3.40pm
Andrew Kirkpatrick unleashed a spectacular pitching session here today to keep Australia's world softball championship campaign alive.
He kept Argentina scoreless in Australia's 7-0 win in this sudden-death match, enabling his team to vault into the penultimate day of the championship tomorrow.
Both Australia and Argentina had finished in the
top four in their respective pools but not high enough to earn two lives for the playoff, which started at Smokefree Ballpark today.
The result meant the end of the road for Argentina in the championship.
Australia will face the loser of the Canada-Japan match (subs: starts at 7.30pm) tomorrow.
Though Australia have been hot and cold in this campaign, today's win showed they were capable of causing upsets against the more fancied teams such as Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States.
"I think we've got better as the championship has progressed," Kirkpatrick said.
The 23-year-old pitched all five innings for Australia before the mercy rule was applied as Argentina had no hope of coming back.
He faced 20 batters for 10 strikeouts and just three hits.
Results from sudden death playoff matches at the men's world softball championship in Christchurch today:-
Australia 7 Argentina 0 (five innings), Samoa 5 Czech Republic 0
Tournament draw and results
Tournament statistics
Squad lists
