Softball: Southland pitcher the difference in shield

Otago's Hoani Iva-Keen fails to connect with a pitch during the Bates Shield at Ellis Park on...
Otago's Hoani Iva-Keen fails to connect with a pitch during the Bates Shield at Ellis Park on Sunday. Southland catcher Kaemyn Smith gloves the ball nicely. The umpire is Dawie Sutton. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN
Southland will hold on to the Bates Shield for another year, thanks to a 7-3 win against Otago in Dunedin on Sunday.

The Bates Shield is the symbol of supremacy between the two rivals and Southland has had a firm grip on it since winning it in 2009.

Otago won the warm-up match 7-5 so went into the contest with some confidence.

But Southland pitcher Daniel Perry proved the difference between the two teams.

''We only managed to get four hits off him in the whole game,'' Otago coach Aran Bailey said.

Otago, on the other hand, conceded 10 hits.

Southland's Mathew Telfer was also influential. He swatted a home run and batted in three runs in a powerhouse performance.

Aaron Wakelin also had a strong game, batting in two runs.

Southland opened the scoring in the first innings. Johnothan Campbell got on second and Telfer hit a homer to score two runs.

Otago responded in the second innings when Hoani Iva-Keen hit a home run.

William Campbell restored the margin for Southland when he scampered home. In the fourth, Wakelin hit a triple and George Karamaena hit a single to score Wakelin.

Trailing 4-1, Otago got back into the match with two runs in the sixth inning. Jacob Wedlock got on base and Mitchell Finnie hit a double to score Wedlock. Then Matt Watts hit a double to score Finnie and close the gap to 4-3.

But Southland scored three runs in the seventh inning to complete a good win.

In the warm-up game, Jake Burtenshaw had three hits from three bats in a fine performance.

Southland won both under-15 games, 14-4 and 8-1.

 

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