News

Australia’s pathway in the 2024 Women’s World Cup of Baseball has been revealed.

Australia will be one of six teams placed in Group A with Canada, USA, Mexico and two qualifiers coming from the upcoming Asian Women’s Baseball Championship.  The Emeralds will battle the competition in Group A action in Thunder Bay, Canada in August 2023.

Group B will take part in Japan in September.

Unlike other years and editions of the World Cup, this competition will take place over two years.

The Top Two teams from each group, plus two wild cards, will advance to the final group stage in August 2024 where the competition will return to Thunder Bay to determine the World Champion.

The 2024 tournament will be the ninth edition of the Women’s Baseball World Cup. Australia has traditionally fared well at the World Cup. They’ve finished in the Top 4 on six occasions with their best result being a silver medal in 2010.

For the full release from WBSC click here.

SUMMARY
– Two groups of six teams each will compete in 2023. One group is in Thunder Bay, Canada and the other is in Miyoshi City, Japan.
– The Top 2 of each group will advance to the final group in 2024. These games will be played in Thunder Bay in August 2024 where the crown of World Champion will be awarded.
– GROUP A: Canada, USA, Australia, Mexico, Asian Qualifier 2, Asian Qualifier 3
– GROUP B: Japan, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, France, Asian Qualifier 1

Story by Eric Balnar, photos by SMP Images, video courtesy of World Baseball Classic.

Australia’s run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic has come to an end.

Cuba’s three-run fifth inning was enough to squeak them by a pesky Australian squad, winning 4-3 in the quarter final. Cuba will now fly to Miami to play in the semi-finals.

It was another case of a Cuban close call for Australia. Cuba eliminated Australia at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, the 2019 Premier-12 and now here. All games were by one run.

Australia showed they belong with baseball powerhouses.

Australia hung tough all game. They fell behind 4-1 in the fifth inning and battled back. They even had the go-ahead run on-base in the seventh and eighth.

When it was all said and done, Australia left 10 runners on base and had four innings with multiple stranded.

Rixon Wingrove starred with the bat, driving in all three Aussie runs. He had a huge two-run homer in the sixth to bring Australia within one.

The game ended with a cool moment of the entire Japanese crowd chanting Darryl George’s name – an indication of how much respect Australia gained from the baseball mad country.

FULL GAME RUN DOWN

Australia hit the scoreboard first.

A Darryl George double off the wall in the second inning put him in scoring position for Rixon Wingrove to cash him in with a base knock. George was noticeably pumped crossing the plate.

Australia fought for more in the third. They had a glorious opportunity with bases loaded and two out. But Cuban starter Yariel Rodriguez induced a ground ball to the shortstop to get Cuba out of a jam.

Starting the game for Team Australia was veteran left hander Steve Kent. He was in classic form.

Kent located his stuff well, conceding one hit, two walks and didn’t allow a run in two innings of work. It got Australia settled in the game.

They turned it over to Mitch Neunborn.

Cuba got in the board in the third inning, seizing momentum from escaping a bases load jam.  After a walk and a double, Chicago White Sox star Luis Robert Jr tied the game on a fielder’s choice that cashed in a run from third.

Enter Australia defense. They stood tall with one out, two on and the heart of the Cuban order coming up.

The powerful Japan Big Leaguer Alfredo Despaigne drilled a ball on a line towards a gap by second base, but Robbie Glendinning continued his excellent tournament by robbing him of a base hit, taking runs off the board, and keeping the score tied through three.

Australia pressured again in the fourth. With one out, Rixon Wingrove and Logan Wade worked a pair of walks to put another runner in scoring position.

That chased Rodriguez from the game and brought in Miguel Romero – an Oakland A’s prospect with time in Triple-A. Romero got a strike-out and shallow pop-up to escape the jam.

Romero continued to pitch.

Australian bats kept turning the screws. Even if they weren’t scoring, they were always pressuring. Roel Santos robbed Tim Kennelly by catching a ball while leaping into the fence in the fourth. It may have saved a run, Alex Hall had a hit the next at bat.

Australia had a “Johnny All-Staff” approach again. Josh Guyer pitched a 1-2-3 fourth but a pair of baserunners forced him out in the fifth.

That’s when Cuba struck.

A soft contact hit, a walk and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with nobody out. Despaigne brought home one with a sacrifice fly off Sam Holland. Then, with Jon Kennedy on the mound, Yoelkis Guibert slashed a ball to right field to score two more.

4-1 Cuba.

Australia responded. Instantly.

Phillies prospect Rixon Wingrove continued his big day by sending a towering two-run shot to the moon (over the right field fence) to cut the lead to one.

