After giving up an early run, the guts and determination of Team Australia shone through, defeating a talented Japanese side 4-3 to remain undefeated at Honkbalweek Haarlem.
After playing in Japan for the past couple of seasons, Steve Chambers gave Australia an outstanding start on the mound, throwing 5.1 innings, only giving up one earned run and striking out five in a fantastic effort.
Chambers one earned run came in the opening inning as Satoh made the most of a rare mistake, following his early hiccup, Chambers kept Australia in the ballgame.
Team Australia Manager Jon Deeble was impressed with the team’s ability to grind out a victory.
“We want to be perfect defensively and we were tonight,” Deeble said.
“Chambers threw the ball really well, Josh Tols came in and got through two tough innings, and we got some timely hits against a quality Japanese outfit.”
Japan’s starting pitcher retired the first twelve batters in order before Mitch Dening broke up the perfect game with a single to right field in the fifth.
Making his Team Australia debut at the tournament, Andrew Campbell earned a walk in the sixth, before his Brisbane Bandits team-mate Ryan Battaglia laced a groundball up the third base line, scoring Campbell from first and tying the ballgame at one. Team Australia and former MLB player Trent Oeltjen kept the momentum going, with an RBI double scoring Battaglia from second.
The action didn’t stop there, with an inexperienced Japanese side giving up a couple of crucial errors that caused a bit of chaos amongst the defensive side. After all was said and done, Australia began the sixth one run down, and finished it two runs up and swung the momentum of the game.
Jon Deeble was complimentary of his team’s character and chemistry.
“We go out every game to win,” Deeble said.
“Whether it’s against the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers or Cuba, the culture in this team is fantastic. It’s a really tight knit group and every time they put on the uniform they go out there to represent and perform well.”
Japan pulled within one in the seventh, but a timely RBI sac fly from Mitch Dening extended the lead to two and gave Australia some much-needed breathing space.
Team Australia Manager Jon Deeble went to Shane Lindsay in the 8th, and it wasn’t without trouble, with the Japanese loading the bases with only one man away. However the experience of Lindsay shone through, as he retired the next two hitters to get Australia out of a massive jam.
The nervousness didn’t stop there though, with a runner on third with none out in the final frame. After Wilson Lee recorded the first out, Deeble turned to Matt Timms to claim the final two outs, and Timms didn’t disappoint, sealing a hard fought victory for Australia.
Team Australia takes on Curaçao in their next group stage game tomorrow night at 7pm (3am AEST)