Player-coach Brendan Taylor believes Otago can get better with more opportunities against top opposition.
Otago was its usual mixed bag at the Jefferies Cup provincial tournament in Christchurch at the weekend, winning two matches and losing four.
Two of the losses were by a single run, indicating the side was not that far off the pace.
"Everyone has played pretty well, and there have been some really good patches in games," Taylor said yesterday.
"But there have been a few shocking patches as well. When we put it together consistently, we showed we can play some pretty good softball.
"Now we just need more games together."
Taylor said young pitcher Ben Watts played particularly well on the opening day of the tournament, Jamie Robinson had shone with both bat and glove, and Sean Martin had been outstanding at second base.
Otago had three losses yesterday, to Marlborough (5-4), Southland (4-1) and Canterbury (15-0).
Marlborough leaped to a 5-1 lead through five innings, before Otago got back into the game through a couple of runs off illegal pitches, and a run-scoring Martin single.
Southland took control of the southern derby with a two-run homer by Jonathan Campbell at the top of the second inning.
It was more clearcut in the late game, with Jefferies Cup and New Zealand champion Canterbury a step above Otago.
"We struggled with the bat in the last game. Canterbury is just so good in the field," Taylor said.
Otago made a strong start to the tournament with a 4-1 win over Nelson on Saturday morning.
A second straight win looked in play when Otago held a 1-0 lead over the Canterbury under-19 team going into the bottom of the seventh inning, before the young home side rallied for a 2-1 win.
Otago finished the day with a convincing 10-5 win over the Southland development team. The highlight of the game was a two-run homer to Otago's Steve Willis.
