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by Robert Laidlaw |  Greece, August 18, 2004 – 

This story is part of a series running on baseball.com.au from August 15-25 commemorating the 20-year anniversary of the 2004 Australian Olympic Baseball team. Each day will feature a recap and story as if the tournament is happening now. Scroll to bottom of this story for more links and recaps.

COMEBACK AUSSIES IN THE HUNT

Australia has sent a clear message to the baseball world: we are medal contenders at the 2004 Olympics.

The Aussies shocked previously undefeated Japan with a 9-4 comeback win to even their record at 2-2 and breathe serious life into their Olympic campaign.

It’s a big bounce back from an 0-2 start to the tournament.

by Robert Laidlaw |  Greece, August 17, 2004 – 

This story is part of a series running on baseball.com.au from August 15-25 commemorating the 20-year anniversary of the 2004 Australian Olympic Baseball team. Each day will feature a recap and story as if the tournament is happening now. Scroll to bottom of this story for more links and recaps.

BASEBALL CAMPAIGN KICK STARTED

Finally, some breathing space, as Australia won its first game at the 2004 Olympic baseball tournament in Greece, with a 6-0 victory over Italy.

Starting pitcher Chris Oxspring was brilliant on the mound to give Australia a fighting chance.

The game wasn’t as easy or as distant as the scoreline depicts.

The game was scoreless through the first six innings, although Australia picked up a hit in each of the first five frames.

The key to the Aussies’ win was the pitching of Chris Oxspring. He threw a one-hitter for eight innings, with one walk and five strikeouts. Ryan Rowland-Smith pitched a scoreless ninth to keep the shutout in order.

That’s magic from two eventual Australian Major Leaguers.

(PHOTO: Chris Oxspring was dominant in the win. Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

It took an error and a hit batsman to set up Australia’s first runs in the top of the seventh. Andrew Utting reached on a misplay, Gavin Fingleson was hit-by-a-pitch, and Brett Roneberg smashed a two-run double – 2-0 the Aussies.

It seemed just a matter of time before Australia would bunch its hits to score, and it did at the top of the seventh, with Tom Brice, Utting, Fingleson, Rodney van Buizen and David Nilsson collecting singles, for four runs, to pad out the margin to 6-0.

Through the first five innings Oxspring was perfect, facing 15 Italians for 15 outs, with just Giuseppe Mazzanti spoiling the party with a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth, for his country’s sole hit of the game.

BOX SCORE AND PLAY-BY-PLAY: Click here for detailed stats and box score

From the mound for Italy, Michael Marchesano was plucky, holding the Aussies at bay, before being relieved with two out in the seventh frame, conceding six hits for three walks and four K2s in 6.2 innings.

“In such a short tournament we had nothing to lose after going into the Italian game 0-2,” said Tom Brice, who went 3-for-5 in the game.  “Well, it was difficult to go anywhere, as we still had to play Japan, so it was a matter of taking every game as it comes, and at this stage it didn’t look like we would make the medal rounds.”

Brice’s three hits were crucial in Australia’s win. He was an omission from the starting line-up the first two games.

“On a personal perspective, I was annoyed I didn’t start the first two games, so I went into this game with a bit of a chip on my shoulder and wanted to prove a point. I felt I deserved to be in line-up, so, it was pleasing to get three hits.”

“With a team like Italy, as long as you stay in touch, and (Chris) Oxspring was throwing a hell of a game, you know they don’t have the depth.”

Brice said it was a challenge to get by the plucky Italian pitching.

“Their starter was one of their more experienced and better players, so we knew once we got through him, they did not have the depth to hold us off. It was just a matter of trying to chew up pitches, with longer at bats.”

With his strong showing in this game, Brice has set up his tournament and with his outstanding play in the outfield, he is a monty to remain in the starting nine for the rest of the tournament.

As for Oxspring, his outing has helped put Australia back on track, and has put his name at the top of the list as a candidate to pitch in the medal rounds, if the Aussies can continue to play well.

