Not bad for starters as Miramar hang on
ANNA JENSEN - The Dominion Post | Monday, 22 October 2007Miramar have made a strong start to the season, beating Porirua 5-4 to win the Doreen Dalton tournament in Lower Hutt.
Coach Kevin Henderson said he was happy with yesterday's win, as the team sets out on a path he hopes will result in the national club title.
"We've had a few injuries in the team and we struggled a bit but we came through.
"It's very important - we wanted to get off to a good start to the season and we've done that. We wanted to set the stage for a successful season and we're on our way," he said.
Two home runs in the second inning set the ball rolling for Miramar yesterday, with Damian McCulloch and Justin Fabling both clearing the fence. Craig Gibson made it home as well to give Miramar a 3-0 lead.
However, Porirua hit back in the third inning through Dave Bishop and Simon Rogers to reduce the deficit to 3-2.
However, Miramar held on to their lead with Henderson giving a lot of the credit to his two pitchers, Gibson and David Gollan.
"We're a pretty balanced team, but this weekend the pitchers stood out - they were fantastic," Henderson said.
Miramar and Porirua booked their place in the final after they finished the round-robin tied with Hutt City United after all three lost one game each. It came down to run ratio, with Miramar and Porirua edging out Hutt City.
Poneke-Kilbirnie, Johnsonville and Cardinals were also involved in the tournament in which teams played each other once during the two days.
The men will now start the intercity club competition on Saturday after the opening weekend was rained out.
Meanwhile, in the women's intercity club competition on Saturday, Newlands caused the first upset of the season when they beat Johnsonville 3-2 in the early game at Hataitai Park.
Johnsonville opened the scoring in the top of the first inning when Chanelle McCardle came home on an error.
Newlands replied in the bottom of the fourth when Lisa Such and Clare Harris came home to give them a 2-1 lead. Newlands went further ahead in the fifth when Kelsey Firman scored to put them 3-1 up.
Vicky Shand scored in the top of the sixth for Johnsonville but tight pitching by Such shut out Johnsonville in the seventh inning to give Newlands the win.
Miramar started their season on a positive note when they beat Johnsonville in the late game at Hataitai Park 13-2 in five innings, while Porirua City United held on to beat Poneke-Kilbirnie 8-7.
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