Cardinals give United fright

Press, 24 February 1987, Page 6

Cardinals give United fright

United struggled to gain a 3-2 win over Cardinals in premier men’s softball at Western Park last evening.

While United outbatted Cardinals by five hits to three, the less-favoured side enjoyed a 2-1 lead as late as the top of the sixth innings when both Aaron Flynn and Mike Thomas scored.

United rallied in the bottom of the innings with some good hitting to take the game. Maia Toa batted in lan Hall with a hit to left field and came home himself on a twobase hit by Roy Ah Kuoi. Pitching for United, Charlie Schooner took 11 strike-outs, giving up the three hits and two walks. Cardinals’ top batter was Shane Nalepa who managed a perfect 1.000 average with an automatic two-bagger and two walks. The upset of the night came at Papanui Domain where the home team, Papanui, badly missed the services of its usual pitcher, Colin Sutherland, and was trounced 6-1 by Merivale. Merivale’s top batters were Chris Chapman and Paul

Williams. For Papanui, Phil Chapman hit a home run and Rennie Tai was denied one because he neglected to touch second base on the way round the diamond.

On an open field at Somerfield Park, Suburbs had a convincing 4-1 win over Richmond, collecting seven safe hits to none.

The Suburbs pitcher, Marty Grant, got noticeable movement with his deliveries and he grabbed a weighty 15 strike-outs while conceding only two walks and no hits. For Suburbs, Dave Paki whacked a two-run homer in the top of the second innings and Dean Nesbitt added a home run in the fifth. Nesbitt also made a potential home run hit in the seventh only to fall victim to a tremendous diving catch by the Richmond outfielder, Mark Wright Richmond’s only run was scored by Michael Timu who progressed around the bases on a wild pitch (the third strike), a passed ball, a stolen base and another wild pitch in the bottom on the seventh.