The New Zealand men's national softball team (nicknamed the Black Sox/Black Socks) is the national softball team for New Zealand.[2] They have won the ISF Men's World Championship seven times, becoming World Champions in 1976 (1st = with US and Canada), 1984, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2013 and 2017.[3] They also won the inaugural Commonwealth Championships (a round robin tournament between New Zealand, Australia, Samoa, South Africa and Botswana) in 2006.[4] The "Black Sox" name is one of many national team nicknames related to the All Blacks as well as to famous "Sox" baseball teams. The female team is known as the White Sox
| New Zealand national softball team | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Country |  New Zealand |
| Federation | Softball New Zealand |
| Confederation | WBSC Oceania |
| Manager | Thomas Makea |
| WBSC World Rank | 7  (26 April 2023)[1] |
| Men's Softball World Cup | |
| Appearances | 17 (First in 1966) |
| Best result |  1st (7 times, most recent in 2017) |
On 16 July 2017, New Zealand (Black Sox) defeated Australia (Aussie Steelers), six runs to four in the final of the 2017 ISF Men's World Championship held in Canada.
Results and fixtures
editThe following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Loss Fixture
2023
edit| 2023 Men's Softball Oceania Championship | 9 November 2023 | Australia 
|
3–9 | New Zealand
|
Tony Solaita Field, Tafuna |
| 15:00 | LP: Mark Harris (0–1) HR: Matt Wickham (1), Scott Patterson (1) |
Boxscore | WP: Eruera Drage (1–0) HR: Wayne Laulu (1) |
Umpires: Mark Porteous (HP), Andrew McManus (1B), James English (2B), Trevor Murphy (3B) |
| 2023 Men's Softball Oceania Championship | 9 November 2023 | American Samoa 
|
0–15 (F/3) | New Zealand
|
Tony Solaita Field, Tafuna |
| 19:00 | LP: Tyrese Leutele (0–1) |
Boxscore | WP: Liam Potts (1–0) HR: Hohepa Monk (1), Cameron Watts (1) |
Umpires: James English (HP), Trevor Murphy (1B), Andrew McManus (2B), Mark Porteous (3B) |
| 2023 Men's Softball Oceania Championship | 10 November 2023 | New Zealand
|
4–11 (F/5) | Australia
|
Tony Solaita Field, Tafuna |
| 12:00 | WP: Eruera Drage (1–1) HR: Hohepa Monk (2), Te Kirika Cooper-Nicola (1) |
Boxscore | WP: Jarryd Farrell (1–0) HR: Scott Patterson (2) |
Umpires: Trevor Murphy (HP), James English (1B), Mark Porteous (3B) |
| 2023 Men's Softball Oceania Championship | 10 November 2023 | New Zealand
|
15–0 (F/3) | American Samoa
|
Tony Solaita Field, Tafuna |
| 15:00 | WP: Floyd Nola (1–0) HR: Hohepa Monk (3) |
Boxscore | LP: Richard Nomura (0–2) |
Umpires: Andrew McManus (HP), Mark Porteous (1B), Trevor Murphy (3B) |
| 2023 Men's Softball Oceania Championship | 11 November 2023 | New Zealand
|
0–7 (F/5) | Australia
|
Tony Solaita Field, Tafuna |
| 12:00 | LP: Pita Rona (0–1) |
Boxscore | WP: Jarryd Farrell (2–0) HR: Mark Harris (1), Matthew Harrow (1) |
Umpires: Andrew McManus (HP), James English (1B), Mark Porteous (2B), Trevor Murphy (3B) |
| 2023 Men's Softball Oceania Championship | 11 November 2023 | American Samoa
|
0–13 (F/4) | New Zealand
|
Tony Solaita Field, Tafuna |
| 18:00 | LP: Aifili Solaita (0–2) |
Boxscore | WP: Liam Potts (2–0) HR: Zachary Boyd (1, 2) |
Umpires: Trevor Murphy (HP), James English (1B), Mark Porteous (3B) |
Players
editCurrent squad
editThe following players were called up for the 2023 Men's Softball Oceania Championship in American Samoa for the 2025 Softball World Cup.[5][6]
| 2023 Men's Softball Oceania Championship – New Zealand roster
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | |||
Pitchers
|
Catchers Infielders
Outfielders Utility
|
Manager Coaches
| ||
Competitive record
editMen's Softball World Cup
edit| Men's Softball World Cup record | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Host | Round | Pos | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | Squad | |
| 1966 |  Mexico |
Third place | 3rd | 13 | 10 | 3 | ||||
| 1968 |  United States |
Round robin | 5th | 9 | 5 | 4 | ||||
| 1972 |  Philippines |
Third place | 3rd | 13 | 7 | 6 | ||||
| 1976 | New Zealand |
Champions | 3rd | 13 | 10 | 3 | ||||
| 1980 | United States |
Fourth place | 4th | 9 | 6 | 3 | ||||
| 1984 | United States |
Champions | 1st | 10 | 9 | 1 | ||||
| 1988 |  Canada |
Runners-up | 2nd | 17 | 14 | 3 | ||||
| 1992 | Philippines |
Runners-up | 2nd | 15 | 11 | 4 | ||||
| 1996 | United States |
Champions | 1st | 14 | 14 | 0 | ||||
| 2000 |  South Africa |
Champions | 1st | 15 | 14 | 1 | ||||
| 2004 | New Zealand |
Champions | 1st | 10 | 9 | 1 | ||||
| 2009 | Canada |
Runners-up | 2nd | 11 | 9 | 2 | 106 | 26 | ||
| 2013 | New Zealand |
Champions | 1st | 10 | 9 | 1 | 54 | 17 | ||
| 2015 | Canada |
Runners-up | 2nd | 10 | 7 | 3 | 70 | 25 | ||
| 2017 | Canada |
Champions | 1st | 10 | 9 | 1 | 79 | 13 | ||
| 2019 |  Czech Republic |
Fourth place | 4th | 10 | 5 | 5 | 51 | 24 | ||
| 2022 | New Zealand |
Placement round | 8th | 8 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 28 | Squad | |
| 2025 | Qualified | |||||||||
| Total | 7 titles | 17/17 | 196 | 152 | 45 | 389 | 133 | — | ||
Men's Softball Oceania Championship
edit| Men's Softball Oceania Championship record | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Host | Round | Pos | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | Squad | |
| 2023 | American Samoa |
Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 2 | 56 | 21 | Squad | |
| Total | Runners-up | 1/1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 56 | 21 | — | ||
Honours
edit- Men's Softball Oceania Championship
- Runners-up (1): 2023
References
edit- ^ "The WBSC Men's Softball World Ranking". WBSC. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ "Sox Nation". Softball New Zealand. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
- ^ Andrea Blackshaw (9 February 2004). "New Zealand Three-peats at Men's World Championships". International Softball Federation. Archived from the original on 25 October 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
- ^ "New Zealand downs Aussies for Commonwealth title". International Softball Federation. 30 January 2006. Archived from the original on 25 October 2006. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
- ^ "NEW ZEALAND BLACK SOX TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT". Softball New Zealand. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "New coach Thomas Makea names Black Sox softball squad for World Cup qualifier". Stuff. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
External links
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