New Zealand finishes Series strong in Kitchener

[Al's Fastball News]

Received: 6/17/07 12:08:02 AM 
From:  "Gilles Leblanc" <gleblanc(at)softball.ca> 


 
Subject:  New Zealand finishes Series strong in Kitchener  
  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 16th, 2007

 

New Zealand finishes Series strong in Kitchener

 

(Kitchener, ON) – The third and final doubleheader between Canada
and New Zealand was one to forget for the Canadians. New Zealand
rolled to a 10-0 win through 5 innings in the first game, and
swept the doubleheader with a 5-1 win in the second game, which
was much closer than the score indicates.

 

In the first game, New Zealand once again relied on very strong
pitching as starting pitcher Jeremy Manley fired a no-hitter
through five innings striking out eight and walking only one
along the way. In fact, Manley faced the minimum amount of 15
Canadian hitters, as the only batter he walked was retired on
a double play.

 

New Zealand’s bats added to Canada’s woes, as they started the
game with a six run first inning off starter Rob O’Brien. Thomas
Makea led off with a single, followed immediately by a triple
by Nathan Nukunuku. Brad Rona later delivered a two RBI single,
and scored one batter later after Rhys Casley hit a three-run
homerun to chase O’Brien from the game.

 

Canada held the Black Sox for a few innings before New Zealand
exploded for four more runs in the top of the fifth inning, highlighted
by a two-run homerun by Donny Hale and an RBI double by Makea.

 

Travis Wilson and Pat Shannon also added hits for New Zealand.

 

In the second game of the twin bill, Canada looked much more
alive in the early going, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of
the first inning on a leadoff homerun by Ryan Wolfe. However,
it did not take long for New Zealand to answer, as Donny Hale
hit a leadoff homerun of his own in the top of the second inning.
Canada loaded the bases with one out in their half of the third
inning, but failed to score a run. New Zealand took a 2-1 lead
in the fourth after Donny Hale hit an RBI double to put the Kiwis
on top, and Nathan Nukunuku hit a solo homerun to lead off the
fifth to push the score to 3-1. 

 

Canada loaded the basses again with one out in their half of
the fifth, only to be denied a run yet again. New Zealand added
single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to seal the win,
by a final score of 5-1.

 

After throwing a no-hitter in the first game, New Zealand kept
Manley on the mound and he pitched the complete game win in the
second game as well, striking out 10 Canadian batters while scattering
eight hits and allowing only one walk. He certainly raised his
intensity at key moments as he stranded eight runners on the
base paths.

 

Ryan Wolfe, Jody Eidt, Stephen Mullaley and Kevin Schellenberg
each had two hits for Canada, all singles with the exception
of Wolfe’s homerun.

 

“We were beat by a better team” stated Mark Smith. “New Zealand
clearly had a better work ethic, team spirit and played well
as a team. They stepped up their game today, and it was certainly
not a lack of effort on our part.”

 

“We came into this Series with expectations to split these games.
We did not have all the players we would have wanted to show
up, but we were able to bring in a few younger players to take
a longer look at them and give them experience against a good
team. We are the measuring stick for most countries, but in this
Series we had the opportunity to measure ourselves with the best
team in the World, which should help us prepare for the 2009
World Championships. This shows that there is a lot of work to
be done, but we are confident that we will get there.”

 

-SC-

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Gilles LeBlanc

Sport/Recreation Management Intern

MBA in Sport and Recreation Management

University of New Brunswick

 

Coordinator, Marketing and Communications

Softball Canada

gleblanc(at)softball.ca

(613) 523-3386 ext 3105

 

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