Leading women’s softball teams strengthen hold

Press, 8 December 1982, Page 44

Leading women’s softball teams strengthen hold

The two leading teams. Albion and General Lee Burnside, consolidated their positions with a couple of wins each in the Dalgety Travel senior women’s softball competition at the weekend. Both sides had convincing early game victories. The competition front-runner. Albion, waltzed to a sixinning. 10-0, win over Western Suburbs, while Burnside beat Ascot Woolston by the same score in five innings. The play was more even in the late games as Albion

beat Monowai, 3-0, and Burnside toppled United. 4-1. The points table is.—

Albion 3, Monowai 0 Monowai kept Albion’s batting strength largely under wraps with a tight display of softball. Albion scored two of its runs in the third innings. Linda O'Cain made base on a centre-field hit and advanced

to second after a sacrifice bunt by Cheryl Kemp. A magnificent home run hit between left and centre field by the New Zealand representative. Nat Hazelwood, steered Albion to a 2-0 lead. Albion’s third run came in the fifth inning when the lead-off, O’Cain, drove the ball down the third base line. It was not fielded cleanly and sacrifice hits by Kemp and Hazelwood carried O’Cain to third. Penny Salton forced an in-field error to bring O’Cain home. It was indicative of

Monowai’s tight fielding that Albion left seven runners on base during the game. The only two errors made by the losers allowed O’Cain to score the second run. Monowai’s best scoring opportunity came in the fourth innings when Lyn Tasker hit a two-bagger to left field. The pitcher, Ra Hapi, then hit safely to centre, field and Tasker headed for third, where she hesitated slightly before going down the line for the home plate. Unfortunately for Monowai, Albion’s centre field, Vicky Paskel, fired an immaculate throw to home in the meantime and Tasker was out “cold” on a great tag play. General Lee Burnside 4, United 1 Fielding errors by United gave Burnside a two-run lead in the first innings. Burnside’s Robyn Storer and Linda Manning each scored after making base on infield mistakes. United tightened up its fielding in the following three innings and looked set to tie the game up in the fifth inning when Donna Gooch made home on a fielding error after reaching first base on a fielder’s choice and second on a pass ball. Charmaine Lee made third base and Liz Siatago second in the meantime but the next batter flied out and runs went begging. Burnside scored jts winning runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two down, Jane Earnshaw hit safely to centre field, stole second and made home after Christine Patterson flied to left field and the catch was dropped. Patterson was brought home by a fine right field triple from Sharron Mansfield. United was given no chance to reduce the deficit in the sixth and seventh innings, as Burnside took three-up and three-down on each occasion. Genera) Lee Burnside 16, Ascot Woolston 0 Ascot Woolston was outclassed in a game which lasted less than an hour. Burnside chalked up five runs in the first innings. Linda Manning, Jane Earnshaw, Marilyn Lee, Sharron Mansfield and Sue Williams all crossed the home plate. A further four runs were added to Burnside’s tally when Robyn Storer, Earnshaw, Katrina Dreaver and Chris John made home in the fourth inning. Storer scored again in the fifth inning. Woolston’s best opportuni- ' ties were in the first inning, when Maureen Darch was left on third base, and in the fifth, when Karen Pymm hit a two bagger to right field and made third on an outfield sacrifice fly. Albion 10, Western Suburbs 0 Western had no answer to the batting strength and slick fielding of the national club champion. Only five of its 22 batters made base and a run never looked likely. For Albion, Vicky Paskell and Sharron Constable opened the scoring in the second inning, with Constable’s a fine home run. ■ Linda O’Cain, Nat Hazelwood and Penny Salton scored in the third innings, and Cheryl Kemp added a further run in the fifth. Albion sealed the match with four runs in .the sixth inning. ,

P W L F A Pt Albion 12 12 0 100 'i 24 Burnside 12 8 4 60 31 16 West.Subs 12 6 6 65 43 12 Monowai 12 5 1 43 44 10 United 12 5 43 84 10 Woolston 12 0 12 27 128 0