Premier Softball Report from 26th & 27th November 2021

By Tony Smith

Photography: DB Sports Photography

How did former White Sox infielder Cassie Siataga celebrate her 27^th birthday?  By smashing a home run over leftfield in Sydenham Kereru’s win over Papanui last Saturday.

Siataga’s solo shot helped SK score a 5-0 win over the Papanui Tigers in the Canterbury women’s premiership at Papanui Domain.

Ex-Red Hawks outfielder Oriana Connell and Junior White Sox squad member McKenzie Bailey-McDowell slugged home runs in the Kaiapoi Queens’ 10-3 win over the Halswell Hornets at Kaiapoi.

Wet conditions at Norman Kirk Park made conditions tricky, particularly for pitchers with 23 walks delivered across the Kaiapoi-Halswell and Halswell-PCU Angels women’s games.

Meanwhile, champions ELE Papanui Tigers totted up 23 runs across two games at the weekend to underline their dominance of the men’s premiership.

Weekend results

      
Friday

Women

Papanui Tigers 5  PCU Angels 4

Most of the action came in the seventh inning as Pak N Save Papanui edged the Angels at Mizuno Ballpark.

Simone Salter gave Papanui a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth after picking a walk and scoring on Gemma Taylor’s single to rightfield.

PCU produced their big inning in the top of the seventh after Tessa Metuatini and Caitlin Davidson plated after a Papanui infield error and Kaiyah Ratu tripled to left-centrefield to drive in Sammie Fawcett-Kay and Stella Jorgensen.

That put the pressure on Papanui, but the Tigers responded superbly, batting through their order.  Aimee Metuatini – playing against her younger sister Tessa – led the revival by scoring on Elizabeth Rice’s hit up the middle. Rice plated on an error that allowed Talyor to make base, and Papanui loaded the bases. Shortstop Shyla deLatour showed great plate discipline to pick a walk, which allowed Taylor home for the winning run.

Papanui outbatted the Angels six hits to three. Rice went two from four, while Salter, catcher Mya Pouaka and second base Aimee Metuatini also had hits.

Britt Terrey pitched well to her field, taking two strikeouts for three safe hits (two of them base-hit bunts) and two walks.

Men

Papanui Tigers 15 Richmond Keas Blinders 0 (3 innings)

Third-placed Richmond Keas were left reeling after a blistering 13-run opening inning barrage by the ruthless Tigers.

All but one Papanui hitter batted twice in a marathon first inning that saw Josh Dickson, Jackson Watt and Callum Bishop pick up two hits apiece. Bishop batted three from three, including a two-bagger, for a 1.000 average.

Watt drove in two runs to start the rout while Callum Muir, Jayden Britt and Josh Lubiejewski cracked doubles.

The Tigers had leapt out to a 11-0 lead before RKS made a pitching change, replacing young starer Bradyn Taylor with Jacob Neale, who stemmed the runs flow somewhat.

Papanui added two more runs in the top of the third, with Ant Stuart singling and scoring on Josh Glading’s hit and Bishop doubling to drive in Josh Glading.

Whetu Beattie, with a leftfield single in the second frame, got the only safe hit for RKS off Pap pitcher Jackson Watt, who nabbed six strikeouts.

Saturday

Men

Papanui Tigers 8 Kaiapoi Kings 1 (5 innings)

Triple world champion Tyron Bartorillo led the way as Papanui were back in the clubrooms early on club day at Papanui Domain.

The veteran third baseman batted 1.000 with three hits from three, including a pair of doubles.

Kaiapoi led 1-0 at the Lesley Byrne Memorial Diamond when Daniel Chaplin got a walk in the top of the first inning and scored on Mike Sands’ RBI double.

Papanui set their seal on the game at the Lesley Byrne Memorial Diamond with four runs in the first inning, to Josh Dickson, Jackson Watt, Bartorillo and DP Callum Muir.

Bartorillo added a fifth run in the third on Josh Glading’s hit, and the Tigers tallied three more runs in the fourth after a five-hit spree, sparked by back-to-back doubles by lower order batters Jayden Britt and Caleb Stewart.

Tigers ace pitcher Ben Watts fanned eight of 19 batters faced for three hits and three walks.

Jack Bates and Sands in the first inning and catcher Liam Hughes in the fifth were the only Kaiapoi batters to get hits off Black Sox prospect Watts.

Albion Anteaters 2 RKS Blinders 1

Dave Pouaka’s Albion side kept their composure to inflict Richmond Keas’ second defeat of the weekend at Mizuno Ballpark.

Albion got a perfect start in the bottom of the first inning when Corey Durham walked, scampered to three on James Bolton’s hit, and scored on a wild pitch.

Chris Agnew’s tight pitching ensured Albion retained their 1-0 lead until the top of the seventh when RKS catcher Matt Baxter tripled and scored on Finn Mounty’s sacrifice fly to centrefield to tie the ball game.

Bolton led off the bottom of the seventh for the Anteaters by making base on an infield single and advancing on Ryan Rhodes’ base-hit bunt. But he was left to watch from first base as RKS player-coach Penese Iosefo-Harris struck out two batters.

It was then all down to No 9 hitter Caleb Parsons, who proved Albion’s match winner with a single to left-centrefield to score Bolton for the winning run.

Iosefo-Harris gave his fielders an armchair ride by taking 18 of the 21 outs via strikeouts, allowing four hits and two walks.

Agnew was also very effective for Albion, snaring nine Ks for four hits and three walks.

Baxter (two from three) was RKS’ top batter, with Iosefo-Harris and Zach Graham also grabbing hits.

