Top Black Sox pitcher Jeremy Manley guided Hutt Valley Dodgers to their first national interclub softball title yesterday and said it helped "numbed the sting'' of the world series loss to Australia.

Manley won the top pitcher and most valuable player awards at the NZCT men's open tournament in Christchurch through his heady mix of power pitching and dynamic hitting and surprisingly swift base running.

Batting in the number four clean-up spot, the accomplished all-rounder slammed two hits and batted in two key runs in Dodgers' 8-6 win over Canterbury champions PCU Devils in a thrilling but topsy-turvy grand final.

"To pitch in with the bat is huge, I'm happy with that... winning is grinning,'' a beaming Manley said after collecting his team and individual awards.

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Most of the Dodgers team, including popular coach Brad Baker, transferred en masse this year from Hutt City United, who they led to the 2006 national title.

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