Saints
SOFTBALL CLUB INC
INFIELD CHATTER ISSUE 8: 6th December 2012
What a mammoth weekend of softball the 2nd and 3rd of
December had in store for the mighty Saints. Not to be out
done, Mother Nature put on a blazing display of heat and
humidity to show that she has the final say in everything!!! It
was a scorcher of a weekend with a mixed bag of results for
Saints. However, the most important thing on a weekend like
this was that not one Saints team forfeited (not through lack of
trying though!) To young, older and all those in between who
played up into other teams thank you very much for showing
the true spirit of Saints. I know that there were some that
played up to 8 games in 2 days, almost like a little tournament,
and the Saints family salutes you on your commitment and
respect for the club (And yes your secretary was one of these
people! Even found time to umpire a game!!).
Thank you to those who donated presents to our foster
children’s drive for the ABC. These can still be donated this
Saturday if there are any more families who would like to share
some Saints love this Christmas.
For all coaches and officials there will be some drinks and
nibbles on Monday night within the bar area of Downey Park
from about 6 onwards, would be great to see you all there.
CONGRATULATIONS
To Jaclyn Surman on her
recent engagement!
Saints wishes all the
very best to you and
Keith.
INJURY WARD
The weekend saw some
carnage on and off the
fields and we wish we all
best to the follow as
they either overcome
injury or face surgery:






Mikayla Gregory
Lainie King
Paige Delacour
Cheryl Blakey
Alison Kelly
Alison Fenton
(surgery on the
19-12)
If I missed anyone I am
sorry but we wish you all
the best in your
recovery as well.
I’m still seeing many people wearing their uniform incorrectly
but thank you for the massive improvement in this area,
especially the juniors (who are the main offenders mind you!!) I
was watching a junior Saints game and the other team all had
mismatched uniforms with all shirts out and socks down and it
just looks so ugly and unprofessional. So a big thank you to Coaches, Parents and players for
bring back some respect to the Saints uniform.
A reminder that the last fixture weekend is the 15th December. Coaches, if you wish to keep
your kit bag in the Saints room over the break you are more than welcome. Any of the
following can be annoyed as they have a key: Dave Waller, Rosie Harm, Ali Gannon, Shakira
Dunn or Judy Young.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
ALL FEES ARE NOW OVERDUE!! 2 WEEKENDS UNTIL THE
BREAK AND REMEMBER WITHOUT A PAYMENT PLAN YOU
WILL NOT BE TAKING THE DIAMOND AFTER CHRISTMAS!
Rosie Harm making her 2012-2013 debut v Panthers A3! Yes she still has it and sent a bit of
shame through the A3 team as she was the only person to cross home plate for Saints in the
game! Rosie Hit safe to right field before sneaking to 2 on error (catching her breath at 2
above!!) before being scored home on a Michelle Waller double to the fence!! Have a look at
the happiness on her face as she crosses home  Thanks Rosie for signing up and See you
Saturday and Sunday to play!! Take note everyone, the happiness on Rosie’s face crossing
home is why we all love this game!!
Photos Copyright by Shakira Dunn’s Funtastic Funny Photos
Match Reports from Saturday 1st December and Sunday 2nd December
BIG WEEKEND OUT WRAP UP (SAINTS 8) U15A
Although it was a huge weekend of softball, our team definitely benefited from playing back to back
days. We learned some valuable skills and lessons of the game during Saturday’s 15 – 9 loss to
Springwood. The girls used this to our advantage and it was great to see them turn the tables on
Sunday defeating Panthers 7 to 4. Although we faced our fasted pitcher in the comp so far, the
girls showed great discipline and determination in the batter’s box. This was evident by Sarah
notching up 2 hits, Emma and Bree recording one each while a number of girls earned themselves
walks. Great defence, communication and team work made it our best game of softball yet.
Judy Young and Di Nicholson (co-coaches)
Saints 12 Under 13’s v Waratahs and Redsox
Saints 12 had a big weekend just gone, on Saturday morning we played Waratahs in what was our
best game of the season so far. Although we went down 11-10 it was a very tight game in which
our girls excelled with the bats and got behind one another in the field. Some great pitching by
Sydney Waller and Catching by Bianca Mitchell kept us in the game and the rest of the team
scored well with the bats, Phoebe Marsh a great lead off scored 3 runs from her 3 at bats
while Greta Kasprowicz made her debut on the pitchers plate and got her first strike out to top off
a great game by all. A huge thank you must be given to Matilda (Tilly) Knight, who played for
Waratahs as they were short. Without Tilly offering to do so we wouldn't have had a game. And a
big
thank
you
to
Nadia
Mitchell
from
3Pitch
who
came
up
to
help
us
out.
On Sunday morning we played Redsox, we went down 12-7 but had another wonderful and
exciting game. Tilly Knight and Piper Uzelac were strong from the pitchers plate as usual with
Phoebe Marsh and Laney Uzelac doing a great job behind home plate. Emily Whitty and Harriett
Robertson were strong for us in the batter’s box while Jessica Whitty proved her skills at first base.
