Softball: Champions start national league in winning style

Defending champions Auckland are the only unbeaten team after the opening round of the national women's softball league.

Auckland beat competition newcomers Southern Pride and the Canterbury Red Hawks twice over the weekend, giving them four wins from four matches.

In those games they bagged 15 runs and gave up just two, both against Canterbury. Their best win was a 5-0 defeat of Southern Pride on Saturday.

In the men's competition in the Community Trust-sponsored league, Hutt Valley are at the top of the table, also with an unblemished record.

Hutt Valley built their success on strong hitting on the opening weekend of the competition, although they had to come from behind to beat Southern Pride on Saturday.

Going into the fourth innings, Hutt Valley trailed 4-1, but a series of Southern Pride handling errors allowed them to score three runs in the fourth and another two in the fifth which handed them a 6-4 win.

In yesterday's rematch, Hutt Valley dismissed the southerners 7-3. A feature of the game was a huge hit from Black Sox player Mark Sorenson over the outfield fence in the fifth inning, scoring the two runners on base.

Hutt Valley also secured two wins over the Canterbury Red Sox over the weekend.

Auckland are second in the competition after picking up a narrow victory over Wellington and two more tight wins over North Harbour.

Having lost 2-0 to Wellington, they bounced back with an 8-7 win and recorded 4-3 and 5-4 wins over the crosstown rivals Harbour.

In second-round action this weekend, the men will play in Christchurch and Wellington, and the women's games will be in Invercargill and Wanganui.