Pi’s forced to call on reserves as Suiside men’s make long-awaited return to softball

Geraldton Softball Association sides will be without some of their best this weekend in what will be a test of their bench strength.

Pi’s women have matches against Rams and Martians, with many of their players out of town, including Janelle Phillips who is representing the region in Country Cricket in Perth.

The Pi’s asked for their game to be rescheduled but were denied, forcing them to rely on second-division players to make up the difference in a big ask on a double-header weekend.

Midwest Marlins will hope to continue their great start to the season when they take on Rams on Saturday.

Marlins are fresh from their impressive victory in last weekend’s game, beating an undermanned Suiside 19-3.

Marlins star player Taryn Purcell was pleased with her team’s performance last week and hopes to see it continue.

“We are feeling good after our win over Suiside; the team is looking positive going into the rest of the season,” she said.

The Men’s Suiside team have their first games in nearly six weeks after their games were rescheduled at the end of 2022.

They take on Martians and Rams on Saturday, who are also without some key players.

Suiside are without Liam Meharry, Jy Thurstan and Tyler Corlett, who are all taking part in the U19’s national comp in Mirrabooka, while Jake Chapman is absent for Rams, with the star player having a great run out in the U19s.

Martians coach Garth Coker said the side was in a buoyant mood.

“After last weekend the boys are really bonding well so I think we will go in with our heads high and tails up,” he said.

Suiside coach Dylan Percy is still confident of a good runout despite missing a big chunk of his team’s talent.

“The team is feeling fresh after having the break which has helped us out with some injuries; we’ll have a strong team to put out there on Saturday despite missing a few who are away playing States,” he said.

In the second division women’s games, Batavia Blaze takes on Suiside while Rams go against Marlins and Martians Black go up against a confident Pi’s side.

In the men’s starting on Friday evening, Marlins take on Rams White as Batavia Blaze play Suiside and Martians Black take on Rams on Saturday.