Batting skills on show
Placemakers Panthers gave a good lesson in batting on the main Softball Diamond at Surrey Park on Saturday with 10 hits, defeating Tigers by 8 runs to 1 in five innings.
The second game on the same diamond took an eight innings tie-breaker to separate Demons Blue and Forklift NZ Demons, with the Blue team coming out on top 7-6.
Kaemyn Smith, from Panthers, showed his class as lead off batter for Panthers, going 3 from 3 with the bat, and took some good outs from his regular position at shortstop.
Another to show out was Braeden Heslip who took over the pitching duties and also hit a double and a triple.
Number 9 batter for Panthers, Sam Mitchell, also put his hand up with 2 from 2, one of being a triple.
Ryan Fallows, from Tigers, put everything into his game from the pitching mound, backing up the catcher on any loose pitches.
Ryan Webster took the only hit for Tigers.
Panthers batters were, Smith (3), Heslip, Sam Mitchell (2), Wade McSoriley, Shaun Mitchell, Harry Sapwell (1).
Although the batting was close in the second game, Demons Blue were guilty of leaving 13 base runners on base, and should have won the game before a tie breaker was necessary.
Being behind from the first innings, Forklift Demon quietly pegged back the runs to finish up at 5 runs apiece at the bottom of the seven regulation innings.
Batting first in the eighth, Forklift had courtesy runner George Karamaena on second, who then raced to third on a wild pitch, scoring from a sacrifice hit by William Campbell.
The Blue team started the bottom of the innings with Jack Steel as the courtesy runner, and when Chris Telfer was hit by a pitched ball, there were two base runners eager to score and take the game.
Danny Shayler came next and hit a hard two base hit between centre and right field, scoring both runners to win the game.
For the Blues, Shayler, Kayne Duggan (2), Keegan Hilhorst, Telfer, James Affleck (1).
Forklift Demons batters were, Te Kaanu Te Huia (2), Paraku, Campbell, Kieran O’Connor, Scott Thurlow (1).
Calder Mackay
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