Softball: Team will pitch for club record set 35 years ago

Poneke Kilbirnie will strive to equal a 35-year-old record in the national men's open club softball championships in Christchurch over the next five days.

The Railways club from the Hutt Valley won the national title four times in a row between 1962 and 1965, and Poneke Kilbirnie, of Wellington, have the chance to match that achievement.

Poneke Kilbirnie captain Fabian Barlow said yesterday that his team were very aware of Railways' record, and the chance to be part of history "in what's supposedly a minor sport."

"You don't get many carrots bigger than that one," he said.

Barlow, a former international, said Poneke Kilbirnie's record counted for nothing at the tournament, which starts today.

"Obviously, we've got just as good a chance as anyone [of winning the championship], but what's happened in the three years going into it really means nothing to us," Barlow said.

"We're just going to start all over again and have another crack at it just like everyone else is. Reputations, I'm sure, mean nothing."

The Poneke Kilbirnie side include five members of the 2000 world-champion Black Sox: pitcher Marty Grant, catcher Bevan Martin, infielders Jarrad Martin and Clayton Willocks and outfielder Thomas Makea.

Barlow said the team had not seen too much of Makea or Grant, who are based out of Wellington, but trusted the players had done the work required.

He expected a few teams might be a little under-done because of rearranged tournament dates.He rated Christchurch United, Hutt Valley Cardinals, Auckland Marist (second in the last two tournaments), Mt Albert Ramblers and Northcote as teams who could be there in the final stages.

"Anyone of five, six, or maybe even seven teams can take it if they can get it right, especially on Sunday when it becomes a knockout."

Under the new format, the top four sides from each of the two sections will meet in the quarter-finals, with no provision for second lives.

Seventeen teams have entered.

Section A: Poneke Kilbirnie (Wellington), Christchurch United, Hutt Valley Cardinals, Mt Albert Ramblers, Royals Wellington, Richmond, Cardinals (Otago), Royals (Christchurch).

Section B: Auckland Marist, Northcote (North Harbour), Hutt City United, Johnsonville, Miramar, Christchurch Cardinals, St George (Wellington), South Canterbury United, Papanui.

- NZPA