News

Australia has qualified for the 2025 WBSC U18 World Baseball Cup after defeating New Zealand in a best-of-five series in Blacktown by a score of 5-0.

Australia will play at the World Cup in Japan, 2025.

Game recaps are below. Scroll down for rosters and info.

LIVE SCORING LINK: Follow on Game Changer

Live Update: Australia leads best-of-five series 2-0.

Game 1 – Thursday 5 December – Australia 10 def New Zealand 0
Game 2 – Thursday 5 December – Australia 4 def New Zealand 2
Game 3 – Friday 6 December – Australia 19 def New Zealand 6
Game 4 – Sunday 8 December – Australia 11 def New Zealand 1
Game 5 – Sunday 8 December – Australia 5 def New Zealand 0

RECAPS

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Game 5 – Australia 5 def New Zealand 0

Four Australian pitchers combined to one-hit New Zealand to wrap up the series.

Riley Peoples (3.0 innings), Mitch Evans (2.0 innings), Deakin Filko (1.0 innings) and Will Couzner (1.0) looked in fantastic form in the win.

New Zealand managed just one hit in the seance inning. The pitchers combined to strike out six batters and allowed just one walk.

Zach Altamura cashed in the first run of the game in the first inning on a two-out RBI single.

Ben Nesbit helped score a pair in the second to push Australia out to a 3-0 lead. Christian Lane and Riley Cooper each drove in a run to round out the scoring in the fifth.

It’s Australia’s fifth victory in the five game series.

Game 4 – Australia 11 def New Zealand 1

Australia has jumped out to a 4-0 series lead after another impressive batting display.

Max Durrington chipped in with three hits and two walks from the lead-off spot. Riley Cooper led the offence, going 2-for-4 with four RBI.

Australia came firing out of a cannon. They opened play with a pair of singles to Max Durrington & Ben Nesbitt.

Andrew Land followed by doubling in the first run. Three straight walks led to two more runs.

Riley Cooper soared Australia away with a two RBI single.

5-0 Australia, all before the first out.

Mason Malkoun added a sixth run with a ground out RBI.

Australia added two more in the sixth, and another pair in the seventh.

On the mound, Ethan Bickell provided a great start. He went 4.0 innings allowing just three hits, one run, two walks while striking out four.

Damien Wilson and Tyler Howarth closed things out for the Aussies.

Game 3- Australia 19 def New Zealand 6

It took about six hours because of rain & lightning delays, but Australia brought the thunder on Friday afternoon to take a 3-0 series lead.

The win guarantees a best-of-five series victory for Australia, with two games still to be played. We’re going to the U18 World Cup!

Ten different Australians reached in this one. Tahlan Cavill and Ben Nesbit each had two hits. Cavill had four RBI.

Max Durrington and Andrew Land secured a pair of base knocks for Australia.

Zach Altamura had three walks, Mason Malkoun had two.

Nesbit and Land also chipped in with 3 RBI.

Australia stormed ahead with a seven run third inning to put the game beyond reach for the Kiwis.

Game 2 – Australia 10 def New Zealand 0

Australia is knocking on the door of the 2025 Under-18 World Cup after a hard-fought win over New Zealand to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

A strong start from Mitch Evans on the mound and a pivotal fifth inning loomed large for the Aussies in the win.

All players in the starting line-up reached base.

Seven different Australians combined for eight hits: Mason Malkoun, Max Durrington, Ben Nesbit (x2), Zach Altamura, Andrew Land, Christian Lane and Riley Cooper.

Liam Kiddle and Cooper Teichmann had walks.

Altamura and Land had the RBIs for Australia.

Mitch Evans (SA) was superb in his start. He threw 4.0 innings, allowing one hit, two walks and struck out four.

Australia put their first runs on the board with a two-out rally in the third. Zach Altamura (SA) cashed in his fourth RBI of the day with a single which was promptly followed by an RBI single Andrew Land (VIC) to double the lead.

New Zealand cut the lead in half in the fifth off a sacrifice fly.

But another two-out rally in the fifth proved to be the difference for the Aussie hosts.
With the bases loaded, Riley Cooper singled in a run. A walk to Liam Kiddle and just like that, Australia earned a 4-1 advantage.

The runs were important because New Zealand wouldn’t quit. They added a run of an RBI from H. Wong and had two base-runners on with one out.

Australian pitchers Will Couzner and Riley Peoples held their nerve, striking out two batters to escape the jam.

Peoples continued his fine form in the seventh & final inning, working a 1-2-3 frame.

Australia returns to the diamond for Game 3 on Friday at 3:00PM. They lead the best-of-five series 3-0.

Game 1 – Australia 10 def New Zealand 0

Photo: Damien Garth. Recap: Eric Balnar.

Australia has secured a run-rule victory in the first game of five-game qualification series for the 2025 U18 World Cup.

It was a full-blown team effort with multiple characters contributing on the box score.

Max Durrington, Andrew Land and Zac Altamura all had two hits.

Andrew Land (VIC) opened the scoring for Australia in the first with a two-RBI single. They added another with a bases-loaded walk to lead 3-0 after one.

Zac Altamura (SA, below)) soared the Aussies in front with a bases clearing double in the second inning to push the scoreline to 7-0.

A Ben Nesbit sacrifice fly moved the score to 8-0 in the third.

New South Wales pitcher Damien Wilson turned in a great start for the Aussies. He went 3.1 innings allowing just four hits while strikeout out six.

South Australian Tyler Green followed with 2.1 innings of one-hit work with one strikeout.

Australia next plays at 3:00PM with a 1-0 series lead.

BOX SCORE 

ROSTER

There has also been a roster adjustment. Queensland outfielder Liam Kiddle and Queensland catcher Cooper Teichmann have been added to the squad ahead of the qualifying event. The updated roster is below.

