FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16th, 2007
New Zealand finishes Series strong in Kitchener
(Kitchener, ON) – The third and final doubleheader between Canada and New Zealand was one to forget for the Canadians. New Zealand rolled to a 10-0 win through 5 innings in the first game, and swept the doubleheader with a 5-1 win in the second game, which was much closer than the score indicates.
In the first game, New Zealand once again relied on very strong pitching as starting pitcher Jeremy Manley fired a no-hitter through five innings striking out eight and walking only one along the way. In fact, Manley faced the minimum amount of 15 Canadian hitters, as the only batter he walked was retired on a double play.
New Zealand’s bats added to Canada’s woes, as they started the game with a six run first inning off starter Rob O’Brien. Thomas Makea led off with a single, followed immediately by a triple by Nathan Nukunuku. Brad Rona later delivered a two RBI single, and scored one batter later after Rhys Casley hit a three-run homerun to chase O’Brien from the game.
Canada held the Black Sox for a few innings before New Zealand exploded for four more runs in the top of the fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run homerun by Donny Hale and an RBI double by Makea.
Travis Wilson and Pat Shannon also added hits for New Zealand.
In the second game of the twin bill, Canada looked much more alive in the early going, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a leadoff homerun by Ryan Wolfe. However, it did not take long for New Zealand to answer, as Donny Hale hit a leadoff homerun of his own in the top of the second inning. Canada loaded the bases with one out in their half of the third inning, but failed to score a run. New Zealand took a 2-1 lead in the fourth after Donny Hale hit an RBI double to put the Kiwis on top, and Nathan Nukunuku hit a solo homerun to lead off the fifth to push the score to 3-1.
Canada loaded the basses again with one out in their half of the fifth, only to be denied a run yet again. New Zealand added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to seal the win, by a final score of 5-1.
After throwing a no-hitter in the first game, New Zealand kept Manley on the mound and he pitched the complete game win in the second game as well, striking out 10 Canadian batters while scattering eight hits and allowing only one walk. He certainly raised his intensity at key moments as he stranded eight runners on the base paths.
Ryan Wolfe, Jody Eidt, Stephen Mullaley and Kevin Schellenberg each had two hits for Canada, all singles with the exception of Wolfe’s homerun.
“We were beat by a better team” stated Mark Smith. “New Zealand clearly had a better work ethic, team spirit and played well as a team. They stepped up their game today, and it was certainly not a lack of effort on our part.”
“We came into this Series with expectations to split these games. We did not have all the players we would have wanted to show up, but we were able to bring in a few younger players to take a longer look at them and give them experience against a good team. We are the measuring stick for most countries, but in this Series we had the opportunity to measure ourselves with the best team in the World, which should help us prepare for the 2009 World Championships. This shows that there is a lot of work to be done, but we are confident that we will get there.”
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For more information, please contact:
Gilles LeBlanc
Sport/Recreation Management Intern
MBA in Sport and Recreation Management
University of New Brunswick
Coordinator, Marketing and Communications
Softball Canada
gleblanc@softball.ca
(613) 523-3386 ext 3105
