SOFTBALL

South Zone ‘C’ Division Boys
Catholic High School vs Raffles Institution
Monday, 14 May 2007, at Catholic High Softball Pitch
 
Story and pictures by Red Sports reader Mr Bernard Han, a teacher from Catholic High. Thanks, Bernard!

Catholic High got off to a good start in their first game of the South Zone Championship against their neighbours Raffles Institution by beating them 13-3 on Monday afternoon.

James (23) of Catholic High looks set to hit an incoming pitch. © Bernard Han

Catholic High scored six runs in the first inning, courtesy of some good batting by Terence (56) and Jerald (73). Raffles Institution found it tough to gain their footing as all three batters failed to connect with the pitches. The inning ended at 6-0 in favour of Catholic High.
 

Pitcher Jerald (73) of Catholic High gets into the swing of things as he unleashes a fast ball. © Bernard Han

The next inning was a different story altogether as it was the Catholic High boys who emerged scoreless. Raffles Institution could not capitalize on this, partly due to the excellent pitching by Jerald. The batters had a hard time and foul balls were aplenty. However, the Raffles Institution boys managed to get on the bases and score some runs before two other batters were struck out eventually. The inning also saw Catholic High make three substitutions because of poor communication among the fielders. The lead was reduced to 6-3 as the game headed into the third inning.

No.2 from RI readies himself to hit. © Bernard Han
 
Catholic High did not extend their lead significantly because of poor communication and bad decisions between the bases by the boys. Raffles Institution managed to pull off an easy double play at third and first base to restrict Catholic High to only one run. Coach Ronghan decided to give Liang Win (82), a Secondary 1 student, a chance at pitch. However, he was unable to get into his pitching routine, perhaps feeling nervous in his first senior game. Raffles Institution made use of this transition to score 2 more runs. Liang Win (82) settled in soon enough to strike out his first opponent, and the Catholic High boys did a decent job at fielding to put out two other runners at third base.

Catholic High outfielders on their toes in anticipation. © Bernard Han
 
The game moved into the 4th inning with the score at 7-3. It looked to be a bad day on the pitch for Catholic High as the first hit was caught by the short-stop, but the boys managed to chalked up four successive runs before another teammate struck out. The score was 13-3 by the time Raffles Institution put out the third runner for the changeover. There was to be no change in the scoreline as the boys from Raffles Institution were put out in quick succession at third base, on home plate and a caught fly ball in left-field.

Catcher Terence (56) of Catholic High prepares to receive a pitch as the No.10 from RI swings. © Bernard Han
 
It was a decent showing from the Catholic High team despite the flattering scoreline of 13-3. The post-match analysis of the game revealed many areas for improvement. Nevertheless, the boys deserved credit for their first win of the season.
 

 
Thanks!