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You have to hand it to this U18 squad – it’s a resilient bunch. And they get to end the U18 World Cup with a win over the World #6 ranked team.

Australia’s bats finally caught fire in a convincing 8-1 win over Venezuela on Sunday morning.

Nic Paparella (SA) led the offensive onslaught with a 2-for-3 performance that included a two-run homer and a two-run RBI double.

Australia scored five runs in the sixth inning to pull away.

It’s the game that took three games to play. This contest was started and postponed twice – once on Friday and again yesterday.

The real story here is the attitude and collective team effort this Australian side showed. Every player in the line-up made an impactful contribution.

Don’t believe me? Dig this box score.

Eight players had hits, every player reached. The whole team had to dig deep to limit the Venezuelan offense to just one run off of 10 baserunners.

Australia used four pitchers in the game, including shutout performances from three on Sunday.

In another world, in another time, this could have been a different story. Venezuela had glorious opportunities.

This game originally started – with nearly two innings played – on Saturday night before rain postponed the game and forced a continuation today.

When the game started, Australia was down 1-0, Venezuela was batting, they had bases loaded and just one out.

Jai Hewitt (WA) sensationally got a ground ball double play to start the game, and Australia launched themselves from there.

The victory leaves Australia with a 3-2 record in the placement round and in good stead to finish 8th of 12 in the tournament. However, they need to wait until the conclusion of the Venezuela – Czechia game to know their final placing.

Game Recap

The game that lasted three days.

Australia and Venezuela were originally scheduled to play Friday evening. While the teams arrived at the field on Friday, baseball was never played. The rain was much too heavy.

The two opponents tried to get the game in Saturday afternoon immediately following Australia’s 2-0 win over Spain. They got a little over an inning in before the game was postponed until Sunday morning.

What action did occur on Saturday did not favour the Aussies.

A pair of early hits off Australian starter Adam bates put Venezuela up 1-0 after one.

They then loaded the bases with a couple more hits in the second. That’s where the teams left it – top of the second, Venezuela batting, bases loaded, one out, 1-0 lead for the South Americans.

On to Sunday…

Things bounced Australia’s way when the game resumed in incredible fashion.

New pitcher Jai Hewitt entered with bases loaded and promptly got a ground ball double play ball to end the inning.

Australia levelled it in their half of the second. A wild pitch from the Venezuelan pitcher scored Josh Davies from third.

From staring down the barrel of going down a big hole, to tie game, just like that.

Both pitchers settled into a groove from there. Hewitt pitched a cruisey third and fourth for Australia, while Oscar Meljerajo seemingly had things in control.

That is until the Aussies struck again.

Nic Paparella launched a massive two-out homer – the team’s only one of the tournament – to give Australia a 3-1 lead.

Lachlan Rosser took over from Hewitt in the fifth inning. He got Australia out of a mini-jam in the fifth before retiring the opposition in order in the sixth.

The final line on Hewitt: 3.0 innings with one hit and no runs.

Rosser? 1.2 innings of scoreless work, allowing just two hits.

The fantastic pitching and defense allowed Australia to pile it on in the sixth.

Declan Speirs and Lachlan Smith led off with singles. Then, with two-outs, Nic Paparella stepped to the plate.

He hammered home his third and fourth RBIs of the day with a clutch two-out, two-run double to put Australia up 5-1.

Tom Chessel cashed in Paparella with an RBI single to make it 6-1.

Jack Ratcliffe and Blake Barlow kept the train rolling with singles of their own.

Then, with bases loaded, a walk to Callum Donnelly and a wild-pitch brought two more runs home. It pushed the lead to an insurmountable 8-1 advantage.

Daniel Mills closed things out in the ninth for Australia.

NOTES ABOUT THE PLACEMENT ROUND

Australia’s U18 World Cup has come to an end. They finished in the ‘Placement Round’ of the tournament.

The Top 3 teams from each first round group advanced to the ‘Super Round’, while the bottom three move to the placement round.

To view Australia’s past results, click here.

