Softball: Dodgers Mustangs go one better

Mustangs Masters infielder Ariana Duthie (right) forces out Evergreens batter Di Rattray at first...
Mustangs Masters infielder Ariana Duthie (right) forces out Evergreens batter Di Rattray at first base during the women's softball final at Ellis Park yesterday. Photo by Linda Robertson.
The Dodgers Mustangs relished the chance to play against women and won the Masters Games softball title in impressive fashion yesterday.

The Invercargill-based team capitalised on defensive errors by the Otago Evergreens to win the women's title 8-3 at Ellis Park.

The Mustangs had finished runner-up in the final for the past two years in Dunedin and Wanganui and hung the gold medals proudly around their necks after the game.

During the summer season, they are forced to play against men's teams in the Invercargill competition.

The men's game revolves around strong pitching but the all-women's game involves fielding skills to win the game.

The game was even at 3-3 early but there was a game change in the third innings when the Mustangs capitalised on fielding lapses by the Evergreens to score five runs and take control of the match.

Key batters for the Mustangs at this time were Rochelle Watson-Roche and Nicola Leonard, who batted the Evergreens out of the game.

The Mustangs were a tightly knit team and the impressive fielding of outfielders Kristie-Anne Scott, Jaynee Hetaraka and Amanda Chalmers restricted the Evergreens to three runs.

The pitching of Leonard was a key to the game. She was named top pitcher of the tournament with a score of 0.95 runs a game.

The best players for the Evergreens were pitcher Sharon Elliott and designated player Paula Myers.

The Dunedin team Immortalz, which won the tournament two years ago, finished third.

The batting award for the tournament went to Sacha Nicholson (Immortalz), who made 13 hits from her 21 bats.

The top men's batter at the tournament was Des Radford (Papanui, Christchurch,) who made 11 hits from his 19 turns in the batters' box.

The top male pitcher was Regan Taouma (Park United Barons), who had a score of 0.92.

He played a key role in the Dunedin team's 8-1 win over Albion Bandits (Christchurch) in the final. The best batters for Park United were Tyron Wall and Mark Christie. F Troop finished third.

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