(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
 Canada wins World Championship-gold!
Nederlands
 SASKATOON, Saskatchewan (Canada) -
Canada captured the World Championship-title on Sunday (July 5) by winning 10-5 in the final against defending champion New Zealand.
Canada, which two years ago finished in fifth place, hosted this years Men's Softball World Championship, which was visited by a record of 53,890 spectators.
In the all-deciding final, Canada trailed 5-0 after the top of the third inning, then rallied for four runs in both the third and fourth inning.
The final was watched by 6,348 spectators.
Canadian starter Sean Cleary gave up two runs in the first inning, then three more in the third at bat.
Ben Enoka led off the third for the reigning champion with a homerun.
Later, a double by Thomas Enoka made it 4-0.
Devon McCullough then took over the pitching, got the bases loaded and saw New Zealand add another run on a walk.
In the bottom of the third inning, Canada rallied for four runs.
Brandon Horn doubled and scored on a single by Mathieu Roy, then Brad Ezekiel and Steve Mullaley followed with homeruns to make it 5-4 score.
In the bottom of the fourth, Canada got the bases loaded, then Mullaley hit a towering grand slam homerun that gave Canada an 8-5 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, with a runner on second base, Mullaley hit his third homerun in the game, making it a 10-5 score.
Earlier in the day, Canada had reached the final by winning 10-0 vs. Venezuela, which therefore finished in third place, winning the bronze medal.
Two years ago, Venezuela had won the silver medal.
Australia, which two years ago won the bronze, now ended in fourth place.
On Saturday, Australia was eliminated by Venezuela, which then won 4-0.
New Zealand then became the first finalist after handing Canada its first loss of the tournament, 9-5.
Final Standings
1. Canada, 2. New Zealand, 3. Venezuela, 4. Australia, 5. Dominican Republic, 6. Japan, 7. Czech Republic, 8. Argentina,
9. USA, 10. Mexico, 11. Great Britain, 12. Guatemala, 13. Denmark, 14. Philippines, 15. Netherlands.
(July 5)
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