Vic Guth final day. Report from Trevor Rowse

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Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 09:26:03 +1300 
To: "SNZ Media Release":; 
From: Vance <vance(at)vanf-graphics.co.nz> 
Subject: Vic Guth final day. Report from Trevor Rowse 
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Vic Guth final day. Report from Trevor Rowse.

   The Vic Guth series seems to signal the start of real summer
weather, and it was no different at Norana Park today when one
of the closest contests was completed with Ramblers taking out
the title.
   Just when it seemed that it was going to be Metro’s year to
have some success, and the club does not have a big trophy cabinet,
Ramblers sneaked in at the end to snatch the chance away, leaving
the Brother Patrick next week. And Metro has won that only once
since 1959.
   At the end of Sunday’s play there were six teams in contention
but round-robin (of a sort) play which ended this morning eliminated
United and PK. PK took out United and waited for the other results
to go their way, but that did not happen.
   Northcote swamped Otahuhu, as expected, 11-4, and Metro took
out Waitakere 5-0. Tamatea had a chance, but only by beating
Ramblers, the national champion. Ramblers won 9-4.
   Starting with the final and working back. 
 
Ramblers 3 Metro 2.
   If everyone does his job, the game will be won. Lead-off batter
Scott O’Neale knows how to do his job, learning it from Stu Kinghorn,
the old master from United and Ramblers. Scott knows how to get
on base and his percentage this weekend was over 90%.
    Terrence Hibbert walked him but his mates did not do their
jobs. It was Metro’s Mathew Utatao who hit past third base in
the third and moved to second. The sacrifice came from Brennan
Findlay, Mr Loyalty himself. Hibbert sacrificed again and the
first run scored.
   Lyndon Andrew also does his job and he hit in the fourth.
Ramblers then had the break when a dropped catch in the outfield
allowed the equaliser home and Ramblers’ chase for the title
started. 
   In the sixth Donny Hale, the master batter, just back from
a spell in Japan, stroked a shot into centre field, there were
two stolen bases and a subsequent error and Ramblers had the
lead. 
   Josh Niu took advantage of a great Metro batting spell to
equalise in the seventh. He hit to centre, Utatao and Findlay
followed with hits and Dion Nukunuku, playing a side without
his brother who is in Melbourne, brought the run home.
   With one down, up stepped O’Neale, the unluckiest man not
to be a Black Sox sometime in his career, with the crucial double.
Lawrence Naera, the quiet man in the squad, hit him home and
Ramblers had the title, again, after last year’s great run of
trophies. It was a dramatic reversal of form for both teams after
their sad showing in the Dean Schick.
   There were five Ramblers’ hits compared with Metro’s eight
off most valuable player John Hireme.
   The umpires were Andrew Laird, Les Haslam, Dawie Sutton and
Jeff Weber with Cushla Shepherd scorer. It was a full raft of
“blues” after a weekend where they were almost invisible. 
 
   Semi-final: Ramblers 7 Northcote 1.
   Jimmy Grego and Derrek Coleman pitched for Northcote and Hireme
for Ramblers.
   It was a four-hitter for Hireme but three came in the fourth
when player-coach Neil Morrison, a man any team could be proud
to have in charge, produced a double to move Todd Wilson from
first to home. Wilson had started the rally with a hit. Morrison
stills looks in great shape, years past the time most players
have moved into the social grade and fills in only when he has
to.
   But his effort was in vain as the amazing lead-off O’Neale,
as well as Naera and Hale had all walked to start the first.
O’Neale was tagged at home, Naera went out at second but Andrew
hit to score Hale and then came home on an error and hits by
Bobbie King and Jason Halloran for 3-0. It was the start coach
Ricky Earley and pitcher Hireme needed.
   O’Neale, with one out, was on again in the second, Naera was
enjoying himself with a double, Hale was walked and it was a
sacrifice by Andrew which scored the run. A hit pitch for Aaron
Thompson and a walk for King made it 5-0.
   The final run came when Coleman walked his first batter, veteran
Lance Roberts, and who should slam the RBI triple but O’Neale,
and no one was surprised. How did he miss the MVP, with no disparagement
to John Hireme? O’Neale, King and Naera had perfect batting.
   Jeff Weber and Andrew Laird umpired with Harry Wooding the
scorer.
 
Semi final: Metro 4 Richmond 0.
   It is unusual for a pitcher to be lead-off batter, perhaps
unique, but Steven Tau, the series best pitcher, did that and
flied out to left field. But that was the end of the first innings’
enjoyment for the Richmond team, one of the few South Island
sides to ever travel to the Guth. The side put on a great showing
every day and will be a threat at the nationals.
   Pitcher Nathan Taikato gave up six hits and the first was
a home run to Nukunuku. Next up was one of the great players
of the game, Taifau Matai, who hit to centre and scored on a
steal and errors. Bernard Hale, the newest Black Sox squad member,
like his brother in Ramblers, was walked and scored with the
help of hitter Des Pemerika.
   There were three Richmond hits, two to Paul Stead and one
for replacement pitcher Jared Walsh, and no threat to Metro.
   The sixth Metro run was to the ever-steady Garth Pollard who
walked. Utatao and Findlay each hit well and the run scored.
   Les Haslam and John Hall umpired, with Lynnette Leathart scoring.
 
