Aust pitcher gives lesson to Black Sox

You could always rely on New Zealand beating Australia at one sport men's softball. Until yesterday.

The trans-Tasman order was upset when a cannonball kid from Canberra called Adam Folkard threw a no-hitter to beat the Black Sox in the world championships final in Saskatoon, Canada.

Australia thrashed New Zealand 5-0 to back up their earlier 7-0 win after Folkard, 22, had held the big-swinging Black Sox batters to a solitary safe hit.

The New Zealanders, who were chasing a record fourth consecutive world championship title, learnt the harsh, time-honoured reality of softball.

World-class pitching will always beat great hitting especially when the batters collectively suffer a horror day at the office. A black-clad lineup, which had hit 24 home runs throughout the tournament, came up flailing at thin air.

Folkard fanned 10 Kiwis, striking out the last five, including multi-medallists in the meat of the batting order, as the Black Sox were too often left looking at the fateful third strike.

Australia led every statistic, collecting seven safe hits, including two by substitute Aaron Cockman, who put the final nail in the Kiwi coffin with a sixth-inning homer. New Zealand also made three fielding errors and a couple of crucial mental mistakes to Australia's none.

This was uncannily like watching the All Blacks succumb in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals. The Black Sox had dominated world softball for so long. But as coach Eddie Kohlhase rather ruefully said: "Everyone had their moments here this week, but unfortunately we didn't have any in [the final].

"We are a lot better side than we showed in that last game ... I thought we had the team to take out the championship."

Kohlhase conceded the Australian Steelers had played a smart, "hustle-bustle game, backed by some excellent pitching by Adam Folkard".

He hailed the Black Sox's courage to come back from the early defeat against Australia and win three sudden-death games to make the final.

He thought the Kiwis "had the momentum" after beating arch-rival Canada 8-5 in yesterday's semifinal after a six-run spree in the fourth inning, led by back-to-back home runs by the old firm of Nathan Nukunuku and captain Jarrad Martin and a two-run kinghit from Donny Hale.

Kohlhase knew New Zealand had to score early in the final. His hopes were high when lead-off Thomas Makea drew a walk and got as far as third base in the top of the first inning.

"If we had scored when we had that opportunity, it might have been different," the coach said.

Skipper Martin agreed. He said the failure to score in the first frame meant "we kept having to play catch-up the whole game ... and we didn't get a start-up".

Australia had not sneaked up on the Black Sox overnight. They had won the last four junior titles and were bronze medallists in Christchurch in 2004. In Folkard and Andrew Kirkpatrick, 24, they now boast the top two pitchers in the world once a New Zealand preserve.

Australia made the Black Sox pay in the second inning when catcher Patrick Shannon made a fateful mistake, throwing behind runner Nick Shailes at second base with two outs. Shailes took off for third base and shortstop Nukunuku's throw hit him on the shoulder and glanced away, allowing the Australian to score.

New Zealand's southpaw starting pitcher Heinie Shannon did a good containing job until the third inning, when Australia combined for two runs off three hits.

- © Fairfax NZ News