Sorenson keen for more Black Sox dominance

Reappointed head coach Mark Sorenson believes the seven-time world champions Black Sox could be set for ‘‘another decade of dominance’’.

Sorenson – who guided the Black Sox to the world title in Canada in July – has been reappointed through to the 2019 world championships in Prague.

‘‘There’s an opportunity, if we get these next couple of years right, to set the Black Sox up for another decade of dominance in world softball, like we had from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s.

‘‘We’ve got so much talent coming through and we’ve got a great nucleus already. It’s a strong team which now has the experience of climbing the mountain.’’

Sorenson expects most of the 2017 squad to be available for Prague, although batting great Brad Rona and veteran pitcher Karl Gollan have retired.

He said the Black Sox were without two ‘‘world-class players’’ for the Canada final with infielder Jerome Raemaki ruled out of the tournament after knee surgery and star outfielder Ben Enoka sidelined with a knee injury.

Once they were added to the current mix, the Black Sox would be even stronger, said Sorenson, who is encouraged by the amount of young contenders coming through the national under-19 and under-23 programmes.

The Prague tournament will be his third world championships in charge. He took the Black Sox to the silver medal in Saskatoon, Canada, in 2015 and won gold in July this year at Whitehorse, Canada after a 6-4 grand final win over Australia.

Sorenson will name a Black Sox training squad early next month to prepare for February’s Challenge Cup tournament at Albany.