Halswell Hornets 6  Albion Anteaters 2

Young Hornets pitcher Harrison Bruhns-Croy bagged 10 strikeouts in a commanding performance against the Anteaters.

The teenage hurler – named in the Canterbury Red Sox’s Jefferies Cup squad - yielded just two safe hits and did not concede a walk in a standout performance.

Halswell led 1-0 after the experienced Aaron Collier drew a walk and then scored from second base on a wild pitch.

Shortstop Corey Durham tied it up for Albion after tripling in the bottom of the first and crossing on an infield error.

The Anteaters inched ahead 2-1 in the third with speedy lead-off Joey Flynn beating out an infield single. He stole to second and scored on a fielder’s choice.

Halswell struck back immediately, scoring four runs – to Isaac Nation, Fletcher Due, Reuben Elkins and Marty Warren in the top of the fourth, with Elkins ripping a double to leftfield.

Catcher Elkins celebrated his inclusion in the Canterbury senior team with two hits from three at-bats to be the game’s top batter.

Albion pitcher Kev Papuni struck out nine for four hits and a walk.

PCU Devils 9 Halswell Hornets 2 (6 innings)

Craig Nelson slugged the only home run of the day in the men’s premiership to kickstart PCU’s comeback win.

Halswell – fresh from beating Albion – opened with a run to Aaron Collier, who made base on an infield single and scored after a couple of wild pitches in the top of the first inning. Connor Stanley singled and scored on Isaac Nation’s sac fly to make it 2-0.

They proved to be the Hornets’ only hits as PCU’s youthful pitchers Mitchell Dierck and Liam Potts shut up shop.

Dierck – who also batted 1.000 – took six strikeouts for two hits and two walks before handing over to closer Potts, the left-hander who delivered a no-hitter, fanning four batters while allowing just one walk.

Nelson’s two-run homer over the leftfield fence ignited the Devils’ four-run rally in the bottom of the second inning, which also featured a Dierck double.

PCU added three more runs after successive safe hits by Andy Verheul, Nelson and Dierck in the third and closed it out with two later innings runs.

Bailey Hamilton (two from two) shared Dierck’s 1.000 average while Nelson went three from four for .750 and leadoff Dru deLatour two from three.

Women

Sydenham Kereru 5 Papanui Tigers 0

Papanui – boosted by their Friday night win over PCU – were never really in the hunt against SK at Papanui Domain.

First base Krystal Werahiko (who batted 1.000 with two from two) started SK’s scoring I nthe top o the second after hits by Jess Thornley and Cheyann Whyte.

SK clinically executed their short game with Carly and Mikayla Werahiko scampering in after well-executed bunts in the third.

Cassie Siataga provided the game’s highlight, racing around the bases for an in-the-park home run over leftfield in the fourth, a special 27^th birthday gift that delighted her teammates.

Mikayla Werahiko, so often SK’s clean up hitter, popped down her second safe bunt of the game in the fifth before scoring on a hit by sister Krystal.

Krystal’s 1.000 and Mikayla’s .750 (three from four) led SK’s offense, with Whyte (two from four) batting .500.

SK’s young left-handed pitcher Jahneiya Taiepa did well to hold Papanui to two hits (by Hana Allen and Simone Salter). She took four strikeouts and issued four walks.

Britt Terrey, hurling for Papanui, had five Ks and four walks, but surrendered 11 safe hits – five of them safe bunts.

Kaiapoi Queens 10 Halswell Hornets 3 (5 innings)

Two players at opposite ends of the experience spectrum starred in Kaiapoi’s home diamond win over Halswell at a soggy Norman Kirk Park.

The seasoned Oriana Connell continued her fine batting form with a two-run home run in the first inning.

Then young McKenzie Bailey-McDowell repeated the feat with a two-run shot in the third, a blow made all the more memorable for the Kaiapoi teen because it came off the pitching of White Sox international Amy Begg.

Kaiapoi stunned Halswell with six runs in the first inning, highlighted by Connell’s homer.  That batting blitz led Halswell to bring Begg on for starting pitcher Cherie Inwood.

The Queens increased their lead when second base Teagan Maxted drove in two more runs in the third, and Bailey-McDowell’s two-run homer through leftfield completed the rout.

Halswell’s runs all came in the top of the third, to Nicole Baxter-Warren, Sophie Yarham and Lucy McIntyre after back-to-back hits from McIntyre and Alyssa Lory.

Kaiapoi collected eight scattered hits off Halswell’s three pitchers, Inwood, Begg and closer McIntyre, who shut out the Queens in the final inning.

McIntyre had two hits from three for Halswell, but Lory was the only other Hornet to get a hit off Kaiapoi pitcher Lauren Sutherland, who took four strikeouts.

Halswell Hornets 9 PCU Angels 4

Catcher Rebecca James and third base Melissa Chapman produced the batting highlights as the Hornets scored a comeback win in the late game at Kaiapoi.

James batted .750 (three from four) and Chapman (two form three) collected two RBI singles as Halswell countered the Angels’ fine start.

Pitcher Trinity Mackley’s two-run triple got PCU off to a three-run flyer in the late game at Kaiapoi, but that only served to spur Halswell into action.

The Hornets hit back with three runs of their own in the top of the second, with Chapman clouting her first RBI single.

She got another in the fourth as Halswell produced another four-run rally, with James and Cherie Inwood also delivering hits. Inwood hit safely later in the game for another RBI.

McIntyre – a native Southlander perhaps more accustomed to pitching in wet conditions – started on the mound for Halswell before handing over to Begg.

PCU had six hits, with Makiri (.500) and Tessa Metuatini blasting triples.

Article added: Monday 29 November 2021