Australia’s littlest national team is off to try to qualify for the 2025 U12 World Cup.

Australia is in Guam to compete with Guam and Northern Mariana Islands in games between November 29, 2024 and December 2, 2024.

UPDATE: THEY HAVE QUALIFIED!

Here you will find tournament information, roster details and results.

To qualify, Australia must either go undefeated in a double round-robin tournament, or qualify in the top two and play in a Gold Medal game.

The tournament will not be live streamed, but will be live scored. When the links are available we will post them here, with game recaps below. It appears games will be scored on the WBSC website by clicking here.

Game 1 – Friday 29 Nov – Australia 26 def North Mariana Islands 1
Game 2 – Sat 30 Nov – Guam 12 def Australia 5
Game 3 – Sat 30 Nov – Australia 19 def North Mariana Islands 6
Game 4 – Sun 1 Dec – Australia 16 def Guam 0

GOLD MEDAL GAME – Australia vs Guam, 11:30AM AEDT on Monday 2 December.

RECAPS

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GOLD MEDAL GAME – Australia beats Guam to advance to the 2025 U12 World Cup 

The Australian bats came ready to play,

Nine different players had runs for Australia. Eight different players combined for thirteen hits.

Guam scored first, leading 2-0 heading to the bottom of the first.

Then the Australians stormed home. Six in the first, two in the second, five in the third, six in the fourth. All of a sudden, a 19-4 scoreline.

There were numerous impressive offensive performances.

Harvey Ninnis, Jack Clarke, Liam Kelly and Ben Beezley all scored three runs. Clarke, Phillip Toye and Izzy Astill each had two hits.

Phillip Toye led the team with four RBI.

Ezekiel Coughlin and Izaac Johnson each pitched for Australia.

BATTING STATS

2B :(1) CLARKE, Jack

RBI :(1) MCCARTHY, Billy;(1) NEEDS, Koen;(1) MONCRIEFF, Felix;(2) KELLY, Liam;(1) BEVAN, Reef;(1) HARRIS, Jackson;(4) TOYE, Phillip;(1) BEEZLEY, Benjamin;(1) ASTILL, Isaiah;(1) COUGHLIN, Ezekiel;(1) JOHNSON, Izaac

BB :(1) MCCARTHY, Billy;(1) CLARKE, Jack;(3) KELLY, Liam;(1) BEVAN, Reef;(1) TOYE, Phillip;(3) BEEZLEY, Benjamin;(1) ASTILL, Isaiah;(1) COUGHLIN, Ezekiel;(2) JOHNSON, Izaac.

The U12 World Cup will be played in Tainan, Chinese Taipei from July 25 – August 3.

BOX SCORE

Game 4 – Australia defeats Guam to set up a gold medal clash

Australia won a must-win game over Guam to set up a Gold Medal medal at the U12 World Cup Qualifiers.

Preston Taylor pitched all four innings in the Australian win, allowing just one hit. He had four strikeouts and with the bat tallied an RBI.

The game was tied entering the third but Australia put up 14 runs in that inning. They added two more in the fourth before the game was called due to rule rule.

Guam made 15 errors in the loss.

Harvey Ninnis led the team with two hits.

Australia and Guam finish the double round robin tied with a 3-1 record. Tomorrow at 10:30AM local time, 11:30AM in Sydney, Australia will battle for a spot in the U12 World Cup in the Gold Medal Game. Their opponent? Guam.

BOX SCORE

Game 3 – Australia 19 def North Mariana Islands 6

Australia has bounced back after a morning loss with a resounding win.

The Aussies were trailing 3-2 in the second before taking the lead with two runs in the bottom of the frame, and exploding for eight runs in the third.

Reef Bevan and Izaak Johnson each scored three runs. Jack Clarke and Bevan led Australia with two hits apiece.

As a team, Australia combined for eight hits and eight walks.

Australia will need to beat Guam tomorrow to force a Gold Medal Decider Game to see who qualifies for the World Cup.

BOX SCORE

Game 2 – Guam 12 def Australia 5

Australia has dropped a game in the U12 Qualifiers to Guam.

The tournament hosts broke a 2-2 deadlock in the fourth with an RBI from Chad Atalig. Guam scored two in the fourth and five in the fifth to take a commanding 9-2 lead.

Australia fought their hardest to get back in the game, clawing back three runs in the bottom of the fifth. But Guam drew back with three runs of their own.

Phillip Toye, Ben Beezley and Harvey Ninnis had Australia’s hits.

Australia falls to 1-1 at the World Cup Qualifier while Guam improves to 2-0. Australia next plays this afternoon at 2:30PM AEDT vs North Mariana Islands.

Australia will likely need to beat Guam tomorrow afternoon to force a Gold Medal Game decider to advance to the World Cup.

BOX SCORE

Game 1 – Australia 26  def North Mariana Islands 1

An incredible full team effort in their first game together! 15 different Australian players scored a run in a big win to start the tournament.

Brock Harding, Isiah Astill, and Phillip Toye each had two hits as the team combined for 13 base knocks on the afternoon.

Toye led the team with 3 RBI and had a big double.

Izaac Johnson, Preston Taylor and Ezekiel Coughlin each pitched 1.1 innings. Coughlin had three strike outs to lead all Aussie pitchers.

Australia scored six in the first, eleven in the second, and nine in the third.

Australia also took care of the baseball. They only walked two batters while they earned fifteen base on balls as a group when at the plate.

The boys and girls will rest up for a big double-header of game tomorrow.

BOX SCORE & STATS

CURRENT STANDINGS

1. Australia 1-0
2. Guam 0-0
3. North Marian Islands 0-1

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

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Here’s how it works:

– Each team will play each other twice;
– If one team goes undefeated (four wins), they will be declared the winner of the qualifier;
– If no team is undefeated, the top two teams will play in the finals

18 players have been named to the Qualification Squad. The list is below.

