14 January Central Leader. Softball. AFC, supplied by Trevor Rouse

   All hail the Hales after Mt Albert Ramblers’ stunning 13-1 win over close rival and neighbour Auckland United at Warren Freer Park on Sunday.

   In front of the biggest crowd of the season, player-coach Donny Hale slammed a first inning home run with fellow international Nathan Nukunuku on base for an immediate lead and his young brother, Bernard, also an international, hit two home runs and two more safe hits in the rout.

   On top of that Donny had three walks as the United pitcher decided to let him go to first base instead of hitting his customary home runs. So neither Hale was out in eight turns at bat.

   United, hyped up and eager to be the first side to down the playing-through Auckland and national champion side, looked likely after retaliating with a first inning run when Isaac Fletcher walked and scored, aided by clever batting from Nick McGregor and youth international Ben Enoka.

   But it was the last challenge as Ramblers used a triple by pitcher Thomas Cameron and a Hale home run to build the lead, followed by a fifth inning home run by Scott O’Neale.

   The onslaught was devastating in the sixth with eight Ramblers scoring in a sustained burst of power batting which will stifle many future opponents’ ambition.

    Bernard Hale and Michael Cameron started with single base hits and Donny Hale was walked to load the bases in time for the series’ top batter Aaron Thompson to score two of them. O’Neale doubled and Lawrence Naera cleared the bases with a home run.

   Thomas Cameron hit his third shot of the day, scoring on a Bernard Hale homer to end the scoring and United’s chances.

   Only Heinie Shannon and Brock Williams managed further hits for United.

   Auckland ’s chances of retaining the national league title are enhanced if the Ramblers’ men continue their rampages in the coming weekend.

   Metro kept up the chase with a solid win against Otahuhu. Rod Caddy, with a home run in his four hits, and Duane Jerard’s home run formed the base of the 10-1 as pitcher Steven Tau spot pitched brilliantly after an injury spell.

   Eden-Roskill had hopes of raising form enough to beat Waitakere Bears but came up short as Bears won 8-2.

   Metro women, minus the side’s two top pitchers, should have been more able to cope than the 13-4 Howick win indicated. Howick has been struggling for batting all season and had been trailing the league while Metro was in excellent form.

Game Analysis 8th December by Trevor Rouse

Metro             3          0          0          0          0          0          4          =          7

Bears        0          0          0          0          0          0          0          =          0

   Steve Tau’s no hitter, shut out was a fine performance against a team which has occasionally bursts of batting brilliance. It was marred only by three team errors and two walks which allowed some Bears’ runners on base.

   Four home runs did all the scoring with Roman Gabriel hitting a first inning homer to match the shot against United the previous week. And he was not finished there because his second left field fence clearer in the seventh scored Rod Caddy who had singled.

   Duane Jerard was walked after Gabriel’s first homer and was followed by a centre field home run from Des Pemerika to put Bears under real pressure to perform. But the visitors to Phyllis Street had no luck against Tau’s consistency, even if it was not a strikeout blitz.

   The re was a long gap in the scoring department. Dion Nukunuku had a two down single in the third and there were hits from Pemerika and John Niu in the fourth.

  Then came the fateful seventh which left Bears nowhere to go. Josh Niu hit but went out at second before Brendan Walsh, with two down, hit over left field. Caddy’s single came next, before the second Gabriel homer.

   Metro brought on Thanikul “Mark” Boonmahatanakorn on third base to defend the last inning but Bears did not have any more bullets to fire.

   There were ten hits off Gerard Long from 30 batters. Four were struck out and two walked. Tau faced 26 for seven strikeouts and the three walks with no hits. Bears made no errors and left five on base, compared with Metro’s two.

   Jan Hutchings was the official scorer with Bunchy doing the umpiring. He preferred to be anonymous, stating that “they will know who I am” but the players did not. He was Antony Te Whero, a visiting umpire from the Bay of Plenty who comes to Auckland with his son Tiaki who plays for Bears. It is hard to get good games in the country these days.

Ramblers       0          0          0          0          0          0          0          1          =          1

Metro           0          0          0          0          0          0          0          0          =          0

  This was a fairly straight forward game, according to official scorer Rowena McKenzie, with the feature being strong pitching from both teams. Megan Farrell did the whole game for Metro, conceding only one hit in the eight turns in a fine display. She struck out 19 of the 28 batters and gave up three walks, one deliberate.

   So what went wrong for Metro with this sort of pitching power? The side took four hits from Janice Anderson and none off Michelle Kingi, but did not score even one run.

