Martians bounce back against Suiside as Rams and Pi’s both win in tight battle for second

It was tight action as some teams played their final softball game over the weekend with ladder spots still yet to be decided. Pi’s took down Martians in a close match-up 3-2 in the women’s league. Pitcher Natale Wisewould was on song at the mound providing multiple assists in outs at first and second bases. Very few errors on the field meant it was always going to be a low-scoring game but the batting power of Janelle Phillips, Kylie Morgan and Wisewould herself saw the Pi’s come up trumps as they maintain their hold on second place. Pi’s coach David Sutton was happy with the team’s consistent performance. “It was pleasing to see the team perform in the field in a low scoring contest,” he said. “One mistake could cost you a run and in the end that was the difference in the score, Janelle Phillips again was outstanding with the bat and in the field”. Pi’s still need one more win from their final game to secure second place and a good run in the finals. Marlins lost out to Rams in the other match in another thriller 7-6. Both teams were level until the seventh inning when Rams player Kaycee Monaghan scored off a hit to bring up the winning run and keep their hopes of a second-placed finish alive. In the men’s games Martians put in a superb performance to take down the inform Suiside team 3-2 and bounce back from back-to-back losses. Suiside scored their two runs in the bottom of the first innings off the bat of Liam Meharry and they held a 2-1 lead until the top of the 7th inning. A safe hit from Murphy Reid scored one, and a second run came home from a fielding error when the catcher tried to make the pick-off at second base making the score 3-2. Both Martians’ Tane Brott and Suiside’s pitcher Sean Thompson were excellent finishing with 10 strike-outs each. Martians coach Gareth Coker was pleased with the teamwork shown during the game. “The young boys banded together to help us get over the line,” he said. “Kynan Leggett got thrown in the deep end at shortstop and did a good job, Tane Brott and Nik Valenti combined well to keep their batting line up to only a couple of runs.” In the second division, Marlins beat Batavia Blaze in convincing fashion 16-1. Marlins managed to score nine runs in the fourth inning to put the game out of reach of the struggling Blaze side. They took out Martians Red 13-12 in their second game after the Martians defeated Rams in their first game 14-13. In the men’s, Batavia Blaze has a great day on the diamond, beating Rams Blue for the first time in the club’s history, winning the game 16-7. In the other division two men’s game, Martians Red defeated Marlins 17-8.