Australia, from Group A, played the three teams from Group B. They are Panama, Venezuela and Spain. Games vs teams from your original group hold off, meaning Australia gets credit for a win vs Mexico and loss vs Czechia that carries over from Group A action.

At the end of the Placement Round, teams will be ranked from #7-#12 in the competition and world ranking points distributed accordingly. Current standings are:

7. Panama – 4-1 (wins vs Spain, Venezuela, Czechia & Australia, loss to Mexico)
8. Australia – 3-2 (losses vs Czechia & Venezuela, wins vs Venezuela, Spain & Mexico)
9. Mexico – 3-2 (wins vs Spain, Panama & Czechia, losses vs Australia & Venezuela)
10. Venezuela – 2-2 (losses vs Australia & Panama, win vs Spain & Mexico)
11. Czechia – 2-2 (wins vs Australia & Spain, losses vs Mexico & Panama
12. Spain – 0-4 (losses vs Venezuela, Panama, Mexico and Czechia)

To see the Top 6 in the Super Round, visit the WBSC Website.

Australia’s last game of the Placement Round has been postponed due to rain.

Action will resume Sunday morning at 9:00AM local / 11:00AM AEST.

Australia used a pair of Jacks to trump Spain at the Under 18 World Cup.

Two ‘Aussie Jacks’ got the job done when it mattered most for the Green & Gold in their 2-0 win over Spain in Taichung City on Saturday afternoon.

Jack Bushell (South Australia) tossed a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits and striking out five.

He even made a Sportscentre-worth highlight reel play. Who needs a glove anyway?

Jack Ratcliffe (VIC) went two-for-three with two key two-out doubles. Each hit drove in an Australian run.

Australia peppered Spanish pitching for seven hits. Josh Nati (NSW) had two hits and Josh Davies (WA) had a pair to his name as well.

Australia improves to 2-2 in the placement round.

Their next game vs Venezuela started about half an hour after the finish of this one. However, the heavens opened up, with rain postponing the already-started game until Sunday morning at 11:00AM AEST.

Australia is trailing 1-0 to Venezuela.

Box Score vs Spain: Click here.

Game Recap

Jack Bushell gave Australia every opportunity to get ahead early with another tremendous start. B

ushell, who pitched 5.0 innings of one-hit work in Australia’s win over Mexico, sprinkled a couple Spanish baserunners in the early innings but used soft contact and a smooth double-play to keep Spain off the board early.

Getting baserunners hasn’t been the issue for Australia – it’s bringing them home. The plague continued vs Spain.

First inning? Two hits – singles to Lachie Smith and Josh Davies – but both runners stranded.

Second inning? A single to Josh Nati and Tom Chessell was hit by a pitch. Two runners on, no outs.

Spain got out of the jam with no damage. Jack Ratcliffe popped out, Nati was caught in a rundown between second and third, and Callum Donnelly flew out.

Bushell continued to hum a long. He needed just six pitches to get a 1-2-3 third inning – and 27 only through three.

He also made a sensational defensive play. On a comebacker that deflected off the South Aussie pitcher, Bushell ranged back and made a super-man style effort to flip the ball to first for the out.

Australia finally broke through in the fourth.

With a runner on third and two outs, Jack Ratcliffe smashed a booming double off the left field wall to put Australia up 1-0.

Ratcliffe came up roses again in the sixth inning. The Victorian registered his second hit of the afternoon with another two-out RBI double, scoring Tom Chessell to make it a 2-0 game going into the last.

Spain pressured in the final frame. They put two runners aboard with just one out.

But Bushell held his nerve, inducing a shallow fly ball for out number two.

The game ended with some nice defense. This time, it was catcher Josh Nati throwing out a Spanish runner trying to steal second to end the game.

A complete game, three-hit, strike-out for Jack Bushell. A win for Australia.

Other offensive standouts for the Australians includes a two-hit performance from both Josh Nati and Josh Davies. Lachlan Smith had the other hit for Australia.

Notes about the Placement Round

Australia is now in the ‘Placement Round’ of the U18 World Cup. The Top 3 teams from each group advanced to the ‘Super Round’, while the bottom three move to the placement round.

