GameTime Classics Episode 18: New Zealand v Australia epic battle opens 2013 WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship playoffs
11/04/2020
In a rematch of the 2009 final, Australia and New Zealand faced off on the first day of the double page playoffs at the 2013 WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship in New Zealand.
In its latest edition, GameTime Classics will stream one of the most exciting and tense games in recent international men’s softball history: the first playoff game between Australia and New Zealand, during the 2013 WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship held at Rosedale Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
Australia, the defending world champions, went unbeaten to win Group A with 7 wins, while the Black Sox advanced in second place of Group B with a 6-1 win-loss record (they lost to Canada on Day 4 of the tournament). Four years before, Adam Folkard pitched a no-hitter against New Zealand in the final of the WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship 2009 in Saskatoon, Canada, to guide Australia to their first world title. The teams clashed again at Rosedale Park, in a rematch of that exciting final.
Living legends of the sport were on the field on 8 March, 2013, like Adam Folkard, Andrew Kirkpatrick, Thomas Makea, Nathan Nukunuku, Brad Rona and Donnie Hale.
This incredible game will be streamed for free at www.youtube.com/wbsc at 9 pm Eastern US Standard Time* on Saturday, 11 April (3 am Central European Time*, 11 am Australia (Sydney) Time, 1 pm New Zealand Time on Sunday, 12 April) and Sunday at 9 am Eastern Standard Time* (3:00 pm Central European Time*, 11 pm Australia Time; and 1 am New Zealand Time on Monday) at www.facebook.com/wbsc. *Observing daylight saving time.
The next episode of the GameTime Classics series will be an exciting game between Cuba and Korea, at the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup 2016.