New Zealand opened the WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup Placement Round with a five-inning, 7-0 victory against South Africa, in the last game of the day at Rosedale Park. With this win, the host team bounced back after a heart breaking loss last night against Cuba, that knocked them out of Super Round contention.
In the bottom of the second, Jerome Raemaki gave New Zealand the lead on the scoreboard when he crushed a solo homer over the right field bleachers and into the trees to give his team a 1-0 lead. It was Raemaki’s first home run of the tournament.
One inning later, New Zealand mounted a two-out, three-run rally in the third inning, after two quick outs. A pair of walks, a single and a double enlarged the home team difference in the game to 4-0.
Josh Pettett tossed the complete game shutout for New Zealand, giving up one hit and three walks while striking out 10.
The only hit for South Africa was a Malesela Phasha single in the top of the fifth, when the African team put runners in the corners with two outs. But a beautiful over the shoulder catch by shortstop and captain Cole Evans in short left field ended the game.
New Zealand leads the Placement Round with three wins along with Japan, their opponents on Friday. For South Africa, it was their second loss.
Quotes - New Zealand Catcher Cameron Watts
“It was a tough 24 hours for us with lots of time to reflect. We just wanted to come out and put on a good performance. We are happy with that. The hitters turned up. We got some key hits. We took the balls and hit the strikes. That’s all you can do. And JP got out the job done on the mound.
“This was a good first step to regaining
some confidence. Tomorrow will be a good test against Japan, the other team who
missed on the top bracket. It will be as good test tomorrow night.”