Australia used xxx pitchers on the day. They were settled again in the sixth inning – after the Rixon bomb – by Melbourne pitcher Dan McGrath who worked a 1-2-3 inning.

McGrath followed it up with an outstanding pick-off move in the seventh to work his second scoreless inning. 4-3 heading in to the 8th.

Australia was able to get runners on first and second with one out in the seventh and eigth inning, but clutch Cuban pitching got them out of the jam.

Australia’s MLB veteran Warwick Saupold got the ball in the ninth. With a runner on second and one out, Robbie Glendinning snagged a line drive to double-up the baserunner and keep it a 4-3 game heading to the ninth.

Cuba got a 1-2-3 inning from their closer, to end Australia’s tournament.

—–

Thank you very much to everybody that tuned it. Australia showed they are right there with baseball’s big players.

We’ll be back.

BOX SCORE: Click here for MLB.com stats and summary.

Australia’s run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic has garnered international attention at the World Baseball Classic.

Major outlets around the world and in Australia are getting behind this team.
Ahead of Wednesday’s 9:00PM AEDT quarterfinal clash with Cuba, here are just a few of the places we’ve turned up.

To get hyped for the game, check out some of our past stories all logged at our WBC23 Hub. Visit www.baseball.com.au/wbc23.

INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE

Stories before the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals include:

• ESPN: “Australia right where they belong at World Baseball Classic” – Click here.
• JAPAN TIMES: “Australia has no fear ahead of WBC quarterfinal” – Click here.
• ABC: “Australia advances to quarterfinals of World Baseball Classic” – Click here.
• THE ROAR: “Shocking the World: How Australia made history” – Click here.
• THE ATHLETIC: “Quarter Final Preview” – Click here.
• JAPAN TIMES: “Dave Nilsson pushing Team Australia” – Click here.
• AL JAZEERA: Coverage on World News – Click here.
• MLB.COM: “Australia books first trip and how” – Click here.
• MSN: “It means everything” – Australia Advances – Click here.
• THE GUARDIAN: “Australia advances to first quarterfinal berth at World Baseball Classic” – Click here.
• MLB.COM: “Before he played baseball, Aaron Whitefield was a softball star” – Click here.
• SPORTING NEWS: “Meet Australia’s Roster” – Click here.
• Major baseball reporter Jon Morosi did a story on Team Australia and their jersey. His tweet went viral, too.

Don’t forget to view all our stories logged at www.baseball.com.au/wbc23.

This list is not inclusive.

Australia has been picked up by organisations like Channel 9, Channel 10, WIN, Fox Sports, Kayo, etc. We’ve also been regularly interviewed on major stations like SEN and ABC.

We’ve also featured regularly on Japanese TV news, including an upcoming segment on major station TV Asahi with famous host Nakai Masahiro.

TWITTER

Tim Kennelly’s daughter was caught by Japanese TV yelling “Let’s go Georgie.” It was seen by over 3,000,000 people, was trending on Japanese twitter, and the broadcast had a 44% market share. Unbelievable.

You can view the tweet by clicking here.

Team Australia’s twitter account – @TeamAusBaseball – has been part of some widely viewed content too. This includes:

• Glendinning tags out Korean player at second base. Click here.
• Japanese fans flock to Australia’s hotel to welcome them. Click here.
• Darryl George tears up during post game interview. Click here.
• Todd Van Steensel strikes out Shohei Ohtani. Click here.

Instagram

Head to Team Australia’s Instagram.

There are some videos that have circulated well and picked up by Japanese news stations. Some of these include:

• Coffee Run at 7-11 (1 million views) – Click here.
• Walk to the baseball field – Click here.
• Skin in the Game – Click here.
• Line Up at 7-11 – Click here.

Other Key Facts

• Shohei Ohtani’s three-run home run off of us in the first inning of the Japan game was viewed 3,000,000+ times in the first hour of posting. The final out of the World Series from November still has less than one million views…
• Images from SMP Website on Team Australia baseball downloaded in 71 different countries on digital news services. News tracking services indicate a reach over 148 million not including shares, copies and screen grabs.
• Over 22,000 photo downloads from news agencies with media subscriptions
• Hundreds of Japanese fans turned up to our hotel room to great us after practice before the quarter finals.
• Stories picked up by news agencies all around the world including ESPN, MLB.com, Al Jazeera, Sydney Morning Herald, Japan Times
• 44% of Japanese households watched our game vs Japan. That’s close to 60,000,000 in Japan alone.
• Many fans came to see us play in Fuchu at our training camp.

by Eric Balnar, photos by SMP Images

Steven Kent starts to cry during an interview in the club rooms. Happy tears, of course.

