News

When Australia won the Cricket World Cup on Sunday night, the national body tweeted it.

The post on X (formerly twitter) had 2.5 million views at the time of this article. Those are big numbers and they should be – it doesn’t get much bigger for Australia’s #1 sport.

Had it attracted two million more views, it still would not have surpassed the views of a tweet by Team Australia baseball on the same day.

It wouldn’t even have the same views as a Chris Burke RBI single.

MORE TO COME – story by Eric Balnar

A plucky effort. A heartbreaking loss. An incredible, surreal experience at the Tokyo Dome.

Australia showed they are strongly in the conversation when it comes to competing with international baseball powerhouses. They just haven’t figured out how to control the chat.

Team Australia suffered a third agonising defeat in four days at the Asia Professional Baseball Championships against a top-ranked team. This time, to world #5 Chinese Taipei in the bronze medal game.

CPBL All-Star centrefielder Tien Tsin Kuo had a walk-off RBI single in the ninth inning to win it 4-3 for the proud Taiwanese baseball national.

Other tight losses include extra innings defeats to Korea (World #4) on Thursday, and Taiwan again on Friday.

What happened off the field is almost as exciting as what happened on the field.

Australia trailed 3-0 but they sparked a rally to tie the game late. The Japanese fans greatly assisted with that effort in a “you have to see it to believe it moment.”

Team Australia has gone viral in Japan in recent days. The Aussie baseballers struggle to find any space in media outlets at home, but in Japan they’ve been headline news in every format. Some tweets have over one-million views including a plea for support at the game.

Japanese people formed a cheer section down the left field line, singing traditional baseball cheer songs for their second favourite baseball team – the boys in the green & gold.

This wasn’t just lazy cheering – they were singing, clapping, chanting and dancing Australia on. They were throwing out joyful chorus for Australia like it was their hometown team. The newly formed ‘Kangaroo Club’ was invested.

The support built at exactly the right time. Australia had just made a mess of the third inning.

An infield hit, a walk, an error, a hit-by-pitch and a botched double-play attempt put a crooked ‘three’ on the scoreboard for Chinese Taipei. In international baseball, teams can ill afford a lapse like that.

Australia didn’t quit. In the next half inning, Alex Hall reached on a single. The newly dubbed ‘Kangaroo Club’ of frenetic Japanese supporters rained down support on Chris Burke.

He delivered an RBI double to put Australia on the board.

Just watch.

Australia started the game with Sam Holland, Dan McGrath and Kai-Noa Wynyard on the mound. They turned it over to Coen Wynne.

He was brilliant. The returning World Baseball Classic pitcher held his nerve. He threw a perfect fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth inning – no walks, no hits, no runs.

As any good pitcher needs, Wynne benefited from superb defense.

His stone-cold performance allowed Australia to hang tough and wait for a time to strike.

The moment was the seventh inning.

New Japanese fan favourite Chris Burke knocked a deep RBI-double off the wall. Mitch Edwards legged out an infield hit. Luke Smith had a gutsy pinch-hit single to load the bases.

With two outs, Liam Spence hung tough. He fouled off multiple pitches and waited for one he liked.

He got it. Tie ball-game.

Unfortunately, the seemingly red-hot bats, which collected seven hits in the middle innings, dried up.

Chinese Taipei pitching needed just 11 pitches to retire the final six Australian outs.

Cheng-Yu Chang, the gun shortstop for the newly ordained CPBL champion Dragons side, broke up Coen Wynne’s perfect relief appearance in the bottom of the ninth. He was advanced on a bunt.

Two- CPBL All-Star Tien Hsin Kuo cashed him in on a heartbreaking hit to right-field.

A heartbreaking end. Close.

Players will return to Australia for the ABL season.

BOX SCORE

A young Australian national team learned why Japan is the best in the world.

Samurai Japan were brilliant in front of 40,000 boisterous fans at the Tokyo Dome. Fans were chanting, singing, jumping, and clapping all afternoon as the home side rolled to a complete 10-0 victory to finish the group stage 3-0.

They’ll play in the gold medal game tomorrow evening. Australia will play for bronze at 11:00AM AEDT.
Japan were relentless in three phases of the operation – the pitching, the hitting, and the crowd.

Japan had 13 hits and 23 baserunners. Eight different players recorded a hit. Kodai Fujiwara was excellent as the lead-off man, collecting three base knocks. Kaito Kozono – an NPB All-Star and arguably Japan’s best player – had three RBI. Mannami Chusei had two hits including a triple that electrified the crowd.

To be fair, this line-up is laced with talent. There are five players who are NPB All-Stars.

Japan’s Three Japanese pitchers combined to take a perfect game deep into the seventh inning. Walks to Rixon Wingrove and Alex Hall, followed by a single to Clayton Campbell, broke up the perfect game and no-hitter attempt.