To view Australia’s past results, click here.

Australia, from Group A, now plays the bottom three sides from Group B. They are Panama, Venezuela and Spain. Your games vs teams from your original group hold off, meaning Australia gets credit for a win vs Mexico and loss vs Czechia that carries over from Group A action.

At the end of the Placement Round, teams will be ranked from #7-#12 in the competition and world ranking points distributed accordingly. Current standings are:

7. Panama – 4-1 (wins vs Spain, Venezuela, Czechia & Australia, loss to Mexico)
8. Venezuela – 2-1 (loss vs Panama, win vs Spain & Mexico)
9. Mexico – 3-2 (wins vs Spain, Panama & Czechia, losses vs Australia & Venezuela)
10. Czechia – 2-2 (wins vs Australia & Spain, losses vs Mexico & Panama
11. Australia – 2-2 (losses vs Czechia & Venezuela win vs Mexico)
12. Spain – 0-4 (losses vs Venezuela, Panama, Mexico and Czechia)

To see the Top 6 in the Super Round, visit the WBSC Website.

Australia was on the wrong end of a dramatic finish at the U18 World Cup, falling 2-1 to Panama in extra-innings.

The Aussies sensationally tied the game with two-outs in the bottom of the last inning to force extras.

The bats were aneamic up to that point. But, with two outs and two strikes on the board in the final at-bat, Lachie Smith (VIC) hustled out a seemingly routine ground-ball, before Josh Davies (WA) advanced him to second on a hit. Then, Nic Paparella (SA) drove him home.

Down to their final strike, in their final out, in the final inning, Australia tied the game up out of nowhere.

It wasn’t meant to be. Panama scored the winning run in unglamourous fashion – off a fielder’s choice – in extra innings and Australia couldn’t issue a response.

A loss for Australia in their first game of the ‘Placement Round’.

Australia did have some solid pitching.

Alistair Tanner (SA) pitched 5.0 innings of four-hit, one-run ball. Benjamin Karakasis (NSW) and Lachlan Rosser (CNSW) worked three innings of solid relief, not allowing an earned run.

The pitching was fine, but the bats were quiet again. Australia mustered just four hits in the game. Josh Davies had half of them, going 2-for-3 on the afternoon.

Australia made a number of nice defensive plays in the field to back up the pitching. Efforts included:

• Getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth
• A Michael De Gasperis diving catch in the sixth
• A nice spinning move from Lachlan Smith to turn a double play in the seventh

Australia drops to 1-2 in the Placement Round, and 1-5 in the tournament. Panama improves to 3-0 in the Placement Round and 3-3 in the tournament.

While Australia is now in the Placement Group (scroll down to bottom for explanation) portion of the tournament, the games are still important for final ranking in the event.

Australia will have to regroup and find a way to beat Venezuela (2-1) tomorrow.

Box Score: Click here. 

Game Recap

Australia’s starting pitcher Alistair Tanner came out flying in the first inning. He needed just 11 pitches to retire Panama in order.

Panama took the lead in the second. A walk to Edwin Walden and hit to Dimas Oda put runners on the corner with just one out. They converted the first run on a sacrifice fly.

The game quickly turned into a defensive and pitching tussle. Tanner induced a lot of ground balls and Panama couldn’t generate momentum.

Australia didn’t fare much better than Panama with the bat.

Declan Speirs doubled in the first inning and then Panama starter Benjamin Gonzalez got in a groove. He retired the next 11 straight batters he faced.

Tanner, meanwhile, bent but never broke. He held his nerve in a critical moment during the fifth inning.

A single and an error put Panama in prime position to score, with two on and nobody out.

Tanner struck out the next batter but the one that followed singled to load the bases.  That’s when Alistair Tanner and the Australian defense had their finest moment.

Tanner worked a fly-out to Michael De Gasperis and a ground-out to Jayden Kim to keep Panama off the scoreboard and Australia still down by one.

