February 2005
16 February, 2005
Big day at the ballpark for Illawarra LF Baden Stennings as he provided the difference for the Hawks in their 9-3 win over the Tasman Tigers. His three home runs in the 5th, 8th, and 9th provided 6 RBIs to take the game out of the reach from the table toppers.
The Shield
The Taranaki Bulls lost The Shield in dramatic fashion to the Hawke's Bay Vikings. Game 1 saw the Vikings pick up the winning run in the 9th innings, a position the Bulls should have never been in but for fielding errors throughout the game that directly led to runs.
9 runs in the 8th innings by the Vikings catapulted them to a 11-6 win in game 2. That included 2 home runs with 2 outs notched up.
Taranaki won the third game but it was too late, the Shield was heading to the Hawke's Bay!
Auckland was the first challenger for Hawke's Bay but lost. Northland Giants will challenge in March.
February Award Winners
Kiwi Hitter of the Month: Rhys Macleod (Canterbury) .366 BA with 7 home runs, 18 RBIs, and 23 runs.
Kiwi Pitcher of the Month: Liu-Chun Tze (Bay of Plenty) 4-0 record. 35.1 innings pitched with 26 strikeouts and a 2.04 ERA.
Kiwi Rookie of the Month: Rex Atteridge (Canterbury) .343 BA with 7 doubles, 4 home runs, 21 RBIs and 13 runs.
Kangaroo Hitter of the Month: Seb Buckby (Bendigo) .389 BA with 6 home runs, 24 RBIs, and 20 runs.
Kangaroo Pitcher of the Month: Seb Hanscombe (Geelong) 4-0 record. 32.1 innings pitched with 35 strikeouts and a 1.67 ERA.
Kangaroo Rookie of the Month: Seb Gllorn (Melbourne) .364 BA with 3 home runs, 14 RBIs, and 16 runs.
The Tasmania Tigers have opened up a big lead in Australia and the Melbourne Sting have jumped into the playoffs on the back of a 18-6 record over February. The defending champions have slipped to 8th spot in Australia.
In New Zealand, there's a three-way tie for first! Otago, Taranaki, and Auckland are all on a 66-51 record and have a lot more teams breathing down their necks. Exciting times in New Zealand!