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By DAVID DAWKINS – The Marlborough Express
The Southern Pride men’s softball team gave veteran pitcher Marty Grant a fitting send-off, finishing the National Fastpitch Championships in Christchurch with a 2-1 win over Auckland yesterday.
The veteran Black Sox hurler, pitching in his final top-level representative match after a career spanning three decades, was in commanding form on the mound and got just enough support from his batters to leave with the win.
Dunedin’s Scott Cartwright – who finished as the men’s tournament’s top batter – drove in both runs, while Grant stifled the Auckland offence as Southern finished the tournament in fifth place.
Marlborough’s Ryan Schollum caught the game for Grant, while also laying down two important bunts, while Jordan Tulloch had a tidy match at second base in his first start of the tournament in the infield.
Earlier, Southern missed out an a place in the semis after their appeal over a mid-tournament rule change was turned down. Manager Hamish Fletcher said the team was disappointed the ruling didn’t go their way, but instead of lodging a further appeal decided to let their on-field play do the talking.
The Pride finished the tournament with two wins from eight games and were in contention in three others. Fletcher said the team was pleased with how they played and improved throughout the week, with both their wins coming in the last two days.
Wellington took out the national title with a 7-0 five-inning win over Canterbury in the final, their first national provincial title since 2006.
The Southern women couldn’t finish on a high, dropping their final game to Wellington 0-10 to also place fifth.
Wellington jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after two innings to put the match beyond doubt.
Southern were able to make consistent contact with the bat, but couldn’t find gaps in the field, managing just four hits – one to Marlborough’s Anthea Stringer.
Stringer had a consistent tournament with the bat, reaching base in most games, while also playing high-quality defence at second base.
Hutt Valley took out their fourth consecutive national women’s title when they beat Auckland 6-0 in the final.
Results:
Men:
Canterbury 13 Hutt Valley 11, Wellington 2 Canterbury 1, Hutt Valley 2 North Harbour 1. Play-off for fifth: Southern Pride 2 Auckland 1. Final: Wellington 7 Canterbury 0.
Final standings: Wellington 1, Canterbury 2, Hutt Valley 3, North Harbour 4, Southern Pride 5, Auckland 6.
Awards: Top batter: Scott Cartwright (Southern Pride). Top pitcher: Thomas Cameron (Wellington). Most valuable player: Gareth Cook (Canterbury).
Women:
Wellington 10 Southern Pride 0, Auckland 5 Canterbury 1. Play-off for third: Wellington 1 Canterbury 0. Final: Hutt Valley 6 Auckland 0.
Final standings: Hutt Valley 1, Auckland 2, Wellington 3, Canterbury 4, Southern Pride 5.
Awards: Top batters: Tuhi Cooper (Auckland), Brooke Cutting (Wellington). Top pitcher: Megan Farrell (Wellington). Most valuable player: Cindy Potae (Hutt Valley).