Adam Folkard, Jack Besgrove combine to no-hit Cuba in Australia’s 3-0 win

Adam Folkard, Jack Besgrove combine to no-hit Cuba in Australia’s 3-0 win
01/12/2022
Veteran superstar Adam Folkard started for Australia and tossed four almost perfect innings. He only hit a batter in the top of the fourth, the only Cuban to reach base in that span of the game.

Veteran Adam Flokard and rising star Jack Besgrove combined today to pitch a no-hitter against Cuba, in Australia’s 3-0 victory over the Caribbean squad. They only faced 22 batters in the seven innings of play, and tallied 15 strikeouts.

Folkard, who tossed a no-hit, no-run in the World Championship Final in 2009, started for Australia and pitched four almost perfect innings. He only hit a batter in the top of the fourth, the only Cuban to reach base in that span of the game. He struck out eight of the 13 batters he faced, and earned the win.

Folkard was replaced in the circle by Jack Besgrove, a left handed pitcher who helped Australia win the silver medal at the WBSC U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup 2020 in Palmerston North, and he pitched three perfect innings, retiring the nine batters he faced.

Australia got on the scoreboard in the first inning, when Scott Patterson scored on an illegal pitch call. The other two runs of the game were produced by a pair of no-doubters. Nick Shailes in the third frame and Hayden Mathews in the sixth homered for the green and gold to make it 3-0.

For Cuba, the losing pitcher was Alain Roman, who pitched a nine-inning gem last night against New Zeland to send Cuba to the Super Round. The veteran struckout six in five innings. 

Australia recorded his second win of the Super Round and remain in good position to make the medal games. Cuba is now 0-3.

Quotes - Australian Coach Laing Harrow

“It was an excellent effort. We got that run early and we fed off that. Adam (Folkard) gave us a great start on the hill and gave us four solid innings, and then Jack (Besgrove) came in and finished if off.

“Great to see another combined no-hitter.

“We know our position coming in to the Super Round. We know we cannot falter. All we can do is control ourselves – and we have to be Ws on the board. We can’t control what other teams do.

“We have to come ready for the USA tomorrow – they had a quality game against Canada – and we will be up against it.

“We want to get to that final game and to do that we have to keep winning.

“We played by the copybook today – get on the board early, pitch well and defend strongly. We have been doing that all week. We faltered against Canada. It is the way we play and the way we want to play again tomorrow.

“The standouts for me today was Adam and Jack on the mount; Josh McGovern called a good game and kept the Cubans off-balance, and Nick Shailes is very vocal and set things up with a good homer again today.”