SOFTBALL

South Zone ‘C’ Division Boys
Catholic High School vs Peicai Secondary School
Monday, 21 May 2007, at Catholic High Softball Pitch
 
Story and pictures by Red Sports reader Mr Bernard Han, a teacher from Catholic High School. Thanks, Bernard!

Catholic High ‘C’ Division boys found themselves with a serious challenge this time in the form of Peicai Secondary whose senior boys came in third in the recently concluded Nationals ‘B’ Division Softball Championship.

Liang Win (82) showed his serious intent when he went on to hit two home runs in the game. © Bernard Han
 

Catholic High were given the chance to bat first. Jerald (73) did well to get himself on base, but the next two batters were uncharacteristically struck out by the Peicai pitcher. Liang Win (82) stepped up and promptly showed the seniors a thing or two about batting by scoring a home run. That put Catholic High in the lead by two runs as Jerald (73) made it home ahead of Liang Win (82). It was not long before Catholic High had the bases loaded with Zheng Peng (03) at bat. His fly ball was missed by the short-stop, allowing Jiafan (15) to sprint home from third base. The Catholic High boys’ lack of communication was apparent again as Jeremy (77) was in no man’s land between third base and home, and was promptly tagged out.

Kayue (8) gets ready for a big hit. © Bernard Han
 
Peicai Secondary were no pushovers and they had some good batters in their line-up. They caught up to 2-3, and managed to level the score at 3-3 via a bad throw to third base by Catholic High’s Terence (56). Although their next batter was strike out, they did well enough to end the inning 3-3.
 
In the second inning, Catholic High’s Kayue (8) got onto first base and attempted to steal second base on the next pitch. The Peicai catcher made a good throw to the second base fielder, only for him to miss, allowing Kayue (8) to run home. Daniel (70), Jerald (73), Jiafan (15) all made it home, but Terence (56) and Liang Win (82) batted fly balls which were caught by the fielders from Peicai. Catholic High were in the lead again at 7-3.

Daniel (70) has only one thought in his mnd – to hit and get on base safely. © Bernard Han
 
The next batter from Peicai could not hit the fast balls pitched by Jerald (73) and was out after 3 strikes. Then Asywaf (5) from Peicai hit a first home run with the bases loaded at second and third to close down on Catholic High at 6-7. With the pressure now on Catholic High to hold Peicai, Wee Kian (37) made a mess of a fly ball hit towards him, letting two Peicai runners return home. Jerald (73) finally stopped them by catching the next fly ball. Catholic High now trailed 7-8.

Peicai players gather for a pep-talk. © Bernard Han
 
With all those fundamental errors committed by the Catholic High boys, it was no wonder Coach Ronghan was furious. The boys had to get their act together if they were to advance far in the competition. The third inning began and the boys batted their way to get onto the bases. When it was time for Liang Win (82) to bat, all the bases were loaded. Little did Peicai know what was to come next, as Liang Win (82) punched the ball right through the center field beyond the fielders for a grand slam. All the runners ran home to the high fives of their teammates, including Liang Win (82). That hit settled the boys down as they began to chalk up more runs through good hitting and clever base stealing. Every batter in the line-up made it home except for Wee Kian (37) who struck out, as well as Tijoe (4) and Jiafan (15) whose fly balls were caught by the fielders. It was an outstanding inning which saw Catholic High extend their lead to 21-8.

Marc (7) from Peicai bends down low as he feigns a bunt. © Bernard Han
 
The boys from Peicai could not salvage the situation as they could not advance beyond the third base. In the final play, as the runner from third base attempted to steal home, Terence (56) made a snap throw to Tijoe (4) who eventually managed to chase and tag him out to end the game.
 
It was heartbreaking for Peicai Secondary School, who looked capable of a win over their nemesis after two tight innings. However, Catholic High conjured up a fightback of their own to eventually triumph 21-8.