STORIES

– Nov 27: Profile on Audrey Cheung

 

Team Australia will play at home once again.

Hosted by the Melbourne Aces and the Victorian Government, Team Australia will play in a three-game series, showcasing a truly “International” Baseball Showdown, vs the Hanhwa Eagles.

Proudly supported by the Victorian Government through the Significant Sporting Events Program, the Eagles will train at Melbourne Ballpark from 25th January to 19th February 2025, culminating with the International Baseball Showdown series, played over 3 days from February 14th-16th 2025.

Steve Dimopoulos, Victoria’s Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events said he’s excited to welcome the Hanwha Eagles back to Melbourne for the three-game series in 2025.

“Victoria is the home of major events in Australia and the Melbourne Ballpark is the ideal venue for world class baseball.”

“We’re excited to host yet another elite sporting event thanks to the Significant Sporting Events Program.”

The Showdown set a record crowd attracting more than 4,000 fans across the two games, with Hanwha sweeping the inaugural series.

“It’s an honour for Team Australia to play in front of our fans here in Melbourne, especially against an international team of the Hanwha Eagles’ calibre,” said Baseball Australia CEO, Glenn Williams.

“These games wouldn’t be possible without the invaluable support of the Victorian Government, and we look forward to putting on an exciting display of baseball in February.”

For Melbourne Ballpark, the Aces relationship with the Eagles benefitted the facility – which included building a new practice field last year.

“The Hanwha Eagles are pleased to announce our return to Melbourne, drawn by the city’s excellent facilities, favorable training environment, warm weather, and little time difference with South Korea,” said General Manager of the Hanwha Eagles, Mr Son Hyuk.

“I extend my sincere gratitude to the Melbourne Aces and the Victorian Government for their invaluable support, allowing our players to dedicate themselves entirely to training during this period.”

“In addition to return matches against the highly competitive Australian national baseball team, the Eagles are looking forward to delivering an exceptional performance in the upcoming KBO league after the Melbourne spring training.”

Melbourne Aces General Manager – Justin Huber, is excited to see the event return in 2025.

“After such an overwhelming success, I just can’t wait to bring this event to Melbourne Ballpark again in February,” said Huber.

“The Hanwha Eagles are fast becoming a big part of the Aces community, we love hosting their spring training, and to be able to see this event come to life, with all that Australian baseball has to offer on show, is a dream come true.”

Tickets are now available for pre-sale for all 2024/25 Melbourne Aces members by logging into your member account or calling the Melbourne Aces Box Office on 03 8360 9371. Tickets will go on sale to the public shortly after through the Aces Website.

Australia wrapped up its 2024 Premier12 campaign with a 5-2 loss to Korea at Tianmu Stadium in Taipei on Monday afternoon.

Three errors in the field, missed opportunities and a massive performance from Korean All-Star slugger Kim Doyeong led to the Korean victory.

Kim was an imposing force in the batter’s box. He went 3-for-4 with four RBI and a critical two-run homer in the sixth to sail Korea ahead.

Not long before the dagger home run, Liam Spence (below) had just pulled the Aussies back within one with his second hit of the afternoon.

Australia had their chances. They had bases loaded with nobody out in the fifth, and runners on the corners with one out in the sixth. Australia scored just one run each of those innings.

Meanwhile, Korea capitalised off Australian miscues.

Only one of their first three runs were earned. Australia made three errors in the first four innings which helped extend Korean innings.

“Defense and limiting free bases has not been where it needs to be the last two nights,” said Australia’s hitting coach Chris Adamson at the post game presser. “It’s going to continue to be a focal point for us and something we need to clean up.”

Australia finishes the Premier12 with a 1-4 record. They will have to await the outcome of tonight’s Japan / Dominican Republic & Cuba / Chinese Taipei games to see where they finish.

If Chinese Taipei & Japan both win, Australia will finish fourth in the group, and seventh overall in the tournament.

“Overall, we’re disappointed. That’s not where we wanted to be or think we should be,” said Adamson. “But there’s a lot of good foundations and young players coming through.”

Liam Spence led Australia in batting, collecting two of Australia’s five hits. Tim Kennelly, Rixon Wingrove & Darryl George had the other base knocks.

Australia used seven pitchers in the loss: Tim Atherton, Steve Kent, Josh Guyer, Warwick Saupold, Sam Holland, Coen Wynne and Todd Van Steensel. They combined to allow 10 hits, three walks and three earned runs.

BOX SCORE: Click here

HOW IT UNFOLDED

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Some sloppy play hurt the Australians.

Three Aussie errors in the first four kept extending batting innings for Korea and helped put runs on the board.

Of Korea’s first three runs, only one was earned. 

Australian pitching had its moments.

Tim Atherton had a huge bases loaded strikeout in the second to keep the game scoreless, bailing out a defensive error.

Darryl George also kept a run off the board off a funny deflection.

Kim Doyeong picked up his first RBI in the third, a single up the middle against Steve Kent.

Korea had their breakthrough in the fourth inning, to no fault of pitcher Josh Guyer.

In wet conditions, Chang-Ki Hong dribbled a ball down the line off a half-hearted swing.

It hugged the foul line between home and first, keeping the inning alive.

Guyer induced a weak ground ball to Shin Minjae. The ball rolled between first base and the pitcher but a slightly arrant throw from Rixon Wingrove allowed Minjae to reach and a run to score.

The next batter Kim Doyeong singled to left. 3-0.

Australia loaded the bases in the fifth with no outs.

But an Ulrich Bojarski strike-out, Jarryd Dale ground out, and Aaron Whitefield left them juiced. 

Travis Bazzana picked up the RBI with a bases-loaded walk to push the lead to 3-1.

