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by Robert Laidlaw |  Greece, August 24, 2004 – 

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

AUSTRALIA TRIUMPH IN SEMI TO CLAIM FIRST OLYMPIC MEDAL

Above: Australia celebrates their win over Japan in the baseball semifinal game on August 24, 2004 during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games at the Baseball Centre in the Helliniko Olympic Complex in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Story By Robert Laidlaw

In some eyes it was a shock. But, Australia covered itself in Olympic glory with a 1-0 semi-final victory over Japan in the 2004 Olympic baseball tournament in Greece.

The circumstances were exceptional and the formula was simple: win the game, play in the Gold Medal game, assure at least silver.

The problem? The Australians had to face arguably the greatest international pitcher we’ve ever seen – Daisuke Matsuzaka.

When his career was all said and done, the man they call “Dice-K” pitched 16 seasons in the Japanese Big Leagues and seven seasons in the MLB, winning a World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox.

He won two World Baseball Classic MVPs (2006 & 2009) and at the time his posting to the USA was the largest in history.

Japan may have had Matsuzaka, but Australia had Oxspring…and Jeff Williams.

The game was tense throughout, with pitching dominating on both ends.

The only run came at the top of the sixth inning, on a two-out RBI single by Brendan Kingman.

Chris Oxspring for Australia and Japan’s Daisuke Matsuzaka were duelling in what was the best pitching battle at the Olympics, with very few scoring opportunities allowed.

It was the second time Oxspring came up huge for his country this tournament, after pitching eight innings of one-hit, shutout ball in a group stage game vs Italy.

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

Batting first, the Aussies went down in order, as Matsuzaka struck out the side. The Japanese were hitting the ball hard early but could not break through.

In the bottom of the first, Tom Brice took a diving catch in foul territory at rightfield for the second out. Yoshinobu Takahashi then collected the first hit of the game before the third out.

Kingman walked with one out at the top of the second, but then Matsuzaka picked up two more strikeouts.

With one out in the bottom of the second Yoshitomo Tani singled up the middle, but a 4-6-3 double play ended the threat.

The best early chance for Japan came in the bottom of the third, when lead-off man Kazuhiro Wada doubled and went to third base on Atsushi Fujimoto’s sacrifice bunt.

REPLAY: Re-watch the entire game here

Oxspring then struck out the next hitter, before Kingman made a diving tag at first base to relieve the tension.

At the top of the fifth Andrew Utting led off with a single, Australia’s first hit of the ballgame. But after Brice laid down a sacrifice bunt to put Utting at second, Matsuzaka struck out the next two batters.

Then the magnificent top of the sixth happened, where the Aussies battled hard and scored the only run of the game.

With one out Brett Roneberg singled to leftfield, with David Nilsson’s at bat crucial in setting up the run.

Nilsson battled hard with Matsuzaka and saw the count go full. He then fouled off three consecutive pitches, interspersed with two pick-offs, before collecting a walk and putting Roneberg on second base.

The next hitter was clean-up batter Glenn Williams, who hit a soft grounder towards second base, which, although putting Nilsson out, advanced Roneberg to third base.

Up stepped the dangerous big-hitting Kingman, who took ball one outside, before hitting a RBI single to rightfield to break the deadlock.

Known more for his towering home runs, Kingman’s single was his most important hit in his long and industrious career to that point.

The big question now was whether Australia could hold the lead to the end of the game.

In the bottom of the sixth, Shinya Miyamoto had a one-out single and reached second base on a balk but was left stranded.

Then in the bottom of the seventh frame the Japanese took advantage of two, two-out errors to have runners at the corners, which saw a pitching change, with Jeff Williams relieving Oxspring. A fly ball to third base ended the threat.

