Softball: One-inning blowout robs gloss off U17 boys' day

Chubb Tangaroa.

It was a case of first-day blues for Hawke's Bay at the national under-17 boys' softball tournament in Christchurch yesterday.

The Bay team, which is coached by multiple world champion and Black Sox pitching legend Chubb Tangaroa, opened their campaign with a 7-6 loss to Hutt Valley before bouncing back with an 8-0 win against Otago. Against Hutt Valley, Hawke's Bay led 5-1 going into the fifth inning.

"We were too impatient towards the end of the Hutt Valley game and we also left too many runners on base. While the score against Otago looks good, we struggled," Tangaroa lamented.

Hutt Valley were two-down before they started their comeback in the fifth inning. Tangaroa's son, Ihaka, who collected two hits from three turns at bat, was replaced on the mound by Kristen Munro after the fifth.

Munro and Tangaroa again shared the pitching duties against Otago. Munro struck out eight of the 12 batters he faced during his three innings. Wesley Sinnott and Tangaroa both collected two hits against Otago.

Hawke's Bay takes on unbeaten Canterbury as well as Wellington and Tairawhiti today. Coach Tangaroa said two wins will be enough to keep his troops in the hunt for a top-two finish in their section: "If we can beat Wellington by two runs that would set us up well if Canterbury stay unbeaten and three of us teams are left with one loss too."

Other key games in the Bay's section yesterday saw Wellington beat Hutt Valley 5-2 and Canterbury beat Wellington 8-4.

The Canterbury team includes Reilly Makea, son of another of Hawke's Bay's multiple world champions and former Black Sox player Thomas Makea, who is now the Junior Black Sox head coach.