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Australia pushed powerhouse baseball nation United States to their limit, but ultimately fell 3-2, in a high-drama opening game of the Women’s Baseball World Cup.

The USA tagged out the tying run in a dramatic play at the plate in the penultimate inning during a game that had a bit of everything – including a wild thunderstorm.

The Emeralds left it all out on the field. They clawed back from a 3-0 deficit to get within one run heading into the last inning. Australia even had two runners in scoring position – including a potential game winning run.

Australia out-hit and out-chanced the favoured Americans. Unfortunately, they couldn’t outscore them.

One of the big reasons why? A masterful pitching performance from American starter Elise Berger.

From the moment the umpire said “play ball”, her stuff was on.

Her breaking ball was dancing, her fastball filled up the zone, and she induced tons of soft contact to stymy the Emeralds’ bats. She even survived a one-hour rain delay after the first inning.

She left the game allowing just one run and two hits through 5.2 innings of work.

A five-walk third inning was Australia’s downfall. The blemish accounted for two of America’s three runs.

Let’s not mince words: the United States team is loaded. The squad features superstars of the game including men’s league professional player Kelsie Whitmore, the first woman to play NCAA Division I men’s baseball Olivia Pichardo, and 2015 Pan-Am Games gold medalist Anna Kimbrell.

The Emeralds got solid pitching from starter Genevieve Beacom and reliever Allie Bebbere.

Beacom (VIC) pitched 2.2 innings, allowing two runs off no hits and four walks. Bebbere (VIC) pitched the remaining 3.1 innings, conceding just one run and allowing two hits.

Ticara Geldenhuis (NSW), Morgan Doty (VIC/WA), Abbey McLellan (VIC), Claire O’Sullivan (NSW), Caitlin Eynon (WA) and Jordan Richardson (NSW) combined for Australia’s six hits.

Eynon and McLellan had the runs batted in for the Emeralds.

Catch up Emeralds’ news, stories and media from across the country at our International Hub.

Next up for Australia (0-1) is a date with Mexico (0-0). They play at 5:30AM AEST in a crucial Group A clash.

The Top 2 finishers in Group A and B advance to the Championship Round, held in Canada in 2024. Two wild card spots will also be awarded.

The Emeralds have run of games vs Mexico, Korea, Hong Kong and Canada over the next four days. They’ll likely need to win three of them to advance.

Game Recap – As It Happened

Above: Allie Bebbere in relief for Australia. Photo: Brendan Beacom.

When the first pitch of the game cruised over the plate you could tell it was going to be a day for the pitchers.

The weather was a factor, too. A local storm to Thunder Bay brought heavy gusts of wind – hitters would always have trouble driving the ball deep into the outfield.

Emeralds’ starter Gen Beacom and American starter Elise Berger went toe-to-toe in the first two innings. Neither pitcher allowed a hit.

A thunder, lightning & rainstorm swept across the diamond after the first inning, delaying the contest for an hour and knocking over the right field fence. When we returned, the pitchers picked up right where they left off.

Beacom sat down the first seven batters she faced, mixing in three strikeouts along the way – all of them looking.

Her sizzling start came to a halt in the third. The United States worked four walks off Beacom in the third, including three-straight. The Americans scored a run off of a wild pitch to take the early lead.

The final line on Beacom: 2.2 innings, two earned runs with no hits and four walks.

Allie Bebbere entered the game in the bottom of the third inning with bases loaded and two outs. She walked in one run and got a shallow fly ball off the dangerous Olivia Pichardo to limit the damage.

2-0 USA after four.

Australia had a base-runner in three of the first four innings but struggled to find that one decisive blow.

The woman behind the Emeralds’ frustrations was starting pitcher Elise Berger. The right-hander’s breaking ball was on point, mixing it well with her fast ball. She induced a lot of soft-contact ground balls and allowed just one hit with no walks through her first five innings.

Berger’s final line: 5.2 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk and 1 strike out.

The USA’s defense was on song, too.

USA added a crucial third run in the bottom of the fourth.

But Australia made a move in the fifth inning.

Ticara Geldenhuis had a lead-off walk. With two-outs, Abbey McClellan’s two-out infield RBI scored the Emeralds first run and chased Berger from the game.

The Emeralds promptly the bases after the pitching change. With two outs, Caitlin Eynon lined a ball to left field which scored one run, but the USA tagged the tying run out at the plate.

