Ellis Park works for first win in eightinnings thriller

ELLIS Park has claimed a thrilling first win in its second game back in premier club softball.

It beat fellow newcomer Old Boys 1110 in an eightinnings thriller at Ellis Park on Saturday.

With the score at 77 at the end of the seventh innings, Old Boys crossed home plate three times in the eighth.

That left Ellis Park needing to deliver, and it did, scoring four runs to snatch victory.

It had been a close game throughout, with Ellis Park answering every time Old Boys opened up a gap.

Mark Ludlow scored in the first inning for Old Boys, before Mike Bunn drove in Marnix Leathen and Jacob Wedlock to take a 21 lead for Ellis Park.

Both teams went scoreless through the second and third, before Aaron Booth equalised for Old Boys, scoring on a fielder’s choice in the fourth.

Old Boys continued that run in the fifth, as a series of balls and wild pitches helped Christian Amos, Ben Foster and Dylan Brett all score to give the side a 52 lead.

Ellis Park hit back straight away, however, as Damian Samson, Leathen and Wedlock all crossed to make it 55.

Both teams then exchanged runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings’ to make it 77, before Simon Rakiraki, Grant Phillips and Ben Forster all scored to give Old Boys a 107 buffer.

However, Ellis Park responded as it had all day, with Samson, Leathen, Wedlock and Caleb Bennett all scoring to take the win.

The day’s other premier games were cancelled due to the bad weather.