1970 Peanut Slab Series: Taranaki Thunder vs Manawatu Vikings
The first ever Peanut Slab pitted two of the top two pitching teams in the league against each other. The two battles between the two aces of the teams: Taranaki's Scott Kennedy and Manawatu's Tyler Grimes were tense low scoring affairs but Grimes coming out top both times 2-1 and 2-0.
But aside from a big Thunder win in Game 3, it was all Vikings all the time as the Thunder proved helpless against the big one-two punch of Grimes and #2 Starter Dylan O'Neill: losing all four games that the pair started over the series. A huge fourth inning in Game 5 just about sealed the deal when the Viking hitters piled on 6 runs in what ultimately ended up as a huge 8-2 win for the side.
Just like that, the Manawatu Vikings became the first champions of Whittaker's Peanut Slab Baseball.
