News

Many of Australia’s best junior players will descend upon Canberra this week for Baseball Australia’s National U16 Camp.

39 players from states across Australia will head to the nation’s capital for a unique experience focused on development. 

The players will stay on campus at the Australian Institute of Sport from September 24 – 30. They’ll play baseball everyday at Narrabundah Ballpark – home of the Canberra Cavalry.

The camp will see a combination of on field skill development, workshops with the world-renowned staff of the Australian Instute of Sport (AIS). and the ability for players to measure up against other from around the country.

In the mornings, players will have training sessions, where they will also have individual defensive work with positional coaches.

After a lunch break, players will play games in the afternoon.

39 players are divided in two teams.

The camp is meant to provide further instruction for the fundamentals and an introduction to the Team Australia culture.

Many of these players will be eligible for the Under 18 World Cup in two years’ time.

Here is the list.

TEAM 1

Riley Cooper (NSW) – Infielder
Roman Coote (VIC) – Outfielder
Will Couzner (SA) – Infielder / Outfielder
Jordan Ellis (VIC) – Catcher
Mitch Evans (SA) – Pitcher
Lenny Golding (WA) – Infielder / Outfielder
William Hardy (VIC) – Infielder / Outfielder
Tyler Howarth (SA) – Pitcher
William Kent (VIC) – Infielder / Outfielder
Liam Kiddle (QLD) – Infielder / Outfielder
Kason King (SA) – Catcher
Mason Malkoun (NSW) – Outfielder
Austin Moyle (WA) – Infielder
Ben Nesbit (WA) – Infielder / Catcher
Hudson Pallay (VIC) – Infielder / Pitcher
Nathan Rumbelow (VIC) – Pitcher / Outfielder
Robinson Smith (VIC) – Pitcher
Adam Taylor (WA) – Pitcher / OF
Lachlan Vella (NSW) – Infielder
Kobi Wise (QLD) – Pitcher / OF

TEAM 2

Ethan Bickel (NSW) – Pitcher
George Calverley (WA) – Infielder / Catcher
Sam Davis (NSW) – Outfielder
Caleb Duke (QLD) – Infielder / Pitcher
Quinn Fatai (WA) – Infielder
Lucas Gallardo (NSW) – Catcher
Caesar Gardiner (QLD) – Infielder / Pitcher
Lincoln Gruppelaar (NSW) – Infielder
Campbell Harris (NSW) – Catcher / Outfielder
Andrew Land (VIC) – Infielder
James Lander (NSW) – Pitcher / Outfielder
Mitch Langworthy (VIC) – Infielder / Pitcher
James McFarlane (SA) – Outfielder
Liam Overlack (QLD) – Outfielder
Zak Stafilis (VIC) – Infielder / Outfielder
Bailen Thomas (SA) – Infielder
Wesley Wilford (QLD) – Catcher / Pitcher
Jax Williams (WA) – Pitcher
Damien Wilson (NSW) – Pitcher

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.

🇦🇺 Third baseman Declan Speirs initiates a 5-4-3 double play to end the 2nd inning! – XXXI WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup#BaseballWorldCupU18 pic.twitter.com/CSkQGE27t7

— WBSC ⚾🥎 (@WBSC) September 9, 2023

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

🇦🇺 Shortstop Lachlan Smith turns a smooth double play! XXXI WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup#BaseballWorldCupU18 pic.twitter.com/lLanCxoae9

— WBSC ⚾🥎 (@WBSC) September 7, 2023

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.

🇦🇺 Australia manage to tie the score with two outs in the seventh! – XXXI WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup#BaseballWorldCupU18 pic.twitter.com/SiEBDIoucf

— WBSC ⚾🥎 (@WBSC) September 7, 2023

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)