Australia had two hits at the top of the eighth, which saw Japan relieve Matsuzaka on the mound with Hitoki Iwase, who also saw a fly ball to third base finish the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings, Japan could not get a baserunner, although its final batter, Yoshitomo Tani hit the ball hard through Williams on the mound, but Gavin Fingleson backhanded the ball behind second base, his throw hit the dirt but Kingman gloved the ball to get the desperate runner.

Australia is through to the gold medal play-off, with at least a silver medal the reward for winning the semi-final.

Oxspring threw 6.2 innings for the win, conceding five hits and no walks for five strikeouts, while reliever Williams was credited with the save, after 2.1 shutout innings, for three K2s.

For Japan, Matsuzaka gave up five hits and three walks in 7.2 frames for 13 strikeouts in taking the loss.

Above: Australia’s pitcher Jeff Williams is lifted by teammate and first baseman Brendan Kingman after the final out in the 9th inning as Japan’s Yoshitomo Takahashi (R)lies on the ground after sliding into first in their Olympic Games semi-final 24 August 2004 in Athens. Australia won 1-0. AFP PHOTO / Timothy CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

WHAT OXSPRING SAID

“It is the greatest honour to put the uniform on and represent Australia, and an amazing experience,” successful pitcher Oxspring said. “Our scouting report looked at who we were going to face, and we tried to go with the game plan that we thought would bring success.”

“We had some experienced heads – Jeff Williams, Graeme Lloyd, Tony Harris, Phil Dale and Jon Deeble – who had been there before and provided titbits from their experiences.”

“There were some moments in the game that were key to our success. There were times on both sides where it could have swayed. Luckily we were able to capitalise and went up 1-0. Jeff Williams shut the door like always, which was excellent.”

“Obviously there was some apprehension before the game, as you know it was going to be tough, and that Japan is a force – we knew how much experience was on that team, and we were highly aware of the significance of the game.”

“As always there is anxiety and nerves, which is just natural. It’s about whether you can overcome them. Luckly I was able to.”

“To be quite honest I was probably more nervous and apprehensive after I came out. In a game you just focus on what you need to do and not on anything in the background. On the bench you look at all aspects, which is nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time.”

“With the last out I was ecstatic. We jumped around, screamed, celebrated, laughed, just the significance of what it meant for us, and the sport. We accomplished something.”

“Baseball is a unique sport. As a youngster the dream was MLB, not the Olympics, but at the same time, there is nothing better than representing your country at the sport you are devoted to.”

WHAT JON DEEBLE SAID

“It was just the belief our guys had that got us through,” said manager Jon Deeble.

“In 2000 we weren’t a team but we’ve came a long way since then and played like a team. It comes down to leadership, which includes me.”

“The players led, all of them. We called it executing perfectly, from me to the players and the staff. The score was not important, we wanted to execute, to get everything right.”

“Japan threw their best at us but we had the experience to hold out own – (Brendan) Kingman played Double A, Nilsson was a MLB All-Star, Willo (Glenn Williams) was a Big Leaguer, which was pivotal for us.”

Other scores:
– Semi Final: Cuba d Canada 8-5.

Gold medal game: Cuba v Australia.
Bronze medal game: Japan v Canada.

Other stories:
– Game 7 Recap: Australia vs Canada
– Game 6 Recap: Australia vs Netherlands 
– Game 5 Recap: Australia vs Greece
– Game 4 Recap: Australia vs Japan
– Game 3 Recap: Australia vs Italy
– Game 2 Recap: Australia vs Chinese Taipei
– Game 1 Recap: Australia vs Cuba
– Preview: Australia looks to learn from success and failures past ahead of 2004 Olympics
– Roster: Meet the 2004 Australian Olympic Baseball team

by Robert Laidlaw |  Greece, August 22, 2004 – 

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

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

In an unusual scenario, Australia went into the final round of the 2004 Olympic baseball tournament in Greece against Canada knowing it had qualified for the medal rounds in fourth, no matter the game’s result.

As it turned out Australia lost 11-0, with Canada blowing the margin out with six runs at the top of the ninth inning.

