Day 5 at the 14th WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship

Today’s 7 Wonders of the Worlds

1. Erick Ochoa – Mexico’s 3B – went 2 for 2 with a grand slam home run. He was responsible for 6 runs scoring 2 and hitting in 4.
2. Ryan Sinclair – the Australian CF – had 3 hits in 4 at-bats. He had 2 RBIs and scored a run.
3. Richard Haldane – the Pitcher/DH for Great Britain – contributed at the plate and in the circle. He pitched 4 of the games 5 innings giving up only 1 run and went 2 for 2 with a walk at the plate and scored 2 runs.
4. Darrin Newson – 3B and catcher for Great Britain – went 2 for 3 with a home run. He also has a pair of RBIs and scored a run in the Brits big win over Philippines.
5. Kenji Nakamura – the Japanese DP – went 2 for 3 with a walk and a homerun in Japan’s loss to Dominican Republic.
6. Jeff Ellsworth – Canada’s RF – went 3 for 4 against Argentina. He had a RBI and scored the game winning run.
7. Juan Zara – the Argentinean 3B – went 2 for 3 with a home run. He had a RBI and scored 3 of his team’s 5 runs.

Game Summaries

Game 33: Netherlands vs Mexico 0-12

It was just one of those games, or maybe more precisely one of those innings. The Mexicans broke up a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 2nd with 10 runs on seven hits. Most of the runs came from two big shots. With one out, Marco Gonzalez hit a three run homer and later in the inning, Erick Ochoa hit a two out grand slam.

Netherlands did not help themselves much as they gave up two unearned runs on a Ruben Delgadillo hit that handcuffed 2B Jerome Wouters. Mexico added two more in the bottom of the 3rd to get to the 10 run margin needed to finish the four inning game. Samuel Vilalvazo threw a one hitter and got some help with one out in the 4th. Jaudiel Oldis, gave up a walk but forced Randy Lo-A-Jong to hit into a game ending double play.

Game 34: Australia vs Denmark 8-2

It took a couple of innings for Australia to recover from yesterday’s disappointing loss to Dominican Republic, but once they did, they looked like their old selves again. A home run by Frederik Terkelson in the bottom of the 1st and a run scored by Jesper Sillemann in the bottom of the 2nd had Netherlands up 2-0 against Aussie starter Adam Folkard. Australia stole three unearned runs in the top of the 3rd on one hit and two Denmark errors. The bats slowly came alive in the top of the 4th ignited by Aaron Cockman’s two run home run. In the top of the 5th, the Aussies got three more thanks to two hits and three walks issued by Valdemar Terkelsen. That was more than enough for Folkard to get the win. Although not an overpowering performance, it was plenty to keep the Aussies in line for a spot at the top of Pool B.

Game 35: Great Britain vs Philippines 10-2

This was the third straight lopsided score of the day and the second game with one huge inning. Great Britain came into the top of the 4th with a narrow one run lead, but came out of it six outs away from a seven run-ahead rule victory. They scored eight runs on eight hits. The hits included home runs from Kenny Pregnell and Darin Newson, as well as a two run double from Ryan Martin. Philippines spread out seven hits against starter Richard Haldane and closer Kyle Linton as three of their players had two hits: Apolonio Rosales, Orlando Binaro and Edmer Del Socorro.

Game 36: Czech Republic vs Guatemala 6-5

Some wandered if Czech Republic would get their feet back on the ground after their big win yesterday. It took them six innings to pull out this back and forth game. The Czech’s pulled ahead with two runs in the bottom of the 4th thanks to a two out home run by David Mertl. Guatemala grabbed the lead in the bottom of the 5th on three unearned runs and one very interesting situation. The damage could have been even greater had they not been called on an illegal substitution following a bases loaded single. The two runs that scored were called back and an out was recorded. Following that, Alex Funes hit a double, scoring the three runs but was thrown out going to third. They added a couple in the bottom of the 6th as a result of Pablo Klee’s double and Rafael Frias’s ground out RBI.

In the top of the 7th, Czech Republic showed that same pesky spirit that held them against Argentina yesterday. The always dangerous Vaclav Svoboda led off with a home run. Later on, Tomas Vobornik’s one out double scored a pair and the game was tied with runners on 2nd and 3rd. The winning run scored from third on a wild pitch, but relief pitcher Cesar Sajche got the next two out without further damage. In the bottom of the 7th, a couple of singles put the tying run on 1st with one out but neither Amilcar Estrada or Jonathan Donadio could bring them in.

