Gazelle Team One keep 2nd spot in Port Moresby women’s softball

GAZELLE Team One retained second spot on the Port Moresby Women’s Softball Association ladder after they beat Stingerz 12-9 at the Bisini Diamonds on Saturday.
The round-five clash saw a tight first innings with Gazelle’s Navasha Pilak and Aida Pondriket starting early for them to score five runs while impressive fielding saw them limit Stingerz to only three runs in the bottom of the innings.
Stingerz pitcher Gertrude Simba stepped up for her side in the second innings with Gazelle scoring only one run by Tina Mageokia.
But strong fielding by Gazelle saw Stingerz make just two runs for a 5-6 scoreline at the end of the second innings.
The third innings saw Gazelle extend their lead with six runs off some solid batting while Singerz fell made just four to lose the match.
Meanwhile, defending A-Grade champions United Sisters moved closer to second spot with a 23-3 win over Wantoks and Silvertips beat Chebu 34-11.
The association’s executives handed the 2019-20 awards with Gazelle’s Navasha Pilak named as the best infielder in the A-Grade.
The other individual awards included best batter (Saints’ Stephanie Manning), pitcher (Stingerz’s Gertrude Simba) and outfielder (Sisters’ Basemath Xkenjik).
“We’ve given the awards to the best individual players based on statistics we’ve gathered throughout the season and this is to recognise their efforts last season,” the association said.
“We planned to have the awards in March last year.
“But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we had to hold off the awards.
“However, we’re happy to be handing them this season.”