Hokianga fires up Kiwis | Hawkes Bay Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Hawkes Bay

Hawke's Bay softball pitcher Rita Hokianga was an inspirational figure as New Zealand opened their campaign with a 7-4 win against China at the Junior Women's World Series in Cape Town today.

Junior White Sox captain Hokianga pitched every inning in the match which required two tie-breaker innings and took eight strikeouts while conceding five hits. The Hukarere College product who will start a scholarship in the US next month also took a vital out in the first tie-breaker inning for the ninth seeded Kiwis.

The score was 1-all after the regulation seven innings. NZ went ahead 2-1 in the top of the eighth.

In the bottom of the eighth the Chinese tied it up 2-all and loaded bases with one down. Hokianga took the next out when playing home after scooping a ground ball and Melbourne-based catcher Jessica Hollet turned it into a double play to end the inning.

The Junior White Sox bats exploded in the ninth inning when five runs were scored. NZ bats exploded in the 9th innings to score 5 runs. A triple by Auckland outfielder Kingsley Avery scored tie breaker runner Hollet.

Auckland's Katarina Hiku hit in Avery, US-based infielder Ellie Cooper hit Hiku in, Hutt Valley innfielder Kuraroa Ratu-James hit Cooper in and Ratu-James scored on an error from the Chinese. NZ conceded two runs in the bottom of the ninth but took the three outs required to win the game.

The Junior White Sox collected 12 hits off the Chinese pitching staff and left 11 runners on base.

"This result is seen as a major upset," Hawke's Bay's Kevin Gettins, the Junior White Sox assistant coach said.

Gettins is one of three Hawke's Bay softball personalities on the Junior White Sox management team. Former Black Sox scorer Keith Dare is scorer and the Bay's Softball NZ board member Mike Bills is head of delegation at the tournament which ends on December 18.

The Junior White Sox next outing is against the 16th seeded Czech Republic in the morning.