United a strong contender for Canterbury softball title

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32425, 12 October 1970, Page 18

United a strong contender for Canterbury softball title

United showed that it will undoubtedly make a strong challenge for the Canterbury championship title when it decisively beat Its more favoured opponent, Papanui A, 5-1, in the main senior men’s softball match at the Papanui Domain on Saturday.

United placed a stranglehold on the match in the opening; innings when four of its bat-, ters hit safely to contribute to I two runs being scored. The representative captain, 1. R. Pollock, managed to help; Papanui A reduce the deficit ini the second innings, but United; drew away again at its third' turn to bat.

An overthrow’ by the Papanui A pitcher, M. A. Reid, to Pollock at first base, allowed K. Thorn and W. Keen to score.

B. Mountford added the fifth run in the fifth innings. The tenacious Kaiapoi team held Richmond for nine innings; before R. Storer managed toi bring R. McKenzie home with a bunt for the winning run.

Western Suburbs recorded an easy, 12-2, win over Services in five innings, while the Papanui Aces managed to keep ahead of Deep Freeze after scoring all its runs with its first turn at bat. Papanui Aces won, 7-5. Championship table

United 5, Papanui A 1 Safe hits by G. Roberts, A. Hall, B. Mountford, and K. Thorn at the top of the first innings ensured United of a well-: deserved win. The United pitcher, D. Bradbury, who has been weight training throughout the winter, impressed with his guile, speed, and stamina, and clearly outplayed Canterbury’s first string pitcher last season, M. A. Reid. Bradbury gained six strike-outs, walked Pollock once, and conceded hits to C. I. Chee, L. A. Scherp, and D. J. Patterson. Reid struck out three United batters and was hit safely by five of them. Papanui was below strength with the Phillips brothers absent and B. Waine suffering from injury. The former New Zealand soccer goal-keeper, D. Phillips, was married on Saturday. However, this must not detract from United’s convincing win, for it never allowed Papanui A to threaten its ascendency. Papanui A was desperately unlucky not to score at the bottom of the third innings. C. L Chee, normally one of the fastest base runners in the province, slipped over when rounding third base and could not beat a fine throw by Roberts, at left field, to home plate. Papanvi Aces 7, Deep Freeze 5 Failure to settle down during the Aces’ first turn at bat was the main cause of defeat for Deep Freeze. The Aces gained an insur-1 n ountable seven-run lead and then successfully met several; spirited challenges by Deep: Freeze to overtake it. Singe base hits by A. Austing,

M. Barker, K. Blackler, and G. Clarkson, together with Deep Freeze fielding errors, were the main contributors to the runs. B. Chee began the scoring when the Deep Freeze pitcher. B. Walters, conceded a walk with the bases loaded. Deep Freeze fought back with its second turn at bat to score four runs. Single base hits by D. Krauss, J. Summers, Wright, G. Lay and a double by H. L. Gable produced the runs.

Krauss added a fifth run in the sixth innings after being • walked, and then scoring on an overthrow from the first baseman, G. Clarkson. Neither pitcher impressed with ability to stifle batters, Walters conceding 10 hits and L. Clarkson eight.

RICHMOND 1, KAIAPOI 0 A hit-and-run play engineered by the former international outfield and Richmond coach, E. L.

Noonan, allowed Richmond to win a very tight match. For Richmond, N. Mattison, C. Morell, R. Storer, E. Kerrigan, and G. Storer hit the Kaiapoi pitcher, L. Seaward, safely. G. Dunn gained two hits off the pitching of . Richmond’s K. Smith. WESTERN SUBURBS 12, SERVICES 2 A greatly improved pitching performance by L. Fife, who conceded just one hit to the 19 batters who faced him, and some outstanding hitting by K. Smith, were features of Western Suburbs’s comfortable win. Western Suburbs’s coach, R, Mullally, employed a succession of bunt plays to extract runs from the Services infield. Suburbs scored six run in the first innings, two in the third, and four in the fifth to complete a fine win.

P W L F A Pts United 2 2 0 10 1 ■ Richmond 2 2 0 13 0 4 Papanui A 2 1 1 8 5 2 Pap. Aces 2 1 1 7 10 2 Kaiapoi 2 1 1 a 5 2 West. Subs 2 1 1 12 14 2 D. Freeze 2 0 2 5 M 0 Services 2 0 2 6 17 0