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Former West Coaster Gareth Cook put the Pike River mine disaster aside momentarily to inspire Canterbury to a crushing win over the New Zealand Black Sox softball team.
Cook said his “aunty’s husband, a couple of schoolmates and a schoolmate’s dad” were among the 29 victims of the tragic explosion in the West Coast mine. He returned home to pay his respects at last Thursday’s memorial service and his Canterbury Red Sox team-mates sported black armbands in the men’s memory for their 15-5 thrashing of the Black Sox at Mainland Foundation Ballpark on Saturday.
The Canterbury softball fraternity were astonished when Cook, a 2009 world championship representative, was omitted from the Black Sox’s training squad – let alone the team for this week’s international tournament in Canberra. Cook may well make Black Sox coach Eddie Kohlhase rue – and review – that decision. The Canterbury co-captain blasted an automatic home run off New Zealand starter Thomas Cameron in his first turn at bat to spark a six-run scoring spree in the second inning.
Two-times world champion Brad Rona slammed a three-run homer in the first inning to give the national team comprised entirely of North Islanders a 3-0 lead.
But it was all Canterbury thereafter. Cook collected three hits from four at-bats, highlighted by his homer and a double. Centrefielder Josh Thompson went four from five, including a triple. First baseman Penese Iosefo produced a perfect 1.000 average with three hits from three, and designated player Scott Higgins smashed a three-run home run off Black Sox reliever Heinie Shannon.
Canterbury’s starting pitcher Nathan Taikato shrugged off a pitching finger injury to throw five innings and hold the Black Sox to four safe hits while taking five strikeouts. Reliever Scott Sutherland was just as stingy. He surrendered a home run to Black Sox skipper Rhys Casley but then settled down to give up just one more hit.
Asked if he went out to prove a point to the national coaches, Cook said: “Not really, I just go out to do my best in every game. But it was nice to perform pretty decently against them. It was also very tough to play against a team you have such an affinity with.”
Cook said while he had been focused on his softball his thoughts were still very much with the miners’ families and the grieving West Coast region. “How lucky are we to be playing sport when other people aren’t even at home?”
Cook and Canterbury coach Carl Franklin were delighted with the side’s success in the nine-innings exhibition match. “I think it showed some of our guys should be in there,” Franklin said.
The Red Sox tallied 13 safe hits and Franklin was thrilled with the batting depth and “the way we put pressure on” the Black Sox.
Kohlhase would have been less impressed. None of his new recruits could get to grips with the Canterbury pitching, the New Zealand pitchers got their necks stretched and there were too many fumbles in the field.
It was hardly the dress rehearsal he wanted before the Canberra tournament.
But the Black Sox did bounce back yesterday with a thumping 20-2 win in six innings over a Southern Pride All Stars team comprising players from Nelson, Marlborough, Southland and Otago.
The Black Sox leave Christchurch today for Canberra where they will play Argentina and two Australian teams.