The final line for Tanner: 5.0IP, 4H, 1ER, 3BB and 3SO. A fine performance from the South Australian, who had another 5.0 inning, one-run outing earlier in the tournament.

Australia put some pressure on Panama right after the grand defensive effort. Josh Davies sent a hard-hit double to centrefield that popped in-and-out of the defender’s glove to put a runner in scoring position.

Gonzalez got right back to work, striking out the next to Aussie batters and leaving the runner stranded. His final line read 5.0 innings with 2 hits, no runs and five strikeouts.

Benjamin Karakasis stepped on to the mound for Australia in the sixth. It was clean – although helped by a glorious Michael De Gasperis diving catch in right field – and it kept Australia alive with a chance.

Lachlan Smith then helped Karakasis escape the seventh by way of a slick, spinning double-play he did all himself.

On to the seventh. Where there is life, there is hope.  Australia had to use every last breath.

The Aussie bats were anemic at best until a last gasp effort tied the game in Taiwan.

Down 1-0, with two outs and nobody on, Lachlan Smith hustled down the line and took advantage of a Panama field error to reach first. It should have been the game ending out, but it wasn’t.

Josh Davies singled, advancing Smith to second. Nic Paparella then chopped a hard-hit ball towards third. It took a big bounce, and Davies hustled around third, sliding in safe at home to force extras.

It was just the break the Aussies needed.

In extra innings, Panama struck first. Keep in mind: runners start at first and second with no outs in the tiebreaker. A past ball and a fielder’s choice put Panama back up 2-1, but with two outs on the board.

Lachlan Rosser popped out the next batter to keep it 2-1 and Australia in with a good shot to steal the win in the bottom half of the tiebreaker inning.

But Australia couldn’t find a hit in the eighth inning, or advance the lead runner past second.

Victory for Panama, heartbreak for Australia.

Notes about the Placement Round

Australia is now in the ‘Placement Round’ of the U18 World Cup. The Top 3 teams from each group advanced to the ‘Super Round’, while the bottom three move to the placement round.

Australia, from Group A, now plays the bottom three sides from Group B. They are Panama, Venezuela and Spain. Your games vs teams from your original group hold off, meaning Australia gets credit for a win vs Mexico and loss vs Czechia.

At the end of the Placement Round, teams will be ranked from #7-#12 in the competition and world ranking points distributed accordingly. Current standings are:

1. Panama – 3-0 (wins vs Spain, Venezuela and Australia)
2. Czechia – 2-0 (wins vs Australia & Spain)
3. Venezuela – 2-1 (loss vs Panama, win vs Spain & Mexico)
4. Australia – 1-2 (losses vs Czechia & Venezuela win vs Mexico)
5. Mexico – 0-2 (loss vs Australia & Venezuela)
6. Spain – 0-3 (losses vs Venezuela, Panama and Czechia)

Team Australia will return to the famous Tokyo Dome in November to take on some of the world’s best, as the country has agreed to take part in November’s Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) 2023 presented by Carnext.

The championship pits the best Under-24 players from the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB, Japan), Korean Baseball Organization (KBO, South Korea), Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL, Taiwan) and Australian Baseball League (ABL) against each other.

The tournament will be played from November 16-19.

Australian manager David Nilsson says this tournament is an important event to be part of when it comes to the national team program.

“I think it’s important that any time there is an event on the world stage, we are there. We want to be included in that,” he says. “Team Australia is a tournament team. Our objective is to be the best tournament team in the world. The more tournaments we play, the better we will get and improve as a country. This is an incredible event on a great stage.”

The competition will be fierce. All of Australia’s opponents are ranked in the Top 5 in the World.

The much-anticipated event is expected to attract a huge global audience. All of Australia’s matches will be available to watch on Baseball OnDemand.

Australia is coming off an impressive showing at the World Baseball Classic, where they powered through to the quarter-finals before going down in a thriller vs Cuba.

While the success should be celebrated, Nilsson says it’s important to not get complacent and to keep building at this event.

“We keep repeating our focus – and that is to become the best tournament team in the world. We don’t want to feel content, we don’t want to feel entitled, after the last event. We need to find ways to keep preparing being consistent at what do,” he says.

