Sorenson eyes key Cuba clash

Black Sox coach Mark Sorenson knows his side’s playoffs fate hinges on the result of a must-win Softball World Cup clash with Cuba today.

The seven-time world champion Black Sox have made life harder for themselves after two consecutive defeats in Auckland.

They went down 7-0 to the United States on Sunday – their first defeat to the Americans since 1988 when Kiwi pitcher Peter Meredith hurled his adopted nation to the world championships title.

Then, they surrendered a 5-1 lead going into the seventh inning to lose 11-5 to world champions Argentina, who grabbed six runs going into the ninth inning tiebreaker.

But the playoff permutations in Pool A took a fresh twist on Wednesday when the hitherto impressive Cubans lost 8-4 to the United States.

If there is a two-way tie between the Black Sox and the United States, it would be the Americans who would likely finish as second seed for tomorrow’s top-six Super Round by virtue of beating the Kiwis. Presuming Argentina remain unbeaten they would be top seed from Pool A.

Teams advancing to the Super Round only carry through their points against their two fellow qualifiers from their pool, which would disadvantage the Black Sox after losing to the US and the Argentines.

Firstly, the Black Sox need to get past Cuba, a slick defensive team full of contact hitters, many of whom honed their skills in baseball.

Sorenson agreed it ‘‘will be hard’’ to pick his players up after the nature of their defeat to Argentina, but he backed his team to bounce back.