Bebbere continued her excellent form in the bottom of the sixth, tallying a crucial strikeout with an American insurance run standing in scoring position.

The final line on Bebbere: 3.1 innings with 3 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks and 2 strike outs.

It allowed Australia to pressure in the seventh and final inning. The Emeralds managed to bring two base runners to the basepaths with just one out.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t find the knock out blow.

Australia will reset and play tomorrow vs Mexico in a game the Emeralds need to win.

BOX SCORE: Click here.

Photo: Brendan Beacom

The Emeralds have touched down in Canada and are ready for the Women’s World Cup of Baseball.

It’s a huge moment for these 20 players and the staff. They have five ‘Group A’ games of baseball to play vs fierce international opponents between August 9-13 in Thunder Bay, Canada.

If the Emeralds finish in the Top 2 in their group, they will advance to the 2024 Championship Round in Canada. If the Emeralds finish third, they are still in good position to gain a Wild Card entry to the 2024 round. Anything lower? Their campaign comes to an end.

You can learn about the team and each of the players + how the roster is constructed by clicking here.

The Australian media is starting to pick up on the Emeralds and their stories too.

We will be updating an ongoing list at our International Hub but have provided a list below.

Make sure you follow Team Australia Baseball for up-to-date stories, news and behind-the-scenes content.

Baseball.com.au

1. “Our Why” – Emeralds share their “why” as they prepare to take on the world
2. The Emeralds – Meet the Members of the Women’s World Cup Team
3. Roster Construction Strategy – Why Australia is focusing on versatility at the Women’s World Cup

Online / Print News

1. Herald Sun: Herald Sun – Meet the 20 Women representing Australia at the Women’s World Cup
2. National News: ABC News – Carly Moore is the first South Australian to make the Women’s World Cup
3. ACT in Canada:  Meet the two ACT players going to the World Cup
4. Magazine Story: CITYMAG – Profile on Emeralds’ catcher Carly Moore
5. Meet Gen Beacom: Hard throwing Australian making International News.

Radio / TV

• Young Guns (WIN Canberra): Erwin and Patton make Team Australia, ready for the World (WIN News)
• Radio Shae Lillywhite: RADIO – Shae Lillywhite on ABC Grandstand (Starts at 29:00)
• Podcast: Gen Beacom to appear on this week’s podcast of the Female Athlete Project (follow on Insta or wherever you get your podcasts)
• Podcast: Various Interviews on “Inside Pitch”

Australia came out on the wrong end of a closely fought battle with Czechia in their final game of the Under 12 World Cup.

Czech slugger Max Major had all four Czech runs-batted-in during the 4-0 victory.

Australia pressured throughout the game. They had the bases loaded in the sixth inning, and two runners on in the fourth and fifth. They just couldn’t land the decisive blow.

Oliver Allen gave Australia every opportunity to stay close in this game with a tremendous start on the mound. He went 3.0 innings, allowing just three hits, strikeout out four and conceding a pair of runs.

Zavier Leigh and Toby Kelman pitched well in relief.

Frantisek Fiser had his best game of the tournament for the Czechs on the mound. He kept Australia off-balance, allowing only four hits and no runs in 5.1 innings pitched.

Australia pressured on multiple occasions but were stonewalled by some staunch Czech defense.

The main culprit was slick second baseman Daniel Horak.

He was the centre of a tremendous double-play the Czechs turned to get out of the fourth inning. Australia had two runners on and just one out. That play surely saved at least a run.

Then, in the fifth, Horak made a nice catch on a hard-hit ball to end the inning. Once again, Australia had two runners on.

That allowed the Czechs to score two getaway runs in the sixth inning.

This concludes the Under 12 World Cup for Australia. They finish 11th at the event.

BOX SCORE

report via WBSC

If Australia has it their way, they’ll be a nightmare to game plan against at the upcoming Women’s World Cup.

“Unpredictability is going to be a big edge we have over the other teams,” says Caitlin Eynon, who is both an infielder and pitcher for the Emeralds.”

“We have so many utility players, no team is going to be able to prepare for a certain pitcher for a certain amount of innings because there are so many possibilities and combinations within our squad,” she says. “Our flexibility and depth will be strong. We are well equipped to face any adversity.”

16 of Australia’s 20 players who leave Sunday morning to the Women’s World Cup in Canada next week play more than one position on the diamond.

