Daniel Chapman and the Black Sox salute the crowd after the 2-1 loss to Canada (Photo: WBSC.org)
The Black Sox 2019 Softball World Championships have ended in disappointment, finishing fourth this morning in Prague after a 2-1 loss to Canada.
The only joy for the Black Sox at the plate was a solo home run by Reilly Makea, who sent the ball over the left field fence in the fourth innings.
However, in the bottom of the fourth Canada tied the game with an RBI triple off the bat of Stephen Mullaley to the left field corner to plate Mathieu Roy from second base.
One inning later Canada scored the game-winning run. Jeff Ellsworth singled up the middle and one out later stole second base, then scored on an RBI single by Brad Ezekiel to make it 2-1.
The result is only the third time in the tournament’s history that New Zealand has finished outside the top three, and the first time since 1980 that they have not competed in the final. It was another frustratingly low scoring game as well, which summed up the struggle for offence the team has had throughout this year’s World Champs.
The tournament was won by Argentina, who beat Japan 3-2 in the final. It was their first ever Softball World Championship.