Softball: Black Sox give Dutch hammering

By JULIE ASH

The Netherlands fell victim to the Black Sox' powerful batting line-up in Christchurch last night, surrendering to the defending champions 18-5 in the fifth inning.

The Dutch changed pitchers four times in an attempt to stop the Black Sox, who rested several of their top-line players.

Mark Sorenson was ruled out late with a slight back strain.

Both sides were scoreless after the first inning, but it was the Black Sox who unleashed in the second.

Aucklander Donny Hale got the ball rolling with a huge home run on his first swing.

Thomas Makea and Bevan Martin secured hits, then Brad Rona stepped up to the mark and sent one over the fence, giving New Zealand a 4-0 lead.

Following Roman Gabriel's hit to shallow left-field, the Netherlands made their first pitching change, replacing Humphrey Martes with experienced North American pitcher Paul Koert.

But it was to little avail as New Zealand extended their lead to 6-0.

The Netherlands failed to get on the board in their second inning, their one and only chance blocked by some impressive New Zealand fielding.

However, their luck changed in the bottom of the third and they got themselves back in the game and went into the fourth inning trailing the Black Sox by just 6-5.

Jarrad Martin was replaced on the mound by Michael Gaiger, who was brought on to pitch for the first time at the championships.

New Zealand regained their dominance in the fourth inning and went out to a 13-5 lead with runs to Gabriel, Willocks, Jarrad Martin, Hale, Thomas Makea, Patrick Shannon and Brad Rona.

The Netherlands failed to close the gap in their turn at bat and despite changing to their fourth pitcher in the fifth inning could not prevent the Black Sox from securing another five runs and the decisive win.

Black Sox coach Don Tricker said the match allowed him to work new players into the line-up.

"We wanted to get all of our pitchers going. In the next few days we want to get Karl Gollan on the mound as well so that we have got all our guys working.

"We are trying to work everyone into the line-up so that they get plenty of opportunities to have swings and bats, because at the back end of the tournament we are going to need everyone."

Now halfway through the round-robin and unbeaten in four games, Tricker is happy with where his side are at.

"We are doing what we should be doing, apart from giving up the runs.

"One of the things we pride ourselves on is being able to contain opposition sides - giving up five runs in an innings very rarely happens and that is something that we don't want to see happen again."

The only concern from the match was the fitness of Bevan Martin, who strained his knee after colliding with a Netherlands players.

In other matches, Samoa continued their fight towards a playoff spot with a 7-4 win over Venezuela.

After their opening loss to the Black Sox followed by a disappointing performance against the Netherlands, Samoa turned their tournament around when they upset the highly fancied Canadian side on Saturday.

Now with a second win under their belt, Samoa are back into contention for a top-eight playoff spot in their first appearance at a world championship event.

"After the Canadian game I think people are a lot more aware of us," Samoa captain Jeremy Stanley said.

"That win was really the turning point, especially after the loss against the Netherlands the day before.

"To stay in the top four we needed to knock out one of the top four teams and we targeted Venezuela and Canada ... and we have managed to get them both."

The Samoans could not have wished for a better start in their match against Venezuela, securing two runs in the first inning.

Event organiser Cheryl Kemp said they hoped to have the tournament back on schedule by tomorrow morning, weather permitting.

New Zealand face the Philippines today at 5pm.

Tournament draw and results

Tournament statistics

Squad lists