West Australian men beaten twice

Press, 10 February 1986, Page 29

West Australian men beaten twice

The West Australian men’s softball team was beaten twice when it began its tour of New Zealand with a double header on a fenced-in grass diamond at the Ashburton Show Grounds on Saturday evening.

The Australian national champions would have been quite happy about holding Canterbury to a 10 scoreline but not so happy about the 3-1 defeat by Mid-Canterbury.

In the first match, against Canterbury, the unaccustomed speed of Canadian pitcher, Mike Ash, caused problems for the West Australian batters.

While Ash grabbed 10 strike-outs only three batters reached base safely, two from hits.

Even so, one of them, the lead-off, Glen Knight, made it as far as third base after hitting-on and advancing on a sacrifice bunt and a passed ball in the bottom of the fourth innings. Knight looked likely to score when the former Canterbury representa-

tive, Alan Hall, slammed a hit out to right field but a fine diving catch by Ray Marsh saved a run.

The only run of the game came in the top of the fifth when the Canterbury catcher, Graeme Anderson, hit to left field.

The West Australian player charged the ball rather than waiting for it to bounce and the consequent misfield allowed Anderson to convert a one bagger to a home run. Altogether, the Canterbury batters collected seven hits from the pitching of Hall, who took five strike outs.

Good defence precluded more runs. Canterbury’s best performers were Anderson’s .666 and the outfielder, Dennis Wiersma, who hit a triple and a single in two trips to the batter’s box.

Mid-Canterbury scored immediately in the second game, its lead-off batter, Tim Hickey, picking a walk and eventually coming home on a passed ball in the top of the first.

That walk was Lindsay

Anderson’s only blemish on the mound and he thereafter began to rack up a useful tally of strikeouts.

But Anderson was relieved in the fourth innings by Leon Walton and the Mid-Canterbury batters found it easier to make contact with his slower deliveries. West Australia had

equalised in the bottom of the third when the short stop, Wayne Brown, loped across the home plate after a solid hit to left field by Knight. Good batting by MidCanterbury, however, brought further runs to Albie Meger in the fifth and Sam Knudson, the team’s top batter, in the seventh.

The West Australian side Is playing 15 matches in the South Island as a lead up to the international quadrangular tournament with the New Zealand under 19 team, Emerging N.Z. and Singapore at Carterton and Palmerston North on the week-end of February 22 and 23.