Click photo to enlarge
Glenn Forrester (Cardinals) heads for third base in the
premier softball game against Ellis Park in Dunedin on
Saturday. Ellis Park won 16-14. Photo by Linda Robertson.
Two wins gave the Dodgers bragging rights but most of the
action was in other games in Dunedin softball on Saturday.
The Dodgers beat the Saints 9-4 and backed up with a clinical
7-0 shutout of the Cardinals to extend their lead at the top
of the premier grade.
Other games featured a runfest and a rare tiebreaker that
ended up being a one-sided win in extra innings.
Ellis Park and the Cardinals shared 30 runs in a 16-14 Ellis
Park win, while the Saints and Ellis Park went to a
tiebreaker before the Saints pulled away to a 10-4 victory.
It was 3-3 through the regulation seven innings.
Mark Ahlfeld, Tim Howard and Mike O'Neill all scored for the
Saints at the top of the fourth inning, while Ellis Park
spread its runs over the fourth, fifth and sixth.
Neither side could break the deadlock in the seventh, but the
Saints wasted no time in the eighth, pouring in seven runs,
including a two-run blast from homer specialist Travis
McIntosh.
Ellis Park could answer with just one more run as it tried to
make up the deficit.
It was a different story against the Cardinals, with Ellis
Park staging a remarkable late rally to win a high-scoring
game.
The Cardinals leaped to a 9-3 lead, with both Chang Chang
(off Ryan Williams) and Crete Whaanga (off Adam Mathieson)
belting home runs.
At the sixth-inning changeover the Cardinals held a
commanding 11-6 lead and it appeared to be game over.
Ten runs, nine hits and two errors later and it was Ellis
Park, led by a Mathieson triple, a Tyron Pelasio double and a
flurry of singles, which had rallied for a 10-run inning and
a 16-11 lead.
The Cardinals scored three more, including a two-run Whaanga
homer, at the top of the seventh but it was not enough.
The Dodgers continue to set the standard by playing smart,
winning softball.
They scorched rising pitcher Sam Jones for six runs,
including a two-run Scott Cartwright homer, at the top of the
second inning to lay the foundation for their win against the
Saints.
Then, in the late game, young Dodgers pitcher Ben Watts
showed his talent on the mound by retiring the first 10
Cardinals batters he faced.
Watts collected six strikeouts in five innings.