Irene Marr hit in the first but there were already two out. In the fourth there was a golden chance when Amber Irving started with a double and Marr also hit one. Nikki Skinnon was gifted a walk but Metro still did not score. It was the opportunity.

   There were two more Metro breaks. Lyle Norriss opened the fifth with a single and Irving was walked by Kingi to lead off the sixth. Three lead-offs on base and still no run. Not much support for such an able pitcher as Farrell.

   The Auckland rule was broken in Ramblers’ first turn when the lead-off batter, Emma Snowcroft, was walked and did not score the vital run, being left stranded on third. Anderson singled in the second and Kingi was given a deliberate walk, but that was the end of Ramblers’ batters on base until the tie-breaker when the tie-breaker runner scored for Ramblers after going to third on a passed ball. A hit from pinch hitter Hannah Leaper to first base took an awkward bounce and was scooped up to force an out at first, letting Leaper home. 

   So it was up to Metro to grab the chance but it was made easier for Ramblers when Dominique Rangi popped a flyball which also caught out the tiebreaker runner who had not tagged up. After the easy double play, Michelle Kingi took the last out at the plate to clinch the game.

   The win sneaked Ramblers up the table and set the scene for the next game, against Howick.

Andrew Laird, along with Arnya Rogers, did the umpiring. Andrew injured his calf and knee, adding to his discomfort from the blow on the arm suffered the previous week.  There was no arm fracture but he will be spending some time at the physio’s this week.

December 8 Central Leader.  Auckland Fastpitch Championship from Trevor Rowse.

   While national champion Ramblers’ men won handsomely against Howick, the women maintained form in the side’s return to top flight play with two solid wins, creeping into third place, with games in hand.

   The 1-0 tiebreaker win over local rival Metro was a classic game of pitcher-power with Metro’s Megan Farrell conceding only one hit in the eight innings in a fine display. She struck out 19 of the 28 batters and gave up three walks, one of them deliberate.

   Metro took four hits from Janice Anderson and none off Michelle Kingi, but did not score even one run. The re were hits by Irene Marr, Lyle Norriss, Amber Irving and Nikki Skinnon but there was no back up.

   Ramblers’ pinch hitter Hannah Leaper forced the play which scored the winner and Metro spoiled the last chance to score. 

   The hitting problems continued well into Ramblers’ 7-0 win over Howick with six of the nine hits coming in the last two turns. Korina Anderson was the batting star with two triples.

   The two wins, with perfect defence, sneaked Ramblers up the table, ahead of Metro and Bears, with games in hand, and in striking distance of leaders Northcote and Marist.

   Metro pitcher Steve Tau’s no-hit, shut-out was a fine performance against a strong Waitakere Bears team and was marred only by the three team errors and two walks which allowed some Bears’ runners on base.

   Four home runs did all the scoring with Roman Gabriel hitting two, with Des Pemerika and Brendan Walsh also hitting over the fence. Metro had ten hits. Dion Nukunuku, Josh Niu, Pemerika and Rod Caddy also hit strongly.

   Ramblers’ men had few problems maintaining the season-long unbeaten run. The 8-1 win over Howick was without the team’s Black Sox men but the squad is very strong.

Eden-Roskill proved no match for United’s growing batting power. United won 9-2 to stay in equal second with Metro, behind Ramblers, with one game remaining in the first round.

December 1 Central Leader fastpitch softball. From Trevor Rowse  

   Metro charged up the ladder after great batting from Roman Gabriel and Dion Nukunuku, former Black Sox members, backed up by Josh Niu and Rod Caddy, to down United with four runs in the last inning, just when the game seemed set to go into tiebreakers.

   Metro won 7-3 at Fowlds Park after a great start with a home run by Gabriel, Niu hit one in the second and Nukunuku hit another in the third.

   United balanced that with a first inning run after a hit from Samoa international Kurt Allan. Pitcher Greg Anderson and Garrick Gibbons scored in the second, aided by a fine triple from catcher Reece Gasson.

   The pitchers then took back control. Anderson was dominant, as was Metro pitcher Steven Tau and the game went into the top half of the seventh locked up. But Isaac Fletcher, who had replaced Anderson , was ejected by umpire Andrew Laird for dissent after pitching only one brilliant inning, forcing Anderson to return.

   Metro’s Garth Pollard started the seventh with a fine hit, Caddy was walked and the Gabriel-Nukunuku combination provided back-up hits. Combined with a big error, four runs came home and Metro had shrugged off a stop-go beginning to the season to be poised just behind unbeaten national champion side Mt Albert Ramblers.