“Going into the game (against Italy), you know, I always felt confident,” Oxspring said. “You still had to consider the unknown, with the players Italy sourced from America. Who were the dangers? But we had good scouting reports on who we could attack and who to avoid in big situations.”

“We had a good game plan and we executed it well, and came away with the win.”

Oxspring said the moment was not lost on him.

“For me it was the first game I played as an Olympian. The whole situation was emphasised, magnified, as far as the importance of beating Italy,” he said.

“That win was a way to bring the team forward, so we could turn our tournament around and move on.”

Australia improves to 1-2 on the tournament but have a date with undefeated Japan looming tomorrow. Australia likely needs a victory to keep their chances of progressing alive.

Here are other scores from Day 3:
– Canada  7 def Netherlands 3
– Chinese Taipei def Greece 1
– Japan 6 def Cuba 3

Standings After Day 3
1. Japan 3-0
2. Canada 3-0
3. Cuba 2-1
4. Chinese Taipei 2-1
—
5. Australia 1-2
6. Netherlands 1-2
7. Greece 0-3
8. Italy 0-3

Top four advance to semi finals.

Other stories:
– Game 2 Recap: Australia vs Chinese Taipei
– Game 1 Recap: Australia vs Cuba
– Preview: Australia looks to learn from success and failures past ahead of 2004 Olympics
– Roster: Meet the 2004 Australian Olympic Baseball team

by Robert Laidlaw | 2004 OLYMPIC BASEBALL – Greece, August 16, 2004 – 

This story is part of a series running on baseball.com.au from August 15-25 commemorating the 20-year anniversary of the 2004 Australian Olympic Baseball team. Each day will feature a recap and story as if the tournament is happening now. Scroll to bottom of this story for more links and recaps.

IS IT OVER BEFOR IT GETS STARTED?

After dropping its first game to Cuba, Australia has dug themselves in huge hole after a 3-0 loss Chinese Taipei in game two of the 2004 Olympic baseball tournament in Greece.

It was always going to be a tough battle. Chinese Taipei also entered the game with an 0-1 record and send highly touted pitcher Chien-Ming Wang to the mound. Wang would progress to a nine year MLB career, mainly with the Yankees, right after the Olympics.

But back to the ball game…

Both starting pitchers, Australia’s John Stephens and Taiwan’s Wang, were solid and each lasted seven innings. Chinese Taipei scored twice in the third inning and once in the eighth.

At the top of the third with one out, Yung-Chi Chen and Chih-Yuan Chen collected singles, with the first run coming in on Chung-Yi Huang’s grounder, which was errored. The second run came from a RBI hit to Cheng-Min Peng.

Then at the top of the eighth, Peng hit a RBI double, which forced a pitching change. In Australia’s last two frames, hits to Gavin Fingleson (eighth) and David Nilsson (ninth), were not capitalised on.

BOX SCORE AND PLAY-BY-PLAY: Click here for detailed stats and box score

Stephens pitched 7.1 innings for seven hits and a walk for two strikeouts in taking the loss. Wang conceded just three hits in seven shutout frames to claim the win for Chinese Taipei.

“It was pretty straight forward, we never wavered but faced good pitching,” Nilsson said. “Straight after the game we addressed what had happened. We were a good team, and don’t need to change much. Trust the process – we are good enough.”

Nilsson added the mentality of the Australian team was to trust their preparation.

“We were prepared, so the message was simple, don’t worry about 0-2, just take it one game at a time.”

Manager Jon Deeble echoed Nilsson’s comments, while also praising experienced MLB pitcher Graeme Lloyd for his insights.

“Firstly, Chinese Taipei threw some good pitching at us, with two Big-Leaguers,” Deeble said. “Graeme (Lloyd) told me he thought we were playing fantastic and to keep doing what we were doing.”

Lloyd (below) even drew on some of his Major League Baseball experience in the biggest of stages.

“He told how when he was with the New York Yankees in 1996 when they were down two games in the World Series against Atlanta, but got up. He said, you just have to keep executing.”

