SOFTBALL SURPRISE; UNITED’S BIG WIN AGAINST WANGANUI E

Wanganui Chronicle, 2 November 1950, Page 8

SOFTBALL SURPRISE; UNITED’S BIG WIN AGAINST WANGANUI E

At the opening of the Wanganui Softball season the biggest surprise of the day was the heavy defeat inflicted on last season’s champions, Wanganui East, by United In the other men’s games Red Sox and Giants had wins and in the women’s section Dodgers and Amazons beat St. Mary’s and Waverley respectively. With 13 strikeouts, Gwen Atkinson contributed most to Dodgers’ victory over St. Mary’s. Her speedy delivery came from a very smooth windup and the St. Mary's batters found it difficult to time their swing correctly. K. Richdale, the Dodgers’ third base, fielded well and ended the day with three runs. The Waverley team played its first game of softball, but. the majority of the team members showed ability. Of the three pitchers H. Harden was the steadiest. Amazon had some new faces and these girls also showed ability. _V. Campbell pitched well and her action should become easier as the season progresses. , United overwhelmed last seasons champions, Wanganui East, by 23 runs to 3. Regular pitcher for Wanganui East last season, C. Croucher, pla'yed for W.E. Braves, and his berth was filled by I. Watt. The United batters scored 17 runs in the second and third innings and this gave them an unassailable lead. Bob Palmer, pitching for United, threw a good ball for half of the game and in the fourth innings four Wanganui East batters got on bases, but tight fielding by the United infield stopped these runners from reaching the plate. K. Howe, on third, and G. Cuthbertson on first base, gave sound displays for United. Ron McPhun, in his first turn at. bat, hit. a good home run and he followed this up in the next innings with two more home runs on errors by the Wanganui East outfield. Barry Hartley turned on a good display for Red Sox in the game against Wanganui East Braves and many spectators wondered why R. Cate was brought on to Relieve Hartley. This was a wise move as no pitcher, no matter how good, can pitch on top form for a full seven innings. Wanganui East Braves possess good talent in R. Te Patu at first base and M. Cantwell, who is a "natural ’ catcher. John Hollenback also gave a goon display on second base for the Braves. Giants’ solid combination was too strong for Aces and the final score favoured Giants by 17 to 1. Bruce Hollenback, who normally pl/ys on first base, pitched in the absence of D. Mooney, fie gave a good account of himself on the mound and will be a valuable standby. Giants are fortunate in that they possess three pitchers of better than average ability. For Aces, Richdale, on second base, played well. When the rest of the Aces team secure a better knowledge of the finer points of play they will then extend the more experienced team.