A huge thank you to the wonderful Ali Gannon who, instead of settling in for a morning nap, did
the umpiring as Wilston Grange didn’t turn up. Despite heckling from the Saints coach she kept
her cool and made no errors of course, just simply awesome Ali Gannon. After our game many of
the girls offered to play another game to help out Saints under 13 and 15 teams, thank you to all
of those girls, I know all the other teams appreciated it.
Sharky Dunn – Coach (Slightly edited by Ali Gannon)
Saturday 01/12/12 Saints 10 v Saints 11
First day of summer saw the temperature rise as Saints 10 (Rob Sands) faced off against Saints 11
(Carolyn Sands) in an eagerly awaited game. As the U13 squad, these two teams train together
along with coaches Adam and Peter, and it was the first time they have played each other this
season.
Toss of the coin went to Saints 11, and a strong pitching performance from Nikki Easling, followed
by some great team batting, including the consistently safe hitter Casey O'Donnell, saw Saints 11
take a 5 - 0 lead in the first innings.
2nd innings was tight with Saints 10 bringing in 2 runs, and Chelsea White dominating on the
mound, keeping Saints 11 scoreless.
Top of the 3rd had Saints 10 come out with bats blazing, with a 3 bag hit to centre from Ashleigh
Neill and some aggressive team base running to bring in 5 runs. This was followed by a safe hit
from Tayla Dunn, who scored the only run for Saints 11, bringing the score at the bottom of 3 to 7
- 6 to Saints 10.
Saints 10 up to bat with safe hits from Maddy Gates and Tess Morrison helping score 1 run for the
innings. Bottom of the 4th, Saints 10 had Isy McIntosh catching for the first time. Selective
batting by Saints 11 lead off batters set the foundation for Jess Kennedy, Bronnie Dunn and Ava
Disney to bat in 5 runs and give Saints 11 the lead once again.
A brilliant piece of fielding from Katie O'Donnell in right field, saving a certain home run from Ivy
Petrie, and keeping Saints 10 scoreless for the innings. This assured the 11 - 8 win to Saints 11
and bragging rights for Meg and Carolyn in the Sands household. All round great game of softball
from both Saints teams.
Sunday 02/12/12 Saints 11 v Wilston Grange
Backing up for the double header weekend, Saints 11 continued their winning form with a 14 - 7
win against Wilston Grange, and maintaining our top of the table form.
Unfortunately, an undermanned Saints 10 went down to Bears 5 - 10. These girls are giving it all
and often the score does not reflect the closeness of the game.
Big thank you to Shakira and all the girls from Saints 12 for filling in both Saints 10 and 11.
Carolyn Sands – Coach Saints 11 and holder of bragging rights in the Sands House!!
Saints A2 (3) v Bears and Redsox
On Saturday, 1st December, Saints 3 A2 played Bears and won 7-0. Cato pitched 7 strikeouts
with only 2 hits. The girls batted well with Paige having 2 hits, Brit ,Cat and Ali all got 2 baggers
each with Leah , Cato and Lish all getting hits. In the fielding department, Sarah took a great
diving catch in right field, Cato threw to first for 4 outs, Leah took 2 catches plus 3 outs playing
2nd base, Lish and Ali both threw to Cat at first to get the outs. It was a good fielding display with
only 1 error. Big thanks to Sarah and Ali for playing and Shakira for sitting on the bench.
On Sunday, the girls played Redsox but went down to a close game 3-2. Before the game was
even close to starting we lost 2 girls to the hospital in Paige and Mikki. Erica dazzled us with her
with her 2 great hits, a 3 bagger and a very hard hit straight back to the pitcher. She also did an
awesome slide to break up the double and then Sarah was able to scoring the run. Leah cracked
the bat for a 3 bagger passed centre field. In the 1st innings, Cato had all 3 batters hit straight
back to her for the outs. She also pitched 5 K2s. Olivia had 2 hard hits to her for 2 out at
shortstop. Special mention must be to Ali and Brooke who both played 8 games each on the
weekend. Ali played all of her games on diamond 2 at third base, while Brooke also somehow found
time to umpire a game as well. Many thanks to Sarah, Ali, Brooke, Olivia and Erica for filling in for
us in our time of need.
Daphne Prybyszczuk – Statistician Extraordinaire (Mrs. P if you can’t pronounce it!!)
Saints A3 1st & 2nd December v Redsox A2 and Panthers A3
Saints A3 again faced another much younger and faster A2 team in Redsox. With excellent fielding
and batting up until the 4th innings, Saints were up 3-0. Top of 5 saw a little bit of trouble heading
Saints way with Cheryl pulling up after her knee gave way. Unable to continue, Ali Fenton, Who
herself is having a knee reconstruction in December, faced one pitch to allow us to not forfeit.
Luckily, some under 17’s we wondering over to their game to warm up and Sarah Hoger was
rushed onto the field so the game could continue.
At the top of 6 the score was 3 all and Redsox scored another 3 runs. Fortunately for us, time was
on our side and with one down in the bottom of 6 game was called and the score reverted to 3 all.
