White Sox struggle

The New Zealand White Sox have a lot of work to do to have any hope of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games after a dispiriting seven successive losses at the Asia Pacific Cup tournament in Australia.

Kevin Gettins’ team ended their campaign in Sydney on Sunday with a 6-0 loss to out-of-season Italy in the wooden spoon match at Blacktown International Stadium.

The White Sox were without some key players, including four of their best – captain Ellie Cooper, Lara Andrews, Hailey Breakwell and Mikayla Werahiko – but the results were discouraging ahead of July’s world championships in Japan with the Olympic qualifying pathway looming.

New Zealand – ranked 11th in the world – scored just 10 runs and conceded 50 in Sydney and lost to teams they will need to beat in Japan, including Italy (ranked 8th), Chinese Taipei (5th) and China (12) to press their Olympic claims.

Pitching depth remains one of the White Sox’s biggest problem areas. Gettins’ hurlers gave up 76

safe hits – at an average of over 10 per game – and the hit parade included a lot of extra-base efforts, including home runs.

He was, however, without three of his 2016 world championships pitching staff – United Statesbased Courtney Gettins and Taylor-Paige Stewart and the injured Jennifer Feret-Brear.

There were some positives with teenage newcomers Pallas Potter, Denva Shaw-Tait and Erin Blackmore having their moments with the bat, along with the more established Kingsley Avery, Krysta Hoani and Shannon Hearne. But, collectively, the White Sox – who rarely face international quality pitching – had 34 hits, at an average of just under five per game.