Australia and Japan clinched the final two playoff spots with victories on the last day of preliminary play at the 2014 Junior Men’s World Softball Championship.
In a three-way tie with the USA entering Day 8, Australia faced the Americans to determine who would move forward while Japan took on the Czech Republic needing either a win or an Australia loss.
A walk followed by back-to-back singles got Australia on the board early against the USA, as Callum Beashel crossed the plate in the top of the 1st for a 1-0 lead. Two plays later, Jayden Lach blasted a double bringing in two more runs, and then Tyrell Priestley followed up with a two-RBI ground-rule double.
Priestley came home on a wild pitch and the Americans found themselves down 6-0 before their first at-bat of the game.
Jerremyah Selu recorded two-strikeouts for the Aussies in the bottom of the inning, keeping the six-run lead intact. After USA pitcher Phillip Zimmerman allowed a walk to open the 2nd, he was replaced by Zane Chason on the mound.
Chason didn’t fair much better, as Matthew Wickham crushed a two-run homer for the 8-0 Colts lead. Selu tossed four more strikeouts in three innings of work before giving way to Beashel in the bottom of the 4th.
Beashel and Anthony Henderson pitched the final two innings, shutting the door and sealing a playoff appearance for Australia. The USA drops to the consolation round, finishing the preliminary round in fifth place.
“It’s a good feeling,” said Australia’s Kieran O’Leary, who had two runs and a hit in the game. “We did what we wanted to do, and what we hadn’t been doing in other games. Just had a good game with the sticks, stringing some hits together.
“At the same time it’s just a start. We need to keep focused on moving forward.”
The Aussies will meet Japan in the first round of the playoffs, after the Japanese overpowered the Czech Republic 11-0.
Japan’s offense came alive with eight runs in the second inning, including a grand slam from Kento Okazaki. Karuki Kinjo added a three-run homer in the third. Naochika Yoshida picked up the victory, pitching three innings, while Martin Zofka was given the loss for the Czech Republic.
Australia and Japan previously met in the preliminary round of the tournament, with the Colts falling to the Japanese in a tight contest, 2-1. O’Leary says they’re ready to avenge the loss.
“We need to play our own game, not get caught up in the atmosphere. The only team that can beat us is ourselves. As a team, we just need to have faith in each other.”
He talked about the importance of the fan support throughout the championship, not only from their large group of friends and family that made the long trip to Whitehorse, but also from the local fans.
“It’s crazy. I thought Aussie fans were good… Canadian fans are awesome! We wouldn’t have played as well without them cheering us on, honestly.”
In the other first-round playoff matchup, undefeated Argentina will take on New Zealand. Argentina shutout Denmark 19-0 on Day 8, ending their preliminary round at 9-0, while New Zealand beat Mexico 7-0, finishing with a record of 8-1.
Mauro Sanchez and Gaston Suarez each had two runs and four RBIs for Argentina, while Huemul Mata collected two runs, two hits and three RBIs. Julian Fernandez and Franco Gini split pitching duties for Argentina, allowing just one hit in three innings, striking out four.
Cole Evans and Eruera Drage smacked homers in the top of the 1st inning for New Zealand, and Connor Peden added a two-run long ball as part of a five-run 3rd.
Mexico started to swing the bats well in the bottom of the 3rd, but couldn’t get runs across the plate, leaving two stranded. Black Sox pitcher Ethan Johnston was replaced by Blake Radford in the 4th, and the ace didn’t allow a hit in the final two innings to preserve the win.
Mexico drops to the consolation round and will face the winner of Canada vs. Singapore on Saturday.
Canada and Singapore got what could be considered a warm-up game in on Friday, as the two teams met in their final preliminary game. Singapore came ready to play, giving the home crowd a bit of a scare in an 8-5 win for the Canadians.
They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the 3rd before Canada answered back in the bottom of the inning on a two-run homer from Tyler Pauli. Nick Penner came home on a single from Taylor Schubada, and a two-RBI triple by Francois-Charles Rene gave Canada a 5-2 lead heading to the 4th.
After Canada added a run in the fifth and two in the sixth, Singapore attempted a late comeback. Tan Ivan drove in Michael Lee and then Tam Joshua stole home plate, but Canadian Eric Healey was able to pitch out of the jam, picking up his second win of the tournament.
The consolation round starts at 1:30 pm Saturday, with Canada (7) vs. Singapore (10), followed by the Czech Republic (8) vs. Denmark (9).
Mexico (6) will play the winner of Canada vs. Singapore at 5:00 pm and the USA (5) will face the winner of Czech Republic vs. Denmark at 7:30 pm.
Australia (4) vs. Japan (3) gets underway at 4:00 pm Pacific, while Argentina (1) and New Zealand (2) will battle at 6:00 pm.