David Nilsson was rested and Adrian Burnside started his only game from the mound in the Olympics for Australia.

The first two innings scoreless but at the top of the third Canada got on board with three runs, and went 5-0 up in the fourth frame on Ryan Radmanovich’s two-run home run.

Through the next four digs it was scoreless, until the Canadians mounted a big six-run rally, which included Jeremy Ware’s three-run dinger at the top of the ninth.

Burnside pitched four innings for the loss, conceding six hits and three walks for three strikeouts. Phil Devey gave up two hits in six frames for the win for Canada.

The result sorted out the semi-finals, with Australia finishing fourth to play ladder-leaders Japan and Canada to meet Cuba, with the winners advancing to the gold medal game.

“You never want to lose a game but we were safe for the medal rounds and we knew we would be strong for the semi-final, which was our main focus,” manager Jon Deeble said.

“If we had won we would have been playing Cuba but because we lost we were faced with Japan, a team we had beaten earlier in the tournament, although they were probably going to go with their best pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka against us.”

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

Australia will have a rest day before facing tournament favourite Japan in the semi-finals on August 24. If Australia win, they are guaranteed a medal.

Here are other scores from Day 7 of the Olympic Baseball tournament and the final standings:
– Chinese Taipei 5 def Netherlands 1
– Cuba 5 def Italy 0
– Japan 6 def Greece

Here are the Australian stat leaders after pool play

HITS

Glenn Williams – 11
Gavin Fingleson – 11
Brett Roneberg – 9
Dave Nilsson – 8
Rodney Van Buizen – 7
Brendan Kingman – 5
Tom Brice – 5
Craig Lewis – 4
Andrew Utting – 3
Paul Gonzalez – 2
Brett Tamburrino – 2
Trent Oeltjen – 1
Ben Wigmore – 1

RBI

Fingleson – 9
Van Buizen – 9
Roneberg – 7
Kingman – 5
Brice – 4
Utting – 4
Gonzalez – 4
Nilsson – 3
Williams – 3
Tamburrino – 1

HR

Roneberg – 3
Kingman – 1
Fingleson
Nilsson – 1
Gonzalez – 1
Van Buizen – 1

Semi Final Match-Ups: Japan #1 vs Australia #4, Cuba #2 vs Canada #3

Other stories:
– Game 6 Recap: Australia vs Netherlands 
– Game 5 Recap: Australia vs Greece
– Game 4 Recap: Australia vs Japan
– Game 3 Recap: Australia vs Italy
– Game 2 Recap: Australia vs Chinese Taipei
– Game 1 Recap: Australia vs Cuba
– Preview: Australia looks to learn from success and failures past ahead of 2004 Olympics
– Roster: Meet the 2004 Australian Olympic Baseball team

by Robert Laidlaw |  Greece, August 21, 2004 – 

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

Australia will play for a medal at the 2004 Olympics after a resounding 22-2 victory over the Netherlands. The win guarantees Australia a spot in the top four and the semi-finals with one group stage game to play.

It’s also their fourth win in a row after starting the tournament 0-2.

With a spot in the medal rounds on the line, it didn’t take long for Team Australia to put the game to bed.

by Robert Laidlaw |  Greece, August 18, 2004 – 

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

COMEBACK AUSSIES IN THE HUNT

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

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

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

by Robert Laidlaw |  Greece, August 20, 2004 – 

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

Call it a comeback.

Australia stormed back from a five run deficit to defeat Greece 11-7 and gain a winning record after game five of the 2004 Olympic baseball tournament in Athens.

A five-run seventh inning for the Aussies broke open a close one-run game that at one stage looked to be owned by the Greeks.

Greece opened up an early 5-0 lead and even led 6-3 in the sixth inning before the Aussies fought back.

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

Greece came out with all guns blazing to score four runs at the top of the first inning, after hits to Peter Maestrales, James Demetral, Cory Harris, James Kavourias and future MLBer Nick Markakis.

