Softball: Fitness lacking in Fast Pitch assault

Improved fitness regimes are a must for Fast Pitch premier men's softballers if they are to become more of a force at national level.

"We finished 13th which was where we were seeded but we could have done better with a little more fitness," Fast Pitch manager Craig Waterhouse said after his team beat Johnsonville 6-5 in the playoff for 13th in their final outing at the 20-team five-day national interclub tournament which ended in Christchurch yesterday.

Fast Pitch finished the event with four wins and five losses.

"We were lucky we had Lachie ... he is naturally fit and had a huge workload," Waterhouse said referring to Maraenui Pumas centre outfielder Lachie Hook.

Waterhouse pointed out it was unfortunate captain and versatile infielder Te Rangi Chadwick had been nagged by injuries this season and wasn't as fit as he was when he was on the verge of Black Sox training squad selection back in October. Former Junior Black Sox catcher Grant Dean and Pumas catcher Karaitiana Aranui, who was also picked up by Waterhouse, weren't as fit as they have been in the past.

However there were still several highlights for Fast Pitch. Short stop and former Black Sox training squad member Curtis Huata smashed an in-park home run against Johnsonville and earlier in the tournament did the same during an 8-1 win against Howick.

Great Britain World Series player Ryan Martin hit a homer in the 7-3 loss to Porirua City United. Fast Pitch were awarded a 7-0 win against Northcote in their first game on Wednesday after Northcote fielded an unregistered player in Pita Rona.

Several errors proved costly during a 5-2 loss to Miramar.

While Waterhouse admitted his troops could easily have finished ninth there was still plenty to celebrate. In addition to Fast Pitch winning the Hawke's Bay premier men's post-Christmas competition they won the senior B men's, under-18 youth, under-15 and under-13 boys post-Christmas titles.

"That's a first for us to have that many at this time of the year," Waterhouse said.