Mansfield helps Deep Freeze upset Richmond

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32531, 15 February 1971, Page 11

Mansfield helps Deep Freeze upset Richmond

An outstanding game by the experienced representative right-fielder, A. G. Mansfield, who plays third-base for Deep Freeze, helped his team upset the third-placed Richmond, 6-2, in a Canterbury senior men’s inter-club softball championship game at the Papanui Domain on Saturday.

Mansfield gained three safe hits out of four turns at bat, all of which contributed to runs being scored.

He hit a home run off J. K. Smith as the first batter up in the game, and was thereafter given outstanding support by several of his team-mates.

It was the second time this season that Deep Freeze has beaten Richmond. It won, 5-2, in the ninth round, after losing the fourth-round encounter, 7-8 —a game in which it had led 7-8 at the bottom of the fifth

innings. United, anxious to retain the hold it now has on the championship title after two successive close games against Papanui A, Deep Freeze, and Richmond, cruised to a comfortable 5-1 win over Kaiapoi after allowing its opponent the early lead. Oustanding batters for the day were Mansfield and N, D. Mattison (Richmond), who hit two home runs and two single-base hits in his team’s 9-0 win over Services later in the afternoon. C. I. Chee (Papanui Al, A. Clarkson and J. Vivian (both Papanui Aces( all gained three hits during the day. Championship table:—

Deep Freeze 4, Rlchamond 2 A.. G. Mansfield, the play« r the match, set the standard ms team was to attempt to emulate throughout, when he hit a home run as first batter up in the game, after J. K. Smith had registered two strikes on him. Mansfield also began Deep Freeze’s third innings rally when four runs were gained. He hit to centre-field, D. Krauss bunted successfully, and both scored on a double by the powerful E. Brown.

A triple-base hit over centrefield by the catcher-coach, H. L. Gable, scored Crown, and Gable added the fourth when the Richmond second baseman, D. Rea, made an error after a grounder

In the fourth innings, O. Me-

Millan, D. Underwood and Mansfield all hit into the outfield to contribute to McMillan scoring the sixth run. Richmond had chances to score early when it had runners on second and third bases in the first innings and bases loaded in the second. However, it did not score then, and it was not until the seventh and final innings that Richmond registered runs. D. Chee made first base on a fielder’s choice, ran to third on R. Storer’s sacrifice fly, and scored on the overthrow when the centre-fielder, Hicks, tried to cut him Off. N. D. Mattinson got the other run when he hit to left-field and scored on G. Storer’s hit. For Deep Freeze, D. Underwood took a strike-out and conceded five walks and five hits, Richmond’s J. K. Smith struck out four Deep Freeze batters and gave up nine hits. Western Suburbs 10, Papanui Aces 1 Outstanding batting, in which eight of the team strung together a total of 11 safe hits, enabled Western Suburbs to gain a comfortable win. M. P. McOscar, K. Smith and D. Parry, with two safe hits, and L. Fife, with a triple-base hit turned into a home run on an error, were the major contributors. Apart from the opening innings, when it did not score and conceded the early lead to the Aces, Western Suburbs picked up runs steadily, especially with fine rallies in the third and fourth innings. United 5, Kaiapoi 1 Kaiapoi took an early lead when R. Johnson hit past second base, advanced on a passed ball and a fielder’s choice and scored on D. Hammond’s hit to rightfield at the top of the first innings. United asserted its superiority in the second innings, however, when a hit by G. A. Roberts scored B. Hurrell and J. Peterson. It was a hit over centre-field by Peterson, with the bases, loaded, which added the other three runs in the fifth innings. Eariier, B. Mountford and K. Thorn and D. Birdling both with hits into the outfield, had loaded the bases. The winning pitcher, D. W. Bradbury, showed little sign of an injured ankle as he took 10 strike-outs and settled down to concede only one other hit—to J. Maule, after the opening innings. His opposite, M. McConnell, conceeded six hits to United batters.

Richmond 9, Services 0

An outstanding batting performance by the Canterbury colts’ captain and senior national world championship squad member, N. D. Mattison, on the eve of the New Zealand colts’ tournament which will be played in the Hutt Valley this week, was a feature of a one-sided game.

Mattison went to bat four times to finish with a perfect batting average of .1000. He hit a home run in the first innings and another in the fifth, as well as two singles. Other Richmond players to be successful with the bat were D. Chee with two hits, J. K. Smith, D. Rea, and M. J. Wilson, who all gained doubles. The Services captain, M. Kidd, was the only player to gain a hit from the pitching of J. K. Smith.

Papanui Aces 11, Kaiapoi 1 An inept display of fielding and equally inept form with the bat by Kaiapoi allowed the Aces to record one of its best wins of the season.

The Aces scored six runs at the top of the first innings, mostly because of Kaiapoi fielding errors. The team went right through the batting order and back to the third batter in the lineup before it was finally dismissed. The winner steadily increased this lead with runs in subsequent innings. In comparison, Kaiapoi was lethargic in the batter’s box; the first three batters being dismissed in five of the seven innings.

The Aces’ pitcher, A. J. W. Prescott, returned from his honeymoon, was in fine form, taking six strike-outs and conceding a walk, .and a hit to M. Pullin.

G. Clarkson continued his outstanding batting form, gaining three safe hits, while P. J. Morel and J. Vivian got two each.

Papanui A 11, Services 1 Greater experience and depth in batting, especially from the former New Zealand third baseman, C. I. Chee, and the Phillips brothers, Derek and Gordon, enabled Papanui A to gain a comfortable win.

Chee got three safe hits and the Phillips brothers two each. B. H. Waine and M. A. Reid

were others to contribute to the Papanui total of nine safe Jiits. For Services, J. Mclvor, L. Butts and T. Warren gained safe hits.

Reid took five strike-outs and Mclvor three, while conceeding a walk to L. A. Scherp during the game.

p W L F. Pts United Papanui A Richmond D. Freeze W. Sub. Kaiapoi pap. Aces Services 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 IS 2 17 3 15 5 10 10 8 12 6 14 5 15 2 18 97 37 158 50 120 72 114 97 84 112 50 93 66 139 41 132 36 34 30 20 16 12 10 4