Title defence a confidence boost for Kaiapoi as national champs get under way

Arnora Hesp in action in the final. Photo: Canterbury Softball
Arnora Hesp in action in the final. Photo: Canterbury Softball
Fresh off defending their title as Canterbury champions, the Kaiapoi Queens will head into the national championship with confidence on home soil.

Kaiapoi won the title last weekend, beating Papanui in the final 7-0 at Dynasty Ballpark – where the nationals will be held starting today, running through to Sunday.

Kaiapoi celebrate after their win over Papanui in the Canterbury final. PHOTO: CANTERBURY SOFTBALL
Kaiapoi celebrate after their win over Papanui in the Canterbury final. PHOTO: CANTERBURY SOFTBALL
Five Canterbury sides are in the 14-team competition – Kaiapoi are joined by Riccarton, Papanui, Halswell and PCU.

Kaiapoi coach Mike McDowell said the Canterbury title puts them in good stead.

“We definitely wanted to show that we’re the same team as last year.

“(We’re as) confident as we can be, of course. There’s a few good teams out there coming down to try and win this down here, but, look, it’d be good to give it a good crack and take it out for the local fans.”

McDowell said they are looking to improve on last year’s semi-final place.

“We choked at one of the last hurdles. We went through top seed going into the final round, then lost the semi-final to a team that we’ve beat seven times all year (PCU).

“We’ve learnt from our mistakes last year and hopefully we’re not going to make that mistake again this year.”

With the nationals being the last competition of the season, McDowell said the team will be up for the challenge.

“They save their best for last, and they throw everything at it.

“So it’s going to be a very exciting tournament.”

  • Papanui and Halswell were the first teams in action today at 9am, against Auckland Metro and Waitakere, while Riccarton started at 11am against Otahuhu. Kaiapoi and PCU will be the last teams to start their tournament, against Auckland’s Metro and Waitakere at 1pm.