Andrew Kirkpatrick
The Aussie Steelers have won the 2014 International Softball Federation Oceania Qualifier and booked a place at the 14th Men’s Softball World Championships in Saskatoon, Canada, by defeating the reigning world champion New Zealand Black Sox on Sunday 14 December 2014 in Auckland.
In a tightly contested final in wet conditions, world class pitchers Andrew Kirkpatrick and Adam Folkard shut out the powerful Black Sox to secure a 1-0 victory. Kirkpatrick started on the mound, scored the only run the Steelers would need, and was named the Qualifier MVP. While Folkard came on in relief to complete the shut out. Steelers’ Coach, Laing Harrow, highlighted the efforts of Nick Norton during the final, whose glove work behind the plate in trying conditions was exceptional.
The results of the three team event mean Samoa miss out and will not attend the World Championship, while world number three, Australia, and number one, New Zealand, will again be present to compete for the ultimate podium finish, a gold medal.
The trip across the Tasman was also an opportunity for five rookies to test their skills and the report card from the coach was full of positives. The debutants were given an opportunity to test themselves against the best in the world and in the words of the coach, “they stepped up and showed us they are willing to dig in hardâ€. It was a significant opportunity for rookie pitchers Joel Goodall and Marshall Kronk to impress with the World Championship taking place in June-July 2015. Other first-timers, Ryan Tranter, Ryan Sinclair and Peter Wards also made the most of their opportunities to impress.
Beating the number one ranked Black Sox in the final will give the Steelers a distinct psychological boost leading into the World Championship in Saskatoon. The future looks bright for the Steelers as there is now plenty of competition at all positions to make the team.
The full results of the two round tournament:
Day 1, 13 December 2014
|
Australia |
7 |
dftd |
Samoa |
0 (6 innings) |
|
New Zealand |
4 |
dftd |
Samoa |
1 |
|
New Zealand |
6 |
dftd |
Australia |
0 |
Â
Day 2, 14 December 2014
|
New Zealand |
9 |
dftd |
Australia |
5 |
|
Australia |
7 |
dftd |
Samoa |
0 (5 innings) |
|
New Zealand |
11 |
dftd |
Samoa |
4 (6 innings) |
Â
Final, 14 December 2014
|
Australia |
1 |
dftd |
New Zealand |
0 |
