Auckland favoured to win Rothmans softball cup

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34037, 29 December 1975, Page 3

Auckland favoured to win Rothmans softball cup

(By

TIM DUNBAR)

Auckland was the firm favourite to take the Rothmans Cup after winning its four games at the week-end in the inter provincial softball tournament at Queen Elizabeth II Park.

Five days of the tournament remaining, Wellington and Waikato are both right up with three wins each, but Auckland has already beaten both of them in section play and its fielding has been of such a high standard that it has dropped only one run. A very close match was expected when Auckland met the then unbeaten Waikato side — which has the ace New Zealand pitcher, Kevin Herlihy — late yesterday, but it turned out to be a no-contest.

Herlihy had swept all opposing batters before him in Waikato's previous three games and had the remarkable record of taking 46 strike-outs while giving away just one hit

But it was a different:! story when, he pitched to thej 1 confident Auckland batters, j and he had seven hits, in- j eluding two huge threebaggers by John Money and Alan Russell, struck off him i in four innings. Auckland scored Money ini the first innings, took the! game almost out of! reach with a further two j 1 runs in the second, one after! a bad throw by one of New! Zealand’s top short-stops.j Carl Mossman, and scored) one more in each of the! fourth, fifth, and seventh in-) nings to beat Waikato 6-0. Auckland began the tournament on Saturday by beating Hutt Valley, national champion for _ the last four years, 3-0, but it had a very ; close game against Wellington in the afternoon and did I not finally clinch the win, 12-1, until its catcher, Mike i Forsyth, put a big hit over the head of the centre- ' fielder, Ricky Kaye, and ‘came around the diamond. L i Wellington is still well in: (contention for the cup after!

beating all its other oppo-it nents — Canterbury (1-0), ;i Hawke’s Bay (2-0), andj Manawatu (7-0) — and tak-h ing Auckland so close. ’ i Although Hutt Valley lost;] both its games on the open- i > ing day — to Auckland and), Hawke’s Bay (0-2) — it I. came back strongly with 131 (hits and five runs against!] (Manawatu and then beat! 'Canterbury 2-1. ~ i Canterbury certainly had], I its chances against the Hutt, jas it did against Wellington., land led 1-0 at the end of the' !second innings after great); ) pressure batting by Mark McFarlane, with two out and , a man on first, brought Brian Mountford home. Hutt equalised in the bot- , tom of the fourth when . Charlie Mason came on as a . pinch-hitter and scored in the New Zealand captain, i Dave Sorenson. In the bot- , tom of the seventh Canterbury’s fielding started to fail, allowing the third base- < man, John Enoka, to score (the winning run. Waikato and Hawke’s Bay provided one of the closest ;

contests of the day in a match dominated by the pitchers.- The scores were tied at 1-1 with a Waikato man, Garth Stacey, on third base when the Bay coach, (Brian Griffen, called timeiout, and replaced Graeme 1 Johnston on the pitching ! mound with Owen Walford. (But the New Zealand No. 2 j pitcher immediately sent down a wild pitch, and Sta|cey came home. Canterbury was most unducky to lose to Wellington, (which it out-hit. by four to (two, but could blame only itself for not taking its chances. DaVe Bradbury was in great form, and Wellington could not get him away until Peter Priddely hit safely and came home when stealing second after a bad throw from the catcher, Greg Panagiotidis. was deflected off the glove of second base and wrongfooted the centre-fielder, Chris McDonald. Results:— Section A Saturday: Canterbury 4, Manawatu 1; Waikato 1. Southland 0; Wellington 2, Hawke’s Bay 0; Auckland 3, Hutt Valley 0; Waikato 4. Manawatu 2; Southland 2, Canterbury 0; Hawke’s Bay 2, Hutt Valley 0; Auckland 2, Wellington 1. Sunday: Hutt Valley 5, Manawatu 0; Wellington 1, Canterbury 0: W'aikato 2, Etawke’s Bay 1; Auckland 2, Southland 0: Wellington 7. Manawatu 0; Hutt Valley 2 Canterbury 1; Auckland 6, Waikato 0; Hawke’s Bay 1, Southland 0. • Section B

Saturday: Bay Of Plenty’ 13, South Canterbury 0; North Shore 3, Nelson 2: Otago 3, Combined Services 1; Counties 4, Ilorowhenua 2; Nelson 3. Bay Of Plenty 2; North Shore 4. South Canterbury 0: Combined Services 13, Horowhenua 5; Otago 6. Counties 2. Sunday: Bay Of Plenty 11, Horowhenua 0; Otago 11, South Canterbury 0; Nelson 9, Combined Services 1; Counties 5, North Shore 1; Bay Of Plenty 3, Otago 1; Horowhenua 3. South Canterbury 2; Combined Services 6. North Shore 3; Nelson 6, Counties 4.