After their first outing as a team, the Black Sox were left to reflect on lessons (hopefully) learnt during a 1-3 defeat at the hands of an Auckland United All-Star selection.
Tacked on the end of the annual Vic Guth Tournament, the outing was a way for the national team to respect the event’s 50th instalment, as well as squeeze in some much-needed match practice together.
But the scratch combination selected by organisers was always on top of the national side, collecting runs off all three pitchers – Heinie Shannon, Penese Iosefo and Nik Hayes – used over the five innings played.
It could have looked worse on the scoreboard – a fourth run was disallowed, after the base runner failed to tag third on the way home.
But the lessons did not end with the score line. On that same play, Black Sox reserve Nathan Nukunuku slid aggressively into second, taking out short stop Tyson Byrne and clearing the dugouts in the process.
“Nathan paid us the ultimate compliment with his approach,†reflected coach Eddie Kohlhase afterwards. “That’s how teams will play against us at the world championships.
“That was one of the best things we took out of this game – the understanding that we can’t take a backward step.
“In terms of combinations, it was the first time out on the park, we were a little bit rusty, we missed a couple of cut plays and our pitching can only improve.
“My message was you don’t win a world championship on January 28. Our aim is to be ready by March 1.â€
Kohlhase took a fairly conservative approach to the encounter, keeping many of his veterans on the sidelines for most of the game. Donny Hale was unavailable, captain Rhys Casley and fourth pitcher Jeremy Manley – both returning from injury – took no part (although Casley led the charge onto the diamond after Nukunuku’s slide), while Thomas Makea was only used as a pinch hitter at the death.
Fatigue also played a part. All the Black Sox roster, including Casley and Manley, had just completed a full weekend of tournament play, and Shannon and Iosefo had just pitched the final, won 4-1 in extra innings by the latter’s Northcote outfit.
“There were a whole lot of guys who had played seven or eight games, but we told them we had to replicate a world tournament, and we just had to get out there and play,†said Kohlhase. “But it was the same for the other team.
“We have to work on our pitching accuracy, our fielding wasn’t too bad and we haven’t even started working on our running game. There were probably one or two situations where we would have done some things differently, but those are good things to work on.â€
From a wider perspective, the weekend had been a success for individual team members, as Brad Rona led Northcote to victory with a two-run homer and MVP honours for the tournament.
Casley, still battling back to full fitness after shoulder surgery, was able to swing sufficiently to finish as top batter, averaging 0.538.
That pair, plus Tyrone Bartorillo, Daniel Milne and Ben Enoka, were named on the tournament team.
The Black Sox next assemble to contest the Brother Patrick Tournament in Auckland from 8-10 February.
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