“That was our approach, to keep executing and not worry about the score. That’s right through, the coaches, the players, the EO and the physio. We all have a job to do, and to just keep executing.”

Australia now finds themselves in an 0-2 hole to start the Olympic campaign.

It’s effectively a do-or-die game vs Italy tomorrow, with Japan coming up after that. Only the top four teams advance to the semi finals.

Here are the other scores from Day 2 of the 2004 Olympic Baseball tournament:
– Japan 8 (2-0) def Netherlands 3 (1-1)
– Canada 9 (2-0) def Italy 4 (0-2)
– Cuba 5 (2-0) def Greece 4 (0-2)

Standings After Day 2
1. Japan 2-0
2. Canada 2-0
3. Cuba 2-0
4. Netherlands 1-1
—
5. Chinese Taipei 1-1
6. Greece 0-2
7. Australia 0-2
8. Italy 0-2

Top four advance to semi finals.

Other stories:
– Game 1 Recap: Australia vs Cuba
– Preview: Australia looks to learn from success and failures past ahead of 2004 Olympics
– Roster: Meet the 2004 Australian Olympic Baseball team

by Robert Laidlaw | 2004 OLYMPIC BASEBALL – Greece, August 15, 2004 – 

This story is part of a series running on baseball.com.au from August 15-25 commemorating the 20-year anniversary of the 2004 Australian Olympic Baseball team. Each day will feature a recap and story as if the tournament is happening now. Scroll to bottom of this story for more links and recaps.

Australian bats stifled by reigning silver medalist Cuba in opening game of 2004 Olympics

Australia has opened their 2004 Olympic baseball tournament in Greece with 4-1 loss to Cuba. Two Australian fielding errors and two Cuban home runs did the bulk of the damage.

Michel Enriquez gave Cuba a great start with a one-out home run in the bottom of the opening inning.

A pair of errors set up a second run for Cuba in the third frame, while in the sixth inning, Osmani Urrutia put another one out and over the fence for a 3-0 advantage.

Australia was struggling with the bat.

Over the first six innings, Australia managed just one infield single and a walk and failed to get a runner to second base.

Cuban starter Adiel Palma tossed eight innings of two-hit baseball to shutout the Australians with five strikeouts and one walk.

The best chance for the Aussies to score came at the top of the seventh, when Glenn Williams singled with two out and reached second on an error. But, that’s where he was left stranded.

BOX SCORE AND PLAY-BY-PLAY: Click here for detailed stats and box score

An error and a pair of hits helped Cuba extend its lead with a run in the bottom of the seventh, with Australia finally breaking through at the top of the ninth for its only run of the game.

Rodney van Buizen ran out an infield hit, and after two outs, came home on Andrew Utting’s single to leftfield.

Starting pitcher Craig Anderson threw seven innings in taking the loss, conceding nine hits and no walks for three K2s. Adiel Palma spearheaded Cuba’s win from the mound, giving up two hits and a walk for five strikeouts in eight frames.

“It was disappointing for us, losing that first game, but they threw some good pitching at us,” manager Jon Deeble (below) said. “It was just the first game, so we need to regroup quickly, as it’s a short tournament and every win counts.”

Australia must regroup quickly. They play Chinese Taipei tomorrow, August 16, in their second game. Chinese Taipei dropped their opening game 7-0 to Canada.

Australia must finish in the top four to progress to the semi-finals of the tournament.

Here is a look at the other scores from Day 1 of Olympic action:
– Canada 7 def Chinese Taipei 0
– Japan 12 def Italy 0
– Netherlands 11 def Greece 0

Standings:
1. Japan 1-0
2. Netherlands 1-0
3. Canada 1-0
4. Cuba 1-0
—
5. Australia 0-1
6. Chinese Taipei 0-1
7. Greece 0-1
8. Italy 0-1.

Top four advance to semi finals.

Other stories:
– Preview: Australia looks to learn from success and failures past ahead of 2004 Olympics
– Roster: Meet the 2004 Australian Olympic Baseball team

by Robert Laidlaw

Note: This story is part of a collection in a series celebrating the 2004 Australian Olympic baseball team. Each day between August 15 and 25 we will recap Team Australia’s games, replaying the tournament in “real time” with stories from Robert Laidlaw.