“I get emotional thinking about it,” says a choked-up Kent. “We’ve all worked our entire lives to get to this point. I just think that we all just believe.”

He gets teary again.

“This is really hard to talk about. But really cool,” he says.  “Outside these four walls there may not be a lot of people who believe in us, but it doesn’t matter what happens out there because all that matters is what happens inside these walls. We expected to be here.”

The 33-year-old is one of the most popular and respected pitchers in Australian baseball. He has been part of the national program since 2007, played in two previous World Baseball Classics, won a Claxton Shield, and been part of all 12 Australian Baseball League seasons.

It’s only fitting that an Australian baseball warrior in Kent gets the start Wednesday night vs Cuba in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals at the Tokyo Dome.

If Australia wins, they jump on a charter plane to Miami immediately following the game to play in the semi-final.

Kent is emotional not because he is nervous. He is emotional because he says he appreciates every little moment which led Team Australia to this point. He’s emotional because he says he knows Australia deserves to be in this position. It’s not an accident.

After the game, he tweeted: “We’re not surprised, and you shouldn’t be either.”

Maybe he’s fighting back tears because he knows the belief that he’s held his entire life is totally justified. They say seeing is believing – and Australia is in the Final 8 of the biggest baseball tournament on the planet.

INFORMATION: Cuba vs Australia – Click here.

“It starts with our manager Dave Nilsson,” says Kent of his coach and Australian MLB All-Star. “He believes that we are good enough to be the best tournament baseball team in the world and that we can beat anyone. And we believe it too.”

Co-captain Tim Kennelly feels it as well. Kent and Kennelly are at their third World Baseball Classic together and this is the furthest they’ve made it.

He says playing for the Green & Gold is different than any other experience because you’re representing a small but mighty community, and all the players have such a similar experience.

“You’re representing your teammates. You’re representing your family and you’re representing your friends and everyone that follows Australian baseball back home,” Kennelly says. “A lot of kids are watching the games, there’s a lot of Australian Baseball League fans watching. It’s cool and if it’s something that they can aspire to be part of this team and know that the quarterfinals, the semifinals is not out of our depth and we can play baseball.”

If you ask any of the players, this moment is generations in the making. In fact, it’s past generations that helped make this moment.

Australia has quietly had significant moments in international baseball. They’ve already tasted the chocolates when they won a gold medal at the 1999 World Cup.

They won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, they won silver at the 2010 Women’s World Cup, they’ve finished second at the Under-23 World Cup.

Australia always seems to be right at the pointy end of tournaments in the junior ranks. Heck, Clayton Campbell pitched that no-hitter for Australia at the little leagues.

At pretty much every level, Australia has always been there for a long time.

There’s been some narrow losses to baseball powerhouses – including two recent one run blows to Cuba. Australia has always been right there. That’s why, when they beat Korea 8-7 in the tournament open – it was such a relief. Australia is “there” and players know it.

Finally, at this tournament, Australia has broken through to the final eight. Maybe Steve Kent was feeling all the heart-break and close calls he’s experienced with his Aussie baseball brothers.

The Aussie baseball family attitude is even reflected on the Australian baseball jersey. The Indigenous emblem on the chest signifies the sharing of stories, experiences and information of baseball stars past and present.

Australia quite literally carries its past on their chest in the thick of a game.

“Anyone that’s worn this jersey and represented Australia has meaning to the team,” says Kennelly. “They’re all the reason why we are here.”

Missed a story? Visit us at www.baseball.com.au/wbc23

Past Australian baseball stars were watching nervously when their country beat the Czech Republic to seal Australia’s spot.

Travis Blackley was nervously tweeting the game, Pete Moylan got a word in, Luke Hughes was noticeably pumped up, Glenn Williams was watching nervously in the stands. Liam Hendriks has been actively sharing stories on social media and has been in contact with the players.

Those five players are just some of many players who have come before that helped inspire this group, just like this group is inspiring now.

And this playing group is talented. Dave Nilsson pointed it out in a press-conference.

“First off, we have good players and we prepared well,” he says.

He’s right. Australia does have good players. They play against other good players. And they prepared very well in a grueling 10-day training camp in Fuchu before the tournament.

Kent says because of that he wasn’t surprised by Australia’s performance.

Eleven of Australia’s players have MLB affiliate contracts. Fifteen have played in Triple-A or higher. Two have played in the Major Leagues. Another has played in the Japanese Big Leagues.

