Tigers mauled by Pirates in the first round of the Whanganui softball season

Pirates (fielding) beat Thai Villa Tigers to claim the Championship round of the Whanganui Men's Softball competition for the first half of the 2021-22 season. Photo / Supplied 151221WCSup01.JPG

Pirates have won the Championship round of the Whanganui Men's Softball competition for the first half of the 2021-22 season.

Pirates have been building momentum during the season, with the round-robin competition closely contested by all seven teams.
On Saturday, the Pirates ship was full steam ahead with captain Ricky Boniface at the helm and supporters aboard. Pirates batted their way to victory in the final beating Thai Villa Tigers 10-4.

Pirates set the tone early with Duane Brown smashing a two-base hit to centrefield and the team scored two runs in the first innings. By the fourth innings, Pirates were up 4-0.

TV Tigers needed to score and Rakei Hina stepped up to the plate. Making his mark, Hina smacked an automatic home run bringing two of his teammates home and the score was 4-3 heading into the fifth.

Pirates were unstoppable and continued to apply pressure with consistent hitting and the cracks started to show for Tigers who began making costly and unforced errors.

Pirates went on to score six runs in the following innings, closing out the final much to the delight of their supporters.
In the playoff for third and fourth, Aces beat Athletic 4 -2. Aces scored three runs in the first innings, while Athletic couldn't get any points on the scoresheet until the fifth innings where they made two runs.

Athletic couldn't do anything more with the bat to come back at Aces, and with the win, Aces finished the competition in third. Impressive from both teams were the young up-and-coming battery combinations. Aces Devon Maihi had a solid performance on the mound backed by his catcher and brother, Tyrone Pirere (17 and 19 respectively) while Athletic had pitcher Roman Kotuhi-Brown teamed up with Nathan Procter (both 16).

Ezi Finance Braves and DB Tigers played for fifth and sixth, with Braves dominating the match-winning 15-2 in three innings. Braves pitcher Daniel Parkes kept the DB Tigers under control and, combined with some great batting from his Braves teammates Ben Gibbons, who batted 1000, and a home run from Ash Blanche, the Braves team sealed the win.

ASC Women played Aces women, winning convincingly 18-3. The ASC ladies were busy on the bat and their young combination, Ngārongo Ponga (catcher) and Lousheanna Green (pitcher), put in a solid performance.

Facing 15 batters, Green and Ponga had five strike-outs, an impressive effort for the girls, who have both recently been selected for the U13 Whanganui girls rep side.
Green batted 750 for the match alongside her teammate Paula Darlington, who also batted 750 and had her first home run of the season.
Tigers women played Castlecliff Club Mustangs women in a high-scoring game with Mustangs taking the win 13-10. The game was tight heading into the fourth innings with Tigers ahead 5-3.

Mustangs went on to score a massive 10 runs at their last turn at bat, meaning as time ran out they had done enough to seal the win. Top Batter for the game was Stell Rarawhe-Martin batting 1000.

The Athletic women's team had the bye on Saturday, and remains unbeaten.
With the first half of the season done and dusted, softball will start up again after the annual Mustangs Tournament at the Whanganui Ballpark on January 22-23.

The Mustangs club has reported the tournament is at full capacity with sellout entries.