Can Australia win a medal at the 2004 Olympic baseball tournament in Greece? That is the big question, as the Aussies look for some redemption after failing to win a medal in Sydney four years earlier.

Setting the stage: International promise

It was just five years ago Australia sat atop the international baseball world. They won a gold medal at the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, with a 4-3, 11-inning thrilling climax in Sydney against Cuba.

Medal hopes were high for the 2000 Olympic campaign but Australia came up short. A 2-5 win-loss record had the Australians finishing seventh.

Losing to Italy and the Netherlands put Australia out of contention for a medal at the Sydney games.

There was a new coach in 2000.

Former Australian coach Mike Young, who led Australia to its gold medal victory in 1999, was replaced by Jon Deeble – a great Australian national team mainstay transitioning out of his playing career.

The nucleus of the team remained in tact, including the leadership of Australia’s MLB All-Star David Nilsson.

MEET THE ROSTER: 2004 Athens Olympics Squad. 

Nillson said the team could draw on memories from the 1999 campaign.

“In 1999 it worked well, as the tournament (Intercontinental Cup) was in November and I had finished my season with Milwaukee after breaking my thumb six weeks earlier,” Nilsson said.

“I had not played a tournament for Australia previously and I knew we were a chance to win a medal. Personally, it was nice to win a few awards (Nilsson was the MVP of the tournament), but winning a gold medal was special – Australia’s first in senior competition.”

There was a big team mentality of that 1999 bunch.

“Winning was so important, especially when Gary White came off the bench to drive in the winning run against Cuba in the final,” said Nilsson. “He was a veteran guy who had not played much in the tournament but was ready mentally and ready for any situation, and in extra innings with a guy on base, it was a good match-up.”

But things changed just a year later in front of Australian home fans in a Sydney Olympics.

“In 2000 (Olympics) we failed miserably,” stated Nilsson. “Between 1999 and 2000 we had a change of leadership – the whole DNA, the make-up changed, we were a different team. We were positioned to do something at home, but with the changes made we weren’t ready to play, and it showed in our performance.”

“Athens was absolutely about correcting the wrong.”

But this is a different beast. It’s tournament baseball. And, it’s the Olympics.

“The thing about Olympic baseball is that it is a 10-day tournament. In many of the other events, athletes compete for a few days then party and celebrate – we had to forget it was the Olympics and just treat it like a normal baseball tournament,” said Nilsson, then 34.

“The take away for us was that we had a bunch of young guys playing in a pretty big moment, which they had never experienced, so we needed to make sure we were prepared for Athens.”

Nilsson played for Milwaukee Brewers in MLB from 1992-99, batting .284 with 105 home runs and 470 RBIs. In his final MLB season he became the first Australian to play in the All-Star game.

In 2000 Nilsson signed with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan so he could play in the Olympics for Australia. Alhough it was an unsuccessful tournament for the team, he led the competition batting averages with a .565 mark.

A new coach

Jon Deeble played for Australia at the international level from 1983-95 as a pitcher, including the 1988 Olympics.

When Australia won the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, Deeble was a coach and in the turmoil of leadership changes, was appointed manager for the 2000 Olympics.

“That success in 1999 was fantastic,” Deeble said. “I was the bench coach and that team was pretty special.”

The 2000 Olympics didn’t go as planned for Deeble.

“As for the manager’s job for 2000, it was thrown on me late and I wasn’t ready, as the results indicated,” he said. “I put a lot on me but I wasn’t ready. It was just four years after I had played. But you don’t get anywhere without failures, so going into Athens there were lessons learned to fall back on.”

For the 2004 games, Deeble has enlisted some help from the outside.

“After 2000 I did a lot of work with performance psychologist Dr Phil Jauncey, who taught me so much – I spent hours on the phone or in person with him. He helped me and the coaching staff,” he said.

