Softball team failed to realise its potential

Press, 14 January 1987, Page 26

Softball team failed to realise its potential

The Canterbury women’s softball team returned home despondent last week after its fourth placing in the national inter-provincial championships at Palmerston North.

The side can be proud of the fact that in recent years it has finished no lower than fourth, but at Palmerston North it never demonstrated its real capabilities. Canterbury left for the tournament with . justifiably high expectations. However, reality struck early on as the team struggled with the bat and in the field.

While there was little doubt the title-holder, Auckland, beat Canterbury fairly and squarely the other reverses were a matter of the side losing rather than the opposition winning.

Statistically the team never realised its potential as it finished the six days of competition with, a lowly team batting average of .127 and recorded

a massive 24 errors in just eight games; This meant that it was back to basics defensively, and the cunning set plays which allowed the team to make last year’s final were never demonstrated.

In recent years the side has never batted so poorly and this combined with the error count put the team under amazing pressure at times.

The sixth seed, North Shore, almost cost Canterbury its first life in the Rothmans Cup when the game went into the tiebreaker and bases became loaded with none down.

However, a quickthinking double by the catcher, Penny Salton, and an- extensive knowledge of the rules by the coach, Cheryl Kemp, allowed Canterbury to come off the diamond with a triple play.

This involved a complicated ; runner’s interfer-

DANAE GOOSMAN

ence rule. North Shore protested, but Kemp was .precise on the rule interpretation with the protest committee and so again Canterbury got itself out of trouble.

When the team lost, 2-0, to Wellington it was errors that gave Wellington the win and errors against Hutt Valley paved the way for that side to make this year’s final. It was, however, encouraging during the tournament to see the teenagers, Helen Townsend, Anita Perreau and Karen Pimm acquit themselves well while Raelene Forde, a newcomer to -the team, was. probably the “find” ’on the field.’

The pitcher-catcher combination of Chris John and Saiton worked with determination and skill all week, but no matter how containing they were it was an uphill battle without effective batting and a solid field.

Jane Earnshaw was the only member of the team to end the tournament with a respectable batting average, one of .310, and as a result was the only Canterbury player to be named in the tournament team which was ; . dominated by Wellington ands ttutt valley players. AV ' Although Collectively the side’s results were disappointing there were clear indications Canterbury is still a dominant force nationally.

If it is to remain so then the standard of coaching must be improved dramatically at club level so the standard of that competition is lifted.

At present the only real pressure — and pressure is what softball at the national level is all about — players get is when Burnside and Albion meet. When this is compared with the domestic competition in Auckland, Wellington and Hutt Valley this year’s result is , not surprising.