Poneke Kilbirnie 11 United 4.
   United had the club’s fans excited as they often do in the
early stages of the club's own tournament but PK gave NZ under-19
chucker Isaac Fletcher a torrid time with 14 hits. Steve McFarlane,
the batter of the series, had a perfect score sheet with a sacrifice,
two hits and a walk, Craig Wallace, Chris Neidabarski and the
long-serving club hero Wayne Saunders had two each with Wayne
Walker taking three for four.
   Remarkably, for this event, there were no home runs in such
a high scoring game (and there was only one in the semis and
final, so perhaps the batters had run out of energy).
   Tony Earley and Ben Enoka combined to score United’s only
run in the third.
   But the win was not enough, under the complicated, even mysterious,
system to make the semis.
   Umpires were Les Haslam and Jeff Weber with Lynnette Leathart
scoring.
 
Northcote 11 Otahuhu 4.
   Luis Joglar, the US import, scored in the first after his
left field hit and another by David Down, aided by a wild pitch.
Another Northcote run scored when coach Morrison walked. The
runner stole before a passed ball and a hit by pitcher Grego
snared the 2-0 lead.
   Casey Eden is not your hulking home run hitter but he hit
the first of his two over the fence to start the third, Joglar
did the same for his second hit, Down walked, Morrison defied
Father Time with a hit, Michael Boaler walked and Aaron Collier
hit, followed by Dean Wallace hitting over. 8-0.
   In the bottom of the fourth, with Wallace pitching, which
he is only a part-timer at these days, Otahuhu came to life as
if from under a tohunga’s spell. Max Maoate, the younger, hit
over left field, Jake Tahu over centre, and with the interruption
of a double from Taiki Apu, Rhys Mau hit over left field to collect
a total of four runs. The batting spree ended four.
   Boaler walked to start the fifth and Eden hit over to end
the Northcote scoring after eleven hits and nine walks off Jake
Tahu. Grego conceded two hits and Wallace four, three of them
homers.
   Joanne Edwin and Graeme Gollan umpired with Harriet Tomlin
the scorer.
 
Ramblers 9 Tamatea 4.
   At the risk of ramming home the point, Ramblers scored in
the first and, Eddie Kohlhase please note, it was lead-off batter
O’Neale again, hitting past second base, stealing a base, advancing
on a bunt from Naera and scoring on a fielder’s choice, with
Naera doing the same. Hale, frustrating as it was to all but
Tamatea, was given first base by the pitcher.
   The 2-0 lead was well engineered but is nothing if the first
man does not get on base.
   But the Tamatea side impressed all weekend and, in the third,
showed the fans how to do it against the best. With one down,
Rongo Rapaea doubled, Luke Herrick kept his form with a walk
and Rangi Hokianga forced an error. Jerol Lajpold doubled and
it was 3-2 to Tamatea and the match was on again.
   Hale started the third with a walk; boring for everyone by
now. Andrew always obliges with a hit and Thompson hit over for
a 5-3 lead to set Tamatea another target. Puhi Rapaea moved to
third after an error in the fourth but could not get home.
   Then came another big Ramblers’ inning, starting however with
two down. Michael Cameron, in quiet form recently, hit over left
centre and O’Neale, no further comment, over centre field. Naera
singled, Hale walked to make it a perfect trio of  strolls and
Andrew hit again to score two more for the final score.
   O’Neale did go out twice but two for four ain’t bad. Naera
was 2/3, as was Andrew.
   Andrew Laird and Joanne Edwin umpired with Cushla Shepherd
scoring the game.
 
Metro 5 Waitakere Bears 0. Sorry, stats not available.
 
Marist 4 Glenora 2. The game for the wooden spoon. 
    There were flurries of action in the first inning by both
teams with Carlaus Te Kawa hitting on for Marist with no joy
and Glenora putting Troy Caddy on with an error, followed by
a Tim Tuakana-Kapi hit and a walk for Nathan Thorpe, but with
no more luck.
   Jamie Love singled and Dylan Tomlin walked in the second but
Marist could not push them around. Stefan Van Lie Shout did the
same for Glenora.
   With one out, Marist made the break in the third with a Te
Kawa hit to right, a walk to Errol Pokai with pitcher Damien
Nairn forcing a shortstop error which scored one run. Jerome
Haretuku hit two home and Love followed with another hit but
that was it, even though Marist batted through the inning, leaving
three on base.
   Caddy pitched in the fourth, taking over from Ngawati Apanui,
and conceded a two-out single to Pokai and another to Nairn which
scored the final run.
   For Marist it is back to hard work under coach Joe Forsyth,
who had star pitcher Heinie Shannon in Melbourne with Samoa.
For Glenora the lessons are all there and coach Tere Tuakana-Kapi
has too much to teach before the next games.
   Marist out-hit Glenora 8-5. The umpires were Dawie Sutton
and Walter Nukunuku with Harry Wooding doing the score book.

 
   It was a busy tournament for the volunteer umpires until the
last day, with the scorers busy as usual, spending their summer
days collating match statistics. The tournament statistician
Christine Nukunuku was stuck indoors on her computer all day.
   The United volunteer crew, bigger this year to support stalwart
Graeme Gollan, did a great job with food and ground maintenance
for 41 games on three diamonds, aided by ASA manager Don Roberts.
A boost to the facilities is the next thing to consider.

From: Vance <vance(at)vanf-graphics.co.nz> 
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