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.