Hayes men power home
BY JOHN ALEXANDER
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Colin Hayes and his son Dylan combined to produce the match-winning play for Wairau Black in a thrilling Redwood Trophy knockout cup senior men's softball final against Saints at A and P Park on Saturday.
With the scores tied at 9-9 at the top of the seventh and two out, Colin Hayes stepped up to the plate and smashed a superb three-base hit between centre and right field to bring his son Dylan home and win the match 10-9. There were only centimetres in it, Jordan Roberts making a great effort to dive and almost pull off a miraculous outfield catch from the Hayes hit.
In one of the best matches of the season, the lead fluctuated throughout as each team strived to gain a clear advantage.
In a match largely dominated by the bat, Wairau Black got off to a flying start, scoring four in their first turn at bat, Barry Anderson smashing a left-field home run to bring Kurt Schollum home as well.
Saints closed the game up in the second with three runs, Graham de Boo belting a superb three-base hit in his comeback match from injury.
Saints scored three more in the fourth with some consistent batting and good base running but Wairau Black stormed back to lead by one run heading into the seventh. Mike Godsall came home on an error to tie the match up until Colin Hayes produced the match-winning play in Wairau Black's last turn at bat.
Both teams had opportunities to score more runs and in the third inning, Jordan Tulloch was left stranded on third base for Saints. Dylan Hayes was left stranded in similar fashion in the fourth inning.
Saints skipper Darren Aldridge, while disappointed to lose the trophy, had no complaints about the final result.
"It was a very entertaining game. You can handle winning or losing when it goes that way. It was a good, clean, well-placed hit from Colin to win the match."
Heading the Saints' batting efforts were Tulloch, Godsall, Shane Parnell, Warren Herd and de Boo.
For Wairau Black, Neil Prattley made three hits, Colin Hayes two, Brayden O'Donnell, Schollum, Anderson, Nathan Lovell and Nick Andrews one each.
Pitching for Saints, Parnell faced 39 batters for three strikeouts, four walks, 10 runs, five earned.
For Wairau Black, Dylan Hayes faced 25 batters for three strikeouts, six walks and eight earned runs.
Both teams committed five fielding errors, each of which cost them runs.
- The Marlborough Express