Over the five-day Sydney training camp, the Emeralds drilled down on team fundamentals but one big word comes to the forefront – “versatility.”

That versatility is very much intentional, and the team is hoping it pays big dividends in Group A action that runs from August 9-13 in Thunder Bay.

Head coach Jason Pospishil says it’s all about playing to their team’s strengths.

“For us to be able to win we have to utilise our best players on both sides of the ball as much as we can,” he says. “That creates moving parts. We have to prepare for a lot of scenarios.”

Look at Abbey Kelly, for example. She is regarded as Australia’s best thirdbasewoman. She’s also a big-time World Cup pitcher who helped the Emeralds shutdown powerhouse USA at the 2016 World Cup.

“Abbey just may start at third and then be asked to come in and pitch two huge innings for us. So, we need someone that can come in and play third when she does,” says Pospishil. “Every single scenario we do that, we need to choose a team to adjust.”

MORE WOMEN’S STORIES:

• Emeralds share their “why” ahead of World Cup
• Meet the Emeralds – the 20-person roster for World Cup

Same goes for Morgan Doty. Not only is she one of the best centrefielders in the tournament, she’s also the Emerald’s closing pitcher.

Caitlin Eynon, fresh off leading Western Australia to a national title. will pitch and play shortstop. Players like Lili Cavanagh and Kelsey Brennan can play every position in the outfield, as well as pitch.

“It’s a team of utility. It’s a team in the truest sense. It’s next woman up,” says Pospishil.

Eynon will be in a similar position. She will have to move from her position at shortstop, to pitcher, or perhaps somewhere else in the diamond, on a moment’s notice.

She says mental preparation is key. It’s all about focus and adjusting your internal dialogue.

“When you switch from one position to another it’s like you’re wiping the slate clean and you have a second chance to make an impact on the result of the game. You have a new job,” she says. “Your internal dialogue adjusts to use different cue words. Maybe as an infielder you are saying ‘hit the ball to me.’ As a pitcher your routine goes to ‘stay low, righ, left, present glove, etc,’ As soon as I hit the rubber it switches.”

For players like Maddy Patrick, a “super utility” who can play almost every position on the diamond, it means she has to prepare for almost everything.

It keeps her on her toes. She says it makes her learn a lot more about the game as a whole.

“The coaching staff has done a great job over the last eleven weeks making sure I get reps across the whole field. It’s really hard work, but incredibly rewarding. It’s something I have been working on for the past few years now knowing [this will come],” she says.

Perhaps the versatility is just the nature of women’s baseball – a growing sport in Australia.

Doty says it’s reflected back at the home clubs, where players are asked to play so many roles. It makes it hard to specialise.

But Doty says it has allowed Australia to turn this into a strength, especially when it comes to pitching.

“The fact we have so many possible combinations really frees up the pitching options,” she says. “In the past, potentially some quality pitchers may not have been able to be utilised because they are needed elsewhere in the field. Our arms and legs will stay fresh and if the opportunity arises we can rest a player – this will benefit us at the end of the tournament.”

Australia is also in a transitional phase in their program. For years the Emeralds had jobs held down by players in specialist positions. Tahnee Lovering at catcher. Amy McCann at centre. Shae Lilywhite at second. The list goes on.

And the results were there, to be fair. Australia finished in the Top 4 (with a silver medal in 2010) in the first six editions of the tournament. They haven’t been in that position since 2014, however.

This version of the Emeralds has 14 new players – each still developing and trying to find their footing at the international level. They can all play multiple positions.

Australia needs to build around that.

Shae Lillywhite is entering her ninth World Cup – the only woman in the country to do so. She says Australia is still improving their depth in the high performance of the sport.

“I’m sure these young players will all be comfortable doing what is asked of them and slipping into multiple roles,” she says. “Pops loves the athleticism of this talented young group and all their tools. It will be a huge learning experience for so many of them to compete against the world and grow their baseball minds…as well as show off their tools.”

Australia’s first game is vs the USA on Wednesday. Fans can watch via the WBSC’s streaming service called “GameTime.”

Australia has their first win of the Under 12 World Cup, after defeating New Zealand 17-2 in Taiwan.

It was a true team effort. Eight different Aussies combined for 14 hits while three pitchers kept New Zealand bats in check. Seventeen different players were used.

The game was called via a run rule in the fourth inning.

The climax came early. Australia scored 13 runs in the first inning.