“Our mentality going into Athens was that it’s up to the players – let them play! We had experienced guys who had played professionally, like (David) Nilsson, (Chris) Oxspring, (Graeme) Lloyd, as well as some younger guys who had played at this level for several years.”

Roster & Qualification

The turnover of the roster from the 2000 Olympics to 2004 was amazingly high with just six players remaining in Nilsson, Rodney Van Buizen, Craig Anderson, Brett Roneberg, Paul Gonzalez and Glenn Williams.

To qualify for the Athens Olympics, Australia beat South Africa at Blacktown in Sydney. They won all three games –  8-1, 6-4 and 13-1.

Australia’s program for the 2004 Olympics: August 15 v Cuba; August 16 v Chinese Taipei; August 17 v Italy; August 18 v Japan; August 20 v Greece; August 21 v Netherlands; August 22 v Canada.

Team Manager – Jon Deeble; Coaches – Tony Harris, Paul Elliott, Phil Dale.

Pitchers – Craig Anderson, Adrian Burnside, Graeme Lloyd, Wayne Ough, Chris Oxspring, Ryan Rowland-Smith, John Stephens, Phil Stockman, Rich Thompson, Jeff Williams

Hitters – Tom Brice, Gavin Fingleson, Paul Gonzalez, Nick Kimpton, Brendan Kingman, Craig Lewis, Dave Nilsson, Trent Oeltjen, Brett Roneberg, Brett Tamburrino, Andrew Utting, Rodney van Buizen, Ben Wigmore, Glenn Williams.

There’s no doubt about it. This 2004 Olympic team is one of the most iconic baseball rosters ever assembled in Australian history.

They also accomplished something remarkable – a 2004 Olympic silver medal, Australia’s only hardware from an Olympic Games.

There’s just one problem -itt’s really hard to find succinct game stories, photos, box scores and information about this incredible Olympic run.

Until now.

Over the next fortnight, we will be relieving the 20-year-anniversary of this team in all its glory. In fact, we’ll just pretend like the tournament is happening “now”.

Australian baseball writer & historian Robert Laidlaw will provide a game recap with quotes from some of the players who lived the games themselves to help paint a picture. We’ll have a mini-booklet to distribute at the end of it.

From August 15-25 on baseball.com.au and Team Australia Baseball social media accounts, we will wind back the clock.

We’ll post each recap based on the schedule below. There will also be a preview before the tournament “begins.”

There’s no doubt the competition would be stiff. Only the top four teams can advance to the medal rounds after playing each other once.

Looking back, this Australian team was loaded with pedigree. There were ten Major Leaguers on this team, seven of them pitchers.

There were six returning from the 2000 Olympic squad.

Stay tuned for an official preview. Let’s meet the squad.

POSITION PLAYERS

C David Nilsson: Arguably Australia’s most prolific player, Nilsson captained the side in 2004. Nilsson spent eight years in the Major Leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1990s and was an MLB All-Star in 1999. He was part of the 2000 Olympic squad and a real leader for baseball in Australia. Nilsson also played a season in Japan’s top league.

C Andrew Utting: The 26-year-old reached as high as Triple-A with the Orioles in 1998 but has been out of professional baseball since 2000. He has been playing Claxton Shield with the Queensland Rams.

C Ben Wigmore: A 22-year-old South Australian rising through the ranks in his home state, with the opportunity to provide some depth to the squad.

1B Brendan Kingman: The 31-year-old reached as high as Double-A in his career back in 1999. He is the Australian Baseball Leauge’s single season record holder in homers with 27. Currently playing for NSW in the Claxton Shield.

2B Gavin Fingleson: After playing three years of independent league professional baseball in the early 2000s, 27-year-old Fingleson played a season of independent baseball in the North East League to prepare for the Olympics.

SS Rodney Van Buizen: A versatile infielder, 23-year-old Van Buizen spent the season in High-A in the LA Dodgers organisation. He hit .326 in High-A in 2003.

