SURFERS PARADISE, Aus. -- In preparation for the U18 Baseball World Cup, Australia and Canada faced off in an eight-game series on the Gold Coast sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. See below for game-by-game recaps and links to results.
Game 1: Australia 7, Canada 2
Dean Frew went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Jye Deeble struck out six batters in three innings of relief work as Australia won the opening match of the series 7-2. The game was tied through the middle of the fourth innings before the Aussies broke the deadlock by scoring five runs in the bottom of the frame. Mitch Holding led off the innings with a single, and moved to second on James McCallum's single. Both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch before Frew drove them in on a clutch two-run double to centre field to get the scoring started. Max Barrett started the game for Australia and earned the win, allowing just two runs in four innings pitched and striking out five batters.
Game 2: Australia 13, Canada 1
Josh Rawlinson and James McCallum tallied three hits apiece as Team Australia soundly defeated Canada in the second game of the series. McCallum led the team with five RBIs, followed closely by Rawlinson with four and Tristan King with three. After taking an early 3-0 lead after the first innings, visiting team Australia scored three more in the fourth, two in the sixth, four in the seventh and one final run in the top of the ninth innings. On the mound for Australia, Alex Wells dominated, striking out nine batters and allowing just three hits in his five innings of work.
Game 3: Australia 6, Canada 5
In the bottom of the ninth innings, leadoff batter Tristan King slammed a walkoff solo shot over the left field fence to propel Australia to a 6-5 win and a 3-0 series lead. Canada struck first with a run in the top of the second innings, but Australia evened the score in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single off the bat of Ryan Kift. The Canadians took a 3-1 lead on a pair of runs scored in the top of the third innings and padded the lead with another run in the next frame. Australia took a one-run lead by putting a four-spot on the board in the bottom of the sixth, led by a three-run home run by Dean Frew and a go-ahead RBI single from George Callil. However, Canada tied the game again on a leadoff home run in the seventh, setting the stage for King's ninth-innings heroics.
Game 4: Australia 4, Canada 3
After jumping ahead to a 2-0 lead after the first innings, visiting team Australia won its fourth game in a row, hanging on for a close 4-3 win over Canada. James McCallum once again led the offence, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, while starting pitcher Joshua Hendrickson earned the win after tossing four innings and allowing just one run and one hit. Mitchell Neunborn picked up the save, striking out two batters in his inning of work.
Game 5: Australia 8, Canada 3
Australia took a 5-0 lead in the series with an 8-3 win in Game 5. Second baseman Dean Frew went 2-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the offence, and hit a three-run triple in the eighth innings to extend the Aussie lead. The Aussie side got on the board first in the bottom of the first innings on Frew's RBI single that drove home Alex Wells. Canada took a one-run lead in the top of the third, but Australia tied the game in the bottom half of that same frame. The Canadian side scored again in the top of the next frame, but once again Australia answered, scoring two runs to take the lead for good.
Game 6: Australia 4, Canada 0
Nate Vankan led off the game with a solo home run and Alex Wells struck out 10 batters in five innings pitched as Australia took a 6-0 series lead over Canada. Wells allowed one hit in his start, earning his second win of the series. At the plate, Vankan went 2-for-3 and Mitch Holding drove in two runs.
Game 7: Australia 3, Canada 2
George Callil hit a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Australia a 3-2 walk-off win over Canada. With the win, Australia took a 7-0 series lead and swept both games of a Sunday doubleheader at Surfers Paradise. The Canadians took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the third on an RBI single and an RBI triple, but Australia got the runs back in the bottom of the fourth, sending two runners home on a wild pitch and a lineout. In the bottom of the final frame, Ryan Kift singled to right and stole second to put himself in scoring position for Callil, who drove home the winning run.
Game 8: Canada 1, Australia 0
Canada avoided a series sweep with a close one-run win in the series finale. The home Canadian side scored the lone run of the ballgame in the bottom of the second frame, when Tristan Pompey led off the inning with a double and came around to score on a throwing error. Joshua Hendrickson started the game for Australia and tossed four innings of two-hit baseball, allowing just the one unearned run and striking out one batter while walking three. Tristan King led the Aussie offence with a pair of hits. Canadian hurler Michael Brettell dominated on the mound, striking out eight Australian batters in his six innings of work and earning the win.
Use the links below to further recap all the action.