Saturday 5^th November 2022

By Tony Smith

The Papanui Tigers have returned home with a major title after winning the Golden Holmes Black Sox Club Challenge in Auckland.

ELE Papanui triumphed in a Rosedale Park series featuring seven of the nation’s top club teams and the Black Sox squad preparing for this month’s World Cup.

The Tigers won a $5000 cheque and Canterbury Red Sox utility Callum Bishop scooped the MVP award.

Head coach Carl McIlroy said it was “great to get some softball in against North Island opposition this side of Christmas’’ and felt it was “an early-season benchmark’’ for the Canterbury champions.

“I was particularly happy with our lefty hitters and our solid defence. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a great showing against the Black Sox, but we bounced back well the following day.’’

The Tigers kicked off the series with a 3-1 win over Auckland Marist.

Coaches McIlroy and Carl Gould picked up former Black Sox pitcher Penese Iosefo and the move paid dividends with the Richmond Keas player-coach taking 14 strikeouts for three hits against Marist.

Bishop began with two hits from three, pinch hitter Callum Bishop got a hit and Josh Lubiejewski and Mitch Finnie banged doubles.

Ben Watts hurled Papanui to a 5-3 win over Auckland United, taking 7 Ks for three hits and one walk. Bishop batted 1.000 with a single and a three-bagger and Tyron Bartorillo smashed a home run in the fifth inning. Jackson Watt also clouted a first inning triple.

Papanui then faced the Black Sox, losing 9-1 to the World Cup team. Jackson Watt was the only Tiger to get a safe hit while the Black Sox got eight hits off Ben Watts, who also conceded six walks and a hit-pitch for five strikeouts.

Next day the Tigers toppled Wellington’s Poneke-Kilbirnie 7-2, with Iosefo giving up five hits and four walks for 5 Ks.

The Papanui offence scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning after PK opened with two runs in the top of the frame.

Finnie batted 1.000 with three from three – a triple, a double and a single. Nathan Watt, Jayden Britt, Josh Dickson and Fletcher Due each had a hit.

That meant the Tigers qualified for the final by topping their pool with 20 points – 11 more than Marist and Auckland United.

They faced Nathan Nukunuku’s Ramblers, who had won their three-team pool.

Papanui have twice been beaten by Ramblers in national interclub finals, but they dominated the current New Zealand champions, who were missing their five Black Sox squad members.

Papanui won it 2-0 after a brilliant battery display by Ben Watts and Nathan Watt behind the dish. Backed by some fine fielding, Papanui completed a shutout.

Watts snared 12 strikeouts for seven hits and no walks.

Dickson and Jack Watt starred with the bat with two hits apiece while Bishop banged a third inning triple. Finnie and Antony Start both hit singles with Stuart adding an important insurance RBI with a great drive to leftfield to score Finnie in the bottom of the sixth.

Watt closed out the seventh frame with three straight strikeouts.

The tournament victory should give Papanui some confidence for the national open club championships in March.

CLUB BALL

American pitcher Amber Schisler made an immediate impact on her Canterbury women’s premiership debut with the Kaiapoi Queens.

The 28-year-old – a Campbell University graduate – starred with bat and ball in Kaiapoi’s 7-1 win over Papanui.

Bailey Hamilton – whose bat was badly missed by the Canterbury Red Sox at the NFC – also turned in an all-round performance in the PCU Devils’ 8-2 win over Richmond Keas.

Another highlight was the Kaiapoi Kings’ first win of the men’s season, a 2-1 tiebreaker victory over the Albion Anteaters.

MEN’S COMPETITION

PCU 8 RICHMOND KEAS 2

Bailey Hamilton was the key figure for the Devils with eight strikeouts for six hits and no walks on the pitching mound.

He also batted .750 and drove in four runs, including two in the first inning when the Devils dashed out to a 4-0 lead. Hamilton also crossed the plate in the opening frame when shortstop Jayden Potts cracked a triple.

RKS reduced arrears in the bottom of the third when pitcher Jacob Neale singled and plated on No 9 hitter Levi Beattie’s single.

But the Devils extended their lead in the top of the fourth with three more runs after an automatic double by Hamilton, and hits by Dru de Lautour and Hapene Kumeroa.

Neale got his second hit of the game to score Zach Graham, who had earlier singled, in the bottom of the fourth.

