Black Sox beaten in World Cup final
WBSC
New Zealand has been beaten in the final of the Men's Softball World Cup in Canada.
The
Black Sox
were beaten 3-0 by Venezuela in the decider in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
The South Americans, who also beat New Zealand earlier in the tournament, opened the scoring in the third innings with a home run to Pedro Flores.
They then added another two runs in the sixth.
New Zealand had three hits but were unable to get any of them home.
New Zealand were chasing an eighth World Cup victory, while it is a first title for Venezuela.
Black Sox head coach Thomas Makea had said their goal this year was to make the podium, after finishing eighth in 2022.
He said this year's success had come down to a
strong connection
among the boys, both on and off the diamond.
The USA beat Japan 10-1 in the play-off for third.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
34 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Winger Caleb Clarke out of All Blacks for two months with ankle injury
All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke faces up to eight weeks on the sidelines after suffering an injury at training in the lead up to the second test against France. Photo: Photosport All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke could be sidelined for up to eight weeks with an ankle injury and stands to miss at least part of the Rugby Championship. Clarke was ruled out of the rest of the France series on the eve of the second match in Wellington on Saturday but All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said he could miss further tests. "He could be probably six to eight (weeks). It is a good ankle injury," Robertson told reporters on Monday. "Shame for him. Really gutted." The All Blacks play their first two Rugby Championship matches against Argentina in Cordoba and Buenos Aires on 16 and 23 August. Clarke was replaced in the starting line-up in Wellington by Emoni Narawi. The All Blacks thrashed the French 43-17 to seal the series and make the third match in Hamilton on Saturday a dead rubber. Clarke was originally named in the second test team as a replacement for the concussed Sevu Reece. The Fiji-born winger is now available for Hamilton after clearing concussion protocols. All Blacks loose forward Tupou Vaa'i scores in the second test win over France. Photo: Photosport Robertson will be without Tupou Vaa'i, though, after the lock-turned-flanker suffered a head knock in the second half in Wellington and later failed a concussion test. Vaa'i, who started in the number six jersey in the first two tests in a rejigged back row, had been in good form, scoring a try in each match. Loose forward Luke Jacobson will be a potential replacement after recovering from injury, while prop Tyrel Lomax was also available after missing the first two tests. With the series sewn up, Robertson has the luxury of giving fringe players a run and mooted picking anyone fit in his 33-man squad who was overlooked for the first tests. That could mean game-time for prop George Bower, hooker Brodie McAlister, halfback Noah Hotham, fullback Ruben Love and veteran midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown. "There's some competition in the team. There's competition all over, which is exactly what we want," he said of the World Cup runners-up. "We want to create depth to get four deep (in each position), as I've mentioned before." - Reuters
RNZ News
3 hours ago
- RNZ News
Paul Gallen calls Sonny Bill Williams a piece of s.... in heated presser
Paul Gallen and Sonny Bill Williams. Photo: Photosport After a decade of verbal jabs , Sonny Bill Williams and Paul Gallen are still not done talking. The pair will finally clash in a boxing ring on Wednesday night but first went head to head on the microphone in Monday's press conference in Sydney. Things started respectfully enough, with both men implying they were over the verbal exchanges, and simply ready to fight. "I am just laser focused, and I know I'll show how limited this guy is. I have not been running, I just haven't been thinking about Paul. I may not be the best boxer but I know I can beat this guy," Williams said. Gallen reciprocated. "What's happened in the past doesn't matter, Wednesday night we will finally settle the score. We're going to fight, that's all that matters." However, it was only a matter of time before the vitriol spilled out. Accusations of drug use, charging small businesses for food reviews, and the war of words was on. Sonny Bill Williams. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi Gallen was referring to Williams and his wife's blog. "You are worth millions, but you go to small businessess but you charge between $2000 and $3000 dollars for food reviews. Your silence to this questions is deafening, you are a scumbag, you walk around like you're helping the community and you go and charge small business thousands of dollars to 'help' them, you're a piece of s...." "Good on you bro, I could not give two flying hams. Brother I want to know did you take performance enhancing drugs?" Williams asked. "I was given them by my club. Everyone knows the story mate!" Gallen responded. "But you accepted the ban?" "The only thing this dope is going to go on about is drugs because he's a stupid prick and he has nothing else to say, he's an idiot!" Gallen escalated things when he brought up Williams' past recreational drug use. "This bloke is an admitted drug user to cope!" Sonny fired back saying "there is a difference between performance enhancing and recreational drugs." Before Gallen interjected. "You didn't use them for recreational reasons, you used them to cope with the stress of the game, that's cheating." Paul Gallen Photo: PHOTOSPORT This one is beyond personal. The much anticipated main event is set for approximately midnight on Wednesday. The card will also feature the return of Kiwi David Nyika, who is coming off the back off his first career loss. He will meet fellow kiwi Nikolas Charalampous. Nyika said it has been a mental challenge coming back to the sport after being brutally finished by Jai Opetaia. "I need to put on an absolute clinic, I need to get back on the wagon. This has not been an easy camp psychologically coming back form a big loss like that I really expected to be a world champion right now, so it's a step sideways but we side step to move forward." His opponent has never been knocked out, and while Nyika said he'd love to be the first, his focus in on winning no matter how it comes. "I'm here to fight and and I know Nik comes to fight. He hasn't been stopped, it would be a big feat for me, but at the end of the day I need to do what's best for me so if we have an eight round war we'll have an eight round war." Charalampous acknowledged he may not present the same threat as Opetaia, but he believes he can trouble Nyika. "I'm not at Jai's level but i'll try, I've got nothing to lose, I'm fighting an Olympian, I don't want to look like an idiot, I want to put on a good show, I'm not here to just fall over." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Midday Report Essentials for Monday 14th July 2025
money sport 22 minutes ago In today's episode, Forestry slash and silt is being blamed for extensive damage in Tasman, carving out a path of destruction in the Motueka Valley; The weather and damage haven't just been isolated to the Nelson/ Tasman area - with Geotechnical engineers assessing a large slip in Auckland's Muriwai; The Black Sox have been pipped at the post to win an eighth Softball World Cup; Funeral directors are calling on councils to curb price rises for burial and cremation fees, ahead of this year's local body elections.
