Moline, IL - Black Sox players win major North American softball tournament
Former Black Sox star Brad Rona hammered a home run in a major North American championship grand final.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE by Tony Smith
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Former Black Sox star Brad Rona blasted a home run to help the Toronto Gators win the International Softball Congress title in the United States.
Current Black Sox internationals Ben Enoka, Wayne Laulu and Thomas Enoka were also in the Gators squad along with former Black Sox veteran Thomas Makea and Junior Black Sox captain Dante Matakatea.
Rona hammered his third home run of the tournament in the fifth inning to also drive in Laulu as Toronto beat fellow Canadian club Hill United Chiefs 6-3 in the ISC tournament grand final in Moline, Iowa on Sunday (NZ Time).
Ben Enoka batted four from four in the ISC softball tournament championship decider.
It was the second time in five years that Rona had homered in the championship game. He put the ball out of the park in Ontario club Jarvis Travelers' win over Hill United in the 2012 final.
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Sunday's game was locked at 3-3 until Toronto's Shane Boland, who had struggled at the plate for most of the tournament, slammed a walk-off three-run homer off Hill United's Australian international pitcher Adam Folkard.
Ben Enoka had four hits from four at-bats to end the tournament with a .476 average after 10 hits from 21 attempts. Brother Thomas was not far behind on .467 after seven from 15.
First baseman Rona batted .385 and Laulu .316.
Laulu powered Toronto into the grand final by clouting a solo shot home run off Folkard for a 7-6 victory in the winner's bracket playoff on Saturday.
Toronto Gators' Canadian international pitcher Sean Cleary struck out 13 batters in the grand final and gave up five hits, including home runs by Australian sluggers James Todhunter and Nick Shailes and Canada's Mark Johnson, who led the tournament with 14 RBIs (runs batted in).
