Southland
Lovey day in Auckland today with some much-needed sun. Slow start to the day against Auckland B. Nerves and travel may have been a factor with the girls going down 12-4. A good break between games meant the girls came out firing for the second game.
Refuelled and great spectator support meant the girls showed their skills. Southland finished the day with a win 8-1 against Hawkes bay.
Day 1. There were some standout performances today be the girls.
Our pitchers, Kaitlyn Hastie and Anahera Wilson showed true class with their skill at moving the ball. Our catchers Hannah Symon and KM Baggett (pick up player from north harbour)controlled the diamond well and didn’t allow too many players to steel base 2. Alice Cade pulled off a awesome double play. Overall all the girls played well backing each other up and both games showed Southland team spirit.
Day 2. Aa very big day against some very big teams – Canterbury and Auckland. First up was Canterbury with a slow start for the girls. The girls improved each innings getting runners on base but were unable to convert the points on the board going down 9-0. Annelies MacDuff pitches well with Isobel Thompson controlling the in field to limit the damage. Game 2 was Auckland. Our first 3 innings were strong with batting and fielding. In the second part of the game Auckland started batting and putting the ball in to gaps. We were able to get runners on base but were unable to covert into points. We went down 12-0. Aria Monaghan showed great leadership of the outfield to prevent more runs being scored by Auckland. Toni Elers showed great skill in the infield with some stand out catches.
P.S
Isobel Thompson Anahera Wilson and aria monaghan also got interview by Maori TV.
Day 3. Done and dusted. 2 games against Manawatu and Hawkes bay again😊. First game went well with girls attack the ball and hitting the ball into space. Manawatu was unable to fight back with us winning 14-5. Maraea Te Huia had an awesome game at second base helping with multiple outs at first and second base. Te Ara Fredric found the gaps to place her hits in to scoring position.
The second we were delayed and in scorching heat the girls looked flat going into the game. The girls fielded well but our batting was our weakness in this game. Our placement and team batting was just a little off in the game going down 2-0. Alice Cade played base 2 getting multiple outs which helped keep this a low scoring game. Hannah Johnston played base 1 providing a solid perform catching every thing the girls throw at her. The girls are excited about the game in the morning at 9am against Waikato.
Final day. Well the girls did an amazing job playing against Waikato. We started strong but Waikato started stronger with a auto being in 3 runs. The next innings the girls fought back making the game a tie. Southland stayed strong batting well and fielding well. Southland took the win 11-5 finishing 8th overall for the tournament.
At the final presentations, a tournament team and management team were announced. Susan Symon was selected as manager of the tournament.
Story and photos by Susan Symons.