Those were the only base runners Australia had the entire game – and since the fifth inning of yesterday’s narrow extra-innings defeat.
The feverish environment is something young players will have to get used to. Even as a spectator, it is intense.

For Dave Nilsson, it’s a learning experience.

“It’s a pretty overwhelming experience. Part of the process of us becoming a better tournament team is our players coming here to experience things,” he says. “The only way you learn is by being out there.”

BOX SCORE: Click here (and click translate)

Extra-innings have not been kind to the Green & Gold at the Asia Professional Baseball Championships.

Chinese Taipei scored all of their runs in the tiebreaker during a 6-0 win on Friday afternoon, just a day after Australia fell in extra-innings to Korea.
It was scoreless through nine. Both team’s pitching staffs were firing.

Six Australian pitchers pitched a combined shutout, allowing just seven hits between them all.

BOX SCORE: Chinese Taipei vs Australia.

Unfortunately for the Aussie arms, their Taiwanese counterparts returned serve, holding Australia scoreless through ten and without a hit since the third inning.

It set the stage for a monster extra-innings for Chinese Taipei. After a throwing error loaded the bases, 5x Chinese Professional Baseball League All-Star Chieh-Hsien Chen knocked in a pair of runs on a ground ball up the middle.

A few batters later, with the bases still loaded and two outs, CPBL All-Star Ching-Kai Lin launched a grand slam to deep left field to slam the door on Australian hopes.

Australia couldn’t issue a response in their half of the tenth innings.

On the bright side, Ky Hampton, Kai-Noa-Wynward, Billy Parsons, Matt Beattie, Will Sherriff and Dylan Clarke combined for nine innings of shut-out baseball. They were excellent. They weren’t pressured much. When they were, they held their nerve.

Just look at youngster Dylan Clarke, who induced a strike-out and a flyball to escape a runner-on-second, one out, situation.

On the down side, Australian bats were cold. Their best opportunity came in the first inning when Alex Hall stepped up to the plate with two runners on and one out. He grounded in to a double play.

From that point on, 26 of the next 28 batters were sat down, including the last eighteen. The two base runners? A hit-by-pitch in the fifth on Clayton Campbell and a single from Mitch Edwards in the third. Edwards was tagged out trying to steal second.

Lots of credit must be handed to Taiwanese starting pitcher Ko-Yi Chen. He pitched 7.0 innings, striking out six and allowing just two hits in the shutout effort.

Australia had a few fantastic defensive plays, including an Aaron Whitefield catch in centrefield crashing in to the wall, and a Rixon Wingrove trap at first to save a run.

Australia’s attention turns to hosts Japan tomorrow afternoon in front of a raucous atmosphere.

story by Eric Balnar / videos by Scott Powick

One team ends in heartbreak, the other in jubilation.

Back in March at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Australia sent shockwaves around the tournament when they upset betting odds favourite Korea 8-7 at the Tokyo Dome in what was one of the games of the global event.

On that occasion, Australia was elated while baseball giant Korea were left stunned.

Thursday afternoon, in the opening game of the Asia Professional Baseball Championship, South Korea exacted a tiny bit of revenge.

Their 3-2 come-from-behind extra-innings victory was the latest chapter in what is becoming a tantalizing international baseball rivalry.

Australia had a narrow 2-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, when Korea’s #9 hitter Ju Won Kim tied the game.

Korean superstar Roh Si Hwan – who led the Korean Major Leagues in home runs this year – provided the game-winning hit for Korea to propel his team to a come-from-behind tiebreaker win.

Ecstasy for the millions of Koreans at home and despair for a tight-knit Australian community at home.

WATCH THE REPLAY ON BASEBALL PLUS

But one thing is for sure – the first game of the Asia Professional Baseball Championships was an instant classic, layered with drama and laced with golden opportunities for both sides.

Both teams seemed to subscribe to boxing great Muhammed Ali’s famous “rope-d-dope” tactic, a “bend but don’t break” attitude or Patches O’Houlihan’s “dodge, duck, dive and…dodge” strategy.

There was scoring chance, after scoring chance, after scoring chance. There just wasn’t a lot of runs.

Korea pressured early. In the end, they stranded 13 base runners of their own, including a stretch of four innings where they left nine on.

Australia left 14 runners on base during the game, including seven in the last four innings.

Clutch moments from Australian pitching looks like a laundry list:
– 2nd inning: Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis escapes a bases-loaded, one out jam
– 3rd inning: Coen Wynne (above) wriggles out of two-on, no-out situation
– 4th inning: Coen Wynne strikes out batter with runner on second
– 5th inning: Sam Holland evades scary two-on, one-out dynamic
– 7th inning: Dan McGrath comes in game, induces inning ending double play
– 8th inning: Dan McGrath picks off runner at first

In the middle of all that, Alex Hall’s sixth inning homer put Australia up 2-1. It set the stage for another perceived potential upset over the Korean powerhouse.

