kidd prevented a shut-out loss when they scored for Services in the fourth innings. Mclver scored when Kidd drove safely for two' bases. The United batters displayed, depth against the slower pitching of Mclver and Crookston,, Peterson. W. Keen and D.: Lanini got two safe hits, in addition to Thorne and Mountford.

(Prescott regularly for nine safe hits, N. Mattison, with three hits, P. Joyce and R. Storer, (each with two, were the best (batters. ' Richmond scored five runs at its first turn to bat. K. Smith was walked.' Joyce, D. Lew and Mattison got hits and R. Storer (got on with a fielder's choice to (enable the runs. Another hit by Mattison and , a bunt by Storer helped Rich-j ,mond to gain two more runs ini the third innings, while K. Smith’s hit to centre-field! ladded another in the fifth! 1 innings. The four runs needed to end (the game in five innings were! scored at Richmonds next turn) to bat, chiefly because of hits by Mattison, Storer and T. 1 Smith. WESTERN SUBURBS 13, KAIAPOI 10 Because Western Suburbs and! Kaiapoi had not met for their) second-round game of the, bottom-four championship, the result of this game counted for both competitions. Both teams had handicaps of eight runs, so that Western Suburbs, which led throughout, actually won the game. 5-2. The best batters in the game were R. Johnson for Kaiapoi, with two safe hits, and J. A. Ballantyne and B. Monteith with, two hits, and N. Hobson | with a home-run in the fifth innings for Western Suburbs. Ballantyne struck out six Kaiapoi batters, walked none 1 (and gave up four hits, while L. Seaward, the Kaiapoi pitcher, took a strike-out. walked none, ( land gave up 11 hits. |l

RICHMOND 10. PAPANUI ACES 0 Richmond. seemingly unaffected by the heat and the fact that ' it was playing its second game of the day. was, threatened by a lack-lustre, Papanui Aces team. . K. Smith dominated the Aces batters and only the young Canterbury third-string pitcher, A.) J. W. Prescott, was able to hit' him safely. The Richmond batters hit I