Softball: Crunch time for champs after bungle

Defending champions Wellington need a win when they meet Canterbury this morning at the men's provincial championships in Christchurch.

Wellington's chances suffered a blow when Thursday's 5-0 win over South Canterbury was reversed after it was discovered that Wellington had played an unregistered player, Fabian Barlow.

Barlow cannot take any further part in the tournament as a player, but will stay on as assistant coach of Wellington.

In section A, the qualifiers have been determined. Auckland and Hutt Valley are unbeaten and Canterbury B are the only other side to record a win.

Auckland took time to get going in their first game yesterday but scored three late runs to beat Canterbury B 5-2.

The late runs came in the sixth innings in the form of back-to-back home runs from the bats of Donny Hale and Patrick Shannon. Kyle Kouka and Heinie Shannon shared the pitching, Kouka facing 24 batters for three hits and eight strikeouts and Shannon facing the last four batters without conceding a hit.

Hale was again in the thick of the action in Auckland's 10-0 win over Otago, hitting two home runs.

Wellington's blunder left them needing to win their remaining two games in their section to be sure of making the playoffs.

Yesterday they beat North Harbour 5-2, but their game against Canterbury was postponed after thunderstorms wiped out the last two rounds.

Canterbury are still unbeaten at the tournament after a 10-0 win over neighbours South Canterbury yesterday and are assured of a place in the top three in section B. Wellington, North Harbour and South Canterbury are the other sides still in contention.

If Wellington beat Canterbury they will take the top seeding into the playoffs. If Wellington lose, the tied teams formula might be required to find the last two qualifiers.

North Harbour crunched Western Bay of Plenty 17-0, eight errors from the Bay not helping their cause.

The Harbour batters collected 13 hits, but only two of their runs were earned. David Moriarty, Brad Rona, Duane Gerrard and Scott Common all had two hits.