Then at the top of the second, Maestrales smashed a home run and Greece seemed to be in full control, as Australia failed to collect a hit off Greek starter Clinton Zavaras in the first two frames.

Finally, some noise from the Aussie bats in the bottom of the third.

Craig Lewis led off with a single, followed by Paul Gonzalez’s huge home run. Later, Brett Roneberg also put one out, and it was 5-3 Greece. There was life.

The next two innings were scoreless, as Greece continued to hold on, and then at the top of the sixth gained a bit of breathing space, after back-to-back doubles to Kavourias and Peter Rasmusen, to go 6-3 up.

But Australia responded in the bottom of the sixth close the gap.

Roneberg hit his second dinger of the game, followed by David Nilsson walking and coming home on Glenn Williams’ double.

Australia trailed 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh and needed to find a way to grab the lead for the first time in the game.

Brett Tamburrino led off with a walk and went to second base on Rodney van Buizen’s bunt. Gavin Fingleson did the job with a single to tie the scores.

Fingleson stole second base, Nilsson reached on an infield hit, Williams hit a RBI double for the lead, and then the big blow, as Brendan Kingman cleared the bases with a three-run homer.

Although leading 10-6, no game is safe, especially when Kavourias led off the top of the eighth for Greece with a home run, but that was it for the home country.

Australia added another run in the bottom of the eighth on Fingleson’s RBI single.

“For our medal chances the Greece game was a must win,” said slugger Paul Gonzalez. “After a couple of early losses, every game was critical, and anytime you’re playing the host nation you need to be wary – they were a tough side, with US born Greeks.”

Gonzalez’s homer seemed to spark the Australian bats in this game.

(PHOTO: OMAR TORRES/AFP via Getty Images)

“We needed to position ourself for later on (in the tournament) and gain some momentum, which we did by overcoming an early deficit. For me personally, you’re always happy to ignite the offence, so yes, it was good to hit that home run to help us get started.”

Gonzalez said preparation was key for the Australian bats.

It was another team effort. Roneberg, Williams and Fingleson each had two hits while eight different players in the line-up reached base.

“We had faced him (Greek pitcher Zavaras) in a few exhibition games, I knew he threw a lot of changeups, I sat on one and drove it over the rightfield fence – he couldn’t beat me with the fastball, as I would go after it if he left something up,” said Gonzalez. “Anything I could contribute, that’s always the goal. Everyone knew they had a role – one hit, one pitch, they knew their role.”

Gonzales has the rare distinction of playing in Australia’s previous senior medal winning tournaments, in Intercontinental Cups – bronze in 1997 and gold in 1999.

Although having retired after the 2000 Olympics, Gonzalesz returned to support David Nilsson and manager Jon Deeble to help add some experience for the 2004 Olympic campaign.

Australia now sits at 3-2 in the tournament and moves into a Top 4 spot. If they can find a way to beat Netherlands tomorrow, it likely clinches a spot in the medal rounds.

Here are other scores from Day 5 of the Olympic Baseball tournament:
– Italy 5 def Chinese Taipei 4
– Japan 9 def Canada 1
– Cuba 9 def Netherlands 2

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

Other stories:
– Game 4 Recap: Australia vs Japan
– Game 3 Recap: Australia vs Italy
– Game 2 Recap: Australia vs Chinese Taipei
– Game 1 Recap: Australia vs Cuba
– Preview: Australia looks to learn from success and failures past ahead of 2004 Olympics
– Roster: Meet the 2004 Australian Olympic Baseball team

by Robert Laidlaw |  Greece, August 17, 2004 – 

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

BASEBALL CAMPAIGN KICK STARTED

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

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

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

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

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

That’s magic from two eventual Australian Major Leaguers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oxspring said the moment was not lost on him.

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

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

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

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

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

Top four advance to semi finals.

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