3B Glenn Williams: The 27-year-old signed a hefty contract as a teenager in 1994 with the Atlanta Braves. In 2004, he was in the middle of his third straight Triple-A season with the Toronto Blue Jays, hitting .264 and knocking on the door of the Major Leagues. Williams eventually reached the Major Leagues with Minnesota in 2005.

UTIL Craig Lewis: A member of the national team since 1997, Lewis has transitioned from being a reliable pitcher to a hitter. He hit .261 for the Brockton Rox in 2004, an independent league

UTIL Brett Tamburrino: The 22-year-old, who can play both infield and outfield, spent 2004 in High-A with the Minnesota Twins where he hit .271.

UTIL Paul Gonzalez: The 35-year-old returns to the Olympics from the 2000 team as a leader. He reached as high as Triple-A in the 90s with the San Diego Padres and played in the top-level of Japanese baseball in 1999. Currently with the Queensland Rams in the Claxton Shield.

OF Tom Brice: The 22-year-old hit .310 in A-Ball with the Chicago White Sox in 2004. In 2005 he played in the top level of Taiwanese baseball.

OF Brett Roneberg: The 25-year-old spent 2004 in Double-A with the Boston Red Sox where he hit .279. He previously had reached as high as Triple-A with the Marlins. Roneberg had a lengthy 11-year career as a minor leaguer.

OF Trent Oeltjen: A young 21-year-old future MLB player who hit .278 in High-A with the Minnesota Twins in 2004. Oeltjen would make his MLB debut five years later in 2009 and play parts of three seasons in the Show.

OF Nick Kimpton: 20-year-old Kimpton was in the midst of a fine season in A-Ball with the Anaheim Angels, hitting .290.

PITCHERS

LHP – Jeff Williams: The 32-year-old had already pitched parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball with the LA Dodgers, but he really made his name in Japan. In 2003 with the Hanshin Tigers in the top level of Japanese baseball, Williams posted a 1.54 ERA in 52.1 innings of relief.

LHP – Ryan Rowland-Smith: The 21-year-old from Newcastle feels destined for the Major Leagues. In 2004, he was in the middle of a season in High-A with the Seattle Mariners. By 2007, Rowland Smith would make his MLB debut. He went on to pitch over 120 games in the Major Leagues.

RHP – Rich Thompson: The newly turned 20-year-old from Hornsby was enjoying success in High-A with the Angels. Thompson would eventually make his Major League debut in 2007 and pitch parts of six seasons and 104.1 innings.

RHP – Wayne Ough: The 25-year-old reached his highest level of minor league baseball in 2004 – Double-A with the New York Mets. After his minor league career ended, Wayne Ough embarked on almost a two-decade career playing all over Europe and in Australian in the ABL.

LHP – Graeme Lloyd: The 37-year-old had just finished a 10-year Major League career which included two World Series rings. Lloyd pitched over 500 MLB innings for the Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, New York Mets and Kansas City Royals.

RHP John Stephens: The 24-year-old was in the midst of a Triple-A season with the Boston Red Sox. Stephens, from Sydney, had already made his Major League debut in 2002 with the Baltimore Orioles.

LHP Craig Anderson: From Gosford, Anderson was 25-years-old at the time and enjoying some success at Triple-A in the Mariners organisation. His professional career extended an illustrious two decades, with nine seasons in the minor leagues and ten in the Australian Baseball League.

RHP Chris Oxspring: In 2004, Oxspring was a 27-year-old knocking on the door of the Major Leagues in Triple-A. He made his Big League debut in 2005 with the San Diego Padres. Oxspring eventually pitched in top-level Japan and Korea. He pitched an inning of professional baseball in the 2023-24 ABL season.

RHP Phil Stockman: The 24-year-old split time in Double-A and Triple-A in the Arizona Diamondbacks organisation in 2004. He ended up pitching parts of two seasons with the Atlanta Braves in 2006 and 2007.

LHP Adrian Burnside: The 27-year-old was in Triple-A at the time of the Olympics. He ended up pitching four seasons in Triple-A. Burnside made his mark in Japan, pitching in the top level for the Yomuiri Giants for three seasons. He also pitched a year in Korea.