{"id":8268,"date":"2011-02-20T15:56:11","date_gmt":"2011-02-20T23:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/?p=8268"},"modified":"2011-02-22T15:07:08","modified_gmt":"2011-02-22T23:07:08","slug":"iosefo-praised-in-sox-victory-nz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/?p=8268","title":{"rendered":"Iosefo praised in Red Sox victory (NZ)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Click logo for original news story<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Powerhouse pitcher Penese Iosefo<\/strong> pressed his claim for a Black Sox call-up as the Canterbury Red Sox celebrated their first national softball title in 14 years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
OUTSTANDING: Penese Iosefo is making a strong pitch to the Black Sox selectors after starring for the championship winning Canterbury Red Sox. (Photo by DON SCOTT\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Red Sox produced a pressure batting rally in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat the Wellington Lancers 3-2 in yesterday’s National Fastpitch Championship final at Albany.<\/p>\n

Coach Carl Franklin became the first Canterbury man to play and coach national championship winning teams. The former first baseman-catcher was on the roster when Canterbury last took the title in the 1996-97 season.<\/p>\n

“It was great to win it as a player but it’s definitely a little bit more special as coach. I’m just so proud of these guys<\/em>,” said Franklin, who confirmed he was standing down after three years in charge.<\/p>\n

Yesterday’s triumph was only the third in Canterbury’s history. They won the first national tournament in 1939, but the sport was dominated thereafter by Wellington, Hutt Valley and Auckland.<\/p>\n

Franklin said the latest Red Sox victory was a total team effort and the culmination of “a lot of hard work”. His charges were “the fittest team here”, had “batted from one to nine [in the order] better than anyone else” and their “defence was pretty good on the last two days”.<\/p>\n

But Franklin showered praise on Iosefo, who won the most valuable player and top pitcher award and was also one of Canterbury’s top hitters from the No 6 slot.<\/p>\n

Franklin said senior pitcher Nathan Taikato “did a great job during the week” and No3 Scott Sutherland “threw a one-hitter against Hawke’s Bay” and helped give the Red Sox the best three-man pitching staff.<\/p>\n

“But Penese really took another step forward towards Black Sox selection. He pitched six good innings for us in the final and he hit the ball all week. He’s got a good head on his shoulders for a pitcher.””<\/p>\n

Franklin also saluted the leadership of co-captains Cook and Ratu, saying they should also be back in Black Sox contention.<\/p>\n

“Ratu caught the whole tournament, except a couple of innings when Ant Stuart came in. Not too many other catches could do that in the heat here. He was absolutely outstanding and a lot of his hits were clutch hits with runners on. Cooky is also just so dangerous [with the bat].”<\/p>\n

Canterbury got a free pass into the final after beating Wellington 9-5 on Saturday night. Defending champions Wellington clubbed three home runs but the Red Sox batted them nine hits to six. Wellington edged out Auckland 4-3 in yesterday’s playoff.<\/p>\n

Canterbury outbatted Wellington six hits to four and played error-free in the field in a final Franklin described as “a purist softball game”.<\/p>\n

Wellington outfielder Campbell Makea homered in the top of the fifth inning before Canterbury inched ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth after Cook forced an infield error to score McFarlane and then scored on Ratu’s single.<\/p>\n

Fabian Makea equalised for Wellington in the top of the seventh when he hit a two-bagger, advanced on Te Wera Bishop’s sacrifice bunt and was driven in on a hit from pitcher Thomas Cameron.<\/p>\n

But, with one down in the bottom of the seventh, former Wellingtonian Scott Higgins came off the bench to slam a single. He went to second base on another hit by Frisby and reached third when McFarlane drew a walk. Up stepped Tyron Bartorillo, the Australian international, to bat in Higgins for the winning run and spark celebrations on the Canterbury bench.<\/p>\n

Wellington beat Auckland 3-2 in the women’s final with the Canterbury Red Hawks finishing fourth out of five teams with a two-win six-loss record.<\/p>\n

RED SOX<\/strong><\/p>\n

The winning Canterbury squad: Penese Iosefo, Nathan Taikato, Scott Sutherland (pitchers), Stephen Ratu (co-capt), Ant Stuart (catchers), Jamie Frisby, Matt Holmes, Steven McFarlane, Tyron Bartorillo, Josh Harbrow, Daniel Milne, Gareth Cook (co-capt), Josh Thompson, Scott Higgins, Callum Muir. Head coach: Carl Franklin. Assistant-coach: Mike Mountford. Pitching coach: Murray Britt. Manager: Jayden Moore, statistician: Russell Moffatt.<\/p>\n

Editor’s note:<\/strong> Penese Iosefo pitched stateside in 2007 for the Midwest Stampede in the ISC World Tournament at Kitchener, ON. The Stampede was 0-3 that year, but Iosefo only pitched a couple of innings in relief. In two of the three games, Iosefo played centerfield. It appears that he has “arrived”, and will be getting plenty of attention in the coming season.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Cantebury, New Zealand, home of the 2011 NFC Champions, the Cantebury Red Sox<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n