Daniel Chapman, Ben Enoka lift New Zealand to first win at WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup
Daniel Chapman struckout 13 opponents while Ben Enoka, pictured, belted a solo home run in the sixth to guide New Zealand to a 3-1 win over Czech Republic, in their much-awaited debut in the WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup. New Zealand’s win was preceded by a stunning opening ceremony at Rosedale Park.
New Zealand took the lead in the top of the third inning with a Joel Evans run, taking advantage of an error, and then Tane Mumu scored on a double play grounder by Ben Enoka. Czech Republic made it a one-run ballgame in the bottom of the third, when Tomas Klein doubled to right center field and then scored on a wild pitch.
However, in the top of the sixth Ben Enoka gave Chapman an insurance run with a no-doubt home run to left field to give his pitcher a 3-1 lead.
Chapman pitched six innings with no earned runs, 13 strikeouts, two hits and five walks and earned the win. Josh Pettett struck out the side in the seventh to close the game. For Czech Republic, youngster Jakub Osicka was charged with the loss, giving up three hits, three runs and a walk, with nine strikeouts.
Quotes - Mark Sorenson, NZL Coach
“It was really important to get that first win and get the monkey off our back. We played them last week and they came from behind to beat us and they will be a force over the coming years. I was really pleased with our pitching. We did not give up many hits but we gave up a few too many walks.
It was tough playing after the opening ceremony. You spend a lot fotime out on the diamond, you can’t really activate mentally until that is finished so it is a tough spot. But we know we had to deal with that - after the game it was time to reax and spend some time with friends and family ane enjoy today and then go back, regroup and prepare for the US tomorrow which is more like a normal build-up for us.
I was pleased we created opportunities but we did not create enough. I was pleased we scored the runs we did and that run by Ben enoka was quite critical because it gave us the breathing room.
I could have brought Chap (opening pitcher) out a little earlier but gave him one extra hitter but once we did they had two runners on base and I couldn’t bring Josh in with those runners on. That’s a little bit of learning for me as well, making sure we are reading the game quickly enough and having the courage to go out and make the change.
Ben Enoka NZL
The boys are stoked after that win over Czech Republic. They are a strong side but the boys managed to battle it out through seven innings and Chappy and Josh got it done on the mound.
The home run came with my third time up and I was just trying to hit the strikes and leave the balls. I got lucky with that one and fortunate to get it over the fence. We were leading by a run so it was a game-changing aspect in the later innings and a bit of a spark for us not to die off.
It was a benchmark effort, a line in the sand. I think we can improve on today’s performance. It is going to get harder as we go on but the boys are tight and we will continue to stay connected.
Jaroslav Korcak, Czech Republic Coach
I liked how our pitchers performed. I thought they did great keeping the New Zealand batters off the ball. Unfortunately, we gave up a few errors in the infield that cost us two runs. Also we had a lot of runners left on base, and we have to convert those going forward.
It would have been great to score the first run (in reference to the run scored but brought back for a dead-ball) but I don’t think the gusy were shaken by that or anything. We were just playing hard and we kept on grinding. We are confident we can score a few more runs. It was a moment thought that I think could have changed the game if we had scored first.
We have to convert those runners. That is the main focus point for us. Tomorrow is another day and we move on.
