Official ISF World Championships Website:

Results: Day Eight

South Africa 6, Venezuela 1

Great Britain 9, Hong Kong 0

Australia 12, Netherlands 0 (no hitter)

Samoa 6, Phillipines 0

Japan 1, Czech Republic 0

Canada 5, New Zealand 4

USA 7,  Argentina 0

Results: Day Seven
Philippines 6, Netherlands 1

USA 5, Great Britain 0
Canada 5 South Africa 0
Argentina 9 Hong Kong 0

Japan 7 Botswana 0
New Zealand 11 Venezuela 3
Australia 8 Samoa 0

Results: Day Six
Philippines 9 South Africa 6
Canada 11 Netherlands 1
Great Britain 8   Botswana 0
South Africa 5 Samoa 6
USA 18 Czech Republic 0
Japan 12 Hong Kong 0
Venezuela 0 Australia 8
New Zealand 7 Philippines 0
Czech Rep. 7 Argentina 1

Results: Day Five
Canada 3 Australia 2
Venezuela 3 Netherlands 2
Hong Kong 1 Botswana 8
Japan 1 Argentina 0
Canada 8 Philippines 0
Samoa 7 Venezuela 4
Australia 7 South Africa 2
Botswana 5 Argentina 1
Czech Republic 7 Great Britain 0
New Zealand 18 Netherlands 5
USA 7 Japan 3

Results: Day Four

(Rain outs)

Results: Day Three
USA 7 Hong Kong 0
Netherlands 3 South Africa 4
Czech Republic 1 Botswana 0
Venezuela 8 Philippines 1
New Zealand 9 Australia 2
Canada 1 Samoa 3
Argentina 3 Great Britain 2

Results: Day Two

New Zealand 1, Samoa 0

Japan 9, Great Britain 2
Australia 2, Philippines 1
USA 2, Botswana 0
 

Results: Day One

New Zealand 3, Samoa 1

ISF World Championships - Pool Play Info

* For Playoff Info, click menu button at left *

USA 6-0 in Pool Play, Grabs Top Seed in Pool B, to face New Zealand in first playoff game; Canada vs. Japan in other top playoff matchup

Christchurch, New Zealand - Jan 29 - Feb 8, 2004

(Reports are listed chronologically newest to oldest)

February 5, 2004, 12:30am California time/3:30am in Ontario/February 6, 9:30pm New Zealand time.....Pool Play has concluded.

The USA will enter the playoffs with a 6-0 record, finishing up with a 7-0 win over Argentina in a Pool B matchup. Travis Price (2-0) of Southern California was the winning pitcher, entering the game in the 3rd, in a 0-0 ballgame after Doug Gillis went the first two. The game was scoreless until
the 5th when Team USA put three runs on the board.

Todd Schultz singled, then went to third on a throwing error by the catcher.  Todd Garcia brought Schultz home on an RBI fielder's choice. Steve Schott reached on an error, Garcia to third. Adam La Londe pinch ran for Schott.  Kyle Magnusson singled home Garcia for the second run. Magnusson out at
second, but La Londe scoring.

In the 7th, Team USA hit for the cyle to score four more runs. Chris Delarwelle pinch hit for Garcia, and started things with a single (Garcia re-entering). Joe Morales doubled, Garcia stopping at third. Adam LaLonde tripled home two. One out later, Ross Dey capped the inning with a two run home run.

Doug Middleton came on in the 7th to close out the final frame.

Final score: USA 7, Argentina 0

The United States are now the only unbeaten team at the NZCT men's softball world champs in Christchurch after defending champions New Zealand were beaten by Canada tonight 5-4 infront of a crowd of just under 5000 people.

Both Canada and New Zealand now have a loss in Pool A, meaning Canada will take the top seeding into the play-offs starting Friday. They'll play Japan on Friday, while New Zealand meet the United States.

In the other games tomorrow Australia, who finished third in Pool A will meet Argentina, who finished fourth in Pool B while Samoa, who finished fourth in Pool A will meet the Czech republic, who finished third in Pool
A.

The Americans continues their unbeaten run when they beat Argentina 7-nil tonight to complete pool play.

New Zealand showed their intention not to fire all their shots in tonight's game against Canada by putting part-time pitcher Karl Gollan on the mound. The leftie did a good job of tying down the Canadian line-up, which is dominated by left handed hitters, for much of the game, and until the 7th
looked like he had done enough to win the game.

