Injury-hit White Sox trounced by Australia

The White Sox were soundly beaten in three softball test matches against Australia with coach Dean Rice saying his squad was down to "the walking wounded".

Australia won the first test in Brisbane 7-2 on Saturday and backed up yesterday with a 14-0 trouncing before a 5-0 victory.

Rice said the White Sox were competitive in Saturday's encounter and "should have scored a couple more runs" but were hit hard in the second test when they lost their three most senior players.

No3 hitter Kiri Shaw dislocated her arm throwing a ball, No4 batter Char Pouaka was stricken with sciatica and No5 hitter Kalala Gabriel fainted in the dugout in the searing Queensland heat.

Rice said losing the trio, all multiple world championship representatives, had been a blow. "Their hitting had been outstanding [in the Gilley's Shield interstate warmup tournament]."

The White Sox won two of their six Gilley's Shield games in Brisbane and narrowly lost a couple after outbatting their opposition. "There was a lot of favourable comments from the other teams that they could see some improvement in our game," Rice said. "It just takes us time to adjust to the level because it's a much higher standard than we play here back home."

The step up to international softball "after a pretty tough week" had proved daunting for his less experienced players, he said. "There were a lot of nerves, but there were still some positives."

He said Shaw, who was the White Sox's top batter over the three Gilley's Shield rounds, had slugged a lot of two-base hits and the return of Pouaka, "who was batting .600 [averaging six hits of every 10 at-bats] till Saturday", had significantly bolstered the squad.

The Kiwi pitchers, Megan Farrell, Michal Tangaroa and Courtney Maihi "had their moments", with Maihi, "who hadn't been doing a lot of pitching before the tournament", proving a real find, Rice said.

The White Sox returned home last night and now must decide whether they are available for the women's world championships in Venezuela.

A late change of venue from the United States means the White Sox's individual bill for the tournament could rise from $3000 to up to $8000 if Softball New Zealand cannot attract funding to cover the extra $100,000 cost of travelling to South America.

Rice said the team had to make up their minds by the end of the week and had decided to wait until after the Brisbane tournament before making their decision.

"It's not an ideal situation. Obviously, we would like to go and I think the girls would like to go. But it's a helluva lot of money and we don't want to put the girls under pressure by taking out loans to get there."

- © Fairfax NZ News