Softball: Samoan Kohlhase scores in battle of coaching brothers

Black Sox coach Eddie Kohlhase quietly admits he was proud of his little brother on Saturday, even though Chris Kohlhase had just coached Samoa to an upset win over his own world-champion side.

After a miserable start to the Pacific Series in Rotorua - they lost their opening three games - Samoa turned their fortunes around and by the end of the double round-robin had secured wins over the All Stars, Australia, Japan and the Black Sox.

However, their luck ran out in the semifinal against Japan, in which they managed just two hits and lost 4-0.

Despite their lacklustre semifinal performance, the Samoans would have taken plenty of positives away from the tournament.

None more so than their 2-1 win over the Black Sox on Saturday night.

"We had a few glances at each other across the diamond," Chris Kohlhase said when asked what it was like coming up against his older brother.

"Eddie and I have played a bit of ball together but never on opposing teams, so it was odd. You measure against the best and they are the best."

With last year's world championships in Christchurch their first taste of international competition, the Samoans have made sure their arrival on the international scene hasn't gone unnoticed.

They finished a creditable fifth-equal with Japan at the world championship and have now backed that up with a third placing in the weekend's series.

"All players are New Zealand-based so we have got a lot of work to do in Samoa," said Kohlhase. "Softball was really strong 10 to 15 years ago so we are just plugging away at developing more players."

With the support of the Government, the community and sponsors, Kohlhase said Samoa had a five-year plan to keep themselves on the international stage.

"Our Government is very supportive of softball ... It is a sport that Samoans play very well."

However, there will always be the battle with brother Eddie as to who gets his hands on which players.

With a three-year stand-down period for players wishing to swap international teams, players have to choose their allegiance wisely.

"There are six Samoans in the Black Sox side and we'd love to have those guys," Chris Kohlhase said. "We'll always be competing with the Black Sox ... but that is the way it is.

"Our main objective is to work on this team, bring them up to the standard so we can play finals softball and that is what it is all about."