Result
Canada - 11 to 0

Australia's Record
4 wins - 3 losses

Brett's Fielding Position and the Batting Order
Playing centrefield
Batting at #3

......and came out of the game at the start of the eighth innings

Brett's Statistics - Game
Batting - 2 hits from 2 at-bats - 2 x singles
------------------1 x walk
Fielding - 4 put-outs

Brett's Plate Appearances
First at-bat
???handed pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Walk
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Second at-bat
???handed pitcher
Bases empty - one down
Single
Out at second base on a double-play hit by the next batter
Third at-bat
???handed pitcher
Runner at first base - none down
Single
Out at second base on a fielder's choice hit by the next batter

Email from Brett
Very short email today
We got crushed by the Canadiens yesterday 11-0
But I did manage to get 2 of our team's 4 hits
Game meant nothing
Japan tomorrow
We win and we go to the Gold Medal game!!!!
Wish me luck
Bye
Oh, and MUMMY - Happy 50th Birthday!!!!
Glad I could hit some home runs for you (yesterday) and I will be on the phone to you soon
Love your Boy!!!
Bye

Pre-Game Notes
With medal round set, teams play for seedings

With the four medal round qualification spots secured, teams will play for seedings - and pride - on the final day of preliminary play at the Olympic Baseball tournament at the Helliniko Olympic Complex.

NED v TPE
Both the Netherlands (2-4) and Chinese Taipei (2-4) will be looking to rebound from disappointing losses that knocked them out of medal contention.
The Dutch team is looking to duplicate its fifth place finish at the 2000 Games, while 1992 Games silver medallist Taipei will be gunning to reclaim Olympic glory, if not a medal.
GRE v JPN
Japan (5-1) takes on host Greece (1-5) in a game with seeding implications.
If the Asian champs can seal a victory, they will assure themselves the top spot heading into the medal round since they own a head-to-head victory over Cuba, the only other team with five wins.
Greece will be eager to build upon the momentum it gained in beating Italy for its first win in Olympic competition.
ITA v CUB
Cuba (5-1) is also aiming to snag the top seeding in the medal round and can only do so with a win over European champion Italy (1-5).
Italy is playing for pride since a loss will relegate it to the cellar of the standings beyond Olympic neophyte Greece.
AUS v CAN
In a game with direct seeding implications, Australia's (4-2) scorching offense - it scored an Olympic record 22 runs against the Netherlands today - takes on the stellar pitching Canada (4-2).
Both teams will be looking to claim one of the top two seeds for the medal round, which could very well determine whether these two countries seeking a first-time Olympic medal come up with the goods.

ALTOONA CURVE - GAME NOTES FOR AUGUST 22

As for Curve IF Kevin Nicholson and former Curve 1B/OF Brett Roneberg, their teams will meet today.
Canada and Australia, both 4-2, will be vying for the third seed in the medal round in their game today.

The losing team will also make the medal round as the fourth seed.

Japan (#1) and Cuba (#2) have locked up the top two seeds in the semifinals which will be played Tuesday.

Game Reports
A-ROOS SHUTOUT BY CANADA IN FIZZER FINALE

Well, we got it half-right yesterday when we suggested that the best course of action for Australia was to defeat Canada and to thereby avoid a semi-final against Cuba because for some reason we have always seemed to fare better against the Japanese than the Cubans, although the reason for this is somewhat obscure.

However, had we been a little more dedicated to studying the table than celebrating our "Dutch treat" from the previous day, we would have realised that we were more likely to dodge Cuba in the semi-final by losing to Canada.

In any case, this is what has occurred and, without suggesting that our 'A-ROOS' "tanked" in this game, we may not have had the necessary incentive to play at our best?

We obviously cannot read the minds of the Australian "brains trust" but there was a subtle indication of our determination to win in the pitching match-up where we departed from the rotation that would have seen Chris Oxspring start by calling upon a fifth starter in SA's international "novice" Adrian Burnside.

Although Burnside is a talented left-hander who has reached 'AAA' standard with the Detroit Tigers this season, he has battled an arm injury since arriving in Greece and he does not boast any senior experience at international level... no offence to Adrian of course, but we would not have expected to see him start if the game carried "must win" importance.
By the time he was lifted after four innings we had allowed Canada to grab a 5-0 stranglehold on the game.

The 'A-ROOS' then took the opportunity to allow most of our bullpen to enjoy a non-pressure "tune up" for the finals with Ough, Lloyd, Stockman, Williams and Lewis all airing out their arms with visions of bigger challenges ahead.

We would envisage Chris Oxspring starting in the finals, along with John Stephens or Craig Anderson depending upon the righty / lefty matchups expected.

In any event our pitching is well placed to make a serious assault on the medals.

While we may be guilty of ignoring the significance of Australia's loss to Canada we should not ignore the fact that the Canadians have made maybe their most serious ever challenge for baseball glory at these Athens Olympic games?
Canada have always had their share of professional players who have been unavailable in the past and, not unlike Australia, have been modest performers at International tournaments because of the dilution of their talent in the pro ranks.
This situation has changed dramatically in favour of the Canadians who can now boast a squad loaded with seasoned professional players, the majority of which have either reached at least 'AAA' standard or are still playing in 'AAA' leagues.
Regardless of the situation, we would have to be at our very best to take on the Canadians with any confidence.

What would probably concern the Australian hierarchy most is the fact that our offence, that had just purred into top gear recently, suddenly went cold in the final preliminary game.
We won't suggest that this is any sort of negative portent for the rest of our campaign, but it can be a dangerous thing to lose "momentum" in these types of tournaments.
We would have preferred to see us beaten 11-9 than in an 11-0 shutout that could sap some confidence on finals eve?