Canada made a good start, scoring a run in the top of the second after Dean Holoien was walked, and adding another in the 3rd through a home run by Bob Court. New Zealand hit back in the 4th when Mark Sorenson hit safely and was batted in by Thomas Makea to make it 2-1. Then the Kiwis hit the front in the 5th when they exposed a few cracks in the Canadian field.

Patrick Shannon hit to third base, but was gifted second and third when the firstbaseman failed to glove what looked like a reasonable throw. Then pinch hitter Taifau Matai hit to leftfield to score the run and tie the game up. Top of the order Clayton Willocks was next and he put down a bunt. The fielded ball hit him in the back and that allowed Nathan Nukunuku, back in after the pinch hit, to score. Willocks followed on a fielders choice on Stacey McLean, giving New Zealand a 4-2 lead, which they held going into the top of the 7th.

Canada made the best possible start with Holoien getting on with a hit to centrefield and Terry Challis joined him on base with a similar hit. Then Rob Gay came in for a pinch hit and smacked a riseball from Gollan way back into the crowd to win the game.

Earlier today Australia confirmed their third placing in Pool A with a
12-nil win over the Netherlands. Samoa won a sudden-death match against the Philippines 6-nil to clinch fourth place and put the Asians out of the tournament.

South Africa finished off their campaign with a 6-1 win over Venezuela while Great Britain finished on a high note beating Hong Kong 9-nil.

Results:

Venezuela 1 South Africa 6
Hong Kong 0 Great Britain 9
Australia 12 Netherlands 0
Samoa 6 Philippines 0
Japan 1 Czech Republic
New Zealand 4 Canada 5
USA 7 Argentina 0

(Information courtesy of Brian McCall)

 

With the win, the U.S. secured the top spot in Pool B with one game remaining versus Argentina. The U.S. will play Argentina at 12 a.m. CST on Wednesday, February 4.

The U.S. is the No. 3 seed at the XI ISF Men's World Championship and looks to capture its first World title since 1988. The U.S. is paired with Japan, Czech Republic, Argentina, Botswana, Great Britain and Hong Kong in Pool B. The gold medal game of the championship is scheduled for Saturday, February 7 at 9 p.m. EST.
 

New Zealand lead pool A on 10 points from Canada on 8, and Samoa and Australia on 6. The Americans lead pool B on 8 points. Earlier Great Britain and the Philippines both scored their first wins of the tournament.

In Pool B, Great Britain beat Botswana 8-nil while in Pool A, the Philippines had to survive a late comeback from South Africa to take their game 9-6.

Great Britain built their lead slowly against Botswana, scoring two runs in their first turn at bat, then another in the 4th innings and one in the 5th,, before finishing with a flurry in the 7th with a four run spree.

Pat Walsh picked up three hits and got on base with an error on his 4th turn at bat, while Latham Tawhai and Rik Morgan both had two hits. Steve Jackson pitched all 7 innings for 5 hits and 10 strikeouts.

In Pool A, the Philippines jumped out to an early 6-1 lead on the back of a five-run spree in the bottom of the third innings against South Africa. Orlando Binarao, Manalito Binarao, Isidro Abello and Melvin Villegas all recorded safe hits, and they were assisted by two errors in the South African infield.

But South Africa came back with four runs in the top of the 5th to reduce the Philippines lead to just one run, Gary Jocobs, Greg Barrett and  Taria Moosa all hitting safely, but again assisted by two walks and a hit pitch.  South Africa tied the game up in the top of the 6th when Gareth Scott hit to leftfield and was batted in by John Potts. But the Philippines sealed the win in the bottom of the 6th when they scored three runs with the help of hits by Jasper Cabrera and Manalito Binarao, two walks and an infield error.

Australia kept their play-of hopes alive with an 8-nil win over Venezuela while Japan stayed on track for the play-offs with a 12-nil win over Hong Kong and Canada beat the Netherlands 11-1.

Results day six:
Philippines 9 South Africa 6
Canada 11 Netherlands 1
Great Britain 8   Botswana 0
South Africa 5 Samoa 6
USA 19 Czech Republic 0
Japan 12 Hong Kong 0
Venezuela 0 Australia 8
New Zealand 7 Philippines 0
Czech Rep. 7 Argentina 1

 

South Africa 6 Philippines 9
Canada 11 Netherlands 1
Great Britain 8 Botswana 0

           (courtesy of Media Manager, Andrea Blackshaw)

[Christchurch, New Zealand - 1/31/04] - Samoa has scored a stunning upset at the NZCT Men's Softball World Championships in Christchurch tonight, beating Canada 3-1.