It was a true display of teamwork – with every player in the Australian line-up either scoring or having an RBI in the opening digs.

It was a productive day top-to-bottom. Toby Kelman (NSW) went 3-for-3 with four RBI. Travis Holborow (NSW) had four RBIs to his name. Litsu Tamura, Harrison Thomas-McLean and Ignatius Carter also had multi-hit games.

Australia (1-5) plays their next game of the placement round on Friday at 1:00PM AEST vs Panama (3-3). You can watch the game via WBSC’s ‘GameTime’ streaming platform.

Game Recap

Australia got off to a dream start – a whopping 13 runs in the first inning.

Their first seven batters found a way to reach base. In fact, Australia brought 19 batters to the plate in the frame. It was an impressive display of teamwork, with every player making a contribution by virtue of a run or RBI.

Better yet, Australia was able to convert the pressure into some runs. A lot of them.

BOX SCORE: Australia vs New Zealand

Harrison Thomas-McLean (NSW) came through with the first RBI of the game on a ground ball that had eyes. He scored Jakob Cruz (NSW) for the first run of the game.

Toby Kelman (NSW) crunched his third double of the tournament, powering a ball to deep centrefield to score Litsu Tamura (QLD).

A patient bases-loaded walk earned by Travis Holborow (NSW) made it 3-0. Maisen Ricketts (VIC) followed with a deep sacrifice fly to left field.

Mark Howell (WA) provided more punch. His RBI single to centre scored Chase Crew (QLD). Holborow scored off a balk, Howell scored off a wild throw.

Toby Kelman tallied his second hit of the inning, this time a deep single to right field, that scored another two runs.

Holborow kept piling on. He had a two-RBI double that hugged the right-field line.

Maisen Ricketts brought home two more, his third RBI of the opening inning, with a deep double of his own.

Suddenly, it was 13-0. After one inning.

Zavier Leigh made quick work of New Zealand, allowing just one hit and no runs through the first two innings before being subbed.

Australia added a couple more in the second.

During that inning, Toby Kelman recorded his third hit and fourth RBI of the game. Holborow also drove in his fourth of the contest.

Australia also flexed their defensive muscles in this game. Mark Howell made a sensational diving grab in centrefield to end the second inning.

After an Ashton Diplock (SA) RBI put the Aussies up 16-0 in the third, New Zealand launched a mini-rally. They tallied four straight hits in a row to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the third.

Australia added their final run in the fourth.

Oliver Allen came in to shut things down and preserve the 15-run-rule win.

Australia plays Panama tomorrow.

Tournament hosts Chinese Taipei overwhelmed Australia to conclude group play at the Under-12 World Cup, winning 18-0 on Wednesday night.

Chinese Taipei were red-hot favourites entering the game. The win moves them to a perfect 5-0 record – one of only two unbeaten teams left.

Chinese Taipei started the game with five straight hits. They scored five runs in the first, eight runs in the second and another five in the third, all while keeping Australian bats in check.

Yu-Yen Lo was the catalyst for Taiwan. He had two hits, 5 RBIs and a massive grand slam in the second inning.

Australia’s big highlight was a 9-4-3 double play in the first inning.

Archer Petersen and Toby Kelman had the lone hits for the Green & Gold.

Chinese Taipei advance to the Super Round of the tournament. They will be a strong contender to win it all. All teams who finish Top 3 in their group advance to the championship portion of the tournament.

Australia (0-5) moves on to the placement round. They will play the bottom three teams from Group B over the coming days. These teams are: New Zealand (0-5), Panama (2-3) and Czechia (1-4).

BOX SCORE

AUSTRALIA GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• A nifty heads-up double-play to end the first. It was a 9-4-6 double-play by Ashton Diplock, Litsu Tamura and Archer Petersen
• A great opposite field double that split the outfielders for Toby Kelman (NSW) in the second inning
• Litsu Tamura had a nice day in the field. He made another nice play in the third inning off a hard hit ground ball and nearly turned two;
• Archer Petersen had another base hit. He is hitting over .500 for the tournament;
• Honestly, just the experience. Let’s remember these are just kids. Australia got the invite just four weeks before the tournament started. They started strangers and will end brothers. Today they got to play in front of a big crowd, with cheerleaders, music, trumpets and vs a world-class opponent. What an experience!

Above: Australia visited a school in Taiwan today.

Below: Started off strangers, ended up brothers.