Northampton, Denison play out tense draw in Batavia Bowling League women’s pennants

Northampton and Denison played a tense thriller in the Batavia Bowling League women’s pennants last Thursday, with the sides unable to be separated and the match ending in the season’s first draw.

The match was so close that there was only one shot in it in both rinks, with Seagulls ace Marie Eaton and Ewes gun Pauline Forrester just getting their sides over the line.

The thrilling result echoed the opening day of the season, where the two sides played out another tight game with Northampton winning by a single shot on that occasion.

With four rounds to go, the Ewes are now 8 1/2 points clear of third-placed Wonthella Gold with a stranglehold on top position and the double chance semifinal spot.

Denison, who have looked their most likely challengers all season, will need to keep up their form to hang on to second.

Third-placed Wonthella Gold are within one shot of second place after they beat sister side Maroon 3-1, winning by seven shots on aggregate with the rinks shared.

Geraldton Gold beat sister side Blue 3-1 (35-30), a result that all but ends the Blues’ year.

The top four looks set with upsets the only motivation for Geraldton Blue and Wonthella Maroon in the coming weeks.

Second to fourth are separated by just three premiership points and have more to play for.

The second division has three rounds remaining and remarkably, all eight sides have a mathematical chance of finals action.

There are 11 points between top and bottom on the table and with each team able to take 12 points in the remaining rounds, no side is assured of finals yet.

Liz Boyle from Geraldton Blue leads the standings on the second-division players’ table, with nine wins from 11 matches.

The Denison Blue duo of Pat Robbins and Wendy Driscoll have returned eight wins and a draw.