All thirty players compete in the Australian Baseball League – one of the most underrated leagues in the world.

Steve Kent says this run could help garner respect of Australian baseball on the international stage.

“We have plenty of big-name players that come to the ABL,” he says. “It goes to show that over the years we’ve gone from strength-to-strength. That’s shown by the quality of players we get to come over and with raising the standards that’s pushing Australian baseball players to play to that level. We’re getting better too.”

Look at the past ABL Championship series – it was loaded with talent. World Series winners Josh Reddick and Pete Kozma took the field for the Heat. A top prospect in Junior Caminero threatened with the bat. Six-year big leaguer Mikey Martinez roamed the infield.

A Round 10 series between Perth and Melbourne had nine big leaguers involved.

Other big name imports to come to Australia include the likes of Didi Gregorious, Rhys Hoskins, Ronald Acuna Jr, Logan O’Hoppe and Japanese pitcher Shota Imanaga, to name a few.

Shota Imanaga in Canberra

It’s not a walk in the park for overseas stars either. Gregorious hit .189 in his time with the Canberra Cavalry. Josh Reddick, a World Series winner, was hitting less than .200 until late in the season. Logan O’Hoppe hit .273 in his season in Adelaide – he’s looking like Shohei Ohtani’s catcher with the Angels.

The Australians compete. No, the Australians thrive.

Australians like Liam Hendriks grew up playing club ball and then for the Perth Heat. One of baseball’s top prospects, Curtis Mead, is an Australian playing for Adelaide. Aussie big leaguers like Pete Moylan, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Trent Oeltjen, Warwick Saupold, Aaron Whitefield and Justin Huber all regularly played.

All those big names have the same experience of growing up as an Australian baseball player. They grew up with mum and dad driving them to a local club team, they rose the ranks, they played in the Australian Youth Championships, they played in their respective State Leagues, they played in the ABL, they went to academies together.

For Warwick Saupold, that’s what makes the World Baseball Classic experience even greater than his MLB-time.

“We’re all mates, that’s more of it,” says Saupold. “You play in the States and you might know guys in the system and then you play in the Big Leagues with them. But it’s [not the same].”

“In Australia, you grow up playing juniors with them, you go through the ranks with them, and then you get to the men’s team together and you know you’re here for a reason.”

Jack O’Loughlin (right) stands next to Alex Hall at the U13 World Cup in 2012. They are both teammates now on the senior national team at the WBC.

Saupold – now 33 – has been on a long baseball journey with many of his teammates. One of them is Steve Kent.

The two of them went to an elite baseball academy together as teammates and are now about to pitch in their third World Baseball Classic as a pair.

“It’s just different when you go through the system with them all. It’s a different feeling because we’ve all been through such a similar experience,” he says.

Australians may not play 162 games against line-ups nine-deep of the world’s best, but they do compete against the world’s best on a regular basis.

To put it simply, and in the words of Steve Kent – Australia belongs in the same breath as the likes of baseball giants like Cuba and Korea.

“Every team that’s left now in the quarterfinals, everyone is obviously a really, really good team. Cuba is no different,” says Kent. “For a number of years now they’ve been one of the really big powerhouses in international baseball. But we believe we are, too.”

Regardless of the outcome of Wednesday’s battle in front of a massive global audience, Australia has proved they belong with the world’s best.

A win over world number 4 Korea, three wins in the tournament, and a place in the quarterfinal. Who knows? Maybe a trip to Miami is on the cards…

“We belong in that conversation.”

by Eric Balnar

Australia will face traditional baseball powerhouse Cuba at the 2023 World Baseball Classic quarterfinals on Wednesday night.

Live from the iconic Tokyo Dome, the game starts at 7:00PM in Japan / 9:00pM in Melbourne.

Australia is on a run at the world’s biggest international baseball competition featuring the top talent in the world. Entering the tournament, Australia had won two games in four World Baseball Classics combined.

This tournament they’ve won three games.

If Australia beats Cuba on Wednesday, they will advance to the semi-finals in Miami on March 19. You can watch the game on ESPN. Full coverage will be available via the ESPN App and Foxtel Sport customers get free authenticated access. The game will be joined in progress on Kayo following the WNBL match on at a similar time.

Australia last played Cuba at the 2019 Premier-12 tournament, losing 3-2 in extra innings. They also battled at the 2017 World Baseball Classic with Australia falling 4-3 despite out hitting the Cubans.

Veteran pitcher Steve Kent is expected to start for Australia on the mound. Kent is a 12-year ABL veteran who is playing in his third World Baseball Classic. He’s won a Claxton Shield with the Canberra Cavalry and reached as high as Triple-A in the minor leagues.

