Good start for softballers

Press, 28 December 1989, Page 12

Good start for softballers

Special correspondent Canterbury opened its account yesterday when it downed the young Hawke’s Bay side, 11-1, in five innings at the Winfield women’s softball championships in Lower Hutt. With a bye in the first round it gave Canterbury an easy start to the tournament. However reality will strike today as it meets last season’s runner-up, Hutt Valley, in the first encounter. Depending on that outcome Canterbury will face either Auckland or Southland. It was undoubtedly Canterbury’s batting and aggressive baserunning that paved the way for its win, with the side collecting 14 hits. Lynda O’Cain began the scoring in the first when she came in off a Natalie Hazelwood triple, while an error allowed Hazelwood in. O’Cain, who finished the match With the perfect 71000 batting average, was credited with two RBIs in the second when a right dive scored Debbie Chase and Earnshaw. The Bay managed to keep Canterbury scoreless in the third, but the floodgates

opened in the fourth and it was again the trio of Earnshaw, O’Cain and Hazelwood who did the damage to make the score 7-0. The fifth and final turn at bat totally secured the 1 match as another O’Cain hit brought in Raelene Forde and Chase, while advancing Earnshaw to third. Earnshaw came in for her third run of the game on a fielder’s choice with an outfield error giving O’Cain her third run x also. Defensively Canterbury looked sharp throughout with Chris John pitching four of the five innings and it was when Shiree Johnston took over on the mound that Hawke’s Bay picked up its only run, that being credited to Della Wilson off a fielder’s choice after having made base on a centrefield drive. Prior to the fifth only two runners had made base — both on walks — but were easily taken out, first on an excellent double play by Hazelwood and second on an attempted stolen base. While Canterbury’s top three batters performed with distinction in the box the worry for the coach, Sharron Constable, must be the

middle order, none of whom returned an average. By far the most exciting highlight of yesterday’s play was the upset by Otago over Wellington. The match went to the tiebreaker which Otago won, 1-0. It was a match Otago deserved to win as it worked itself out of an incredible pressure situation on four occasions and in the final analysis it was a Wellington error that gave the win to Otago. Otago went on to beat Southland, 7-2, at . which stage the record books came out, as the win put Otago into the top six. It is 20 years since Otago-made a final while it is nine years since it has forced its way into the top six. New Zealand’s current top batter, Rhonda Hira, from Hutt Valley, has served notice that she intends to retain this reputation and to date has put two over the fence which is set at 210 feet. It was not however all a bed of roses for Hira as she faced the embarrassment in front of a large crowd in the opening game as lead-off batter being struck out by the lowly rated Bay of Plenty pitcher Carol Milner.