Australia pressured again in the sixth. They had two on and one out. Liam Spence was able to grab his second hit of the night in his first Premier12 start.

“In a word, ‘no’, I am not surprised with Liam today,” said Adamson. “He is the ultimate professional and he took the opportunity presented with two hands and I think he’s going to be a large part of this team going forward.”

It didn’t take long for Korea to return serve after the Spence RBI.

Kim Dayeong continued his impressive day, launching a two-run homer off Sam Holland to extend the advantage back out to three. It was his fourth RBI and third hit of the day.

Coen Wynne kept Australia in the fight from there. Wynne, in his third appearance of the tournament, tossed 1.1 innings allowing just one hit with one strikeout.

Todd Van Steensel also pitched a perfect eighth inning.

Australia was sat down without a baserunner in the final two innings.

“Overall I think it’s a bit of a changing of the guard,” said Adamson in summary of the tournament. “We have some young talent, and we have some older players, and young pitchers like Coen Wynne continues to go strength to strength, so there’s a lot to build on. There’s exciting talent coming through.”

A huge thank you to our family and friends for coming to support.

It was long. It was loud. It was laborious.

Powered by a deeply boisterous home crowd, Chinese Taipei completely overwhelmed Australia in an 11-3 Premier12 win that ended Australia’s chances of advancing to the Super Round.

Chinese Taipei fans were on their feet, singing fight songs to a marching band from the first pitch, in a tilt that lasted over four hours.

They left happy. Chinese Taipei are going to the Super Round.

Chinese Taipei outmuscled Australia, tallying 26 baserunners from 16 hits, eight walks and two errors.

They were conducted by the artful bat of Li Lin.

The Rakuten Monkeys All-Star, who hit .358 in the CPBL this season, was a problem for Australia. He 4-for-5 with five RBI and a killer three-run homer that put the game to bed.

“Chinese Taipei were outstanding tonight. The energy in the Dome was something we haven’t experienced before. They were relentless,” said Team Australia hitting coach Chris Adamson after the game. “Chinese Taipei were tremendous so hats off to them.”

The hosts were simply relentless. I’m not even talking about the players, although they were on too.

By the seventh inning, they had 20 base runners.

Australia used nine pitchers in the loss.

The bright spot? Solomon Maguire hit a homer off his first swing on the senior national team.

On to the game…

There was one glaring difference between the two teams: production with two outs on the board. Australia just couldn’t seem to deliver the knock-out punch to get out of an inning, nor find one when opportunities came knocking, especially early.

In the first inning, Chieh-Kai Pan capped off a complete two-out rally vs Mitch Neunborn with an RBI single.

In the second inning, Li Lin singled off Jon Kennedy to extend the advantage to 2-0.

In the fourth inning, Song-En Tseng doubled home a pair of runs off Lewis Thorpe to push a lead to 4-1.

In the fifth inning, Li Lin struck again, this time off Dan McGrath. His RBI-single capped off three consecutive Chinese Taipei hits with two outs.

All with two outs. You get the idea.

BOX SCORE: Chinese Taipei 11 – Australia 3

Australia wasn’t without their sprinkle of magic.

The headline had to be Solomon Maguire. The 21-year-old hit a home run with his first swing in a senior Team Australia uniform.

“It was amazing to be around. Someone that is so young and early in his baseball journey, to see him grab the opportunity and make most of it was great. Everyone was super happy for him,” said Adamson in the post-game presser.

Although, young Maguire is accustomed to the Green & Gold, becoming the first player in history to play in an U12, U15, U18, U23 and a senior World Cup.

His third-inning deep fly brought the lead to 2-1.

Australia had other chances, especially early.

Travis Bazzana opened the game with a single, but the inning ended with a strike-em-out-throw-em-out. Rixon Wingrove and Tim Kennelly started the second with a single each, but Darryl George, Alex Hall & Robbie Perkins all struck out.

Wingrove and Kennelly ended the game with two hits each.

On the pitching side, Australia used the “everybody” approach again. Australia used six pitchers in the first five innings: Mitch Neunborn (1.2), Jon Kennedy (1.0), Coen Wynne (0.1), Lewis Thorpe (0.2), Sam Holland (1.0).

Coen Wynne (below) & Jon Kennedy also provided a crazy moment. In the third, Chinese Taipei worked two runners on base (second and third) with no outs. Kennedy worked a pop-out and strikeout, before Wynne delivered the inning-ending push out.

By the end of the fifth inning, Chinese Taipei had peppered Australian pitching for nine hits, six walks and an error. Australia did well to contain the hosts to just five runs off their 16 base runners.

Todd Van Steensel appeared to settle things down in the sixth. He needed just seven pitches to work Australia’s first and only 1-2-3 inning of the game.

He retired the first out of the seventh before allowing a single. That was the end of his day for Todd.

Blake Townsend entered. After an error helped put another baserunner aboard, Li Lin stepped up to the plate. He catapulted a three-run homer to centrefield that put a dagger in Australia’s tournament.

Robbie Perkins hit a homer in the seventh but Australia was too far behind.

Will Sherriff tossed a perfect eighth inning. But Chinese Taipei launched another three run bomb to put an exclamation mark on a historic evening. They’re going to the Super Round.

Australia added an RBI off the bat of Alex Hall to round out the scoring.

Australia falls to 1-3. They can not advance to the Super Round. They will play for bragging rights vs Korea tomorrow at 12:00PM local time, 3:00PM AEDT.

 

 

story by Eric Balnar, photos by SMP Images

Australia had plenty of chance but couldn’t find a decisive blow in their 4-3 loss vs Cuba on Saturday afternoon at the Premier12.

It’s the same score Cuba bested Australia with at the 2023 World Baseball Classic quarterfinals.

In this particular ball game, Australia stranded 12 baserunners, including twice leaving the bases loaded.

