Two more wins by Albion

Press, 4 March 1988, Page 34

Two more wins by Albion

j Albion of Christchurch edged closer to claiming the national ■ women’s interclub isoftball title with ■a brilliaht 3-0 win against Saints (Hutt Valley) and a solid 2-0 victory over Falcons (North Harbour) in Dunediri yesterday. The ’Midas touch of Albion’s’ player-coach, Cheryl iKemp, was again evident: in the Saints encounter; in which she conceded only four hits to a powerful battery. The entire Albion lineup displayed strength from the plate. ! Heavy dew made control of (the grounded ball difficult, but ’ Albion looked {far sharper, in the field than its rival.

Albion had a dream start with its lead-off batter, Lynda O’Cain, producing a stand-up double through centre field. Penny Salton, with a bunt, advanced to first as O’Cain sprinted to third base, and then a booming triple by Natalie Hazlewood brought both of them home. Although Hazlewood was taken at the plate, Albion never looked back from that point. The final run came in the fourth innings. Trina Whittaker had cracked the ball to the left field fence for a stand-up triple, and consequently scored from a pushed hit by Janine Gould.

Saints desperately tried to apply pressure in the sixth and seventh innings, but Albion's defence was immovable. Rhonda Hira tried to steal third base in the sixth, but Salton’s throw was on the button, and Wendy Hughes swept in to make the dismissal. Then O'Cain let rip with a powerful throw for Gould to tag Sa Vole out .on third in the seventh. The 2-0 score against Falcons did not fittingly portray Albion’s dominance in the second match. The Falcons outfield snared some stunning catches, and Donna Meuli, who had arrived in Dunedin I only six hours earlier, I conceded only

two hits from the mound. Both runs for Albion came in the bottom of the first innings, with two down. Hazlewood cracked a double between left and centre field, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored when Hughes hammered the ball to short stop. Aggressive running took Hughes around the diamond, and she, too, scored after Whittaker had forced an infield error. Today Albion faces a difficult assignment — it plays the top-seeded Eden- Roskill (Auckland), which, like Albion, is unbeaten, and Panthers (Southland).