A Railways batter faces up on their way to victory at the Kuripuni Classic. PHOTO/JADE CVETKOV
SOFTBALL
CHRIS COGDALE
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For the first time in several years there was a different winner of the Kuripuni Classic Trophy.
The annual Wellington Anniversary Weekend tournament for presidents grade players has been dominated by Giants in recent years.
However, this year’s tournament at South Park didn’t go well for the host club, and Railways will have their name engraved on the trophy.
The two-day tournament didn’t start well for Giants, who were convincingly beaten 9-2 by Cardinals in their opening game.
That left Giants needing to beat Kapiti by 11 runs on Sunday morning to qualify for the final.
However, they could only manage a 10-run victory, leaving Kapiti to play Railways or Dodgers in the final.
Railways finally made the final after a titanic struggle with Dodgers in a game that went to three tiebreaker innings.
The game was scoreless after the regulation seven innings and two tiebreaker innings.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the 10th inning that Railways broke the deadlock, when a solid outfield hit brought home the winning run.
Railways went on to dominate the final against Kapiti cruising to a comfortable 13-8 victory.
Despite the results not going the way of the home team, Giants team member and president Chris Feary said the tournament was incredibly successful.
“We had an awesome crowd down there all weekend and all the teams are keen to come back again next year,” he said.
“Railways even wanted to pay for their entry before they left. It was very successful.”
