Jaks depleted on eve of softball champs

Press, 26 February 1980, Page 32

Jaks depleted on eve of softball champs

By

TIM DUNBAR

Injury will be a forbidden word for Jaks-United over the next four days as it contests the Pan-Am national club softball championships at Fraser Park, Lower Hutt. Two of the team’s promising younger players, Brent Hazeldine and Maia Toa, are unavailable for the trip north and the coach, Mr Dennis Rea, will only have 10 others at his disposal. And one . of that 10, Leon Fife, has had a pulled tendon in his leg which makes him “dead slow” around the bases, according to his coach. “Leon’s still not Al fit, but he’s the best third base we’ve got and he’ll have to play,” said Mr Rea. Fife is one of the most dynamic batters in the side

and when he gets on to the bases Mr Rea will probably take advantage of the reentry rule and bring on a substitute runner who can move more freely.

The coach may even use the new re-entry or designated hitter rules to come into the batting line-up himself if one of the top nine has lost touch.

Mr Rea, a former Canterbury representative, had a few turns with the bat during United’s club matches last week-end, but said he wished he’d “started a bit earlier.”

United’s games tomorrow will be against Railways (Upper Hutt) and the 1978 champion, Auckland United, which boasts such classy players as Jim Fowler, Paul Rogers (the

short-stop with the “golden glove”) and Alan Russell. On Thursday it meets the defending champion, Cambridge, and Mudgeway (Hawke’s Bay). Cambridge’s tour de force will of course be Kevin Herlihy, arguably the best pitcher in the world, while its batting will largely

rely on Carl Mossman and Bruce Mclntosh, the hero of Waikato’s victory in the recent Rothmans national championships. From then on the days will be a little less crowded' for United with Miramar, probably the favourite, its opponent bn Friday and .Rojrals (Counties) on Saturday. > Mr Rea thinks that all the I

games will be hard. Even Royals, he says, will not be a pushover with that combination virtually the Counties provincial team which hardly conceded a run in the B section of the nationals. “On paper,” said Mr Rea, “we’d be one of the bottom teams but Jaks usually per-

forms well when we’re away.” He expects the club’s American import, Jim Mc[Casland, to really come to light with the bat at Lower Hutt. McCasland met the New Zealand pitcher, Loren Algar, when Jaks played Porirua in the Qantel knocklout tournament earlier this i month and “just about put

him back to. second base with one hit,” according to Mr Rea.

McCasland has brought a little more professionalism to the team since he. arrived in Christchurch last month and one of' his suggestions — “playing the infield a bit deeper to cut off the wee bloopy hits” —- has already been acted upon with good effect.

As far as the pitching department is concerned United should be in good hands with David Bradbury and Dennis Dolejs, another American (based in Nelson).

“David's raring to go and is out to prove a point,” Mr Rea said. The point Bradbury wants to make is that he should have been deigned a trial by the national selectors

after the Rothmans championships last month. United last encountered the diamonds at Fraser Park only 10 days ago when it lost, 1-0, to Porirua in the semi-finals of the Qantel. Mr Rea said that the team had batted well then, especially considering that the players had had no warm-up at all, arriving at the ground from the airport at 12 midday and playing at 12.05 p.m. The team . will certainly not be in a complacent frame of mind tomorrow after losing to Papanui on Sunday for the first time in six games this season. Regarding that loss, Mr Rea gave much credit to the pitching of the young Papanui player, Robert (“Chub") Tangaroa.