To be fair to Cuba, they also had plenty of chances. They tallied eleven hits and fourteen base runners of their own. Cuba just scored one more.

Cuba did their damage in the third inning in the form of a Yadier Drake three-run homer. It helped erase an early 2-0 advantage the Australians had jumped out to in the first inning.

The Aussies stayed in the fight, knocked on the door, but ultimately couldn’t bang it down.

Australia’s record falls to 1-2, but are still very much in contention for a spot in the Super Round. More on that below. Cuba improves to 1-2.

“Both teams played similar,” commented manager Dave Nilsson after the game. “We both navigated well through baserunners, we just couldn’t find that breakthrough.”

Australia’s top of the line up was productive. Travis Bazzana, Aaron Whitefield, Robbie Glendinning and Rixon Wingrove combined for seven of Australia’s eight hits.

Glendinning (2-for-2, HR, RBI, 2 runs), Bazzana (2-for-4) and Whitefield (2-for-5) led the offensive output.

Darryl George and Rixon Wingrove also had RBIs for Australia. Those game in the first inning, drawing the Green & Gold ahead 2-0.

BOX SCORE: Cuba 4 def Australia 3 

Here is the situation for Australia to advance to the Super Round…

Australia is now in a log-jam at 1-2, tied with Cuba, Dominican Republic and Korea.

Japan and Chinese Taipei sit top with a 2-0 record but play each other Saturday night.

Australia will be cheering for Japan tonight to inflict a loss to their Taipei-based hosts.

If that happens, Australia will have a chance to enter the Top 2 should they beat Chinese Taipei tomorrow. Their 5-0 win over Dominican and one run loss vs Cuba bodes well in the event of a tie-breaker.

They’re still well placed. But, regardless of tonight’s outcome, Australia must win their next two games if they wish to advance.

“The most important game is tomorrow night vs Chinese Taipei, right now we just have to focus on that and get a win and focus on that,” he says.

High stakes.

STANDINGS (remaining games in parenthesis)

1. Japan 2-0 (vs TPE, CUB, vs DOM)
2. Chinese Taipei 2-0 (vs JPN, vs AUS, vs CUB)
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3. Australia 1-2 (vs TPE, vs KOR)
4. Cuba 1-2 (vs JPN, vs TPE)
5. Dominican Republic 1-2 (vs KOR, vs JPN)
6. Korea 1-2 (vs DOM, vs AUS)

Schedule, scores, stats, standings and results can be found here: www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-premier12/

How The Game Unfolded

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It was a high event first two innings. Well, a high-event ballgame.

In the first inning & a half, Australia and Cuba combined for nine baserunners, including six from the Green & Gold, but only three runs crossed the plate.

Australia jumped 19-year-old Cuban starter Dario Sarduy. Aaron Whitefield, Robbie Glendinning, Rixon Wingrove and Darryl George all recorded singles – the latter two RBIs – to give the Aussies an early 2-0 advantage.

Sarduy was pulled in favour of Andy Vargas after just two outs.

Australia loaded the bases with two outs in the second, but left them loaded.

Cuba recorded three straight hits to start the game off starter Tim Atherton. One of those hits scored a run. 2-1.

But Atherton held firm. He struck out global baseball’s all-time homer king in Alfredo Despaigne and forced an inning-ending double play ball to Ariel Martinez to end the inning.

Longtime national team slugger Yadir Drake belted a three run homer in the third inning to put Cuba up 4-2. 

Australia was mostly neutralised until the fifth inning when Robbie Glendinning set a solo shot over the left-field wall. 4-3.

Australia was able to hold themselves in it thanks to some fine work by the bullpen.

Luke Wilkins (below)  tossed 2.0 innings, allowing just two hits. Steve Kent followed suit, registering two outs in the fifth and sitting down Cuba in order in the sixth.

Australia had a glorious chance in the seventh. Three walks by Cuban pitchers loaded the bases. Alex Hall had a good crack at it, hitting the ball hard, but right at the second baseman.

“He hit it well but it was right at him, that’s how it goes,” said Nilsson.

Cuba kept up their pressure on pitchers Will Sherriff and Josh Guyer. Australian defense held firm. The big moment came in the bottom of the eighth when Josh Guyer connected with catcher Robbie Perkins and second baseman Travis Bazzana on a strike-em-out-throw-em-out.

But, closing pitcher Radiel Martinez closed the door.

Australia used six pitchers in the loss. They’ve now used 18 pitchers in the tournament.

“It’s a match-up thing, and just the way the game has gone,” said Nilsson.

Australian pitching took a no-hitter deep into the eighth inning, Robbie Perkins drove in four runs and the Aussies left Tianmu Stadium with a 5-0 win over the Dominican Republic.

It’s the first win of the tournament for Australia, who even their record up at 1-1. Dominican Republic falls to 1-2.
It was a full team effort. Six different Aussies collected hits, including two from Robbie Perkins, Alex Hall, and Darryl George.

Six different pitchers stifled the Dominican Republic bats.

But this game has Robbie Perkins paw prints all over it. The longtime catcher was productive, to say the least.

Manager Dave Nilsson called it the ‘height of a performance.’

He opened the Australian scoring in the third inning with a two-run homer to deep centre field. Alex Hall helped set it up with a triple.

 

He cashed in Darryl George with an RBI single in the fourth inning to push the lead to 3-0.

His sacrifice fly in the sixth gave the Aussies a 4-0 advantage. The sox score could have read: Robbie Perkins 4, Dominican Republic 0.

“I don’t think you’re going to get a bigger contribution than what Robbie did today. He really assisted with Saupold in those first three innings, so that is the height of a performance when it comes to someone,” says manager Dave Nilsson.

All up, Perkins went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBI.

But what he did behind the plate was even more special. Australia took a no-hitter into the eighth inning off the back of five different arms.

