Brother Patrick Memorial -- Final day
February 7, 2007
Auckland, NZ
2007 Brother Patrick Memorial fastpitch softball series. Finalday.
Titleholder Metro had a strong grasp on the Brother PatrickMemorial Trophy at Penrose yesterday but a three-hit late-game battingdisplay by Ramblers' Danish international Frederick Terkelson sparked hisside to a fine 8-3 win.
Metro dominated the first four innings with determinedbatting and inspired coaching by injured player-coach Dion Nukunuku.Bernard Hale, Des Pemerika and Garth Pollard had back-to-back hits in thesecond, aided by Rod Caddy, to score the three runs and the side lookedsecure.
But Bobbie King started the comeback in the fifth withRamblers taking four hits and a walk to score King, player-coach DonnyHale, Lyndon Andrew and Aaron Thompson, with Terkelson getting the secondof his three hits from four turns.
Metro then failed to dent the pitching of Japanese importKengo Terui and Ramblers continued the scoring spree with Hale, Andrewand Terkelson hitting in the seventh, capped by a huge home run fromLawrence Naera to score four more.
Coach Hale was pleased that his side had climbed back fromthe sluggish reaction to the previous weekend's scoring riot when hisside had rammed out 40 home runs in an unprecedented display.
"The round robin loss to Metro spurred us on," hesaid, "and we developed our team scoring game. Freddie batted sowell but I was annoyed when he bunted in his first turn at bat. He hitstoo well to bunt when there are no runners on base."
Hale and the team are aiming to regain the national clubtitle it conceded last season.
Men: Ramblers 10 Hutt Valley Marist 0, Metro 1 United 0, Waitakere Bears6 Hutt Marist 4, Metro 8 Otahuhu 2. Points after the round robin: Metro14, Ramblers 12 Otahuhu and Bears 10, Auckland Marist 4, Hutt Marist 2,United 2 and
Howick 2.
Final: Ramblers 8 Metro 3.
Awards: Men: Top batter Patrick Shannon Bears .571, most runs batted in 9and most home runs 4 Frederick Terkelson (Ramblers), most stolen basesJosh Cooke (Metro) 5, top pitcher Kengo Terui (Ramblers).
Women's section
Waitakere Bears is a rare sight in New Zealand softball,full of tall, lean players who run and throw hard. Bears hit well andforced errors in the first inning against Marist, scoring threeruns.
Marist clutched one back in the second after clever battingby Courtney Maihi and Courtney O'Donnell but Bears again forced errors toscore two in the fifth and another two in the sixth with top batting fromEmily Pateras and Tegan Bromhead.
Marist used walks and a Casey Roper hit to score one in thefifth.
Bears' coach Alan Lockton, aware his side is aiming for itsfirst national title, is keen to get more games and hopes to match hisside against some male opposition to get it into even bettercondition.
Women: Doreen Hutchings Trophy: Marist 11 Howick 0, Bears 5 Te AtatuRoosters 5. Points: Bears 7, Marist 6, Roosters 3, Howick and Otahuhu 2.
Final: Bears 7 Marist 2.
Women: Batter Stacy Harris (Otahuhu) .571, runs batted in Courtney Warren(Otahuhu) 4, stolen bases Tara Lee Houkamau (Howick) 3, home runs/RBIJanelle Mase (Roosters) 1 and 3), top pitcher Megan Farrell (Bears).
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* Email:snz@softball.org.nz
Cheers Vance
Softball New Zealand web master.
* Email:vanf@ihug.co.nz
