THOMAS' HOME RUN HEROICS HIGHLIGHT KAIAPOI QUEENS' DOUBLE

Premier Club Softball Report

11th December 2022

By Tony Smith

American import Lindsay Thomas has again demonstrated why opposition pitchers start to squirm and coaches start to signal an intentional walk when she walks into the batter's box.

The Canterbury Red Sox catcher cracked home runs in each of the Kaiapoi Queens' home diamond wins at Norman Kirk Park last Saturday as Mike McDowell's team vanquished closest rivals Sydenham Kereru and the Halswell Hornets.

Kaiapoi now share the lead in the Canterbury women's premiership with Halswell after underlining their burgeoning batting depth  by scoring 15 runs across both games.

Men's premiership Leaders Papanui Tigers maintained their charge with a big win over the Halswell Hornets after 16 runs in the final three innings at Papanui Domain.

GAME SUMMARIES

WOMEN

Halswell Hornets 6 PCU Angels 1

The Halswell Sporting Edge Hornets - behind the pitching of Amy Begg - were too strong for the Angels at Mizuno Ballpark on Friday night.

PCU grabbed the lead in the first inning after catcher Manaia Makiri tripled and scored on an outfield error.

But Begg shut up shop thereafter, yielding just four hits for five strikeouts and three walks.

Halswell went ahead 2-1 in the third when catcher and leadoff Finlay Martin batted in Cherie Inwood and Olivia Cassin crossed on Alyssa Lory's centrefield hit.

They added three more runsin thesixth after hits by Lory and Bev Leathlen and Rebecca James batted in Lucy McIntyre in theseven after Lory had been intentionally walked.

Lory led the Horrnets hitting with two from three.

PCU's four hits were shared by Makiri, Lillie Simcott and two to Johanna Church, who batted .666.

Angels pitcher Madisyn Dysart gave up seven hits for two Ks and four walks.

Kaiapoi Queens 8 Halswell 6

Halswell couldn't carry their momentum through to Saturday's crucial encounter with Kaiapoi at Norman Kirk Park.

Hornets starting pitcher Cherie Inwood was given a baptism of fire when Kaiapoi's Lindsay Thomas smashed a two-run home run through rightfield with McKenzie Bailey-McDowell on base in the bottm of the first inning.

Oriana Connell then gave Inwood no respite, clouting a three-run homer through centrefield.

That gave Kaiapoi a 5-1 lead after Olivia Cassin had opened Halswell's scoring in the top of the first.

Kaiapoi extended their stranglehold with two further runs in the second stanza, with pitcher Lauren Sutherland rapping a RBI triple.

Amy Begg relieved Inwood from the third frame and allowed only one more run, with Connell tripling to rightfield in the sixth and scoring on Rome Collins-Cross' hit.

Runs to Lucy McIntyre in the fifth, Cassin in the fifth, and Begg (who doubled) in the sixth, cut back Halswell's deficit, and they gave their supporters a glimmer of hope in the seventh after McIntyre and Alyssa Lory picked walks and scored on Rebecca James' centrefield double.

But, the Queens' brilliant head start ultimately earned them their win.

Connell starred at the plate for Kaiapoi with her home run and triple for a .666 average to continue her golden batting run.

McIntyre produced a perfect 1.000 for Halswell with three hits from three while young third base Melissa Chapman (three from four) batted .750.

Kaiapoi Queens 7 Sydenham Kereru 0

Young McKenzie Bailey-McDowell again exhibited her pitching promise by limiting SK to four hits in a shutout win.

Guided by the experience of catcher Lindsay Thomas behind the plate, Bailey-McDowell pitched astutely to her field, taking three strikeouts and, most impressively for a young pitcher, dishing up just one walk.

Former White Sox infielder Cassie Siataga had two of SK's hits (including a two-bagger), but Cassandra McLeod and Cheyann Whyte were the only others to have any success against Bailey-McDowell, who managed to keep Mikayla Werahiko's bat at bay.

Lauren Sutherland scored for Kaiapoi on Raina Joseph's hit in the first inning, and Thomas belted a two-run home run in the second.

SK made a pitching change in the third inning, bringing on Naia Elisara for Jahneiya Taiepa, but Kaiapoi grabbed two more runs, to Oriana Connell and Teagan Maxted, after a centrefield single from Vienna Jerymn.

