Inter-club softball

Press, 15 December 1983, Page 29

Inter-club softball

Imperial Merivale sealed a place in the top four of the senior men’s softball competition with a 2-0 shutout win over Clarity Press Papanui at Papanui Domain on Tuesday evening. The dismal performance by the Papanui batters spelled the end of the side’s hopes of surviving the top four cut-offs after Christmas. Merivale’s men of the match were, appropriately, the pair who are by far its most experienced softballers, the third baseman, Eric Tomlinson, and the pitcher, David Bradbury. Tomlinson, one of the most dangerous batters in the province. had the perfect average of 1000 and one of his three hits just eluded the glove of the Papanui centre outfielder, Tony Bishop, and cleared the fence for an automatic home run in the bottom of the second innings. On the pitching mound Bradbury reigned supreme as the Papanui batters persisted in popping up fly balls with a trajectory that would have been more appropriate from a No. 9 iron. He struck out 10 of the 22 batters he faced and only Bishop, in the first and seventh innings, managed safe hits. By the time Papanui batted for the last time in the seventh frame Merivale had a 2-0 lead up. Paul Williams, the second baseman for Merivale, came

home on a fielder’s choice in the sixth after getting on base with his second hit of the game. Bishop, batting up in the top of the seventh, made an effort for a last-ditch rally when he hit to short-stop and beat the throw to first base. But Bradbury struck out the next two batters and a good throw from the catcher, Glynn Eades, had Bishop tagged out in an attempt to steal second base. Over at Western Ball Park Burnside made no race of its match against the bottomplaced Western Suburbs with a 10-0 scoreline. For the first time this season Burnside won in five innings. There was another virtuoso performance by the pitcher, Chubb Tangaroa, who hit an automatic home run over centre field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth innings. As well as batting .666 he struck out nine of the 15 batters he faced and gave up one hit, to Alex Bennett in the third innings. Burnside, which scored three runs in the second innings and seven in the fifth, collected nine safe hits, Tangaroa, Graeme Anderson, Ray Marsh, and Wayne Poore all getting two each. Points: Noel Leeming Burnside 32, A.G.C. Finance United 30, Richmond 17, Merivale 16, Papanui 11, Western Suburbs 2.