Want more Team Australia stories from Tokyo? Click here.

After the homer, Australia started to turn the screws. It was Korea’s turn to get out of hairy situations. Australia loaded the bases with one out in the seventh and failed to score. In the ninth, they had two on and one-out with no runs. Korea held Australia scoreless off a wild double-play in extra innings with two on and no-out.

They also tagged out Australian runners trying to snag an extra base on two separate occasions to end innings.

Clutch Korean pitching gave the offense just enough moments to come through.

With two outs in the eighth inning, Korea finally broke through when Ju Won Kim levelled the score with a well-placed RBI single to right-field.

In the tenth inning, Chris Burke blasted a hard-hit ball off KBO All-Star closer Jung Hai-Young. Unfortunately, the ball smashed off the glove of the Korean third baseman, ricocheted off his face and landed at his feet. The fielder was able to pick up the ball, step on third for a force-out, and zip the ball to first for a double play.

Under an international rules tiebreaker, with runners on first and second, South Korea’s leading homerun man in the 2023 season stepped up to the plate. He knocked the game winner to right field to send Korean fans into ecstasy and leave Australia stunned.

Australia will play tomorrow at 12:00PM vs Chinese Taipei in a sudden must win game in the short tournament.

BOX SCORE: Australia vs Korea

Australia plays Chinese Taipei at 1:00PM AEDT (12:00PM in Tokyo) in the bronze medal game of the Asia Professional Baseball Championships (APBC).

Australia fell to Korea in extra-innings in Game 1 on Thursday. You can watch the replay on Baseball+.

They dropped another game in extra-innings on Friday vs Taiwan.

Tournament rosters are made up of the best U24 players from Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Each team is allowed three players over the age of 24, and any player with three years or less of professional experience.

You can watch the games live & free in Australia on Baseball+. Download it now to watch on your phone or tablet. 

If you are having trouble finding it in the Google Play store, click here to download direct.

To watch the game direct on your computer, please visit the following link: plus.baseball.com.au.

The APBC English feed is only available in Australia and due to rights will not be available outside the country. All ABL games on Baseball+ will be available live & free around the world, however.

Outside of Australia, games are being shown on Amazon Prime in Japanese and carried on major networks in Taiwan and Korea.

Don’t forget – the Australian Baseball Leauge isn’t geoblocked. You can watch live & free around the world. There are multiple games today.

GAME 3 WATCH LINK (PC) – Australia vs Japan, 2:000M

Stories

Make sure you follow us on Instagram (@teamaustraliabaseball), Facebook (@Team Australia Baseball) and X (@teamausbaseball) for exclusive content. We have a full media crew in Japan producing just for our Australian baseball fans.

November 18 – One year ago, Jack Bushell wasn’t a pitcher. Today he is the starter vs Japan at the Tokyo Dome

November 17 – Australia falls in extras for second time in as many days

November 16 – This time, a Korea-Australia Tokyo Dome classic ends in heartbreak

November 15 – How Australia is dealing with culture shock and mass media in baseball crazed Japan

November 14 – Class is in session for young members of Team Australia

November 12 – Meet Team Australia

Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis just had a completely unnatural experience.

Moments after being named Team Australia’s starting pitcher for Thursday’s massive clash vs South Korea at the Asia Professional Baseball Championships, Vassalakis was told he had to do a press conference. 

The 23-year-old Australian, who last pitched on a national team at the Under-18 World Cup back in 2017, turned the corner and found himself in a room, surrounded by 52 reporters asking him questions about the game.

Above: Australia at the Tokyo Dome. Photo – Scott Powick / Team Australia Media

“This just got real, didn’t it?” head coach Dave Nilsson said with a smile.

“Was that your biggest press conference,” I ask.

“It’s my only press conference I’ve ever done,” says Vassalakis. “That was crazy.”

You’re not in Australia anymore, Brodie. But if you want to play for Team Australia, maybe it’s something you have to get used to.

Class is in session, Team Australia style.

A near four-hour training block in Fuchu City brought together a unique set of Team Australia players for the first time in preparation for this week’s Asia Professional Baseball Championships (APBC) at the Tokyo Dome.

As some of the younger members of the group prepare to take on Korea, Taiwan and Japan, they already have the feeling that this level of Team Australia baseball is a little different than some of the junior events.

There’s more media, a bigger stadium, sponsorship obligations, a high standard of baseball to play, and a big buzz around the city.

Training #1 was all about familiarity – both with each other, the coaches, and what the national team program at a high level is all about.

