Black Sox secure Super Round spot at Men's Softball World Cup
WBSC
The
New Zealand Black Sox
have secured a spot among the world's top four after a strong start to their campaign at the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup.
After back-to-back wins over host nation Canada and world number one Argentina, the side fell 7-2 to Venezuela in their final pool game. But the early momentum was enough to send them through to the next stage of the tournament.
The 2025 Men's Softball World Cup features eight teams, split into two groups.
Group A: New Zealand, Argentina, Canada and Venezuela
Group B: Australia, Japan, USA and the Dominican Republic
Following the opening round, the top two teams from each group advance to the Super Round, where they play crossover matches to determine who goes through to the medal games.
The top two finishers in the Super Round will face off for the world title, while third and fourth will compete for bronze.
The Black Sox's group proved particularly tight, with all four teams picking up one win and one loss in the early stages.
Each side beat a different opponent, making for a closely contested race to the top two spots
WBSC rules state if teams are tied on points, placement is determined first by head-to-head results, and then by Team Quality Balance (TQB) - a formula that considers the number of runs scored and allowed per inning.
Final Group A standings:
Venezuela (2 wins, 1 loss)
New Zealand (2 wins, 1 loss)
Argentina (1 win, 2 losses)
Canada (1 win, 2 losses)
New Zealand earned second place in the group behind Venezuela, having beaten both Argentina and Canada in their earlier matches. Despite the loss to Venezuela, those earlier victories secured their place in the Super Round.
Photo:
WBSC
The Black Sox opened with a strong win over host team Canada, followed by a statement victory against Argentina.
Their loss to Venezuela came despite a power-packed effort from designated player Thomas Enoka, who got the side on the board with a home run in the fourth inning. Team captain Cole Evans added a second bomb in the sixth.
Pita Rona, son of Black Sox legend Brad Rona, opened on the mound, followed by Canterbury pitcher Ben Watts before twenty-one-year-old Liam Potts closed out the game with a clean seventh inning.
Despite those efforts, Venezuela capitalised on fielding errors and strong hitting to hand the New Zealand side its first defeat of the competition.
Photo:
WBSC
Head coach Thomas Makea said post-match the bounce of the ball simply didn't go their way against Venezuela.
"Pimentel [Venezuela's starting pitcher] was tough on the mound. He got ahead early, and we just couldn't chase him down in the end," he said.
However, despite this, the boys have reached their target of making top four, bringing them closer to their goal of hitting the podium.
"We've made it through as one of the top two in our pool. Big congratulations to the boys - this was one of our goals at the start of the tour, and we've achieved it."
Makea said they will celebrate this moment.
"The boys deserve it, and we'll do that in our own way."
Photo:
WBSC
Captain Cole Evans said it wasn't the result they wanted to end their group play - especially after strong early performances - but "that's softball."
"It's tournament ball, and every team here is quality...We gave ourselves some chances, but a few errors let the game get away on us a bit."
He said he was proud of the boys for reaching the Super Round.
"That was our main goal, to make the weekend. We've done that, and now we can really have a crack. There'll be some quality sides coming through, but we'll prepare well and come out ready."
The Super Round kicks off Saturday (NZT), with the top two teams moving on to the gold medal game. The third and fourth-placed sides will play for bronze.
Meeting the boys in the Super Round from group B will be Japan and USA.
In a crucial match to keep their title hopes alive, the Black Sox will face last World Cup Bronze medalists, USA, Saturday at 8.30am NZT.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- RNZ News
NPC Rugby live updates: Auckland v Waikato
Aaron Cruden celebrates his try during the Bunnings NPC Round 4 match between Waikato and Auckland. Photo: Aaron Gillions / Photosport The National Provincial Championship season kicks off tonight in Auckland, with Waikato coming up State Highway One for a date at Eden Park. The Mooloos have got a couple of old, familiar faces in the lineup in the form of Aaron Cruden and Lima Sopoaga, kick-off is at 7:10pm.
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
Greyhound Racing NZ offers 25 percent share in a racing greyhound as competition prize
Greyhound NZ is offering part shares in a racing dog as a prize in a competition. File picture. Photo: 123rf A desperate attempt to salvage a dying industry is how one animal welfare group is describing a competition where a racing greyhound is the prize. Greyhound Racing NZ has been offering a 25 percent share in a racing dog as a prize in a competition where entrants have to say why they oppose a ban on the sport . It comes as the government is outlawing greyhound racing at the end of July next year due to animal welfare issues. It said dog deaths and injury rates had remained consistently high. Greyhound Racing NZ has applied for a judicial review of the government decision to outlaw the industry. It has been promoting a competition where people go into a draw to win shares in a greyhound racer and any prize money it collects. GRNZ board member and greyhound trainer Craig Roberts told Checkpoint they had had over 350 entries to the competition. "We're trying to get out to the general public and just see, get some interest from people that don't really know a lot about greyhound racing." While entrants have to say why they oppose a ban on the sport, Roberts said entries were open to anybody. He said he saw no issues with offering up shares of a dog as a prize. "Greyhound racing is very transparent and very open to the public. So of course I think it's a great idea to give a member of the public the opportunity to share the excitement of owning a share in a greyhound." Roberts said the group would not put up with any "anti-greyhound people" who entered the competition, adding that even if the 25 percent share owner asked for the dog to stop racing, that would not be possible. "[They are just] trying to infiltrate just to disrupt our day-to-day operations of being greyhound participants." The dog on offer belongs to Roberts' son, and he said she was doing "exceptionally well', winning three races in a row. Fifteen dogs have died in the most recent racing season, and hundreds of injuries were reported. Roberts said bar the 15 deaths, the other hundreds of dogs had recovered and were living happy lives. "We don't race our greyhounds to purposely get them injured, obviously as people don't drive a car to purposely have a crash." Animal welfare groups SAFE and SPCA have both raised concerns about the competition. SPCA chief scientific officer Dr Arnja Dale told Checkpoint that the SPCA was aware of the competition and had serious concerns about the ethics of offering a racing greyhound as a 'prize'. "Greyhounds are sentient beings, not commodities to be given away in a competition. Greyhound racing is inherently dangerous. "The last racing season has seen 15 dogs [which] have died or been euthanised as a result of injuries sustained on racetracks." The chief executive of animal welfare group SAFE, Debra Ashton, agreed calling the move a desperate approach to salvage a dying industry whose day has come. "Tactics such as offering the chance to own a quarter share in a dog by writing a submission confirm that this industry has always placed a higher value on using dogs as commodities rather than on animal welfare. "Greyhound Racing New Zealand's focus should now be on doing the right thing by the rest of the dogs who are still being used by winding down races and supporting the rehoming of these dogs." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Greyhound racing group offering shares of dog as prize
A desperate attempt to salvage a dying industry is how one animal welfare group has described a competition where a racing greyhound is the prize. Another said it raises serious ethical issues. Greyhound NZ has been offering part shares in a racing dog as a prize in a competition where entrants have to say why they oppose a ban on the sport. Both Safe and the SPCA have raised concerns about the competition. GRNZ board member and Greyhound trainer Craig Roberts spoke to Lisa Owen. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