“My job was easy today,” laughed Perkins after the game. “Warwick came out pounding the zone and everyone followed suit.”

Warwick Saupold opened the game with three excellent innings, allowing just a walk. Sam Holland was perfect in his two innings.

“Warwick just through strikes. We needed to be crisp and clean and Warwick did that right away and put us on the front foot,” says Nilsson.

It wasn’t without its troubles. Luke Wilkins walked a pair of batters to start the sixth inning.

Enter Coen Wynne. The Sydney-sider struck out Michael De Leon and then forced former MLB third-baseman Kelvin Gutierrez into an inning ending double play.

Swaggy.

“Pure adrenaline. Pure passion. Pure energy for the boys. I just wanted to put my best effort forward to keep the boys in the game and get us back in the dugout,” he says. “I tried not to think too much. The situation is the situation. You have to control what you can control. I back myself to get anybody out.”

Wynne tossed a perfect seventh inning with two punch outs, finishing with a line that read: 2.0 innings, 3 strikeouts, no runs, no hits and a massive double play.

Jon Kennedy conceded the first hit of the ball-game in the eighth. The next batter? Double play.

Dan McGrath closed it out in a 1-2-3 inning.

“I think we’re at our best when we are having fun by doing it for each other, but it’s so much more stress free when the pitchers do their job like that as well.”

Tim Kennelly helped add insurance with a seventh inning RBI-single.

The win moves the Aussies to a promising position.

But Perkins says it’s a business-like approach for the squad ahead of their 12:00PM clash with Cuba tomorrow.

“We’re happy with the win. You’ll take a moment to appreciate it but there’s a game tomorrow and we’ll get right back at it,” he says.

For the full box score, click here.

POOL B STANDINGS

For full tournament standings, visit www.wbsc.org.

1. Chinese Taipei 2-0
2. Japan 1-0
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3. Australia 1-1
4. Korea 1-1
5. Dominican Republic 1-2
6. Cuba 0-2

Upcoming Australia schedule:
– Saturday 16 November vs Cuba @ 12:00PM local / 3:00PM AEDT
– Sunday 17 November vs Chinese Taipei @ 6:30PM local / 9:30PM AEDT
– Monday 18 November vs Korea @ 12:00PM local / 3:00PM AEDT

More Stories

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Head to our Premier12 hub for more stories and information: www.baseball.com.au/premier12

But, it would be worth your while to check out our mini documentary series from this tournament & training camp. It’s called ‘Out of Left Field: The Story of Australia’s Best Kept Sporting Secret’

All episodes can be found here: www.baseball.com.au/documentary.

The latest episode can be found below:

 

We are in Asia covering Team Australia in the Premier12. We hope you follow along our journey at www.baseball.com.au/premier12.

We’re taking you behind the scenes with a mini documentary series released every few days. The series is called “Out of Left Field: The Story of Australia’s Sporting Stars”.

Make sure you follow @teamaustraliabaseball on Instagram, @teamausbaseball on X and Team Australia Baseball on Facebook for behind the scenes.

Filmed, produced and edited by Trent Schwarz.

Coordinated by Eric Balnar, Team Australia content & media manager.

Created by Team Australia Media, Trent, Eric & Kaitlin.

recap by Eric Balnar, photos by Scott Powick

You wouldn’t say Team Australia was particularly sharp in their 9-3 Premier12 opening game loss to Japan.

You need to be clean if you have hopes of defeating a world number one team, like reigning Premier12 champions Japan. Especially in their house.

The Japanese line-up took advantage of an Australian team that wasn’t at their best.

Australia’s head coach Dave Nilsson called the day “disappointing.”

Japan piled on early and pulled away late in the Group B clash in Nagoya in front of an enthusiastic and supportive sold out crowd.

Although, Australia did find themselves within a pair of runs in the late stages of the game, thanks to Travis Bazzana’s second hit of the night, and homers to Ulrich Bojarski & Rixon Wingrove.

Japan, though, were persistent and consistent.

All nine batters in Japan’s starting nine reached base. Six of them reached twice. Japan scored in six of their eight offensive innings.

Australia didn’t help themselves.

They made a crucial error, saw wild pitches and were caught out on the base baths.

Japan scored five of their runs in the first four innings, scoring at least once in each frame, to race out to a 5-0 lead.

One of those runs came off a wild pitch, another two of them came off a Robbie Glendinning throwing error.

“I’m disappointed with today,” says Australia’s manager Dave Nilsson. “The moment was maybe a bit too big for the guys early. The first few innings we weren’t really sharp. We let ourselves down with a few errors. When you give a team like that opportunities, it makes it hard.”

For Australia, Travis Bazzana had two hits and a stolen base in his senior team debut.

Rixon Wingrove and Ulrich Bojarski hit home runs in the sixth inning to cut the margin to 5-3. Bojarksi’s was a 452 foot monster shot. Rixon powered his to 436 feet.

At the post-game press conference, Bazzana wasn’t interested in talking much about his two-hit performance.

“It’s a team game,” Bazzana said. “Two hits was good in this environment but it’s disappointing the way we played so it only means so much.”

Bazzana accounted for two of the five hits vs 21-year-old Japanese starter Haruto Inoue.

The Tokyo Giants pitcher, who had a 2.76 ERA in the NPB this season, tossed 5.0 innings with eight strikeouts, five hits, no walks and two runs.

Australia provided a glimmer of home in the sixth. To their credit, they worked themselves right back in the ballgame to give themselves a chance.

Ulrich Bojarski led off the inning with a solo shot off Inoue. Rixon Wingrove put an exclamation mark on it with a two-run homer of his own of their first relief pitcher.

“We did show a bit of fight and did some good things. And we can build on that in Taiwan,” says Nilsson. “[That] was encouraging. Some good swings of the bat. It was a tough night. We will get back after it.”