   Ramblers spent the weekend in Canberra at a tournament.

   Eden-Roskill’s big game against Northcote ended abruptly in the first inning when Jordyn Thorp was felled by a pitch which hit him on the nose and upper lip. He was unconscious for a time and, after a long delay, was taken to hospital. The game will be re-scheduled.

   Thorp recovered enough to be sent home and will be x-rayed once the swelling goes down.

   Metro will need to repulse a resurgent Waitakere Bears at Phyllis Street on Saturday. Ramblers should head off Howick away and United will play Eden-Roskill at Fowlds.

Metro women completed an excellent fortnight with a 2-1 win over unbeaten championship leader Marist at Marist’s ground. The previous win over Waitakere Bears had reversed a sad start to the return of the club to the grade which it once dominated as the best team in New Zealand over a ten-year period.

   This weekend will see a local derby against fellow returning side Ramblers at Mangere. Ramblers conceded a first inning run to win-less Otahuhu, then scored Korina Anderson, Jarrrah Tuoro and Gillian Wills in succession in the second inning when the side wasted other chances, despite batting right through the inning.

   Then Otahuhu equalled at 3-3 in the last inning but Tuoro, with two out, singled and scored on some wild pitching as Otahuhu threw away the chances for Ramblers to win 4-3.

November 24 Central Leader fastpitch softball.  From Trevor Rowse

   One big inning, and one big hit from Nikki Skinnon was enough to give Metro a surprise 3-1 win over Waitakere Bears at Phyllis Street , after Bears appeared to be heading for another win.

With Bears one up, Metro went into the sixth inning wanting a break which came when Rachel Young was walked. Irene Marr did her bit with a sacrifice before Bears decided to walk danger batter Megan Farrell.

   Skinnon hit a triple to score two before coming home herself on a follow-up shot from Kelly Topia in a busy inning as Bears battled to get the outs. But it was too late for the visitors and Metro had the encouragement of a third win in the six game series so far.

  Irving had two hits and Sally Bowden the other. Farrell’s three-hit pitching stunted Bears.  

17 November Central Leader fastpitch softball follows.  From Trevor Rowse

   It was a great day for three of the local men’s sides in the chase for the fastpitch title as Ramblers, United and Metro beat off rival sides, formerly equal in the battle.

   Ramblers headed off the powerful full-strength Northcote men 9-4 in a battle when Aaron Thompson showed his power with a home run, a double and a triple in his three turns at bat, bringing in five of the runs. Nathan Nukunuku, always batting well above his weight, his another home run in a fifth inning assault that finished off the home side.

   Three big errors in the one turn cost Northcote and meant the difference in a tough game.

   Metro, a slow starter this season, showed great consistency to score in all but one inning against Howick, a side perched one game ahead before the start. Duane Jerard, always one of the most consistent batters in the competition, slapped a home run to score two runs.

   Brendon Walsh, Patrick Langlois, Garth Pollard and Josh Cooke, with a home run, all batted solidly while pitcher Steve Tau wiped out the opposing batters.

   For United, the 5-1 win over Marist really showed that the side is a genuine contender for Ramblers’ title. Pitcher Heinie Shannon stole the show with two home runs and a great pitching show to prove his credentials as the most versatile man in the championship. He has hit safely in seven of his last nine bats, three times being the man who changed games.

   Eden-Roskill men met a batting whirlwind at Otahuhu with the local side winning 10-3. Steffan Van Lieshout scored twice and Paul Doolin, who hit well, scored the other. Chris Waluska and Doolan had two hits each.

   For Ramblers women the weekend started with promise but Waitakere Bears took an early lead and it was well on in the match before Ramblers got going. In Ramblers fifth there were four hits and three walks and Ramblers scored six runs before Metro managed only one more for a 6-2 Ramblers’ win. Bears lost some players through injury and it was a much-depleted side.

   Against reigning champion Northcote, Ramblers took a fifth innings’ lead through Carmorita Roebeck, aided by a double from player-coach Venita Hokai. But there were only three Ramblers’ hits while Northcote managed five, three of them bunts, and Northcote scored two late runs for a close 2-1 win.

   Metro reversed recent form with a 4-0 win over win-less Howick.

   This weekend Ramblers men will play Glenora at Warren Freer Park at 3.30pm, United will be at Howick while Metro and Eden will play a local derby at May Road at 3.30pm. Metro women will play Bears at Phyllis Street at 3.30pm and Ramblers does not have a scheduled match.