The tournament gets underway for Team Australia with clash against Korea on November 16 – a thrilling rematch of the game won by Australia in the WBC Group Stages.

Australia will follow with a game vs Chinese Taipei the next day. The pool stage culminates with a colossal match against reigning champions and world number one ranked Japan, on November 18.

Importantly, teams will be playing for crucial World Ranking Points, with the Australians targeting a coveted place within the Top 12 of the WBSC World Rankings by December 31, 2023. This achievement would secure a berth in the prestigious Premier-12 World Championship in 2024.

While the roster remains under wraps, the buzz surrounding the youthful Australian talent cannot be ignored.

“There’s going to be a large group of the young players from the World Baseball Classic team who could be on this team,” says Nilsson. “There will also be a group below who will be available.”

Nilsson says there is a list of over 130 Australian players that is constantly evolving and being evaluated. But when it comes to roster construction, there is one thing in mind.

“This program is not about participation – it’s about winning,” Nilsson says. “Every event we go to we have that in mind and young players will learn that by being part of events like this.”

For the latest updates, comprehensive coverage, and an insider’s perspective on Team Australia’s journey to the Championships, stay tuned to the official Baseball Australia website.

Australia fell behind early and couldn’t recover in time during a 5-2 defeat to the hands of Czechia at the U18 Baseball World Cup.

Czechia scored two early first-inning runs and padded their lead with two more in the third and one in the fifth.  Jakub Winkler led the offensive charge for Czechia, going 2-for-4 with two separate RBI singles.

Michael Senay pitched 5.0 innings of two-hit baseball, allowing just one earned run, in an impressive start for the victors.

At one point, Australia was down 5-1. The offense had trouble stringing together hits and coming through with runners in scoring position. Australia had the tying run to the plate in the seventh and final inning but couldn’t manufacture a run.

Josh Davies (WA) had the lone RBI-single for Australia in the second inning.

Australia used five pitchers in the game. Jacob Palmer (NSW) was the standout, throwing 2.0 innings of shutout baseball.

The loss leaves Australia with a 1-4 record after Group Play. They’ll move to the placement section of the tournament, hoping to seize as many World Ranking points as they can to qualify for the 2024 Premier-12 tournament.

Czechia improve to 1-3. They finish their Round 1 tomorrow.

The Placement Round begins on Thursday. The schedule will be released late Wednesday.

BOX SCORE: Click here.

Game Recap

Czechia applied pressure on Australia immediately.

Simon Klacl led off with a single, before Australian starter Daniel Mills issued a pair of walks. One of the pitches slipped away to score Klacl and put the Czechs up 1-0.

Trailing 1-0, and with two runners on and nobody out, Australia made an early pitching change. South Australia’s Jack Bushell entered the contest in a pressure filled moment, coming off a 5.0 inning performance vs Mexico where he allowed just one earned run.

Jakub Winkler sent a single to left field to push the Czech advantage to 2-0.

Bushell locked it in from there. He worked a shallow fly ball and two strike-outs to keep the Aussies within striking distance.

Nic Paparella helped issue an Australian response in the second. He walked, stole two bases, put himself in scoring position and let a Josh Davies single drive him in.

2-1 Czechia.

The Czechs extended their lead in the third. After a hit and a walk started off the inning well for Czechia, Jakub Winkler drove in the third run on an RBI single. Motous Bubenik made it 4-1 with a sacrifice fly moments later.

Australia tried to respond in the third. They had runners on first and second with one out. Czech starter Michael Senay got a fly-ball and a strike-out to get out of the inning.

Filip Kubicek had an RBI double in the fourth inning to really turn the screws in the fourth, putting the Czechs up 4-1.

Callum Donnelly continued his impressive World Cup in the fifth inning. The speedster from country New South Wales reached on a walk and then used his wheels to round the bases, scoring on a past ball.

Jacob Palmer and Jai Hewitt provided stability on the mound for Australia in the late part of the games. Palmer threw two innings of scoreless relief and Hewitt got a pair of clutch outs.