The Samoans are ranked 15th in this their first world championship, and lost their previous two games here - to New Zealand 3-1 and to the Netherlands 10-8. But tonight they were all class as they claimed one of the biggest scalps in the softball world, the Canadians ranked fourth in the world and second behind New Zealand in Pool B here.

The win came on the back of a great pitching performance by Aucklander Heinie Shannon who gave up 3 hits and took 9 strikeouts from the 25 batters he faced. Samoa scored their first run in the top of the first innings when Aaron Neemia got on base on a fielders choice and was batted in by Gene
Robinson. Canada tied the game up in the third innings when Sean O'Brien hit a single shot home run.

Samoa went ahead again in the 5th when Tony Niu made base on a fielders choice and came home when Kurt Allen smacked the ball over the centrefield fence.

For Canada Dean Holoien started on the mound and gave up five hits to the 19 batters he faced. He was replaced in the 5th after the home run, Darren Zack coming in in relief and facing the last nine batters for one hit.  Samoan coach Mike Forsyth said the team were disappointed to lose to the Netherlands yesterday, and their focus had possibly been too much on making the top four and not taking it a game at a time. He says a change in attitude today was the key to the win.

The result will make things interesting in Pool A where the top four seeds New Zealand, Canada, Venezuela and South Africa are facing a strong threat from both Samoa and Australia. It will make tomorrow's game between Canada and Australia an even more interesting one.

Earlier, New Zealand scored an emotional win over Australia. The Black Sox beat the Aussie Steelers by the surprisingly big scoreline of 9-2, and they dedicated their win to Cameron Duncan, a young softballer and film maker who tragically lost a battle with cancer last year. After the game the Black Sox stayed on at the park to watch a screening of the short film Cameron Duncan made shortly before his death. The film, called Strikezone, is about a softball team that wins a championship for its dying coach, the role of the coach played by Cameron himself. A stand at Smokefree Ballpark has also been named after the teenager, who was made an honorary member of the Black Sox last year.

 

The New Zealanders wrapped up their win inside five innings, with the 7 run mercy rule coming into play. And while the Aussies lost, they did achieve one of their goals, which was not exposing their number one pitcher, 19 year old Andrew Kirkpatrick to the New Zealanders.The Black Sox were on fire from the very first pitch, scoring five runs in their first turn at bat and four in their second. The stand-outs were Dion Nukunuku and Mark Sorenson with two hits and Thomas Makea with a home run.

Australia scored two runs of their own in the top of the third innings, Justin Golds getting on base on a fielders choice and batted in by Mike Harrow. Harrow's hit went up the middle and the ball went under the glove of the diving centrefielder, allowing Harrow an error-assisted in the park home run.

In other Pool A action, South Africa held off a strong fightback from the Netherlands to score a 4-3 win. The South Africans led 4-1 after five innings, but the Netherlands came back through a home run by Sendly Reina in the 6th and a run scored by Tim Verbrugger in the 7th to close the gap. However, South African pitcher Grant Oliver was able to take the last three outs at the plate to extinguish the danger and see his team to a win.

Oliver gave up 8 hits in all, in contrast to four given by two pitchers used by the Netherlands. It was South Africa's first win of the tournament and leaves the Netherlands also with a one win/one loss record.

In Pool B, the United States scored their second win of the tournament, over Hong Kong 7-nil. Michael White pitched the first 4 innings without giving up a hit, and Travis Price who pitched the last innings gave up just one.

Don Garvey and Adam LaLonde both hit home runs for the Americans, with their run count assisted by two errors and a hit pitch. Hong Kong's only hit came from the bat of Lam Hoi Chung.  In other Pool B action, the Czech Republic beat Botswana 1-nil and Venezuela beat the Philippines 8-1.

Day three of the tournament also saw three recent New Zealand inductees to the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame honoured at Smokefree Ballpark. Wellington's Colin Ward, Canterbury's Cheryl Kemp and Hutt Valley's Merrell Ferguson were all awarded a replica of the plaque that will hang in their honour at the Hall of Fame in Plant City, Florida. The presentations were made by ISF President Don Porter.