Japan’s relentless batting was led by Hanshin Tigers superstar Shota Morishita who had three hits and two RBI.

Japan, laced with a team of NPB All-Stars, also benefitted from multi-hit contributions from Kaito Kozono, Ryoya Kuhihara, Shugo Maki and Shoji Sakakura.

Those collection of stars helped blow the game open late.

The crowd was whipped into a frenzy most of the night. They were singing, chanting and cheering their Japanese heroes with vigour.

Japan scored one run in the seventh and pulled away with a crooked eighth inning, scoring three runs.

9-3 is your final score from Nagoya.

Of note, Australia used 12 pitchers in the game: Lewis Thorpe (below), Sam Holland, Blake Townsend, Mitch Neunborn, Jon Kennedy, Todd Van Steensel, Tim Atherton, Coen Wynne, Dan McGrath, Will Sherriff, Josh Guyer and Steve Kent.

“I wanted to make sure our pitching staff was ready for the rest of the tournament. We need to make sure we are set up for the next four games and I can understand who they are a bit better,” Nilsson said.

Australia continues their tournament in Taiwan on Friday night when they’ll face the Dominican Republic. 

They’ll use Thursday as a travel day.

Nilsson isn’t panicking.

“Losing one game doesn’t derail us or take us off course. We know every team will probably have some losses along the way,” says Nilsson. “It’s about being able to bounce back and stay on target and that’s what we’ll do.”

For Bazzana and the players, it’s time to regroup.

“I think we need to learn what we did poorly tonight, but not take it into the next game,” he says. “Play with confidence. Trust the players next to us. But we have to play with confidence and not let this game lower our expectations of winning. Refresh, learn from mistakes, but play with great confidence.”

You can find the schedule at www.baseball.com.au/premier12 

You can view the Box Score here. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW – GAME UPDATES AS IT HAPPENED

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– Travis Bazzana led off the game with a full-count single to open his account as a senior men’s team player

– A persistent Japanese batting line-up scored one run in each of the first three innings. By the end of the third, seven Japanese batters had already reached. Kaito Kozono and Ryosuke Tatsumi had RBI. One of those runs was on a wild pitch.

– A throwing error by Robbie Glendinning allowed two more runs to score in the fourth. 5-0 Japan.

– Australia managed just two hits in the first four inning.

– 21-year-old starter Haruto Inoue has tossed 5.0 innings, allowing just three hits & no walks with eight strikeouts. Inoue had a 2.76 ERA in 101.1 innings for Tokyo Giants in his first full NPB season.

– Australian pitching coach Jim Bennett told us before the game that every pitcher’s job was to ‘be ready’. True to his word, he used a lot of pitchers. Through six innings, Australia used seven arms: Lewis Thorpe, Sam Holland, Blake Townsend, Mitch Neunborn, Jon Kennedy, Todd Van Steensel & Tim Atherton

– New life in the sixth! Great fight! Ulrich Bojarski and Rixon Wingrove each hit a homer and Australia is now just down 5-3!

– Japan has started to pull away. They score one in the seventh and seemingly blow it out in the eighth with another three runs.

– Turns out, Australia used twelve of their fourteen pitchers. The only arms who haven’t thrown today are Luke Wilkins and Warwick Saupold.

– We have a final score in Nagoya. On to Taiwan.

BROADCAST / COVERAGE DETAILS

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In Australia, you can watch on either WBSC’s streaming platform Gametime.Sport or through DAZN.

We recommend following @TeamAusBaseball on X for updates. Our Instagram and Facebook Pages will have updates, too.

We will post a post-game recap with highlight links where we can, and send a press-release to our national database.

LINE-UP

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USEFUL LINKS & STORIES

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Let’s gear you up.

We’ve been working with Trent Schwarz to produce some behind the scenes stories and videos.

Here is Episode 1 & 2 of ‘Out of Left Field: The Story of Australia’s Best Kept Sporting Secret’:

And one from Todd Van Steensel. Get your tissues ready.

Other stories

Great news! Fox Sports wrote a huge feature: –  “Like Nothing I’ve ever Seen”: How these Australian baseballers become sporting royalty in Japan

Here is a story on Austrlalia’s pitching strategy: “Be Ready” | Behind the role & mentality of every Team Australia pitcher at the Premier12

And here’s a heartfelt one on Mitch Neunborn: “For Mum” | The story of the remarkably brilliant Mitch Neunborn

Here is a pre-game press-conference transcript: Transcript of Pre-tournament Press Conference featuring Dave Nilsson, Tim Kennelly, Shusei Togo and Ibata

Story on Lewis Thorpe, our starting pitcher: ‘Friendship, Fatherhood & Finding Joy | The story of Australia’s major league rookie Lewis Thorpe’ at baseball.com.au.

In fact, you can find all our stories we’ve written at www.baseball.com.au/premier12.

This story is written by Eric Balnar, with photos from Scott Powick. We are filing daily stories from Australia’s ten-day training camp in Fuchu, Japan as they prepare to play in the Premier12. For more stories, visit www.baseball.com.au/premier12. You can watch the tournament in Australia on WBSC streaming platform Gametime.Sport. 

We’ve been greeted by a media frenzy ahead of our first Premier12 game vs Japan.

At 9:00PM AEDT on November 13, live from the Nagoya Dome, we’ll play the World #1. There will be a sold out stadium and a Japanese TV audience of over 25 million people.

You can watch the games in Australia on Gametime.Sport or through the app ‘DAZN’.

Here is the transcript from the pre-tournament press-conference featuring Team Australia manager Dave Nilsson, team captain Tim Kennelly, Japan manager Ibata and Japanese pitcher Shosei Togo.

 

Here is the transcript from the Press Conference

 TV Tokyo

How do you feel about the team’s situation and the players’ movements as you approach tomorrow’s first game?

