Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Australia over Venezuela 7-0

Friday, July 17th, 2009


Martin Jorge, Editor of Softballnewsla.com (“Softball News Latin America), based in Argentina.(Martin is in Saskatoon)

Rough translation of story by our friend Martin Jorge of Softballnews.la:
(Sometimes Google Translate is humorous, but you get the gist of the story)

Australia beat Venezuela by 7 to 0. Adam Folkard 1 hitter

Australia just beat Venezuela 7 to 0 in what marked the introduction of both teams in the World Softball Championship, which began to dispute today in Saskatoon, Canada. Adam Folkard stole the show, throwing a perfect game for 6 2 / 3 innings, closing the door to line up venezonalno. The only one who could connect ojeda hit was Carlos, who found an unstoppable between short and third base with two outs in the seventh inning.

Australlian took the lead in the first entry with two entries, and thus took control of the game and the scoreboard. The pitcher Adam Folkard could not be anything to rival batters while John Garcia threw a neat game. At the top of the fourth, a new glimmer of Australia increased the difference, while Venezuela could not do anything against a rival pitcher’s deliveries, who was still throwing a perfect game.

At the top of the seventh, Australia would define the game with 4 runs to put the game 7 to 0 and away from the tops. All that remained was to see if your perfect game Folkard close to the closing of the seventh. And things iban prefect for Australian pitcher, who promptly won the first two outs of the period. Only one out of the game is separated perefecto and history. A bat out the emerging Carlos Ojeda, who connected from the first two pitches foul of the account. Two strikes, no balls, Folkard fired a missile through the center of the plate, Ojeda range, Australia celebrates the feat of his pitcher, but a cry from the first base Umpire stops the breath of all. Launching illegal, one ball and two strikes to the batter, and again to the battle. Flokard throws two balls in succession, Ojeda is not fooled, complete account. Australian pitcher tries to put out the batter with a Venezuelan climber on the inside corner, but Ojeda connects unstoppable ball and breaks the perfect game for Folkard.

Ending the game a batter later, when then launch another illegal, Ojeda was caught in the third pad for the last out of the game. In this way, debuted in Australia with an impressive World filing its launcher, while Venezuela was an inspired Folkard not allowed anything in the whole game.

In other results, Botswana beat Denmark by 4 to 1, while the Philippines beat United Kingdom by 4 to 3.

Wahlford to Replace Injured Enoka for Black Sox

Friday, July 17th, 2009


(click logo for original news story)

Injury blow for Black Sox

New Zealand have suffered a blow on the eve of the world men’s softball championship in Canada, with injury ruling out teenage pitcher Thomas Enoka.

A lingering back niggle hasn’t improved, forcing coach Eddie Kohlhase to release the North Harbour player, the youngest member of the Black Sox squad in Saskatoon.

He is replaced by American-based outfielder Paul Walford, who was a member of the 1996 New Zealand world champion squad.

Kohlhase said Enoka – a member of last year’s New Zealand junior team – had been undergoing constant treatment in recent days.

“We left it right to the last minute. It’s unfortunate news for the team and for Thomas, he’s only 18,” Kohlhase told Radio Sport.

“It puts us down to a three-man pitching rotation, he was the fourth pitcher.

“It changes our plans, not significantly, but enough to ensure that we manage them very efficiently and effectively now.”

Carrying the load

New Zealand pitchers Marty Grant, Jeremy Manley and Heinie Shannon will carry more of the load over the 10-day tournament as New Zealand chase a sixth world title.

It starts with Saturday’s (NZT) opening pool game against old foe the United States

Kohlhase was pleased with his team’s lengthy buildup in North America and hoped his team were ready for a major challenge in their opening match.

“You don’t win a world championship on the first day of the competition,” he said.

“But we certainly want to make a good start to the tournament and set the standard from the opening game.

“The preparation for this has been five years in the making and everyone has worked towards this.”

A lot of interest in centre around who he gives the ball to for the start of the game.

Sharp form

Grant is playing in his fourth world championship but Manley and Shannon have been in sharp form.

Management will also be taking an interest in their next opponents Great Britain, who play the Philippines 10 hours before the Black Sox open their campaign.

The Great Britain line-up includes a number of New Zealand ex-pats and Kohlhase would not be too surprised if they make it to the playoff round of games which begin on July 25.

“They could be a team that surprise,” Kohlhase said.

The top four teams from the two sections of eight teams qualify for the playoff round, with the Black Sox’ chief rivals in pool A being the US and Japan, who New Zealand face in their last match.

