A high quality affair between Nicaragua and Australia ended in ecstasy for Australia, with Guy Edmonds working a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth to walk-off a gallant Nicaragua side 6-5.
Sydney Blue Sox star Jacob Younis was almost the hero in the ninth, when he crushed a ball over the fence, but slid 10 feet foul. Younis made up for it a couple of pitches later, working a walk. Zac Shepherd then belted a long single, which enabled Younis to scamper to third. After Nicaragua intentionally walked Connor MacDonald, it was up to Edmonds, who calmly stood and watched ball four, sealing the result for Australia.
Nicaragua struck first, when Benjamin Alegria took Australian starting pitcher Nick Veale deep in the first inning. It took until the bottom of the third inning for Australia to claim a hit, Ben Leslie’s single to centrefield broke the deadlock, it one of his two hits on the night for Leslie.
It took until the bottom of the fifth for Australia to take a lead, and it was Queensland native Aaron Whitefield that did the damage, with a long two-RBI triple to tie up the ballgame. That hit coupled with Whitefield scoring care of a Jacob Younis sac-fly saw the lead taken by Australia for the first time in the ballgame.
Nicaragua got two runs back in the sixth, but Guy Edmonds made sure their momentum didn’t last, with his second home run in as many days keeping Australia on top.
Again Nicaragua tied up the ballgame in the eighth, but Australia scored the winning run in walk-off fashion to seal a hard-fought win, and sit at two wins and no losses at the U23 World Cup.
World #3 Chinese Taipei are Australia’s third opponent at the U23 World Cup, with the first pitch scheduled for 4am AEDST.
To stay in touch with everything to do with the U23 World Cup, head to the Baseball Australia website.
Click here for the full box score.
