Australia has begun their 2016 U23 World Cup campaign with a solid 8-1 victory against Austria in Polideportivo last night.
Runs came in bunches for Australia, with two runs crossing in the third, and three each in the fifth and sixth inning.
Austria were on the board early in the first inning when Fernandid Obed nailed a home run off Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Nick Hutchings, but after that, the South Australian settled in to his work nicely.
Despite the lopsided scoreline, Austria threatened, with a bases loaded double play killing their rally in the third inning. Nick Hutchings made a smart play, throwing to home for the first out, with catcher Robbie Perkins fired a strike to Connor MacDonald at first to snuff out any Austrian comeback.
Six of the eight runs scored on the night by Australia came by way of the long-ball, with the hits shared.
The heart of the Australian lineup did the bulk of the damage, with Zac Shepherd, Connor MacDonald and Guy Edmonds each belting home runs, with Detroit Tigers prospect Shepherd leading the line with three hits and three RBIs.
Australia take on Nicaragua in their second game of the U23 World Cup tomorrow morning at 4am AEDST.
To stay in touch with everything to do with the U23 World Cup, head to the Baseball Australia website.
Click here for a full box score.