A tough slog for Michelle after pitching for 2 hours in the sun at Brisbane Under 15’s trials to back
up and pitch in the Midday heat. She did still manage to rack up 5 K2’s leaving many of the
Redsox players a bog bamboozled. Ally K and Ali G had 2 hits each with Michelle registering 2
RBI’s. A Huge thanks to Sarah for coming over to play despite having no idea she was needed.
That’s the Saints spirit and it’s good to see it’s coming through in our juniors.
Sunday the A3’s were up against Panthers A3 for the first time this year. The game was very close
and the standard was high. Once again we battles the Midday heat and with a few errors in the
field, Panthers took an early 2-0 lead. Then for the second time in 2 days another player was
struck down by the softball injury Gods.
Ally K was going down for a bunt and her calf went on her, the same one that blew out in last
season’s grand final. A savior was found as Rosemary Harm answered the call and without
battering an eye she was in the game before she had time to put her long socks on. Her safe hit to
right field and steal to 2 on a pass ball put her into scoring position where Michelle hit her home
with one of her 2 doubles for the game. The score finished 3-1 leaving Saints with some room for
improvement over the next 2 weekends. Michelle was again dominant on the mound with 6 K2’s. A
huge thank you to Brooke and Olivia from the 17’s for filling in before they had a double header
themselves. Once again another great showing of Saints commitment and to Rosie for coming in
and having a great time doing it as well. Not the result we were looking for but all things
considered a good game. A sneaky thanks to life member and last year’s coach (and my mum) Vicki
Gannon who helped out with the scoring once Rosie became a player!
Ali Gannon – A3 Analyzer and very tired after the weekend as we all were!
Saints Under 17 v Redsox, Springwood and Bears
We started a busy weekend firstly with a game against Redsox 4 on Saturday afternoon. Even
though we lost there was a big effort by all, that is except our regular pitcher who sat off injured.
We have to give a big thank you to Brittany Mc Donald from the U15s who only expected to play a
half game and ended up out there for the full game, and took a great catch in outfield. Also a
thank you to Sarah and Olivia who took on the difficult job of pitching. There were hits by Brooke
and Amy helping bring home some runs.
Back on Sunday for a double header.
First game was against Springwood and again we have to thank the U15 players. For this game
Astyn Hilt was a DH for our injured pitcher and Kayla Waller got bat duties and running for
catcher. Though big efforts by all we lost this game also. Thought Sarah and Bec put down some
lovely Sac Bunts.
Second game was against Bears and again we thank some U15 players for helping us make the
field. This time Kayla Waller took on the DH roll for our pitcher and Emma Cummings helped out
with bat duties and running for catcher or injured players. The score sea sawed each innings with
the end result being a lost by 1 run. Kayla stepped up and batted well along with Brooke and
Alicia. Again Bec moved runners around with Sac Bunts. Also we need to mention Ashleigh,
Hannah and Brooke who took great catches in the outfield.
After a very long weekend of softball, Kel our coach was very impressed with how the girls
performed, considering they played not only their own games, but also with some doing umpiring
duties and others playing up for the A3 and A2 team on each day. So a big rest for all this week
with games on Saturday and Sunday again next week.
Again thank you to the U15 players helping us ensure we field a team.
Kerrie King – Under 17 Scorer and lovely lady all round!!
The washed out games have been rescheduled for the following
weekends:
Games from 17-11 to 9-12
SAINTS GAME TIMES: 1ST DECEMBER - SATURDAY
GRADE
TIME
DIAMOND
OPPOSITION
A1
6PM
1
REDSOX
A2(2)
2PM & 4PM
2
SAINTS 3 & REDSOX
A2(3)
2PM
2
SAINTS 2
A3
12PM
2
STEALERS
17A
4 PM
4
BEARS
C GRADE (6)
2PM & 4PM
15
SAINTS 7 & DEVILS
C GRADE (7)
12PM & 2PM
15
STEALERS & SAINTS 6
15A (8)
8AM
1
PANTHERS
15A (9)
8AM
2
BEARS
13A (10)
9:30 AM
10
SAINTS 12
13A (11)
9:30AM
14
BEARS
13A (12)
9:30AM
10
SAINTS 10
3 PITCH (13)
BYE
3 PITCH (14)
8:30AM
5
REDSOX
SAINTS GAME TIMES: 2ND DECEMBER - SUNDAY
GRADE
TIME
DIAMOND
OPPOSITION
A1
NO GAME
A2(2)
NO GAME
A2(3)
6PM
1
PANTHERS
12PM & 2 PM
2
PANTHERS &
REDSOX
17A
4PM
9
REDSOX
C GRADE (6)
2 PM
17
DEVILS
C GRADE (7)
12PM
6
STEALERS
1
BEARS
A3
15A (8)
NO GAME
15A (9)
10AM
13A (10)
NO GAME
13A (11)
NO GAME
13A (12)
NO GAME
3 PITCH (13)
NO GAMES
3 PITCH (14)
NO GAMES
REDSOX 2&3