Cap tip Blair Setford 
Black Sox pitcher Penese Iosefo showed his class as he steered Richmond Keas to their first major softball tournament trophy this season.
The right-handed hurler won the most-valuable-player award after hurling Richmond to the Show Weekend Classic yesterday at the Mainland Foundation ballpark.
Iosefo threw a no-hitter yesterday as Richmond beat the Papanui Tigers 3-0 in the Classic final at Mainland Foundation Ball Park.
He struck out 12 Papanui hitters with only two Tigers making solid contact – Black Sox infielder Tyron Bartorillo with a big blast errored in rightfield and Callum Muir with a drive taken just inside the centrefield fence.
If Iosefo was Richmond’s defensive star, his team-mate Clayton Ellis was the main man on offence, batting in all three runs. The experienced catcher collected a RBI sacrifice fly to bring Iosefo home with bases loaded in the second inning.
Ellis drove in Phil Mountford and Josh Harbrow with a leftfield double in the fourth frame as Richmond registered three back-to-back safe hits.
Papanui pitcher Scott Sutherland otherwise put the brakes on the Richmond batters, allowing just five hits overall, including two by Harbrow.
Canadian second baseman Blake Hunter produced the most spectacular fielding play of the final with a sprawling catch to deny Papanui’s Paul Barker a Texas leaguer single and protect Iosefo’s no-hitter.
Richmond Keas avenged their Nelson Labour Weekend tournament final defeat to the PCU Devils by beating them 5-1 in the Show Weekend semifinal.
Richmond scored all five runs in the third inning. No 9 hitter Ant Stuart led off the seven-hit procession with a triple and Harbrow also hammered a two-bagger.
PCU’s sole run came in the top of the first inning after doubles by Darren Davies and Daniel Milne.
They were held hitless thereafter by Iosefo. Click here to read the complete story.