The fourth spot should be fiercely contested between Great Britain, Mexico, Denmark, Philippines and Botswana.

“It will be interesting to see how those teams treat their games against the bigger sides,” Kohlhase said.

In some situations the lesser teams virtually concede the outcome against top sides, fielding weaker teams which results in a game being called before the regulation seventh innings.

At the 2004 tournament in Christchurch, New Zealand had six of their 10 games finish earlier because of the number of runs they had scored.

“We just need to focus on what we want to achieve and the goals we have set for ourselves in each game,” Kohlhase said.

Kohlhase expects Canada, Argentina, Australia play Venzuela to challenge for playoff berths in pool B.

Below: Photo borrowed from Facebook page of New Zealand’s Travis Wilson, showing jerseys of defending world champions.

Al’s Fastball in Saskatoon – Day 1

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Al Doran of Al’s Fastball is in Saskatoon and will be providing regular reports to the fastball community. We’ll post some excerpts here at Morning Brief, courtesy of Al, but be sure to log into his site to read the full reports. Click the familiar blue logo above to read his pre-tournament notes to date, including this item:

3pm or so walked over to see who was on the other diamonds, close to BVI and to GHP. Argentina was having a practice and some of the guys I had met in Midland gave me a wave.
Over to another diamond where Team USA was playing the team from the Czech Republic. Paul Koert was pitching and USA were up about 6-0 when I left to go back to the main diamond.

Before I left, Ty McKinney came over and greeted me, what a gentleman. A number of the other members of Team USA waved and smiled. Its nice to know the ball players are not upset with me for taking a stand on the Paul Algar issue. Hopefully they know they have someone to turn to if things ever take a bad turn for one of them. It should not be this way but once in awhile politics seeps into fastball.

I am told the Kiwis plan to play full out tomorrow evening against Team USA and that the Haka they sometimes perform will be intense. This is the first game for the Kiwis so it would be natural if they do perform the Haka.

Editor’s note: The controversy over Paul Algar is detailed in an earlier post from Al: Paul Algar – Ready to pitch for Black Sox – Blocked by ASA ? In short, the report is that the ASA/USA refused to release Paul Algar to New Zealand, so Algar is back home in Illinois, and not on the Black Sox’s ISF Roster. As the fastball gods would have it, the two teams will meet on Opening night, 9pm Saskatoon time. Emotions figure to be high for this one.

Champs Chatter – The official Newsletter of the ISF XII Men’s World Championship – Day 1 – July 17, 2009

Friday, July 17th, 2009


(click logo to visit the official ISF XII World Championships website)

Click here to see the Official newsletter for Day 1, Friday July 17, 2009, for the ISF XII Men’s World Championship.

XII ISF World Championship Schedule of Games Day 1 – July 17

Friday, July 17th, 2009


(click logo to visit the official ISF XII World Championships website)

Day 1 schedule:

FRIDAY JULY 17

Park Pool Score

1 10:00AM BOTSWANA VS DENMARK GHP A
2 11:00AM GREAT BRITAIN VS PHILIPPINES BVI A
3 12:00PM CZECH REPUBLIC VS SOUTH AFRICA GHP B
4 1:00PM AUSTRALIA VS VENEZUELA BVI B
5 2:00PM PUERTO RICO VS INDONESIA GHP B
6 3:00PM JAPAN VS MEXICO BVI A
5:30PM OPENING CEREMONIES BVI
7 7:00PM ARGENTINA VS CANADA BVI B
8 9:00PM UNITED STATES VS NEW ZEALAND BVI A

Keith McLean: His plate is full

Thursday, July 16th, 2009


From THE STAR PHOENIX

BY KATHRYN WILLMS


(click logo to visit the official ISF XII World Championships website)

ISF championship in Saskatoon 17th big event he has helped organize

On Monday Aug. 8, 2005, the StarPhoenix paid tribute to a man who helped build the foundations of Saskatoon’s vibrant softball community. In an article titled “He’s rounding third, heading for home,” the paper announced that after “four decades of involvement in softball, Keith McLean is retiring.”

McLean lied.

Not only did he not retire, he is back at the helm, organizing the International Softball Federation world championship which begins Friday.

His visions of putting in time at the souvenir booth, “just selling a few T-shirts,” have gone up in a puff of smoke. The Saskatoon softball everyman is deep in the nitty-gritty of holding an international sporting showcase. A week before the tournament began, he was dealing with another hiccup, a late-registering Indonesian team.