MEET THE ROSTER: Australia set to take on Asia’s best at APBC

“We are here to win. This is a great chance for some younger guys to see what happens at the top-end – for events like WBC, Premier-12,” says head coach Dave Nilsson. “This is like an introduction of who they are and what they expect.”

Photo: Hiroki Chiba / Team Australia Media

“It’s as much off-field as on-field. It’s important they come to more tournaments because they are so different to everything else.”

The Asia Professional Baseball Championship has unique roster rules, creating an intriguing group of players for this week’s tournament at the Tokyo Dome.

It’s an Under 24 event, with a few exceptions.

Rules allow each team to bring in an experienced group of players to support a new young core coming through the ranks.

Each team – including opponents Japan, Korea and Taiwan – is permitted three players between the ages of 25 and 29. For Australia, they are MLBer Aaron Whitefield, longtime national team member Dan McGrath and high leverage WBC pitcher Sam Holland.

You’re also allowed players over the age of 24 who have less than three years’ experience in the professional system, allowing WBC returnees like Liam Spence. A pair of 24-year-olds in Briley Knight and Billy Parsons also get their first exposure the national program at this level.

Rixon Wingrove, Alex Hall, Will Sheriff and Coen Wynne all have played in the World Baseball Classic and are all under 23.

Head coach Dave Nilsson says they’ll be looked to as leaders.

“This is a culture where the old teach the young. In this environment at the APBC guys like Whitey, Alex, Sam, Dan McGrath and Rixon all have a lot of experience,” he says. “It’s their responsibility to help them along the way. They know what to expect at a high level and there’s a teaching now that goes with it.”

One of those students is Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis, a pitcher who just graduated Grand Canyon University.

“I feel like that freshman again. I feel like I am ten minutes early but also ten minutes late at the same time. I’m learning it all over again – learning names, learning how things work,” he says. “It’s been great. It’s a more professional setting. It’s get what you need to be ready for the game.”

Photo: Scott Powick / Team Australia Media

Vassalakis, now 22, just spent the last five years away from home playing Division 1 Baseball. He hasn’t played on a national team since the 2017 World Cup, or in the Australian Baseball League since then.

He’s been away from the national program and is now getting re-introduced.

“They know who I was, but they don’t know who I am now,” he says. “I’ve been on a journey of finding out who I was as a pitcher I really solidified knowing that what I have is enough to compete at this level. Over the past few years, I was able to play around and find out who I was an be confident in that.”

Vassalakis just finished his best season as a college player, tossing 27.1 innings as a reliever with a 3.95 ERA.

Ky Hampton is another college returnee to the group coming off a career year. The South Australian is actually still in college – technically.

Hampton was a conference all-star at NCAA’s Eastern Illinois Panthers after turning in his best season in a five-year college career.

He flew in from across the world – from a little town in Illinois where he is finishing a placement as a Grade 4 teacher – to be here.

Hampton taught a class on Friday in Illinois, jumped on a plane on Sunday, arrived in Japan late Monday, was at the training ground on Tuesday, will play in the tournament from Thursday-Sunday, and be back ready to teach on Tuesday.

But Hampton says he wouldn’t miss it.

“Any chance you get to represent your country you do it,” says 22-year-old Hampton, who was on Australia’s U23 World Cup roster last season. “But here I feel like a new guy, old guy, and young guy at the same time.

The re-introduction is needed for Hampton, too.

“It was kind of funny,” he laughs. “I had my headshot taken and the longtime team photographer asked me who I was. I told him and he was like: “Oh wow I remember you. I haven’t seen you since you were a little fella.”

While the learning experience is great, these players are all here to serve a purpose – find a way to win.

Team Australia General Manager Russ Teichmann says the staff wanted to select the best available players to go and win the event.

“We have a busy tournament cycle for the next few years. There’s the Premier12, U23 World Cups, a World Baseball Classic and Olympic qualification. This age group is part of a larger group who will be playing important games for Australia leading up to the 2028 Olympics and beyond,” he says.

Teichmann says he is looking forward to seeing Australia compete with some of the best professional players from Japan, Korea and Chinese Taipei.

Photo: Scott Powick / Team Australia Media

“This playing group is a good mix of guys who have been part of World Baseball Classics and World Cup squads. We’re also excited to see new players make their debut at this level,” he says. “The expectation is that we are going to perform well, with our constant objective of being the best tournament team in the world.”

When class is adjourned on Sunday afternoon, Australia will be hoping there will be wins for their players both on and off the field.

“We really want to see them grow as people and men,” says Nilsson.

The first test in Thursday at 2:00PM AEDT (12:00PM in Tokyo) vs South Korea. You can watch the game in Australia on Baseball+.