The Green & Gold went 3-1 in Pool B action to secure second position and a spot in the Final 8. Australia opened the tournament with a famous 8-7 victory over world number four Korea. They followed that up with a 12-2 win over China, a 7-1 loss to Japan and an 8-3 quarterfinal clinching victory over the Czech Republic.

For full stories and coverage, check out www.baseball.com.au/wbc23.

Make sure you follow us on social media @ Team Australia Baseball across most platforms.

AUSTRALIA NOTES

Key moments for Australia Baseball include:

• Going to quarterfinals of World Baseball Classic (2023)
• Ranked 10th in the world
• Made Super Round of U23 World Cup (2022)
• Silver Medal at U23 World Cup (2016)
• Women’s World Cup Silver Medal (2010)
• Athens Olympics Silver Medal (2004)
• 36 Australians played in Big Leagues, more than Australians in NBA
• All 30 on the roster play in the Australian Baseball League
• Consistently put-up results across international junior baseball tournaments including Little League World Series, U18 World Cups, etc

– Finished with a 2-2 record in Pool A in Taiwan…Lost their first two games (4-2 to Netherlands and 6-3 to Italy)…stormed back to win their last two games to qualify for quarterfinals by beating Panama 13-4 and Chinese Taipei 7-1

– Cuba has a rich baseball history and strong domestic competition. Baseball is the #1 sport in Cuba. Their roster has MLB talent, domestic stars, and future giants of the game. This includes legend Yoenis Cespedes, current MLBer Luis Robert, For Cuba’s roster and team preview, click here.

– Cuba beat Australia in the Gold Medal game of the 2004 Athens Olympics

– Among team leaders, Yadil Mujica (2B) has 6RBI  and a .500 average. Yoan Moncada has 1 HR and 5RBI. Erisbel Arruebarrena has a homer and a .357 average.

– Full team stats: Click Here.

– Beat Australia by one run at the 2019 Premier-12 and by one run at the 2017 World Baseball Classic

– Cuba went to the Gold Medal Game of the first World Baseball Classic in 2006 but fell to Japan

– World Baseball Classic history…2017: lost in second round, finished 7th…2013: lost in second round, finished 5th…2009: lost in second round, finished 6th,….2006: lost gold medal game to Japan, finished 2nd

– The Cuba baseball team has been the most successful Cuba national team at the Olympics bringing home three gold medals and two silver medals.

For more information on Cuban baseball history, click here.

QUOTABLES

Dave Nilsson, Team Australia manager:

“I’m extremely proud of the whole group, not just the players, support staff but everyone that’s been involved along the way. It’s good to get through the second round and there’s a sense of relief because we worked really hard.”

“First of all, I have good players, and I think we prepared really well. I think there’s a belief in this group that if we prepare very well, which we did, we are going to put ourselves in a good position and over the last four days you’ve seen that we have played really well and that’s off the back of just some really hard work from all our players. Our preparation I think was right on point.”

Tim Kennelly, Team Australia captain:

“We are going to you to the quarterfinals. I’m super excited for the playing group and yeah, we worked hard to get to this point and excited to get through to the quarterfinals.”

“We’re not done yet. It’s cool to get through the quarterfinals, and if we get through to Miami, the last four teams, that’s going to be pretty cool”

“There’s a lot of people, a lot of Australian baseball fans back home that are watching, a lot of family and friend that are here that have flown all the way to Japan to watch us play. You’re representing your teammates and you’re representing your family and you’re representing everyone that follows Australian baseball back home. A lot of kids are watching the games, there’s a lot of Australian Baseball League fans watching games. It’s cool, and if it’s something that they can aspire to be part of this team and know that the quarterfinals, the semifinals is not out of our depth and we can play baseball.”

“[Cuba is] a talented bunch of baseball players and we have played against them a lot. We haven’t gotten over the line in recent times but we’ve been around the mark. Super excited with this playing group we have got. We are going to go out and play with no fear and give it everything we’ve got. Getting to the quarterfinals is cool, but getting to Miami would be cooler.”

Robbie Perkins, Team Australia catcher

“Our playing group has always played with resilience. Typically, we’re not expected to win games like that, but we always have belief in ourselves that we’re going to go out there and we’re going to shock the world.”

Mitch Neunborn, Team Australia pitcher

“Super excited to be part of a team like this, and the boys were very resilient, great at-bats. We stuck it out, did really well. At the end of the day we are trying to do something pretty cool here and make some history happen, so to go to the quarterfinals and be the first team in the WBC history for Australia is something very, very special.”