“I’ve rounded third and I’m headed home?” he says with a laugh. “Now I’m back on first.”

It’s not that McLean doesn’t know how to retire — he and his wife retired from their company, Quality Underwriting Service, in January and even managed a celebratory trip to Hawaii — it’s just that he can’t seem to quit softball.

Since 1975, Saskatoon has held 17 national and international softball events and McLean has been involved in all of them, including world championships in 1987 and 2002.

COACHED AT ALL LEVELS

He calls the years spent coaching, “from little kids to senior A men, from midget to senior A women,” the highlight, singling out the thrill of winning the 1979 Western Canadian senior men’s title.

Along the way, he spent five years as president of the Saskatoon Amateur Softball Association and has been inducted into both the Softball Canada and Saskatoon Sports Halls of Fame.

The evolution from recreational player to SASA executive seems characteristic for McLean, who became a referee while playing hockey and still has to contain himself from getting too involved.

“When I play golf,” he says, “it’s just golf.”

He starts laughing. It turns out that, too, is not entirely true. Every week, he fundraises for the StarPhoenix’s Sporting Christmas fund.

McLean stays involved because of the connections he has made within Saskatoon’s die-hard softball community and beyond.

“I’ve got friends in every province and territory in Canada because of softball,” he says. “It’s the people.

“We’ve got one of the top facilities in the world. People in our leagues should be thankful and they should be out there helping the multitude of volunteers that have been doing this for many years. Most of them are older people, not players, who are willing to help.”

McLean is not making any grand declarations about the future. He good-naturedly answers “who knows?” when asked if there’s a fourth worlds in the cards.

He is assistant supervisor for the midget boys nationals which run Aug. 1 to 8.

“Then maybe I’ll consider not working too hard on softball,” he says. “It is the end of the season.”

With junior women nationals coming to town next summer, the legacy McLean has helped create is in good shape.

“We’ve hosted more national championships than any place in Canada; probably two for one,” McLean says. “We’re quite happy to keep the sport alive by doing these things. If people like us don’t do them, they don’t get done.”

kwillms@sp.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

Phillipines Draw Tough Rivals at ISF

Thursday, July 16th, 2009


(click logo for original news story)


(click logo to visit the official ISF XII World Championships website)

Blu Boys draw tough rivals in world tilt

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ bid got a lot harder after the Blu Boys drew a tough bracket in the International Softball Federation (ISF) World Men’s Championship which begins Friday in Saskatoon, Canada (Saturday in Manila).

The Blu Boys, who are aiming to improve on their ninth place finish at the worlds four years ago, found themselves grouped with powerhouse United States, Japan and New Zealand in Pool A. With them are Great Britain, Denmark, Botswana and Mexico.

Comprising the relatively lighter Pool B, meanwhile, are host Canada, Australia, Czech Republic, Argentina, Venezuela, South Africa, Puerto Rico and Indonesia.

The teams are set to play their groupmates in a single round-robin stage with the top four teams in each group advancing into the quarterfinals.

The Blu Boys are penciled to open their campaign against Great Britain on Friday (Saturday in Manila). They will next play Mexico, New Zealand, United States, Japan, Botswana and Denmark.

To prepare for the meet, the Filipinos played two tune-up matches, bowing to the US, 2-6, and Australia, 0-7.

According to Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (Asaphil) operations manager Jun Veloso, the team fielded in its young pitchers, Leo Barredo and Vic Enriquez, to give them experience against the Americans and Australian clouters. – GMANews.TV

ISF Team Preview – Canada

Thursday, July 16th, 2009


(click logo to visit the official ISF XII World Championships website)

Softball Canada has put together an outstanding media guide with bios of all of the players. Click here to view the full color PDF.

Canadian Men’s Softball Team ready to challenge for XII ISF Men’s World Championship Title

(Saskatoon, SK) – The Canadian Senior Men’s National Team will be looking to challenge for top spot at the XII ISF World Championship, which will take place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from July 17th to 26th. New Zealand is the three-time defending world champions, having defeated Canada in the Championship game the last time the event was held in 2004, which was held in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The athletes who will represent Canada at the XII ISF Men’s World Championship in Saskatoon, SK from July 17-26 are:

