In the most exciting game of Honkbalweek so far, Team Australia needed 12 innings to defeat Curaçao 8-7 at Pim Mulier Stadion.
Sydney Blue Sox veteran David Kandilas drove in the winning runs for Team Australia in the bottom of the 12th with a single to centre field.
Starting pitcher Steve Chambers had his second superb outing of the tournament, this time only giving up two earned runs and striking out three in 6.1 innings on the mound.
Trent Oeltjen got the scoring underway in the bottom of the fourth when he nailed his second home run of the tournament, this time with a solo shot to right field. However as soon as Oeltjen got things going for Australia, Curaçao tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.
Oeltjen was again in the thick of the action in the following inning, when a delayed steal paid dividends for Team Australia, with Oeltjen managing a tough slide into home plate to give Australia a one run lead.
Team Australia Manager Jon Deeble continued to praise his team’s effort and execution in the victory.
“We swung the bats really well again,” Deeble said.
“Even when it seemed we were down and out in the ninth these boys kept on fighting. They know when they represent Team Australia they have to leave it all out there and it’s great to see the character of the group shining through.”
After that though, Curaçao started to swing the bats better and make the most of their opportunities, and with a three run lead heading into the final inning, it seemed like Curaçao were destined for their first win of the tournament.
But true to the trademark Australian spirit, Team Australia hung tough. Two clutch RBIs from Logan Wade and Mitch Dening followed by the game tying RBI from Team Australia debutant Andrew Campbell and miraculously, the game was headed to extra innings.
Enter Josh Tols to the mound in a tough situation, with automatic runners on first and second base, but that didn’t phase Tols, who, despite getting into a couple of tricky situations, pitched his heart out with the game in the balance.
“Tols came in and did an exceptional job for us,” Deeble said.
“He was really unlucky to give up the one run in challenging circumstances, his work was outstanding.”
After Curaçao tacked on the go ahead run in the top of the 12th, it was all or nothing for Team Australia, and David Kandilas came up with everything. Following a textbook leadoff bunt from Mitch Nilsson, Kandilas drove the game winning runs in to book Australia’s place in the preliminary final.
Team Australia's opponent is yet to be decided, with the loser of Japan and The Netherlands taking on Team Australia at 7pm (3am AEST) on Saturday night.
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