Canadian pitches in as Wellington maintain challenge

Jerome Raemaki blasted a home run and Canadian import Caleb Keeshig produced a winning pitching performance to keep Wellington’s title challenge on track at the national men’s softball tournament.

Wellington – chasing their first title for 11 years – tallied 13 safe hits in a 7-1 win over North Harbour at the National Fastpitch Championships at Lower Hutt’s Fraser Park yesterday.

Former Black Sox veteran Wayne Laulu had three hits from four at-bats for Wellington, including beating out a base-hit bunt, while Reilly Makea went two from three. Third baseman Raemaki – looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2019 world championships with the Black Sox – also had a single for a .500 average from the game. He had batted .571 (four hits from seven at-bats) and had four RBIs on the first day.

Keeshig struck out eight batters and gave up six safe hits.

Harbour’s Hohepa Monk did his Black Sox selection hopes a favour with two hits from two at-bats against Keeshig, an Ontario hurler who is in the Canadian national training squad.

Eru Drage, Harbour’s left-handed pitcher, showed his prowess with the bat with two hits from two attempts.

North Harbour earlier beat Canterbury 1-0 after a third-inning home run by Brock Attewell, who produced his side’s only hit

North Harbour 1 Canterbury 0, Hutt Valley 4 Southern Pride 1, Auckland 13 Junior Black Sox 3 (4 innings), Wellington 7 North Harbour 1.

Results from day two of the men’s National Fastpitch Championships tournament in Lower Hutt:

of the game off Red Sox pitcher Ben Watts.

Attewell, a specialist second baseman, was the day one batting average leader (.750) with three hits from four at-bats after seven plate appearances. The solo shot homer against Canterbury was his fifth RBI (run batted in) of the series.

Drage started the pitching for Harbour, holding Canterbury to four hits before making way for Pita Rona, who racked six strikeouts for a solitary safe hit.

Canterbury had five hits to Harbour’s one, but left too many runners on base.

Second baseman Curtis Dove (two from three), current Black Sox players Josh Harbrow and Jackson Watt, and exinternational Josh Thomson had hits for Stephen Ratu’s Canterbury side.

Black Sox catcher Kallan Compain – playing rightfield for Auckland – smashed a two-run home run in Auckland’s 13-3 four innings win over the Junior Black Sox.

First baseman EJ Albright smacked a home run and experienced Black Sox infielder Joel Evans – whose grand slam home run won the 2017 world championships final – had two hits in Hutt Valley’s 4-1 win over Southern Pride.