Dramatic ending
Softball: A week after the premier men's competition provided the cliffhanger, with Ngati Kahu Braves winning an eighth innings tiebreaker 5-4, the Western Bay women's championship on Saturday laid on the drama with Ngati Kahu Wahine involved in a tiebreaker.
Cardinals took a 2-1 first innings lead over Wahine before they drew level in the second innings and grabbed a substantial 5-2 buffer in their next turn at bat.
By the sixth innings it was locked up again at 6-6 before Cardinals edged clear 9-8. But Ngati Kahu weren't done and got to 9-all in the seventh.
By now the men's games had finished and the closeness of the women's game and cheering and shrieking of supporters as the lead see-sawed pulled a big crowd to the diamond.
In the deciding eighth innings tiebreaker Cardinals jumped out to 12 but Ngati Kahu's got loaded bases and with strategic hitting drew level before snatching another run for a 13-12 victory.
In the other women's game Otepou and Whalers were locked at one apiece at the top of the third innings. Otepou continued to score and Whalers couldn't match them as Otepou cleared out to win 10-2 in sixth innings.
Both men's games were one-sided. In the opener, Rangataua took an early 2-0 lead over Tauranga City Stealers. Rangataua used their pitchers, Willy Marshall and Darryl Pukekura, as Stealers were unable to get bat on ball.
Stealers' pitchers Anton Watene-Doyle and Andy Lee also managed to tie down Rangataua batters but not completely as Marshall hit a home run to give his side a 5-0 lead at the top of the sixth. In the seventh innings Stealers seized on a a rare Rangataua error to score but Rangataua prevailed 5-1.
In the second game, Ngati Kahu Braves scored three in the first innings against Colts and never looked back, with Braves pitcher Jason Te Wheoro controlling the game as his side won 9-2.
Men: Rangataua 5 Tauranga City Stealers 1, Ngati Kahu Braves 9 Colts 2. Women: Ngati Kahu Wahine 13 Cardinals 12, Otepou 10 Whalers 2.
Latin flair rules
Beach soccer: Brazil was where the game was invented so it was only fitting that Mount Maunganui-based team Arzamen, filled with Brazilians, took out the round of the national beach soccer championships at the weekend.
Arzamen downed Sudamerica 2-0 in a hotly-contested final, with Magicos de Bola third. Perfect 10 took out the plate competition. Beach soccer started in Brazil at Leme Beach in Rio de Janeiro.
Nationals organiser Damien Hochberg said the two best teams made it through to the final.
"There was some good Latin flair on show throughout the day, although there was a team full of English boys who turned up early in the day and would have given both finalists a run for their money if they'd stuck around.
"Unfortunately, they were down from Auckland on a stag do and were driving from the Mount to Rotorua and then hoping to get back to Auckland that night so they were on a mission and had more important things than playing beach soccer to do."
Davis Bay's best
Golf: Bay of Plenty's golfers have finished well off the pace at the South Island strokeplay championships at Christchurch Golf Club at the weekend.
Tauranga left-hander Sam Davis was the best of the locals, tied 37th on 12-over par after rounds of 74, 71, 76 and 79.
Cambridge 16-year-old Compton Pikari won his first senior national title when he closed with a two-under par 70 to finish on 10-under, holding off defending champion Vaughan McCall by five shots.
Omanu's Craig Hamilton, Davis' partner when they won the national foursomes title at Mount Maunganui almost three weeks ago, was the next-best Bay golfer, tied 46th on 15-over (75 76 77 75), followed by Mt Maunganui's Brad Kendall on 19-over par (74 77 75 81) and Hayden Beard (Mount Maunganui) a shot further back after rounds of 74, 76, 78 and 80.
Changes at top
Club cricket: Pressure and intensity in both the reserve and B grade Western Bay championship rounds has played its part in a new-look leaderboard in both club cricket grades.
Mount Green, who are chasing their piece of reserve grade silverware this season, were upset by the Sangaha CC side on Saturday, with Sangha defying their position near the bottom of the standings to post a solid 271/9 and then roll Mount for 198. Mount Green's defeat has bumped the defending champions out of the top four for the first time.
Competition leaders Katikati were involved in a low-scoring encounter with bottom-of-the-table Te Puke. After being removed for just 107, Katikati then bowled Te Puke out for just 89 to maintain their grip at the top.
Tauranga Boys' College improved when they beat Mount Gold in a close tussle while Greerton Hornets grabbed a rare victory over arch-rivals Cadets.
While Papamoa lurks in second spot in the B grade title race they have a game in hand. After dismissing Albion for 106, Papamoa were made to work for victory losing six wickets on the way. Greerton failed to post a win in the pre-Christmas competition but continued their second half of the season improvement, chasing down the Malwa's total of 123. Katikati won a high-scoring contest against Grasshoppers, with Mount Maunganui easily beating Spartans.