Raiders keep Pirates at bay
Friday night and Saturday saw the first games of the final round of the Port Hedland softball competition take place, with A-grade Raiders trumping finals favourites Pirates 12-4, while the Hawks fell short to the Jets who won 17-7.
Playing under lights proved a good omen for Raiders as they secured their first victory over Pirates.
Raiders gained an early lead, scoring four runs to the Pirates’ single in the first inning.
Scores remained unchanged in the second, with both teams shutting each other out.
Innings three to five continued to be unfruitful for the Pirates, who were held to their single run by Raiders, who in turn brought in six of their own runs to further their lead.
The final blow was dealt in the sixth inning when Pirates gained momentum, scoring three runs, but were unable to close the gap established by their opposition.
Raiders’ Sarah Ziegelaar topped the batting line-up for her team, batting a 1000 percentage with a single, double and home run to bring in three runs batted in.
Teammate Emma Simpson was a close second with three hits from four, also bringing in three RBIs.
Raiders’ sisters Hannah and Cayla Ashburton also contributed with the bat, Hannah with a single and double and Cayla earning a single RBI of one hit.
Timara Simpson showed why she is the Raiders’ top pitcher, sending seven Pirates batters back to the bench.
Pirates were not without their stars, as long-time member Shelly Glasson claimed top batting position, batting 1000 with three hits, two singles and a double.
Fellow team members Mackayla Denny, Stacey Derschow and Sarah Glasson all had a single hit from their times at bat, Denny and Glasson with singles, Glasson earning the only RBI for her team and Derschow with a massive triple.
Pitching was shared around, with young gun Denney earning four strikeouts from four digs.
Denney was followed by Derschow, who had one strikeout from the remaining two innings.
Later that evening saw a clash between Jets and Hawks, which saw the Jets invoke the 10-run mercy rule by the fourth inning, claiming the win 17-7.
Jets took off early with the bat showing they meant business, scoring six runs in the first inning while holding the Hawks to nil.
Hawks found their stride in the second, matching the Jets, but were unable to stop them from scoring as Jets added another seven runs to their tally.
The third inning saw little improvement for Hawks, who closed the margin by a single run.
Jets sealed Hawks’ fate in the fourth dig, earning the four runs needed to end the match.
Jets’ Vanessa Wainwright held nothing back at the plate, batting three from four with three singles.
Wainwright also added a total of four RBIs to her team’s run tally, while teammate Kirsty Kubala contributed two RBIs from her single hit. Nikita Whitby batted in one runner from her double.
Toni McMahon pitched the entire match for Jets, sending a five Hawks batters back to the dugout.
Hawks’ top batter was Kenleigh McGowan, who scored two RBIs from a double.
Fellow Hawks Jen Price and Courtney Charles both had singles, Price from two plate appearances and Charles with three. Price also contributed two much-needed RBIs to her team’s run tally.
Price pitched a short stint at the start of the match for Hawks, followed by Teagan Ramirez. Both were unable to pass Jets batters.
A reserve matches on Saturday saw Raiders 2 defeat Jets 2 by a big margin, winning the match 26-9, while Cougars narrowly beat PCYC 12-11.
This weekend’s games will see A-grades teams Hawks take on Pirates and Raiders clash with Jets at 1.30pm, while A reserves’ Cougars take on Jets 2 and Raiders 2 play Pirates 2 at 3.30pm. All game information on the softball association’s Facebook page.
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