China blasts N.Z. out of ball park

Press, 28 January 1986, Page 38

China blasts N.Z. out of ball park

From TIM DUNBAR, in Auckland

Thousands of spectators packed into the Lion Red ball park in Mangere yesterday hoping to see New Zealand retain its women’s world softball title, but its match with China was only half way through when scores of fans were streaming back out.

The exodus coincided with a massive grand slam (loaded bases) home run by the Chinese designated hitter, Li Chun Lan, in the bottom of the fourth innings, which put the result of a hitherto close ball game beyond doubt.

While China went on to contest the grand final

with the United States, New Zealand players had to be content with bronze medals and somewhat shatterd pride after their 9-1 hammering.

New Zealand had stirred up the crowd before the match with a nice public relations gesture, jogging round the fence waving to the spectators, but it was the Chinese players who provided virtually all of the fireworks. They outbatted New Zealand by 10 hits to two (both by the first base, Natalie Hazelwood) and generally looked far more lively in all departments.

New Zealand started well with Hazelwood coming home at the top

of the first innings on an errored running bunt by her Canterbury team mate, Robyn Storer, but the competent air about the batters disappeared when the Chinese changed the pitcher in the same innings. China equalised through Li Chun Lan in the bottom of the first innings and only one inning later the New Zealand coach, Ed Dolejs, was also forced to change his pitcher, replacing the speed of the giant Gina Weber with the slower “junk” style deliveries of Cheryl Kemp. Mr Dolejs’ usual first choice, Debbie Mygind, had an aggravated hip

injury and could not take part.

Kemp, who first played for New Zealand back in 1973, was playing her third, and she insists her last, world series.

She was not happy to see two pitches vanish back over her head for home runs. One was by Ren Yan Li, in the bottom of the third, and then the grand slam effort by Li Chun Lan in the fourth. “It wass a hell ’uv a way to go out on,” said Kemp wryly.

For another world series veteran, Storer, there was at least the satisfaction of taking two brilliant diving catches in the outfield against

China and later being named the most valuable player of the tournament

Mr Dolejs said that the score was not a proper indicaton of how the game could have gone. “We made a couple of mistakes and then the Chinese really got their momentum going and were hitting everything.” When the New Zealand players trudged disconsolately back to the dug out after the game, their captain, Naomi Shaw, made a point of telling them that this defeat was not the end of the world. “I said to the girls that they perhaps deserved better, that it was not a disgrace to be among the

top players in the world. “I didn’t want them to go away feeling that they had been humiliated.”

Earlier in the day New Zealand had made a final place difficult with a 9-1 loss to the United States in the start of the top four play-offs. The long-legged American pitcher, Michelle Granger, aged only 16, had the New Zealand batters fanning desperately at her rise balls and she threw a rare no-hitter, taking six strike-outs in the process.

New Zealand never seemed to recover from seeing its lead-off batter,

Karen Mills, laid low for some minutes by a softballing version of the bean ball which left her with lumps on the forehead.

The home team had beaten China twice the previous evening and given the United States all sorts of problems in a 12 innnings tie-breaker last Friday. Its performances yesterday were a great letdown. But softball officials, Mr Dolejs included, are rapt with the response of the New Zealand public to the world series. “There’ll be a lot of softball followers from now on,” he said.