The Wangaratta Rangers junior under 12 softball side is ripping into the season, but suffered a first-round loss to a strong Wodonga Warriors team. The Warriors came out swinging against the Rangers’ inexperienced team, but the Rangers piled on eight runs in the third innings to bring the game back to a respectable 16-8 scoreline. Player of the game for the Rangers was James Turner who, in his first ever game, did a fantastic job of pitching and showing up with the bat. Other players of note include Toby and Ben Fitzgerald, who performed well with the bat, and Zara Liphuyzen, who was solid behind the plate for the game. The seniors played the Wodonga Gladiators after a first round bye. The Rangers got off to a strong start scoring six runs in the first innings from some patient hitting and good baserunning. The ball then swung to pitcher Kim Flood who got control against the Gladiators early, getting out of the first two innings giving up only two runs. The Rangers' bats were quieter but were still able to put on another four runs with hits to Mei Sato, Katie Maiden and Kim Flood. However, the Gladiators were able to push back in the remaining innings, taking advantage of some loose pitching to put up 14 runs in the last two innings to run out 16-10 winners. The next game for the Rangers will be on Saturday, 1 November against the Sloth Bears starting at 2pm with the juniors starting at 11:30am.
