By EKONIA PENI
Stingerz wrapped up the minor premiers of Port Moresby women’s softball at the weekend when they edged Bee Hive Gazelle 3-2 in the Digicel sponsored competition.
In the other matches, Airways Bears nailed Admiralty 7- nil and Budget Real Estate Wantoks thrashed Dolphins 17-2 in a match that basically eliminated Dolphins out of the top five and the finals.
With Dolphins being eliminated, the finals series will now be a battle for the season’s honours between the giants of the competition – the premiers Gazelle, Bears, Wantoks the new comers Stingerz.
At the start of the season none predicted or expected Stingerz to be the the leading champions of the season.
However, their fairytale story is a credit on their consistent performances with every game they played. And being the minor premiers, they really have the best chance now to win the semi final and wait for the grand final when the final series begins in two weeks time.
In the close tussle with Gazelle, the Simba sisters Nickie, Lenora and Truddy were exceptional. While Tessa Karai played well at shortstop and her mother Selina pitched well and made sure Gazelle’s top batters were tamed.
Stingerz were first to score in the first inning through Lenora and Tessa to lead by two runs.
After a pointless five innings, Gazelle eventually scored two runs in the sixth inning to equalise through Navasha Pilak and Mathilda Pondriket.
And if Gazelle were banking for a 2-all draw, Stingerz had other ideas when in their last turn to bat secured Selina Karai on base.
The pressure was then passed on to Truddy, the youngest of the Simba sisters, to deliver with the bat. And deliver she did, when she executed a safe hit pass shortstop to bring home Salina from second base to score the third and winning point for Stingerz.
“I am extremely happy having won the minor premiers. We had stiff challenges through out the season but I thank the players for holding on together with confidence to bring us to where we are.
“We are looking forward to the finals now,” a delighted Stingerz coach Nelson Simba said after the win.