Ward was recognised for his contribution as a player and coach, Fergusson for her work as an official and a manager and Kemp for her contribution as a player, coach and administrator. Kemp is one of the main organisers of the world championship in Christchurch.

[Christchurch, New Zealand - 1/30/04] - Team USA notched its second win of the ISF World Championships, with a 7-0 win over Hong Kong, a 1 hitter by veteran Michael White. Team USA returns to the field Sunday at 7pm (4pm Saturday California time) against Japan, which trounced Great Britain in its opener, 9-2.

Meanwhile the first big upset of the tournament occurred today, with Samoa knocking off Canada, which entered the tournament as one of the favorites, while Samoa was ranked 15th. Samoa has been the surprise of the tournament thus far, losing only 3-1 to host New Zealand in the very first game of the tournament, and nearly knocking off the Netherlands, falling 10-8 after taking an 8-7 lead into the 7th inning of that game.

We provide the following report courtesy of Media Manager Andrea Blackshaw:

Day Three, January 31

Samoa have pulled off a stunning upset at the NZCT Men's Softball World Championships in Christchurch tonight.

The Samoans, ranked 15th at the championship, have claimed one of the biggest scalps in world softball, beating Canada 3-1 at Smokefree Ballpark.

The win came on the back of a great pitching display by Aucklander Heinie Shannon and with the help of a home run by Kurt Allen. Canada are ranked fourth in the world and second in Pool A at this championship, so the result will throw a cat among the pigeons as the teams battle for play-off
spots.

[Christchurch, New Zealand-1/29/04] - Team USA won their first game in the ISF World Championships, 2-0 over Botswana, a 1-hitter by Doug Gillis, Friday afternoon in New Zealand.  Team USA had only 4 hits, and stranded 5 in a game that proved to be much closer than anticipated.  Team USA is projected to be in the final four, while Botswanna was a 300-1 longshot (see odds below).  Team USA scored one in the 4th and another in the 7th for the win.

 

In other first round games, New Zealand topped Samoa 1-0, despite the loss of ace Marty Grant to a calf injury suffered during warm ups.    Japan, another of the favorites in the tournament routed Great Britain 8-1, with the Brits committing seven (7) errors.  Australia outhit the Phillipines 8 to 1, but only edged them in the final score,  2-1.

 

Team USA will return to action on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. (Friday, 1:30pm California time) to face Hong Kong.  Hong Kong was added to the field of teams when Mexico and Chinese Taipei dropped out.

Results: Day Two:
New Zealand 1     Samoa 0

 

Results: Day Two:
Japan 9               Great Britain 2
Australia 2           Philippines 1
USA 2                  Botswana 0

For those of you in California who are following the ISF World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand, Jan 29-Feb 8, a few notes:

Christchurch, New Zealand is almost a full day ahead of California (21 hours ahead). Following the schedule posted at the ISF website is a bit like "Back to the Future".

Friday's 1pm opener for Team USA vs. Botswana will actually be taking place at 4pm Thursday California time.

Saturday's 10:30 a.m. game vs. Hong Kong will actually take place at 1:30pm Friday afternoon, California time.

Sunday's 7:00 p.m. game vs. Japan will actually be at 10:00 p.m. Saturday night, California time.

Confused? Well, if so, see the online timezone clock that we set to show you the time in Christchurch, as well as Los Angeles:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/custom.html?cities=103,137,75,64,250,136,248,951

If you clicked the link above, you discovered that it is already tomorrow in New Zealand. Uh, I mean, it's already tomorrow over there today. Well, you get the idea
 

From Tom Taylor come the odds for the ISF World Championships taken from the NZ Tabs Sports Betting website based on a NZ $1.00 bet.
https://www.ebetonline.co.nz

(Editor's Note: Wonder if these lines were posted before or after the calf injury to Marty Grant?)

1 $2.00 New Zealand
2 $3.75 Japan
3 $5.00 USA
4 $6.50 Canada
5 $8.00 Australia
6 $30.00 Great Britain
7 $50.00 Samoa
8 $80.00 Czech Republic
9 $60.00 Venezuela
10 $150.00 Argentina
11 $150.00 South Africa
12 $300.00 Phillipines
13 $300.00 Netherlands
14 $300.00 Botswana
15 $500.00 Hong Kong