Despite a disappointing final day loss to the USA, the Australian U18 World Cup team matched it with #1 ranked teams, claimed historic victories and made themselves, their coaching staff and their country proud.
The opening round began with a tight 4-1 loss to eventual silver medallists Korea, however that loss was quickly erased as Australia went on a winning streak. Victories over Italy and Nicaragua put the team in a great position, but it wasn't until the Chinese Taipei game that the momentum was really on the green and wattle's side.
Ky Hampton tossed the first complete game shutout in the 2017 edition of the U18 World Cup, and in turn, but his team in the box seat for qualification to the Super Round.
The final game of the opening round saw Australia come up against a tough Canadian outfit, and eventually the team came away with a loss. However calculations from the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) meant despite that loss, Australia qualify for the super round and play for a medal.
South Australian young gun Ky Hampton made a name for himself at the U18 World Cup. The 16 year old threw a complete game against one of the best teams in the world, then against the USA, he claimed what many people saw as the catch of the tournament on a line drive comebacker. Ky will look to build on a solid rookie campaign for the Adelaide Bite in the Australian Baseball League in season 2017/18.
Australia's opening game of the Super Round saw them take on Japan, with the entire baseball world taking notice. An extra innings loss was heartbreaking, but the determination and desire of the entire team was to be commended. Against a team full of future Japanese all-stars who'll sign for astronomical amounts of money, the Australian team never gave in.
Jack O'Loughlin lead the team to a 3-0 victory over #5 ranked Cuba, a win which gave so many Australian baseball fans so much pleasure after the events of the World Baseball Classic.
The team's final game of the tournament came against the USA, with the eventual world champion coming out on top, 9-0.
Despite that loss, Australia has gained many more fans for the way they play the game on an international stage, and valuable WBSC World Ranking points.
The WBSC has yet to release their updated rankings, however a significant increase in points may see Australia push past their already historic ranking of 8th.
The 'World Cup' season is over for another year, with our U15 and U23 teams vying for the Title of World Champion in 2018.
2017 U18 BASEBALL WORLD CUP FINAL STANDINGS
1. USA
2. Korea
3. Japan
4. Canada
5. Australia
6. Cuba
7. Chinese Taipei
8. Netherlands
9. Italy
10. Nicaragua
11. Mexico
12. South Africa
One big inning and a few key errors were all the United States needed, as the 3-time defending champion defeated Australia 9-0 in the final Super Round game at the U18 World Cup.
That loss sees Australia finish with an overall record of 4-4 and a 5th place finish at the U18 World Cup.
QLD’s Duane Johannsen gave it absolutely everything on the mound, as he battled manfully against some of the best young hitters in the world. Johannsen mixed his pitches well, as he made the US hitters work for their hits.
The United States are aiming for their fourth consecutive U18 World Cup, and they showed today why they have been so successful at this level.
The defending champions consistently found base runners and put pressure on the Australian defence, as they broke the game open in the third inning, scoring five runs.
Ky Hampton relieved Johannsen on the mound, and made headlines almost instantly, showing cat-like reflexes to take care of a line drive that nearly took his head off.
Australian U18 Manager Steve Fish was pleased with his team’s effort throughout the tournament.
“I couldn’t be happier with how these young men have performed over the last 10 days,” Fish said.
“We showed we had the quality and the mindset to match it with the best teams in the world. Each and every member of this team went out and competed every single day, they all played for each other and I’ve had a great time managing this group of men.”
Stay tuned for a full tournament recap, final standings and much more as the U18 World Cup comes to an end in Thunder Bay, Canada.
Australia continued to play high quality baseball against a high quality opponent, and behind seven shutout innings from Jack O’Loughlin, they claimed a hard-fought 3-0 win over Cuba at the U18 World Cup.
The Adelaide Bite/Detroit Tigers lefty was under pressure from the Cuban offence, with the Latin side not afraid to lay down bunts, however O’Loughlin held firm throughout. He finished with six strikeouts in his seven innings on the mound.
Defence was the order of the game early, with both teams making some clutch run saving plays. Jarryd Dale made back-to-back run saving plays in the bottom of the second. The reigning Melbourne Aces Rookie of the Year has played spectacular defence in the last few games, and that momentum continued offensively for Australia.
Jacob Amos nailed a hard single to centre field before a triple from Josh Bedggood broke the scoreless deadlock in the fourth. Australia weren’t done there, as Alex Hall broke the game open with two outs. Hall drove in Jess Williams and Nic Anderson-Vine to extend Australia’s advantage.
Australian Manager Steve Fish was pleased with his team’s ability to consistently compete against the best teams in the world.
"This run has been incredible,” Fish said.
“This is a real team of underdogs and I couldn't be prouder. We're competing against teams with astronomical signing bonuses, and we're giving it absolutely everything."
