Softball Worlds 2009 - On Maori Television!

Softball Worlds 2009 - On Maori Television!

Maori Television is proud to present delayed free-to-air coverage of the final games from the Softball World Championship 2009, underway now in Saskatoon, Canada.

POIUKA O TE AO (SOFTBALL WORLDS 2009) BRONZE FINAL screens on Saturday August 1 at 12.00 PM, and POIUKA O TE AO (SOFTBALL WORLDS 2009) GRAND FINAL screens on Sunday August 2 at 12.00 PM.

Maori Television is also working to get the final – should New Zealand be in it – in time for broadcast on the day the games are actually played, Monday July 27. However, the tournament does not have a host broadcaster and this means that satellite feeds to deliver the coverage into New Zealand are proving difficult to source. If Maori Television can resolve this issue the final game will be scheduled for 9.00 PM this coming Monday.

Word from the national softball body is that the Black Sox are playing comfortably so far, and are expected to cruise to the final as they defend their current world title, and go after their sixth.

Softball New Zealand’s general manager Dane Dougan says the squad’s depth of experience and “great team culture”, under captain Jared Martin, should prove their greatest assets as they near the business end of the championship.

“Our main competition is Canada and always has been,” he says. “I think they are extremely hungry. There have been some heated moments in the past between the Black Sox and Canada, and I think it’s fair to say they were unhappy to leave Christchurch without the title in 2004.

“They don’t like the haka, either. They despise it, and do anything possible to disrupt it.”

The two Canadian players to watch out for are Colin Abbott, a veteran hitter who has been around since the days of NZ softball legend Mark Sorenson, and Korrey Gareau, an experienced pitcher who can throw around 140 km per hour.

Australia is seen as another big threat.

“They have come up through the ranks very quickly in the last two world series, and they won the last four under-19 world series.”

The danger men are the two young pitchers, Andrew Kirkpatrick and Adam Folkart: “They are both really young and at around 135 km per hour, they both throw hard.”

Get with the action, and tune in to Maori Television for delayed free-to-air coverage of the ISF Men’s Championship 2009 finals on Saturday August 1 at 12.00 PM and Sunday August 2 at 12.00 PM.

ENDS

© Scoop Media