Athletes Number Home Town

1. Colin Abbott 20 St. John’s, NL
2. Craig Crawford 8 Markham, ON
3. Jody Eidt 22 Mitchell, ON
4. Jeff Ellsworth 19 St. Lawrence, PEI
5. Trevor Ethier 17 Saskatoon, SK
6. Ian Fehrman 14 Townsend, ON
7. Rob Giesbrecht 42 Landmark, MB
8. Dean Holoien 72 Melfort, SK
9. Dale Levy 30 St. Mary’s, ON
10. Todd Martin 51 Bracebridge, ON
11. Derek Mayson 29 North Vancouver, BC
12. Keith Mackintosh 9 Melfort, SK
13. Steve Mullaley 33 Freshwater, NL
14. Sean O’Brien 12 St. John’s, NL
15. Kevin Schellenberg 6 Squamish, BC
16. Nick Underhill 24 Campbell River, BC
17. Ryan Wolfe 77 Melbourne, ON

Staff

Mark Smith Head Coach Falmouth, NS
Ray Tilley Assistant Coach Woodstock, ON
Marty Kernaghan Assistant Coach Grafton, ON
Don Bates Assistant Coach Saskatoon, SK
Glen Boles Assistant Coach St. Catharines, ON
Adam Davies Athletic Therapist Ottawa, ON
Bruce Marshall Athletic Therapist Ottawa, ON
Barry Smith Statistician Dartmouth, NS
Harvey Stevenson Operations Manager Victoria, BC

Sixteen (16) teams will participate at the event, which will be split into two pools for round-robin play. Each team will play seven games against the other teams in their pool, as the top four teams from each pool will advance to the playoff round. The pool breakdown will be:

Pool A /Pool B

Botswana Argentina
Denmark Australia
Great Britain Canada
Japan Czech Republic
Mexico Indonesia
New Zealand Puerto Rico
Philippines South Africa
United States Venezuela

Team Canada Schedule:

July 17th – Canada vs. Argentina – 7:00pm (CDT)
July 18th – Canada vs. Czech Republic – 6:30pm (CDT)
July 19th – Canada vs. Australia – 3:30pm (CDT)
July 20th – Canada vs. Indonesia – 6:30pm (CDT)
July 21st – Canada vs. Venezuela – 6:30pm (CDT)
July 22nd – Canada vs. South Africa – 3:30pm (CDT)
July 23rd – Canada vs. Puerto Rico – 6:30pm (CDT)
July 24th – Playoff Round
July 25th – Playoff Round
July 26th – Bronze Medal Game – 12:00pm (CDT)
– Gold Medal Game – 3:00pm (CDT)

The XII ISF World Championship website can be found at www.2009worldmensfastpitch.com, while Team Canada game reports will be available on the Softball Canada website (www.softball.ca).

-SC-

For more information, please contact:

Gilles LeBlanc
Manager – Marketing and Communications
Softball Canada
gleblanc@softball.ca
(613) 523-3386 ext 3105

Maddy’s Photos from the World Fastball Invitational at Monkton- July 2-5, 2009

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Click the logo below to view Maddy’s Photos from the World Fastball Invitational at Monkton.

Be sure to read her latest blog post, entitled “Hongi”. You can tell Maddy which ones are your favorites, or just drop her a line via email: maddy (at) maddysphotos (dot) com


(Photo of Maddy, not by Maddy)

Hongi

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

From Maddy’s Photo Blog
(click link for original blog post with photo)

Hongi

This past 4th of July weekend I was invited to shoot the prestigious World Fastball Invitational in Monkton, Ontario, Canada. I can’t begin to express all the thoughts that come to mind when I think of this past weekend and how fortunate I am to be involved in such a great sport that attracts such great people. Our gracious hosts Brian Baillie, Kevin Quipp and Sandra Machlan who made my job that much easier by providing everything and anything I needed; the people of Monkton whose hundreds of volunteers make this one of the best-run events I have ever seen; the caliber of players and umpires that come to this tournament and the locale of this wonderful tournament made this a most memorable experience for me.

Which brings me to something I learned this weekend, called the “Hongi”; the Hongi is a traditional Maori greeting which is done by pressing one’s nose to the other person when they meet each other. It is believed that when the two noses meet, people exchange their breath and the visitor becomes one of their tribe. I had the privilege to watch a “Hongi” in person as the New Zealand team honored one of their own, Paul Walford at the tournament. It dawned on me then how much of this we already do as part of the fastpitch community. No, we do not touch noses, but instead we share in the experience called “fastpitch” and as such become part of the “tribe”.

I am far from being a player but I’d like to think that through my photography I have joined the fastpitch tribe and through the images I capture I hopefully bring the “tribes” closer together. You can see the photos of the World Fastball Invitational here.

-Maddy