Tyron Bartorillo in action for his Papanui club.

 

But Bartorillo came straight back from his baseball stint in Sydney to star for Canterbury at the National Fastpitch Championships softball tournament, finishing second top batter with .517 average.

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He went even better at the Southern Cross tournament in Christchurch, batting .609 and was third top batter in the Canterbury competition with 19 hits from 42 at-bats for a .452 average.

Bartorillo was in the top 10 for RBIs (runs batted in) and batted .400 at the national open club championships in Nelson.

He came back strongly from a three-game suspension after being sent off in a club game and his Canterbury Softball citation said had "shown that he is a class hitter, smooth fielder and is calm under pressure".

Newtown, a former Black Sox pitcher, said he believed there was a good case for Bartorillo to be recalled to the Black Sox "based on performance, not only for the [Canterbury] Red Sox, but also in club stuff and at the national clubs tournament".

"He had that week with the New Zealand baseball team and he came back to us for the NFC and didn't miss a beat, the transition didn't seem to bother him."

The Black Sox management have for some time taken a hard line on players attempting to play both softball and baseball.

But Newton said in Bartorillo's case, "it hasn't affected him at all".

"When he came back, we made sure we had a couple of batting practices before our first game... but he was back into it right from the start."

Newton said Bartorillo was "a very compact hitter" who "never sees to be over-matched". He was a valuable leadoff batter who "can hit a double, a single and he can put one out [for a home run]".

Another former Black Sox slugger Gareth Cook won the top men's batter category with a club average of .526 after 20 hits from 38 bas. Cook also batted .370 for the PCU Devils at the national open club championships.

Penese Iosefo was a clearcut winner of the top pitcher award after hurling Albion to another Canterbury club title. Iosefo was the leading pitcher at the Jefferies Cup South Island tournament and threw 26 innings over four days for the Canterbury Red Sox at the NFC championships.

He was recalled to the Black Sox training squad and helped Albion to third place at the club nationals. 

Newton said Iosefo had done well on his return, but he expects him to get even better.

"He took a year and and a half off [pitching], and it takes a long time to get back into it. He pitched well this season, but I think he's got a little bit more once he gets another season under his belt. He'll still be peaking this time next year."

Canterbury Red Hawks representative Lauren Sutherland won the women's player of the year award.

Her citation described her as "a versatile player who has earned offensive and defensive accolades and continues to grow in skill and maturity".

The Papanui stalwart was the top batter at the South Island Jubilee Cup tournament with 11 hits from 15 at-bats for a 0.733 average.

Sutherland was the Red Hawk's second top batter at the NFC tournament and was in top 20 average with a .278 average.

She pitched well at the Southern Cross Challenge tournament in April with a respectable ERA (earned run average) of 3.06.

In club softball, Sutherland was first equal for home runs, seventh in the batting averages and had more safe hits (31) than any other Canterbury male or female player.

Halswell's Bev Lethlean was the top women's batter with 25 hits from 55 at-bats for a .455 average. She was also on the leaderboards for most RBIs and home runs.

Papanui's Teremoanaroa Elliott was the top women's pitcher after maintaining the lowest ERA in the Canterbury premiership since the first day of the season. She was the top pitcher at the Jubilee Cup and performed creditably on the mound at her first NFC tournament with the Red Hawks.

AT A GLANCE

SOFTBALL

Canterbury Softball's 2015-16 season awards

Men

Top batter: Gareth Cook (PCU Devils). Top pitcher: Penese Iosefo (Albion). Player of the Year: Tyron Bartorillo (Papanui).

Women

Top batter: Beverly Leathlean (Halswell). Top pitcher: Teremoanaroa Elliott (Papanui). Player of the Year: Lauren Sutherland (Papanui).

Grade winners:

Rookie League (under 19). Men: Papanui (pre-Christmas and Champions). Women: Halswell (pre-Christmas), Papanui (Champions).

Premier Men: Albion.

Premier Women: Albion Cardinals.

Reserve men: Albion Bandits (pre-Christmas and Champions).

Reserve women: PCU Fusion (pre-Christmas and Champions).

B Men: Papanui Tigers (pre-Christmas), Rolleston Razorbacks (Champions).

B Women: Kaiapoi Kanettes (pre-Christmas), Albion Angels (Champions).

C Men: Papanui Swingers (pre-Christmas, Champions).

C Women: Kaiapoi A-Shockers (pre-Christmas), Burnham (Champions). Champion of Champions: Kaiapoi A-Shockers. Champions: Papanui Cougars.

D Men: Kaiapoi Kruisers (pre-Christmas), Albion Chiefs (champions).

E Men: RKS F Troop (pre-Christmas), Papanui Wildcats (Champions).

Mixed One: Papanui Buffer Drummonds (pre-Christmas, Champions).

Mixed Two: Royals Allsorts (pre-Christmas, Champions).

Mixed Three: Royals Blue Sox (pre-Christmas), RKS Kapa Tata (Champions). Champion of champions: Royals Blue Sox (pre-Christmas), Riccarton Mixed Nuts (Champions).

 

 

 

 - Stuff