Lochlan Southee and Jess Williams were tasked with throwing the final two innings on the mound. The Cubans did their best to rally with a pair of 2-out singles, however Williams held his nerve, claiming a game ending strikeout and sealing Australia’s first Super Round win at the U18 World Cup.
Australia’s final Super Round game is against the USA at 9am local (11pm AEST). Stay tuned to @TeamAustraliaBaseball on social media for broadcast links.
Australia gave it absolutely everything against the #1 ranked team in the world, but ultimately the Japanese had the final say, claiming a 4-3 win in the 11th inning.
After failing to push any runners across in two extra innings, Hisanori Yasuda broke Australian hearts with a game-winning RBI single to centrefield. Australia had their chances in their two offensive frames, leaving the bases loaded in both the 10th and 11th inning.
Australian U18 Manager Steve Fish remained upbeat after watching his team put out a gutsy performance against the best in the world.
“At the end of the day we failed to capitalise in a couple of key situations,” Fish said.
“Every one of the boys should hold their heads high today. We competed and matched it with the number one team in the world.”
Japan struck first in the opening inning, scoring a pair of runs with two out to put Australia on the back foot. Australia never looked overmatched against the world’s best as they consistently had runners on base, keeping the Japanese defence on their toes.
Despite giving up two runs in the opening frame, ACT’s Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis showed maturity beyond his years on the mound, as he consistently pounded the zone and letting his defence working behind him.
Australia knotted the ballgame at two in the fifth inning with RBIs from QLD’s Josh Bedggood and University of Maine commit Jordan Barnett.
Both bullpens were called upon throughout the middle innings, with Jake Green given the unenviable task of quelling a star-studded Japanese lineup. To his credit, Green put in a memorable performance, throwing four shutout innings to keep the ballgame within reach.
The ballgame was on a knife’s edge late, with both teams demonstrating some excellent baseball, however Japan had the final say to drop Australia’s Super Round record to 0-3.
Australia’s next game at the U18 World Cup will kick off at 1pm local (3am AEST) against Cuba.
CEO Justin Huber followed by presenting an outline for Baseball Victoria’s strategic plan in draft format. The full draft will be presented to the Victorian baseball community in the coming months with the intention of drawing feedback with key stakeholders.
“I have been working very closely with the Board to identify some major opportunities which I’m looking forward to taking into our community for consultation” said Huber.
“The main aim is to create a strategy that is collective and adequately relates to the key tactical drivers of our sport in Victoria which are our clubs, associations and the Melbourne Aces.
“These structures are in place to improve the experience and value to our participants whether a player, a parent, a spectator, a volunteer or a casual consumer and we have an obligation to deliver a strategy that enables both quality and growth.”
As a part of the feedback process, the Baseball Victoria office will be working towards a regionally based tour over the coming weeks and we encourage the participation of the baseball community over this period to help with the completion of this work.
Australia's opponents in the Super Round of the WBSC U18 World Cup have been finalised, with games against Japan, Cuba and the USA scheduled.
OPPONENT
DATE
TIME
Japan
7 September
9.30am local (11.30pm AEST)
✓
Cuba
8 September
1pm local (3am AEST)
USA
9 September
9am local (11pm AEST)
As per WBSC World Cup rules, teams carry their W/L records against the two other qualifying teams from their pool into the Super Round. The two other qualifying teams from Australia's pool were Korea and Canada. Australia lost to Canada (2-8) and Korea (1-4), and will consequently begin the Super Round with an 0-2 record.
CURRENT SUPER ROUND STANDINGS
POSITION
TEAM
RECORD
1.
Korea
2-0
2.
USA
2-0
3.
Canada
1-1
4.
Japan
1-1
5.
Cuba
0-2
6.
Australia
0-2
The top two teams at the end of the Super Round will play for the Gold Medal at 5pm local (7am AEST), Sunday 10 September, while at 12pm local (2am AEST), the third and fourth place teams will play for bronze.
To stay up to date with Australia's progress at the #U18WorldCup, head to Team Australia Baseball on Facebook.
Due to the redevelopment of Narrabundah Ballpark commencing early 2018, Baseball Australia will be freezing the current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Baseball Canberra and are seeking Expressions of Interest for States/Associations and Clubs to host the 2018 Australian Women’s and Youth Women’s Championship.
This agreement is for 2018 only. The dates for the 2018 Australian Women’s and Youth Women’s Championship remain unchanged, with the championship commencing 30th March and concluding on 6 April 2018.
Despite an 8-2 loss against Canada, three wins in the opening round and a superior run differential sees Australia qualify for the Super Round. Korea will progress as the #1 seed in Pool A, with Canada needing a victory over Nicaragua to qualify for the Super Round.