Both Jermyn and Joseph batted 1.000 after two hits from two andThomas went two from three.

PCU Angels 9 Papanui 2

Kaiyah Ratu is fast proving to be the Angels' matchwinner. The teenage infielder's three-run first inning home run was the launching pad for a comfortable PCU victory.

Sammy Fawcett-Kay had doubled from leadoff as PCU got into Brittany Terrey's pitching from the get-go.

Drew Jorgensen, Caitlin Davidson and Stella Jorgenson supplied successive hits from the 7-8-9 slots as PCU added another run in the fourth.

Stella Jorgensen (who batted 1.000) got her third hit of the game in the sixth as the Angels accumulated another three runs.

DP Tania Kepa (in the 5th) and Simone Salter (in the 6th) got Papanui's runs after both had made base from infield singles.

Results

Friday:  Halswell Hornets 6 PCU Angels 1.

Saturday: PCU 9 Papanui Tigers 2, Kaiapoi Queens 8 Halswell 6, Kaiapoi 7 Sydenham Kereru 0.

Points:  Kaiapoi (12 games) 37, Halswell (13) 37, Sydenham Kereru (11) 23, PCU (12) 20, Papanui (10) 10.                    

MEN

Papanui Tigers 16 Halswell Hornets 0

Black Sox outfielder Jackson Watt's grand slam home run proved the catalyst for ELE Papanui Tigers racing home with a wet sail on home turf at Papanui Doamin.

The Hornets were still in the game till the latter stages after young starting pitcher Harrison Bruhns-Croy held the Tigers scoreless across the first four innings while taking three strikeouts and allowing three walks.

The floodgates opened in the fifth when Watt hammered his bases-loaded home as the Tigers racked up five runs.

Eleven more followed in the seventh as Halswell replaced Bruhns-Croy with relief man Kieran Nation.

Most of the Papanui lineup got two at-bats during the hits-laden seventh, highlighted by doubles to Callum Muir and Jayden Britt.

Outfielder Josh Glading batted 1.000 with two hits from two attempts ( he also got clunked twice from hit pitches and picked a walk). Callum Bishop went two from four while Watt and Tyson Bartorillo had two hits from five.

Albion Anteaters 3 Kaiapoi Kings 1

Pitcher Chris Agnew impressed with bat and ball as Dave Pouaka's Albion edged out the Riversiders.

Infielder Joey Flynn opened Albion's account in the top of the fourth after he, Matthew Dougherty and Cortia Holmes-Hurst all beat out infield singles.

Corey Durham singled in the top of the sixth inning and Holmes-Hurst dropped a base-hit but for Agnew to score both with a drive to rightfield.

Holmes-Hurst batted .666 (two from three) for Albion and Dougherty (.500, two from four) while Agnew accrued nine strikeouts for four walks and three hits. Two of those were back-to-back (a single and a triple) as Kaiapoi collected their only run in the middle innings.

PCU Devils 7 Richmond Keas Blinders 0 (5 innings)

PCU began the weekend with a narrow 3-2 over Albion on Friday night and Ted Forrester's team had their batting eye in early against RKS.

Bailey Hamilton's RBI triple sparked a three-run start and the Devils added a further four runs in the bottom of the second, highlighted by a triple from Leon Lumb and a Grayson Keepa double.

RKS player-coach Penese Iosefo-Harris took over the mound from starter Jacob Neale with the Devils ahead 7-0 and put the brakes on any further scoring, racking seven strikeouts in relief for a solitary safe hit (to Josh Harbrow up the middle).

DP Quinn Wickens started on PCU's mound and hurled a no-hitter, snaring eight Ks and allowing just one walk. He then handed over to lefty Liam Potts, who yielded RKS's only hit - a single to shortstop Levi Beattie - but also took three strikeouts.

Results:

Friday: PCU Devils 3 Albion Anteaters 2.

Saturday: Papanui Tigers 16 Halswell Hornets 0, PCU 7 Richmond Keas Blinders 0, Albion 3 Kaiapoi Kings 1.

Points: Papanui (11 games) 41, PCU (11) 37, RKS (11) 25, Albion (11) 18, Kaiapoi (12) 14, Halswell (10) 13.

Article added: Friday 17 December 2021