Manager Ibata: I haven’t seen today’s practice yet, but we’ve had a training camp in Miyazaki and Nagoya for about two weeks. I think the players have been able to regain their game sense. The pitchers have also had good adjustments by pitching to the batters. I feel that we’ve made steady progress as we prepare for the actual games.

Manager Nilsson: I think both teams are going to be very excited for tomorrow night. We’ve known for a long time that this game is coming in for both teams, that we’ve been preparing for two weeks. I expect to be a very clean game with a good pitching and solid defense in a very good facility, great place to play. I think you’re going to see a very good game tomorrow night from two very well prepared teams.

TV Tokyo

What is your impression of the opposing team, and which players do you think should be particularly watched out for?

Manager Nilsson: I think it’s always a privilege and an honor to play against Team Japan. And I think one of the strengths of their team is that every player is very well prepared, and they play together very well as a team. So from our point of view, we don’t isolate any player, we don’t prepare for just one player, we prepare for the whole team, and we expect them to perform together as a group, very Good tomorrow.

Manager Ibata: I feel the same way. Baseball is not something you do alone; it’s a team sport, so I think they’re a well-balanced team overall. They have batters who can hit home runs, and I’m sure they also have players who can use their speed effectively. Year by year, Australia has been getting stronger, so I hope we can have a good game tomorrow.

TV Tokyo

Once again, who will be the starting pitcher?

Manager Ibata: I’m planning to go with Haruto Inoue as the starting pitcher tomorrow. He’s 21 years old, the youngest player, but I want him to bring out that youthfulness. I hope he can pitch with the same power and momentum he’s shown in the regular season, just like he would in the postseason.

Manager Nilsson: Starting pitcher for Team Australia tomorrow will be Lewis Thorpe. He played the big leagues before, and spent a lot of this year in Mexico. And I think he’ll match up very well with Japanese hitters.

TV Tokyo

What is your goal for this tournament, and what are your thoughts as you head into the opening game?

Manager Ibata: Our ultimate goal is to win the championship. Above all, I want us to fight in every game with that goal in mind. I know each game will be tough, but I hope we can give our all in every match, focusing on one game at a time.

Manager Nilsson: Our goal is to play good baseball every day, and that means our focus is on tomorrow, winning tomorrow’s game. And then getting through to the Super Round in Tokyo and playing baseball there.

TV Tokyo

(To the players) How is the players’ physical condition after finishing the season?

Togo: My condition is really good. Although I only had a little over a week of rest after the CS (Climax Series), we spent about two weeks in Miyazaki, where we had a lot of discussions and exchanges of opinions with the other players. I’m really excited to get back on the field and play as soon as possible.

Kennelly: Conditions are great and I feel fresh. Team Australia had a training camp in Japan in Fuchu city and came up with a long off season, so there’s no excuses to not feel good, bodies feeling fresh. Speaking to a lot of the other players, everyone says ready to go.

TV Tokyo

How would you like to contribute for the team in this tournament?

Kennedy: We got nine hitters that are going to take the field tomorrow night, so everyone’s role is going to be trying to do whatever they can, each out back to get on base or trying to conduct him back to the driving runs or move runners over. We know we’re up against a very good pitching staff in the Japanese pitchers, we’re going to be really well prepared. So I think we have a good plan, as long as we stick to that plan, our goal is to score as many runs.

Togo: This will be my first time starting, so the most important thing is to meet everyone’s expectations. More than anything, we’re aiming for a consecutive championship, so I want to do my part to contribute to that. I want to show the best of Japan as a united team.

Daily Sports

Regarding tomorrow’s lineup, in the first game against the Czech Republic, Maki played in the heart of the lineup, and in the second game, Morishita was the main batter. How do you plan to set up the lineup for tomorrow’s opening game?

Ibata: It’s not decided yet. I’d like to think about it until around this time tomorrow (press conference took place around 4 PM).

Kyodo News

Travis Bazzana is already well-known in Japan due to the MLB draft. What kind of player is he for the Australian national team?

Nilsson: Travis is a young player, very young and still learning the game of baseball. So I’m hoping he gets to gain a lot of experience from being around the older guys on the team. And I just, I just want to encourage him through this. I’m not expecting anything from Travis right now. He’s very talented and obviously the very number one pick in the Major League draft, so I think that speaks to the talent and how people view him, but on the international stage and tournaments like this, this is new to him, and he’ll be leaning on our players for guys.

Samurai Japan Official Website: I heard that you had a training camp in Fuchu City and had some interactions with the local citizens. What kind of experience was that?

Nilsson: Fuchu city has been very big to us and allowed us to train there, and we’ve really come to enjoy it, and the people of Fuchu have been very kind to us, and our players really enjoy the hospitality. So it worked out very well. It’s a great opportunity for our players to show appreciation and do clinics for local children and visit high schools and to show our appreciation and the Mayor Takano for Fuchu has done a wonderful job of preparing the field, and hopefully we’ll continue to go there in the future.

Chunichi Shimbun

Both managers have a deep connection to Nagoya Dome, having played there during their careers. With the support of the fans, how do you feel about the fact that the tournament begins here in Nagoya?

Nilsson: Mr. Ibata knows a lot more about Nagoya than I do. I didn’t get to play many games here unfortunately. We were on the same team together in 2000 and even though they were very good career in Japan. So I think we both know a lot about the time, and our teams are very excited to be playing here.

Ibata: My professional baseball career started when I was used as a pinch runner and defensive replacement for Dingo (nickname for David Nilsson as a player). A player who had been active in Major League Baseball came to the team, and that allowed me to get my career started. I feel a strong sense of fate in being able to start this Premier12 tournament in this way, from the very first game. I believe that my role as manager now is because Dingo came to Japan, so I’m filled with a deep sense of gratitude. I will give my all tomorrow, just as I always do.