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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.

Manager David Nilsson says there is a mix of emotions after Boral Team Australia bowed out of Premier12 against Chinese Taipei yesterday.

A 5-1 loss – on four runs in the eighth inning – denied Australia a spot in today’s bronze medal game against Mexico in its tournament debut.

Boral Team Australia has finished sixth at its first-ever Premier12 tournament after falling to Chinese Taipei at the Tokyo Dome in their final super round game on Saturday afternoon.

Chinese Taipei scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to prevail 5-1 and deny Australia a spot in tomorrow’s bronze medal game against Mexico.

Boral Team Australia will have to wait until next year to chase a spot at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo after South Korea claimed one of two spots on offer at Premier12 on Friday night.

Korea rode a seven-run fifth inning to a 7-3 win over Mexico at Tokyo Dome to advance to Sunday’s championship game and claim the spot available for the best ranked Asia/Oceania team at Premier12.

Boral Team Australia’s hopes of playing in the Premier12 bronze medal game have been given a significant boost after the US downed Chinese Taipei 3-2 at Tokyo Dome this afternoon.

Brent Rooker’s two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh lifted the US to victory and kept alive their hopes of playing for bronze, but also simplified the equation for Australia and kept alive its chances of reaching the Olympics via Premier12.

Starting pitcher Tim Atherton has heaped praise on Boral Team Australia’s defence after they played a key role in a stunning 2-1 Premier12 win over the US on Wednesday afternoon.

Australia kept its hopes of playing off for a Premier12 medal alive, setting up a massive clash with Chinese Taipei on Saturday.

Boral Team Australia has kept alive its hopes of playing for a Premier12 medal after topping the US 2-1 at the Tokyo Dome on Wednesday afternoon.

Australia jumped out to a two-run lead in the first and rode a strong start from Tim Atherton to its first win of the super round and first over the US in 10 meetings at major senior events.

Boral Team Australia went behind early and was unable to recover in a Premier12 super round loss to Mexico at Tokyo Dome on Tuesday afternoon.

Mexico started with a bang, going deep on the first pitch it faced, ahead of recording a 3-0 victory to send Australia crashing to an 0-3 record in the super round.

Boral Team Australia led world number one Japan through six innings before falling late at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba on Monday night.

Australia opened the scoring in the third and took a one-run lead into the seventh before going down 3-2 in their opening Premier12 super round game.

Boral Team Australia will aim to end Japan’s perfect start to Premier12 when they get their super round campaign underway at Chiba’s ZOZO Marine Stadium tonight.

Japan enters the clash with a 3-0 record after collecting opening round wins over Chinese Taipei, Venezuela and Puerto Rico in Taiwan.