Game 37: Japan vs Dominican Republic 1-4

The first run of the game came in the bottom of the 1st on a Pablo Figuereo home run. The Japanese answered right back with a home run of their own from Kenji Nakamura. The bottom of the 4th proved to be pivotal as the Dominicans scored three runs on four hits. The big hit was a two run single by Melvin Cruz who had just entered the game to pinch hit. His single turned into a double because of a fielding error from RF Yusuke Itose. Wilton Villafana came up next and stroked a single to score Cruz. Japan never fully recovered from giving up those three runs. They did create a threat in the top of the 6th when they loaded the bases on three singles off of reliever Yennier Volquez. However, Volquez settled down to get a big strikeout and a line out to end the inning. Japan got the leadoff batter on but Kota Mera was doubled off going to second and the wind was taken out of the Japanese sails. The big win left Dominican Republic with 4-1 record and in a tie for first place in Pool B.

Game 39: Canada vs Argentina 7-5

There was a very uneasy feeling around the ball park full of Canadian fans after three innings and the score 4-3. Canada had out hit Argentina and looked dangerous at every at-bat, but had the narrowest room for error possible. They have chased two pitchers including starters Juan Potolicchio. Despite the Brad Ezekiel home run, it seemed the fan favorites had to work hard for their runs. They left the runners on every inning including three in the last one.

Argentina made it look easy – a home run by Juan Zara in the bottom of the 1st and a hit by Bruno Motrini scored two runs in the bottom of the 3rd to keep them close. This feeling heightened in the top of the 4th when they scored only one run on a bases loaded ground out by Jeff Ellsworth and left three more runners on. They were out hitting Argentina 10-3 with only a small lead to show for it. In the top of the 5th, two more Canadian runners got on base but they ended up with nothing to show for it.

In the bottom of the 5th, they made a pitching change and Paul Koert came in for Sean Cleary. A good inning by Koert, capped off by a great play by 3B Bryan Abrey gave a temporary respite to the tension. But after three quick outs in the top of the 6th, it came back as soon as they looked at the scoreboard – 5 runs on 11 hits for Canada; 3 runs on 3 hits for Argentina.

In the bottom of the 6th, the leadoff hitter stroked a hard single and the next man hit a grounder right back to Koert, but Ian Fehrman at second bobbled it. Instead of two outs and nobody on, it was 1st and 3rd with no one out. Then quickly it was 2nd and 3rd with no one out following a stolen base. The veteran left hander bore down hard, getting huge strikeouts from Mariano Montero and Gustavo Godoy and a lazy fly to CF from Mauricio Caceres. In the top of the 7th, the crowd relaxed a little as Steve Mullaley brought in Ellsworth with a single. Jason Hill recorded Canada’s 14th hit and moved Mullaley to 3rd. On a Fehrman groundout, Mullaley stayed standing and snuck his foot in between the catcher’s feet to get a piece of the plate to score the 7th run.

The crowd relaxed and took a breath as the scoreboard read 14-3 in hits and finally a comfortable 7-3 score to go with it. They should have known not to get too comfortable as that feeling quickly returned as Huemul Mata’s double brought in two runs and the tying run to the plate. The fans got into it with two outs with cheers from the beer gardens, chants from the grandstand and finally smiles all around as Koert finished off the Argentineans in front of 5900 fans.

Game 40: Venezuela vs United States 3-2

The last two teams with one loss in Pool B took to the field in the late game with Venezuela’s Erick Urbaneja and USA’s Tony Mancha in the circle. The Americans scored the first run in the bottom of the 2nd when Chris Heinlein’s double brought in Frank DeGroat, who had tripled to lead off the inning. Venezuela reacted well in the top of the 3rd scoring two unearned runs advancing runners in almost every way possible: a walk, two pass balls, a stolen base and a dropped 3rd strike.

In the bottom of the 3rd, the Americans got something going again from a Derek Zechman HPB and a Matt Palazzo walk putting the first two runners on. That was it for Urbaneja and in came ace Ramon Jones. Jones loaded the bases with a walk then allowed Zechman to score on a Kris Bogach put out and the game was tied. Venezuela took the lead right back in the top of the 4th on another unearned run as a result of a walk, stolen base and two pass balls. That was all Jones needed, giving up one measly hit from that point on and moving the Venezuelans into a three way tie for first in their pool.