Albion beats rival in disappointing match

Press, 30 January 1984, Page 20

Albion beats rival in disappointing match

Robert Brown Albion beat its arch-rival, Burnside, 2-1, in the Dalgety Crown Travel premier women’s softball competition at Hagley Park on Saturday, but the standard of play was disappointing. Both Albion and Burnside made far too many fielding mistakes and errors of judgment for teams of their calibre. Albion will compete at the national inter-club tournament in Auckland soon and a marked improvement in performance will be necessary if it is to be in contention. In the other premier game Monowai beat Western Suburbs, 6-3, after Suburbs had taken an early 3-0 lead. Another massive win for Papanui came in the A grade against Monowai B, 17-6, in only five innings. If Papanui can sustain these results it must be promoted next season. Woolston and United had a close-fought encounter, with Woolston eventually taking the match, 7-6. PREMIER GRADE

Robert Brown Albion 2, Burnside 1 When Albion and Burnside meet, the atmosphere is generally electric, but on Saturday the encounter had more of a picnic flavour and this re-

flected in both side’s performances on the field and in the batter’s box. Fielders generally failed to commit themselves in hunting outs while the batting lacked conviction and power. Albion had an opportunity to take the lead in the top of the third, but bad base running cost the out at third,-a repeat incident in the fifth lost Albion another potential run. Burnside took the lead at the bottom of the fourth when the lead-off, Jane Earnshaw, made base on an infield error. Robyn Storer then laid down a bunt to sacrifice Earnshaw to second but finished safe on first as noone took first base for Albion. Earnshaw and Storer advanced on a sacrifice by Linda Manning, then Anita Perreau hit to left field to score Earnshaw. Past this innings Burnside never looked like scoring as it went three-up three-down. Albion’s two runs came at the top of the sixth. The leadoff, Cheryl Kemp, hit safely to centre-field and was advanced to second on a safe bunt by Natalie Hazelwood. In a steal play to third by Kemp the ball was overthrown which allowed Kemp to make home and placed Hazelwood on third. The next two batters went out then Vicky Paskell drove to left field where the ball dropped in front of the outfielder and Hazelwood scored to give Albion an unconvincing win. Burnside must now be wondering what it has to do to beat Albion in the local competition, as it has not accomplished a win against the side since 1980. Monowai 6, Western Suburbs 3 Western Suburbs began

strongly at the top of the first, against Monowai when Carolyn Renney scored off a wild pitch and she was followed in by Kerry Hall while Sue McCullough scored the third and final run of the innings after she had made base on a leftfield hit. An opportunity came for Monowai to peg one run back at the bottom of the second when Anne Wansborough hit a left-centre-field triple, but she was left stranded. However, Monowai made no mistake in the third when Wiki Martin and the designated hitter, Gaye Forward, both scored. A further three runs were added at the bottom of the fourth by Wansborough, Margaret Machirus, and Julie Lyn Tasker scored Monowai’s final run in the fifth. Woolston 7, United 6 While Woolston built on its run rate throughout the match, United batters only began to effectively use the bat in the latter part of their game. Jackie Borland opened Woolston’s scoring at the top of the first when she hit a centre-field triple, and dashed home on a sacrifice fly. Lyn Peni in the second scored off a tremendous centre-field home run, however, United’s Charmaine Lee pegged one run back at the bottom of the second when she came in off a hit by Dea Minehan. Woolston’s Maureen Darch and Jill King extended the lead in the third with Borland and Darch seemingly sealing United’s fate in the foiirth, Darch’s run being a left-field homer. However, some determined batting by United at the bottom of the fifth kept the side in the match. Gail Mountford hit a left-field triple to score Loretta Andrews and Sandra Ewing, while Mountford was brought in by a sacrifice. Borland scored for the third time at the top of the sixth to give Woolston its final run, but again United fought back. The lead-off, Paulette O’Neill, and Minehan scored at the bottom of the sixth to take the side within one run of Woolston. Papanui 12, Monowai B 6 Although Papanui was kept scoreless in its first turn at bat it certainly made up for that in its second turn in the batter’s box. It marched through its entire order twice with a disciplined display of power batting. It was, in fact, Monowai who jumped to a 3-0 lead at the top of the first when Alison Diggs, Marina Neylon, and Pam Chambers scored, but it was the last time in the match that the side was to dominate. In Papanui’s second turn at bat, the match merely went through the motions as the side scored 14 runs. Karen Walton. Debbie Chase, Wendy Hughes. Carolyn Manson and Jo Burrows all scored twice in the innings, while Sharron Cate, Lee Glasson, Nadine Robinson and Sharron Chalmers came in once. Chase came in for her third run at the top of the third and although Monowai’s Diggs got one run back at the bottom of the third Papanui immediately replied with runs from Walton and Glasson at the top of the fourth. The final runs of the match came in from Monowai’s Donna Roberts and Kate Fitzpatrick.

p W L F A Pt Albion 2 2 — 8 1 4 Burnside 2 1 1 3 2 2 Monowai 2 1 1 6 5 2 W. Subs 2 — 2 3 9 —- A GRADE p L F A Pt Papanui 2 2 — 30 9 4 M’wai B 2 1 1 11 21 2 Woolston 2 1 1 10 19 2 United 2 — 2 10 12 —