Black Sox hurler Nik Hayes won the top pitcher and most valuable player awards after throwing Hutt Valley Dodgers to their third national interclub title in Nelson on Sunday.

 

Wairarapa softball products Blair Thompson and Danny Brown starred as the Hutt Valley Dodgers clinched their third national interclub men's softball title.

Thompson blasted a second inning solo shot home run and Brown batted in two runs in the seventh frame during the Dodgers' 3-1 win over six-time champions Ramblers in Sunday's grand final in Nelson.

It was the Dodgers' first win since 2013 and victory was sweet for coaches Steve Deans and Trevor Evans, who played in the Dodgers' first title triumph in Christchurch in 2010.

The winning squad contained a clutch of Hutt Valley softball stalwarts, led by Black Sox stars Nik Hayes (pitcher) and Joel Evans (shortstop), who celebrated his fourth national title after winning first with Hutt City United in 2006.

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The Dodgers camp hailed Hayes, who won the tournament top pitcher and most valuable player awards for his dominance on the pitching mound and some timely hits with the bat.

"Nik did really well for us," captain Joel Evans said. "He pitched something ridiculous, like 68 innings, this week."

But it was the Masterton men - Thompson and Brown - who bossed the batter's box in the final.

Thompson, a Masterton real estate  agent, has been commuting over the Rimutakas for many years to play premier club softball. He has been in the Hutt Valley team representative team since 2009 and was instrumental in them making the 2016 National Fastpitch Championships finals after driving in two runs in the semifinal against Canterbury.

Brown, like Thompson, played his early ball for the Wairarapa Giants club, before heading over the hill to Wellington to link with Poneke Kilbirnie prior to joining Dodgers.

"They both still live in Wairarapa and travel every Tuesday and Thursday for training with us, at 40 bucks a pop," Evans said. "They are over the moon now."

Evans said it was "pretty special" to win a third national title with his father, Trevor. "That's every kid's dream. He's now won two as a player, and one as a coach."

Dodgers entered the final with a slight psychological advantage after shading Ramblers 2-1 in an 11th inning tiebreaker on Saturday night. Craig Wallace broke the deadlock with a well-executed suicide squeeze bunt to score Evans from third base.

That forced Ramblers to play an elimination game against defending titleholders Albion on Sunday. The Aucklanders beat the triple Canterbury champions, 2-0, to secure a rematch with Dodgers.

Evans said the final was "very tight", but Hayes, restricted Ramblers to four scattered safe hits. The 26-year-old took only three strikeouts, but showed good control to give up a single walk as he pitched cleverly to his field.

Catcher Wallace threw out a couple of Ramblers runners, including player-coach Nathan Nukunuku, who attempted to steal to third base in the first inning.

The game came alive in the top of the second when Thompson clouted a two-out home run over the Saxton Field fence to fire Dodgers into the lead.

Ramblers had a golden chance to equalise in the bottom of the fourth when Nukunuku raced around to third base on a throwing error by Hayes. But the Black Sox skipper was tagged by Wallace at home plate after second baseman Murphy Albright's throw.

Pinch hitters Bradley Bennett and Connor Peden produced back-to-back safe hits for Ramblers in the bottom of the sixth, although Bennett squandered his when he was picked off in a playback at first base by Wallace's unerring arm. 

Dodgers responded in the top of the seventh with successive singles by Campbell Ngarimu and Murphy Albright and Joel Evans was walked to load the bases. Brown stepped up to drive a hit and score Callum Gates (running for Ngarimu) and Albright with Evans tagged out at third base.

Ramblers broke their duck in the bottom of the seventh when Lewis Jerard singled to score pinch runner James Johnston, but Maddix Rice grounded out to second baseman Murphy Albright, who completed a good fielding game by firing the ball to brother, E J Albright, at first base for the final out.

Dodgers took eight hits off Ramblers' Japanese international pitcher Kento Okazaki, 21, who took seven strikeouts. Ngarimu (2), Thompson, Brown, Murphy Albright, Wallacke, Hayes and Cartwright were the Hutt side's successful hitters.

Rice, Peden, Bennett and Jerard picked up Ramblers hits off Hayes. 

 

 

 

 - Stuff