Canada nailed back-to-back home runs in the first inning before adding another homer in the second to hold a six run lead after two innings.
Jackson Boyd bore the brunt of the Canadian onslaught, however settled well in the third and fourth innings. The Victorian righty finished with nine strikeouts through 4.1 innings of work in an admirable display on the mound.
Australian U18 Manager Steve Fish remained upbeat despite the loss.
“Jackson did pitch well tonight,” Fish said.
“He struck out nine and they took advantage of three balls he left up in the zone. We’ve done enough to qualify for the Super Round, which was one of our goals coming into the tournament.”
Australia’s first run of the ballgame came in the fourth, with Jamie Young’s sac fly RBI opening his team’s account as he scored fellow Victorian Jarryd Dale.
Australia managed to push another run across in the seventh after the Canadian team went to their bullpen. Catcher Alex Hall drove in shortstop Jess Williams to bring the margin back to six.
Despite strong relief outings from Williams (1IP, 0H, 2K) and Jett Wright (2.2IP, 2H, 0ER, 3K), Australia’s offence was unable to mount the comeback, as they finished their opening round with a record of 3-2.
Australia’s Super Round schedule is yet to be confirmed, stay tuned to Team Australia Baseball on Facebook for up-to-date information.
Despite an 8-2 loss against Canada, three wins in the opening round and a superior run differential sees Australia qualify for the Super Round. Korea will progress as the #1 seed in Pool A, with Canada needing a victory over Nicaragua to qualify for the Super Round.
Canada nailed back-to-back home runs in the first inning before adding another homer in the second to hold a six run lead after two innings.
Jackson Boyd bore the brunt of the Canadian onslaught, however settled well in the third and fourth innings. The Victorian righty finished with nine strikeouts through 4.1 innings of work in an admirable display on the mound.
Australian U18 Manager Steve Fish remained upbeat despite the loss.
“Jackson did pitch well tonight,” Fish said.
“He struck out nine and they took advantage of three balls he left up in the zone. We’ve done enough to qualify for the Super Round, which was one of our goals coming into the tournament.”
Australia’s first run of the ballgame came in the fourth, with Jamie Young’s sac fly RBI opening his team’s account as he scored fellow Victorian Jarryd Dale.
Australia managed to push another run across in the seventh after the Canadian team went to their bullpen. Catcher Alex Hall drove in shortstop Jess Williams to bring the margin back to six.
Despite strong relief outings from Williams (1IP, 0H, 2K) and Jett Wright (2.2IP, 2H, 0ER, 3K), Australia’s offence was unable to mount the comeback, as they finished their opening round with a record of 3-2.
Australia’s Super Round schedule is yet to be confirmed, stay tuned to Team Australia Baseball on Facebook for up-to-date information.
Ky Hampton made history as he threw the first complete game shutout of the 2017 U18 Baseball World Cup to lead Australia to a 4-0 win against Asian powerhouse Chinese Taipei.
Manager Steve Fish described Hampton's performance as "one of the best performances I've ever seen from a junior," and rightly so, with the South Australian right hander throwing first pitch strikes to 28/37 hitters.
Despite giving up 11 hits on the day, Hampton threw the game of his life to put his team in the box to qualify for the super round.
Couple Ky's outstanding pitching performance with the team's stellar defence, and Manager Steve Fish is a happy man.
"We made great pitches in tough counts and got out of a few jams," Fish said.
"We didn't give up any free passes today which was the key for me. Usually in junior baseball those walks, passed balls and stolen bases really take their toll. It might've been a different result had we let a couple of balls pass us by, but credit Ky and the defence, they were outstanding today."
Following a tough pre-World Cup series against Canada, Jake Amos sprung to life in the ballgame. The NSW outfielder threw out a Chinese Taipei runner at home in the opening inning, before cranking a ball over the fence for his first home run of the tournament.
Nic Anderson-Vine walked and stole second in the fourth frame, and that was all San Diego Padres prospect Jarryd Dale needed as he picked up an RBI single to double Australia's lead.
Chinese Taipei looked ominous every single time they were at the plate, as they had at least one baserunner in eight of their nine innings. Australia's near perfect defence and the ability of Ky Hampton proved too much for one of the top baseball nations in the world.
Nic Anderson-Vine and Rixon Wingrove were instrumental in extending Australia's lead, with both driving in crucial RBI in the top of the ninth to give Hampton and the Australians some extra breathing room.
Chinese Taipei managed yet another baserunner in the ninth, before Nic Anderson-Vine made one of the plays of the tournament, laying out to take an incredible game-ending catch to seal the complete game shutout for Hampton, and put Australia in the box seat to qualify for the Super Round.
Australia's final pool game at the U18 World Cup will be against host nation Canada. First pitch will take place at 8.30am AEST on 6 September.