@SoftballCanada 3rd in the world, earn bronze !!! 
New Zealand 4th !! #WBSCMensSoftball #WorldChampionship
Prague, CZ - - Black Sox lose bronze medal game at world softball championships
Mark Sorenson's Black Sox team have missed a medal at the world softball championships for the first time since 1980.
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The Black Sox have missed a medal at the world softball championships for the first time since 1980 after losing the third-place playoff game to Canada in Prague.
Canada clinched a come-from-behind 2-1 win on Sunday (Monday morning NZ time) as the Black Sox floundered against flamethrower Patrick Burns' pitching at Svoboda Ballpark.
New Zealand will head home empty-handed for just the third time in the world championships' 53-year history. They were fourth in 1980 at Tacoma, Washington and fifth at Oklahoma City in 1968.
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WBSCÂÂ15ÂÂThe Canadian loss meant an unprecedented fifth defeat in 10 games for the Black Sox - a 50 per cent success ratio.
Two young players, however, could not be faulted.
Wellington rightfielder Reilly Makea, 19, gave the Black Sox a 1-0 lead with a fourth inning home run over the left-centrefield fence.
Shortstop Cole Evans had kept New Zealand in the game with some classy infield plays.
The 21-year-old - already at his third world series - pulled off a slick double play and made a couple of outs, ranging to both his left and right, including one effort where he had to spin to make the throw to Nathan Nukunuku at first base.
Evans, Makea and 22-year-old pitcher Daniel Chapman - rested for the bronze medal game - should form the nucleus of the Black Sox lineup for years to come.
Canada's experience got them home.
Coach John Stuart has a deep hitting lineup and they struck back straight after Makea's home ru.
New Zealand pitcher Josh Pettett walked leadoff batter Mathieu Roy, but recovered to get the next two batters to ground out.
Canada's veteran slugger Stephen Mullalley - who batted in seven runs in a 2015 world championship final win over the Black Sox - crashed a triple to leftfield to score Roy for the tying run.
The Canadians snatched the lead in the bottom of the fifth after Jeff Ellsworth started with a single up the middle.
Pettett - used only sparingly on the mound in Prague - got Ryan Boland and pinch hitter Blake Hunter to fly out, but Ellsworth stole second base and Roy picked his second walk of the game to keep the inning alive.
Pettett got two strikes up on Brad Ekeziel, but the Canadian centrefielder drove a hit to leftfield to score Roy for the go-ahead run.
Sorenson introduced relief pitcher Nik Hayes for the sixth inning with Pettett exiting after taking two strikeouts and conceding four scattered safe hits and three walks.
Hayes did the job by preventing any further scoring by Canada, but the Black Sox batters were unable to get on top of Burns, who was firing the ball in close to 130kmh.
Makea apart, the Black Sox top order failed to spark, leaving tailenders Josh Harbrow (with an infield single) and Joel Evans (a triple to right-centrefield) to collect the only other safe hits.
Burns celebrated Canada's win by fanning the last two Kiwi hitters in the seventh inning, to take his strikeout tally to 12.
AT A GLANCE
World softball championships bronze medal game
Canada 2 New Zealand 1. Hits: Canada 4 (Mathieu Roy, Stephen Mullaley, Brad Ezekiel, Jeff Ellsworth) New Zealand 3 (Reilly Makea, Josh Harbrow, Joel Evans). HR: Makea. 3B: Evans.
Other playoff game results
Fifth Place: United States 5 Venezuela 4.
Seventh Place: Australia 2 Czech Republic 1.Â
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