Premier Softball Report

Saturday 10th December 2022

By Tony Smith 

Three New Zealand White Sox players left for Sydney on a high after starring for their club
teams in last weekend’s Canterbury women’s premiership round.

Nerissa McDowell - fresh from supporting her pitcher partner Brad Kilpatrick to a bronze medal
with the United States at the Softball World Cup in Auckland - was the standout.

The Kaiapoi Queens stalwart went four from four in a 7-2 win over Sydenham Kereru last
Saturday, capping her performance with an automatic home run at Dynasty Ballpark.
She also had a triple and two singles on a big-hitting day by Kaiapoi - seven of their 11 safe hits
were multiple-base efforts, including two triples by Katelyn Bayer.

The Halswell Hornets’ White Sox pitcher Cherie Inwood threw a perfect game across the first
three innings in a 8-0 mercy-rule win over Sydenham Kereru. She allowed no hits and no
runners on base and took strikeouts before handing over to Ashley Lightfoot to close it out. She
allowed SK’s only hit - a fourth inning triple by Carly Werahiko.

White Sox first base Lucy McIntyre - the Canterbury premiership’s top batter in the first round -
went two from three at the plate - as did Breigh Monaghan.

But they were upstaged by young DP Melissa Chapman, who had a perfect 1.000 average with
three hits from as many trips to the batter’s box.
SK struggled against Kaiapoi on Saturday, with Cassie Siataga scoring both runs in their 7-2
loss.

But they thumped Papanui 11-3 on Friday night, smacking 120 safe hits.
Already in command, SK piled on five runs in the sixth inning after five hits, highlighted by
Navita O’Gramm’s double.

Siataga and O’Gram went two from three, while Mikayla Werahiko batted .500 with two hits.
White Sox pitcher Brittany Terrey scored the winning run - on Makea Kaluau’s sacrifice fly in the
third inning - in Papanui’s 1-0 win over the PCU Angels. She pitched a shutout, taking nine
strikeouts while conceding six safe hits.
White Sox debutant Kaiyah Ratu had the best Angels hit, a three-bagger.

Results
Sydenham Kereru 11 Papanui 3, Kaiapoi 7 Sydenham Kereru 2, Papanui 1 PCU Angels 0,
Halswell 8 Sydenham Kereru 0.

Points: Kaiapoi 29, Papanui 21, Sydenham Kereru 19, PCU 17, Halswell 14.

MEN
The Kaiapoi Kings gave champions Papanui a scare before the Tigers won in a tiebreaker last
Friday.

Kaiapoi leapt out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning after Jack Nehoff-Bates, Czech
Republic international Marek Volf and pitcher Jakzon Quinn scored after successive Texas
leaguer singles by Wiremu Herewini and Mitch Burrows.

Bates extended the advantage to 4-0 in the second frame when he singled and scored on a
safe hit by Volf, signed fresh from the Softball World Cup in Auckland.

Papanui still trailed 4-2 going into the bottom of the fifth inning when Callum Bishop blasted a
triple to score Josh Lubiejewski and Ben Watts and tie the game.

Watts took a couple of timely strikeouts to shut the Kings out in the top of the eighth.
Lubiejewski, a former Kaiapoi catcher, then stepped up and hit a sacrifice fly to centrefield to
score automatic runner Antony Stuart and earn the Tigers a 5-4 win.

PCU Devils accounted for Kaiapoi 9-2 on Saturday, with Scott Tansey slamming a two-run
homer.

Ted Forrester’s team finished strongly with four runs in the seventh inning after four hits,
including a double to pinch-hitter Andy Verheul.

Leadoff man Nehoff-Bates scored Kaiapoi’s first run on Herewini’s third inning double.
Volf got an infield single in the fourth and scored on pitcher Jakzon Quinn’s two-bagger.
The Devils had to come from behind to beat the Richmond Keas Blinders 8-5 in the second leg
of their doubleheader.

Finn Mounty had a blinder for RKS, batting .750 with three hits from four - including a fourth
inning home run.

RKS led 5-2 going into the sixth inning when Devils first baseman Craig Nelson tied the score
with one swing of his bat - a three-RBI double.

Josh Harbrow, Jayden Potts and Bailey Hamilton scored in the seventh to give PCU a
hard-fought win.

Jackson Watt showed his all-round ability for Papanui, pitching a 14-strikeout shutout in the
Tigers’ 7-0 six innings win over the Albion Anteaters. Pitching to brother Nathan, Watt allowed
just four hits, including doubles by Corey Durham, James Bolton and Isaac Nation.

Josh Lubiejewski’s two-run home run in the fourth inning was the standout effort among
Papanui’s five scattered hits.

Results: Papanui 5 Kaiapoi 4 (8 innings), Papanui 7 Albion 0 (6 innings), PCU 9 Kaiapoi 2, PCU
8 Richmond Keas 5.

Points: Papanui 36, PCU 30, RKS 16, Albion 7, Kaiapoi 7.

Article added: Friday 16 December 2022