Richmond closer to league place

Press, 20 November 1989, Page 30

Richmond closer to league place

Richmond took a step closer to a place in the national league with two more wins in the Lion Red premier men’s softball competition at Cuthberts Green on Saturday.

Consecutive wins Nos. 7 and 8 came with scorelines of 9-1 against Royals and 4-0 against Suburbs. Richmond’s present six-point lead is deceiving, though, with its nearest rival, United, having the day off. Against Suburbs, Richmond’s pitcher, Murray Britt, threw his fourth straight shutout and extended his tally of strike-outs to 115 in just nine games. He obviously feels he has a point to prove with the Canterbury selectors, after being left out of the representative team because of injury. The American, Barry Kahler, went to the top of the bi hit parade after clearing the outfield fence, against Royals, for the third time this season.

Papanui extended its winning streak to four games — the team’s best sequence for three years — though some of its supporters had palpitations before the 6-5 win was completed against Burnside at Papanui Domain.

Papanui 6, Burnside 5 Colin Sutherland’s Papanui team-mates might be insisting that the pitcher do some extra practice on his throws to first base after all the trauma of the final frame. Bumside was trailing Papanui, 2-6, when it batted in the seventh inning and even when the No. 9 batter, Jason Waller, brought home Ross Paniora a three-run cushion remained. It was still two down when David Phipps made first base on an infield error but Sutherland had the chance for the third out when he comfortably fielded the batted ball from the next man at the plate, the pinchhitter, Steve Cate. But Sutherland lobbed his over-arm throw way over the head of first base, allowing both Waller and Phipps to score. The Burnside team was finally retired, after another anxious moment, when the first baseman, Pajal Williams, managed to hold on to a low throw from the short-stop, Corey Evans, fielding the hit of Chris Camm. Apart from the final innings, it was a fairly lacklustre game. Burnside had a makeshift pitcher, Craig Sea-

ward, on the mound and he had understandable problems with his control, especially in the bottom of the fifth inning when Papanui scored five of its six runs. Four consecutive batters had an easy passage to first base with a walk, a hit pitch and two more walks. The first run was walked in, Ken Deal batted in another two, and two more runners scored when an error at home plate followed a leaguer by Dale Eagar. All but one of Burnside’s runs came through errors though the sides ended up equal in the hit tally with five each. With a combination of hits, walks and sacrifices both Eager and Evans batted 1000 for Papanui and Waller collected two hits in three turns at bat for Bumside. Woolston-Cardinals 6, Burnside 0 After three innings Wools-ton-Cardinals had the luxury of a 6-0 lead and thereafter cruised to victory. The scorers were Tony Buckley, Kiria Metuatini and David Hawker in the top .of the second inning and Bevan Naiepa, Mike Rush and Graeme Anderson in the third. Hawker produced the most telling connection, his * three-base hit to left field bringing in the first two runs. Seven Cardinals’ batters contributed to their eight-hit tally, a perfect 1000 average going to Aaron Flynn with two hits and a sacrifice. However, his notable base-run-ning skills deserted him; he was tagged out once trying for second base and was denied a three-bagger on another occasion after failing to touch the second bag. Bumside had little joy in the batter’s box, Corey Stagg, in the fifth inning, being the only man to get to first base. He stole to second, but was stranded there.

Jimmy Hall and Tony Buckley shared the pitching for Cardinals, throwing three and four innings respectively. Hall's figures could not be faulted — nine batters faced, six strike-outs, no hits, no walks. Buckley was little behind him, striking out nine of the 13 batters he faced and giving up only the one hit to Stagg.

Seaward again had to do the pitching for Burnside, the team being handicapped by a requirement that the firststring, Cate, be rested for Canterbury’s representative double-header the next day.

Richmond 9, Royals 1 The big bats of Barry Kahler and Grant Wright were the dominant feature in this game. Between them they batted in all the runs. Three scored on Kahler’s first hit, an out-of-the-park right-field homer in the top ot the first inning with Carl

Franklin and John Gallacher already on base. Wright produced two massive triples, one bringing in three runs in the fourth inning and the other, one more ran in the sixth. He finished with a batting average of .500 and the invaluable Kahler one of 1000, including the automatic home run, two doubles and an intentional walk. Royals, yet to record its first win, at least saved the shut out when Pieter Vandenberg made it home on a safe hit by Kerapa in the bottom of the fifth. Pitching his fist inter-club for Richmond the Otago man. John Scholten, faced 27 batters, removing nine with strike-outs and giving up five hits and two walks. The first-string Royals pitcher, Matt Sheehan, was not used until the fifth inning, replacing Mark Argyle, and by then the team was already seven runs down, Richmond 4, Suburbs 0 What had been a very tight ball game broke open in a disastrous fielding inning for Suburbs in the bottom of the sixth.

Hitherto restricted to a solitary safe hit, Richmond managed to string two together through the bats of Nick Horrell and Carl Franklin (two-bagger) and after one out was taken, the formidable Kahler was intentionally walked for the second time that day. With the bases loaded, Suburbs went for the force out at home plate when the next batter, Grant Wright, rapped the ball to second base. But a wayward throw from Steve Murray and another muffed throw back to home allowed Richmond to score three runs. Salt was rubbed in when Wright scored on a fielder’s choice a little later. Neither team had got close to scoring in the first five frames and a double play by a quick-thinking Wright at short-stop had ended Suburbs’ hopes in the top of the sixth. Richmond narrowly outfitted its opponent by three hits to two, the winning team’s top-of-the-order batter, Franklin, collecting two out of three. Murray Britt threw a twohitter for Richmond, Steve Murray putting down a nice safe bunt in the third inning and the pitcher, Rod Fewer, smacking a two-bagger down the right-field line in the seventh. Britt finished with 11 strike-outs (five more than Fewer) while allowing the two hits, two walks and a hit pitch. The veteran Suburbs outfielder, Ross Paterson, took a fine catch right on the fence to dispose of Wright in the first inning.

Points table P W L F A Pt Richmond 10 .9 1 48 13 18 United 8 6 2 41 8 12 Wool-Card 8 5 3 27 7 10 Suburbs 9 5 4 19 24 10 Papanui 9 4 5 23 35 8 Burnside 10 3 7 23 48 6 Royals 10 0 10 16 62 0