On a cool night Strathalbyn took on Hahndorf in the ‘A’ grade encounter. Strathalbyn were up to bat first but were put away for no score with a tag out at second, a K2 to pitcher/catcher combo Peyton Daniels to Reggie Fairley and a great catch in the outfield by Mackenzie Bourke.

Hahndorf had their lead off batter out at first before some big hits got Nancy Johns home. Strathalbyn worked hard in the field with Emily Eglitis taking a catch in the outfield and another out at first holding Hahndorf to just one run.

Strath were looking to make some runs in their second turn at bat and brought in three runs with some great base running and a well timed slide home from Tiahna Mayes before Hahndorf locked the innings down with a K2, an out at home and a catch taken in the outfield by Tracey Luxon. Hahndorf were held without adding to their score in their second turn at bat with the Panthers fielders on fire with Tash Mayes taking a catch in the outfield, an out at first and a catch taken by shortstop Kim Cutting.

Strathalbyn wanted to add to their score but were quickly sent from the diamond with Hahndorf’s Tahlia Larosa pitching a K2, an out at first and a catch taken at shortstop by Georgia King.

The third batting dig for Hahndorf was also scoreless with another catch to Cutting, an out at first and a tag out at home ending the innings. Britt Jackson brought in the only run for Strathalbyn in the fourth innings before they again were shut down with two outs at first and another K2.

Strath needed to stop Hahndorf from scoring and they did with another out at first base and then a great catch in the outfield by Eglitis who then quickly threw to Kerry Wilkinson at first to catch the runner short of the base in a fantastic double play. Hahndorf fought back in the field not allowing the Panthers to gain any more runs in the fifth dig with a catch in the outfield by Mis O’Keefe and two more outs at first base.

Hahndorf came out for their fifth turn at bat and didn’t start well with Strath’s pitcher Kelly Roe taking a catch and Cutting again fielding well to make an out at first. Hahndorf gained two runs from good hits and great base running and looked like they could snatch the game from Strath before another great play by Cutting ended the innings and the game with Strathalbyn coming out on top defeating Hahndorf 4-3 for their first win of the season.

There was only one slight delay during the game when an Echidna decided to join Strath in the outfield before wandering off into the trees for a more peaceful night. In the other ‘A’ grade game, Torrens Valley Redsox defeated USC Bears 11-2.

‘A’ Grade Women Ladder

Hahndorf 4, TVR 4, USC Bears 2, Strathalbyn 2.

Strathalbyn ‘C’ grade kicked off round five on a warm Saturday afternoon taking on Macclesfield on Diamond 3. Alisha Golding opened the batting for Macclesfield and was struck out by Maddison Lippasaar with a K2, before Macclesfield players Mary Karaitana and Amy Wouters got over the home plate safe, bringing up 2 runs for the innings. Strathalbyn started strong with Rebecca Sims hitting a single base hit to centrefield, and quickly stealing bases. The Strathalbyn middle order batting then took advantage of gaps in the outfield to consistently push around the diamond and finish the innings with 10 runs.

The top of the second innings saw Strathalbyn showcase some strong fielding, with Amy Wouters being tagged out at second by Rebecca Sims from a powerful Bobbie Taylor throw, and Jo Falkland taking a fly catch in leftfield. Macclesfield were unlucky not to make any runs for the

innings. Strong plays in the field from Macclesfield in the bottom of the second saw Bobbie Taylor out at first, and Strathalbyn held to only 3 runs. Macclesfield ended the Strathalbyn innings with a strong short stop to

first combination to get in to bat again.

Macclesfield then dug deep, using gaps in the outfield to push runners around at the top of the third. Their come-back efforts were halted by

some strong fielding at first base by Casey Taylor and Heidi Samuel, seeing Macclesfield close the innings with only 5 runs.

Strathalbyn (13) (Best players: Maddison Lippasaar and Jo Falkland) defeated Macclesfield (7) (Best players: Mary Karaitana and Ali Pope)

‘C’ Grade Women Ladder

Echunga 10, Hahndorf White 8, Strathalbyn 6, Hahndorf Black 2, Redsox 2, Macclesfield 2.