Australia pressured in the seventh in a last gasp effort. A walk from Jack Ratcliffe and a pinch-hit single from Blake Barlow put two runners on with nobody out.

But Czech relief pitcher Matyas Trcka induced a momentum killing double play to end the threat.

Australia out-hit South Korea but fell 3-0 to South Korea on a rainy Monday night in Taiwan at the Under 18 World Cup.

Australia recorded five hits and had seven baserunners during the game but couldn’t generate a run.

South Korea only had two hits. They had three runs and that’s all that matters.

Yulye Lee had a bases-clearing double in the fourth inning to account for all of South Korea’s scores.

The bats went dry again for Australia, who were shutout for the third time this tournament.

South Korean starter Sunyeop Yook pitched 6.1 innings of scoreless ball in the win.

Josh Nati provided a little spark, going 2-for-3 for the Green & Gold. Nic Paparella, Josh Davies and Declan Speirs had the other hits.

Australia used four pitchers in the loss.

Australia falls to 1-3 on the tournament and are unlikely to advance to the Super Round.

The remaining games are still of vital importance as Australia battles for crucial World Ranking Points to stay in the Top 12 and remain eligible for the 2024 World Championships.

Australia concludes Group A action tomorrow at 4:30PM AEST vs Czechia.

BOX SCORE: Click here.

Game Recap

Hitting with runners in scoring position has plagued Australia all tournament long. That trend continued in the first inning.

Josh Nati and Declan Speirs slashed a couple hits in the first inning, but Korean starter Sunyeop Yook induced an inning ending ground ball to eliminate the threat.

Blake Barlow kept things steady for Australia on the mound. The opener used a paralysing breaking ball to strong effect and navigated through the first two innings cleanly.

Josh Davies provided some nice help on the defensive side of things. His efforts included a magnificent throw to second base to gun down a Korean runner trying to steal a bag.

🇦🇺 Catcher Josh Davies throws out the runner at the second base! – XXXI WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup#BaseballWorldCupU18 pic.twitter.com/N6wlFwNy3H

— WBSC ⚾🥎 (@WBSC) September 4, 2023

Australia took a “bullpen game” approach. Western Australian arm Jai Hewitt took over from Barlow after the opener went once through the line-up. Hewitt helped Australia get through the third inning without any damage.

The final line on Barlow: 2.1 innings of 1 hit work, allowing no runs with one strikeout.

Korea made their move in the fourth.

Tongkeon Yeo reached on a dropped third strike. A walk to Jihwan Park followed. Then, a sacrifice bunt. Two runners in scoring position, one out.

Sensing the magnitude of the moment, Australia brought in one of their premier arms in relief – Adam Bates. The New South Wales teenager, who is in his second straight World Cup and started Thursday’s opener in brilliant fashion, came into the contest in a big spot.

They chose to walk the bases loaded and look for a double play.

Instead, Yulye Lee, who went 3-for-5 with two RBI in Korea’s win over Czechia, whipped a double down the line to score all three base runners.

3-0 Korea.

Australia did get the double-play they were looking for later in the fourth, however, to help limit the damage and keep a nose in the fight.

🇦🇺 Infielders turn a smooth 6-4-3 double play to end the inning! – XXXI WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup#BaseballWorldCupU18 pic.twitter.com/2NxzBj3Mer

— WBSC ⚾🥎 (@WBSC) September 4, 2023

Bates pitched the fifth inning and notched a pair of strikeouts.

Yook kept humming along for South Korea. The starter finished with a tidy line of 6.1 innings with five hits, two walks, eight strikeouts and no runs.

Lachlan Rosser assumed pitching duties in the sixth inning for Australia. He allowed a couple base runners but prevented a South Korean score.

Nic Paparella tried to spark the Australians in the seventh and final inning. He had a double to left-field that rattled all the way to the wall and chased Yook from the game.

The South Korean was able to close out the game.

Australia finishes Group A play tomorrow vs Czechia at 4:30PM AEST.