Leon Lumb completed PCU’s scoring in the sixth on another Hamilton hit.

KAIAPOI KINGS 2 ALBION ANTEATERS 1 (8 INNINGS)

Kings pitcher Jakzon Quinn won his own ball game by batting in the decisive run in the bottom of the eighth inning at Dynasty Ballpark.

It was fitting that Quinn – from a family of Kaiapoi softball stalwarts – was the key figure in the club’s first win of the men’s season.

He struck out eight Albion batters, yielding just four hits, and – filling the No 4 clean-up hitter slot – stepped up to drive in automatic baserunner Jack Nehoff-Bates with a centrefield single.

Albion starter Kev Papuni and reliever Chris Agnew combined for 10 Ks, restricting Kaiapoi’s scoring opportunities.

The Anteaters opened brightly in the top of the first when third baseman Kotiti Patea doubled and was batted in by Corey Durham.

Kaiapoi tied in the second stanza when Jacob Clifton drew a walk, stole second, went to third on a passed ball and scored after an error.

The score remained 1-1 until the end of regulation innings, giving Albion first tilt at the tiebreak.

Caleb Parsons dutifully moved runner Agnew to third base with a sacrifice bunt, but Quinn struck out Patea and Durham flied out to centrefield, leaving Agnew stranded.

Kaiapoi didn’t waste their opportunity, although it took a clutch two-down situation to settle the deal.

Nehoff-Bates scooted to third base on a wild pitch, but Scott MacDonald flew out to second base and Daniel Chaplin struck out before the mighty Quinn match-winning single.

Men’s Premiership Points:  Papanui (5 games) 20pts, PCU (6) 16, RKS (6) 12, Albion (6) 7, Kaiapoi (5) 4.

WOMEN’S COMPETITION

KAIAPOI QUEENS 7 PAPANUI 1

Pitcher Amber Schisler led the Queens to victory after an early innings arm wrestle with an improved Papanui lineup.

The San Diego native is no stranger to New Zealand softball, having played for the Western Magpies and Auckland’s NFC team in 2017-18.

Schisler has also played in Austria and Italy and has had coaching experience with Austria national teams and at San Diego where she has been an assistant coach since January 2021.

She made a fine debut for Kaiapoi, batting .500 after two hits form four while racking up an impressive 13 strikeouts for three safe hits and five walks.

Papanui led the game until the sixth inning, going ahead in the first when Makea Kaluau singled and raced to third on an error before scoring on another fielding fumble.

New Zealand White Sox pitcher Brittany Terrey held Kaiapoi scoreless until the sixth inning when Arnora Hesp, Lindsay Thomas, Schisler, Nerissa McDowell and Raina Joseph scored after three hits by the Queens.

Thomas plated in the seventh on Schisler’s leftfield double, with the American pitcher following in on a Joseph hit.

Kaiapoi, after a slow start at the plate, ended with 11 safe hits, with White Sox outfielder Nerissa McDowell going two from three and Schisler and Hesp .500.

Papanui’s three hits were shared by Kaluau, Bayley Vaeluaga and Dominique Humphrey.

HALSWELL 9 SYDENHAM KERERU 2 (5 INNINGS)

White Sox squad pitcher Cherie Inwood held SK to two hits as the Hornets ambled to an easy early-finish victory.

It was effectively all over in the first inning when five Halswell runners – Alyssa Lory, Breigh Monaghan, Lucy McIntyre, Finlay Martin and Sophie Yarham scored after profiting from five walks and a hit-pitch. Heaven Samson-Loffley cracked the only hit of the inning.

Halswell added four more runs in the bottom of the second after a couple of extra-based hits. McIntyre came home on Martin’s double, then Yarham tripled to score Rebecca James and Cherie Inwood. Hayley Yates batted in Yarham.

Both SK runs came in the top of the third. Robyn Hall singled and she and Carly Werahiko scored on Krystal Werahiko’s rightfield single.

Inwood finished with five Ks while conceding three walks.

Halswell had six hits, with Samson-Loffley and McIntyre both batting 1.000 after two hits from two at-bats.

Women’s Premiership Points: Kaiapoi (5 games) 17pts, Halswell (4) 8, PCU (4) 8, Papanui (5) 8, Sydenham Kereru (4) 5.

Article added: Tuesday 08 November 2022