Invercargill's Demons Red collected their fourth title in as many years with a 8-1 win against Dunedin's Cardinals in the annual inter-city tournament.
Batter of the tournament Jonathan Campbell smoked a home run during the top of the fifth which scored three runs. The game had been tight until that point, but Demons Red went up 5-0 and Cardinals were not able to recover. Campbell's homer was his fifth home run for the day. In the semifinals, Demons Red had a comprehensive 9-1 win against Saints. Saints have been the dominant team in the Dunedin club competition but could not match the Demons' firepower.
Campbell had three hits from three turns at bat in the semifinal.
The other semifinal was a close affair, in which Cardinals prevailed 6-3 against Demons Blue. The turning point came in the top of the fifth, when Glen Forrester whacked Otago Evergreens team-mate Sean Coombe for a home run.
Coombe, though, put in some impressive performances and was named pitcher of the tournament.
The competition has been contested for 20-plus years and this year a team from Central Otago joined the fray.
Central Otago Panthers did not make it out of pool play but their participation in the tournament is seen as a positive sign for softball in the region.
