Softball: Black Sox fight back and show their class

Under pressure and with time running out, New Zealand's Black Sox softball team came from behind on day two of the Commonwealth Championship in Melbourne last night with an 8-5 victory over the home side Australia.

Going into the bottom of the sixth innings, the world champion Black Sox were behind on the scoreboard.

However with consistent hitting, they managed to turn around a two run deficit into a three run advantage.

Lead off hitter Travis Wilson set the tone for the innings, powering the ball over the right field fence.

Captain Jarrad Martin then maintained momentum with a single to left field before being brought home by a Bran Rona home run out of the park to give the Black Sox the lead.

The Black Sox extended the lead further when first outfielder Daniel Milne scored on a fielding error and Stacy McLean came home on a hit by Stephen Ratu.

Down by three runs going into the final innings, the home side had no more magic in the bag, allowing the Black Sox to take the 8-5 victory.

The Black Sox were back on the diamond just before midnight (NZ time) taking on Samoa, the only other unbeaten team in the championship. The Black Sox emerged with a 5-3 victory over Samoa in that one.

It was a tight tussle. Samoa were the first on the board when Michael Fenton scored on a hit by Wayne Laulu in the top of the first innings.

The lead didn't last for long, with New Zealand striking straight back in the bottom of the innings when Travis Wilson scampered home on a single by Patrick Shannon.

A third innings home run from champion outfielder Thomas Makea set the game up for the Black Sox. With debutant Todd Grego and Bevan Martin on base, Makea fired the ball over the centre field fence to score three runs.

The Samoans weren't about to give up the fight and Jeremy Stanley powered the ball over the left field fence with one runner on to peg back two runs and close up the gap to just one run in the fourth innings.

The Black Sox added one more run in the fifth innings when Rhys Casley came home on a hit by Fabian Makea after originally getting on base via a double.

New Zealand team have another two games today: they play South Africa at 2pm (NZ time) and then face Australia at 9.30pm (NZ time).

All teams will play each other twice During the championship before the finals playoffs on Saturday and Sunday.

- NZPA