Softball: HBHS juniors find diamond class

UNDEFEATED: HBHS junior softballers celebrate winning the NZ Secondary Schools' title. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

The word is Hastings Boys' High School attracts the best junior softballers in town.

That's a given after the John Mullany-coached team clinched the New Zealand Secondary Schools Junior Softball Championship when the dust settled on the diamonds at Colquhoun Park, Palmerston North, on Thursday.

"It's the second time the school has won it in four years," says Mullany, who is in charge of HBHS softball, after they claimed the bragging rights in 2012.

HBHS prevailed in the seven-team competition which this year boasted four Super 8 schools.

They beat Hamilton Boys' High School 7-5 in the final after pipping them 4-2 in their group to proceed to the playoff as top qualifiers.

The losing finalists had to work their way back from the third/fourth playoffs for another shot.

The other schools were Tauranga Boys' College, Gisborne Boys' High School, Kapiti College, Hato Paora (near Feilding) and Tu Toa Tai Wananga (Manawatu).

Ask why HBHS excels at the level, Mullay says: "I suppose we offer the best opportunities to attend the nationals."

At a guess he thinks other Bay schools have not sent teams to the tourney in the past five years.

However, unlike their cricketers the code's junior talent doesn't necessarily seep into the senior ranks.

Mullany, who received coaching help from year 11 pupil Liam Udy-Johns, is mindful softball is the carrot for the youngsters but his challenge is how to motivate them to become all-round individuals who can juggle the demands of academic and sporting pursuits.

After clinching the 2012 title, Mullany says their seniors finished sixth at the division one tourney although they dropped to division two not long after to clinch the crown.

Softball Hawke's Bay is hosting the senior division one tourney at Akina Park, Hastings, in the last week of March next year.

At the juniors on Monday, undefeated HBHS walloped Kapiti College and Tu Toa 8-1 and 11-1, respectively.

On Tuesday Gisborne and Hamilton Boys' High offered a bit more resistance but the champions prevailed 9-3 and 5-4, respectively.

On the final day of round-robin play on Wednesday, HBHS took care of Hato Paora and Tauranga Boys' 10-0 and 5-2, respectively, for the top-two playoff to try to qualify directly for the final.

"The playoff was nail biting but our cool, calm and collected boys displayed yet another outstanding performance to take the game 4-2 and go straight into the final where Hamilton had to then playoff again the following morning in an attempt to make the final, which they did," says Mullany whose boys had a spring in their step in the seven-inning final on Thursday but also not losing sight of the fact that only three runs separated them from two wins.

Hastings Boys went up 1-0 after the first inning with exceptional batting from Payne Stewart Teneti-Moana, Aron Whaanga, Vaughan Dellow and Ihaka Tangaroa.

That became 4-0 in the second inning but Hamilton clawed their way back to seize the lead in the fifth inning, 5-4.

At the bottom of their batting order, things looked ominous but they delivered through Legend Hanley-Ash and Rayzah Rima SciaScia as two runners on base got home to eventually regain the lead, 6-5, in the inning before before fruitless sixth and final inning.

Needing three outs to be be crowned champions, Tangaroa, who was named tourney MVP, struck out three Hamilton batters.

The other HBHS players were Leyton Ross, Jakob Bargh, Tui Kuru and Jakob Stevenson Marsh who added to the collective.

Only three players will be juniors next year from the champion side but the unknown territory from intermediate school intakes is just another challenge Mullany will calmly incorporate into his hectic classroom plans.