Making life tough for the Aussie hitters was a seasoned veteran Phil Devey who had reached 'AAA' standard with the LA Dodgers and who continues to ply his trade as a difficult customer in Independent League baseball.
With an obvious impatience in their approach, Australia's hitters made life much too easy for Devey who cruised through six innings for two hits and one of the easiest wins of his life!

Next the Canadians summoned a familiar name to some Australian baseball devotees in Eric Cyr.
Cyr played in Australia's "boutique" IBLA competition in 2001 (does anyone remember that organisation??), pitching for the MLB All-Stars before returning to the States to progress to the major leagues with the San Diego Padres.

Sure the Canadians attacked us with some quality pitching, but we could have expected our in-form batters to wave the Aussie flag with a bit more purpose than they did in this game?

The only guy who could really hold his head up from a dismal batting display for Australia was the ever reliable Brett Roneberg (2-2) who wouldn't know how to produce a sub-standard performance.

Of course Australia also rested David Nilsson as another subtle indication of the mind-set of the team going into the game.

The final frustration for Australia came in the ninth innings when a couple of errors conspired to allow the Canadians to tack on another six runs to an already lop-sided result... FIVE UNEARNED!

If our team did need a "wake up call" after a couple of big wins that came a bit too easily, then we certainly got it last night from Canada who jumped us for third place in the pre-finals table.

Canada earns a semi-final against Cuba for their efforts while Australia must repeat their earlier win over top placed Japan for a chance to grab unprecedented silver or gold at this Olympic games.

If we can get over Japan again, or even capture a bronze medal in Athens, then we won't dwell too much on this ugly looking result against Canada in a meaningless game.

We had already qualified strongly for the last four in this Olympic tournament and we would have always been pleased with this result at this stage of the tournament... nothing has changed!

As we have mentioned, we sense a great opportunity for this team to create its own Australian baseball history and we just hope that they get a little of the luck that can be needed to seize the moment!

Baseballers into semi despite loss to Canada

Australia will play Japan in a baseball semi-final match on Tuesday after losing 11-0 to Canada in a dead final preliminary match.

With all four semi-finalists determined on Saturday night, the final preliminary round matches were used to determine the semi-final match-ups.

Australia used the game with Canada as an opportunity to rest key players such as catcher and captain Dave Nilsson ahead of the medal round matches.

Head coach Jon Deeble also activated pitcher Adrian Burnside for his first stint on the mound after recovering from an elbow injury.
However, it did not prove to be successful as he gave up six hits, three walks and five runs in four innings.

The Canadians began their scoring burst with three runs in the third inning with Kevin Nicholson, Peter Orr and Richard Clapp all reaching home before Ryan Radanovich hit a home run in the fourth inning to also score Jeremy Ware.

Australia was hitless until Brett Roneberg's base hit in the fourth inning.

But any momentum Australia was looking to achieve was quickly snuffed out by smart in-fielding by short stop Danny Klassen and second baseman Clapp resulting in successful double plays in the fourth, fifth and seventh inning.

Once Burnside was relieved, Deeble briefly used Wayne Ough, Graeme Lloyd, Phil Stockman and Jeff Williams in the remaining innings before utility Craig Lewis was called upon to end the Canadian six run scoring blitz in the ninth inning.

"We would have liked to have won the game but it also allowed us the opportunity to rest a few players," explained Deeble.
"I wouldn't read too much into the result," he added.

Canada will play Cuba in the other semi-final with both winners proceeding to the gold medal match on Wednesday.
Australia defeated Japan 9-4 in the preliminary round while Cuba downed Canada 5-2.

Canada takes third seed for medal round, defeats Australia 11-0

Canada entered the medal round on a high note, thrashing Australia 11-0 at the Olympic Baseball Centre in the Helliniko Olympic Complex.

The final score clears the medal round picture as Canada will take on Cuba and Australia will play Japan.
Canada lost to Cuba 5-2 the last time they played while Australia upset Japan 9-4.

Both teams failed to score in the first two innings of play, yet on the top half of the third, Canada put enough distance between itself and Australia to win.

Kevin NICHOLSON (CAN) was hit by Aussie starter Adrian BURNSIDE.
Peter ORR (CAN) then ripped a single up the middle to move NICHOLSON to second.
Stubby CLAPP (CAN) bunted, but the play was miffed by Aussie third baseman Glenn WILLIAMS as the ball bounced in and out of his glove.
Even if WILLIAMS had made the play, he would have had difficulty getting the speedy CLAPP out at first base.
After a Danny KLASSEN (CAN) sacrifice fly, Andy STEWART (CAN) doubled home ORR and CLAPP to put Canada up 3-0.

Canada added to its lead in the fourth, with a Ryan RADMANOVICH two run shot to right field.

The Canadians added six more runs in the bottom of the ninth to confirm the victory.

Phil DEVEY (CAN), Eric CYR (CAN), John OGILTREE (CAN) and Aaron MYETTE (CAN) combined on a four hit shutout with DEVEY, the starter picking up the win.

BURNSIDE was the losing pitcher for Australia.

Notable absences from the game were Australian slugging catcher David NILSSON and Canadian long ball threats Pieree-Luc LAFOREST and Simon POND.

Australia in baseball playoffs

Australia will play Japan in the semi-finals of the Olympic baseball competition after qualifying in fourth position for its maiden appearance in the Games playoffs.

Australia lost 11-0 to Canada overnight in the last of the preliminary round matches after both teams went into the game with 4-2 win-loss records and assured of semi-final positions.

What needed to be determined was the finishing order behind joint gold medal favourites Japan and Cuba, who had the top two places sewn up.
Canada's victory meant it finished third and will now meet world champion Cuba in the second semi-final on Tuesday night after Australia take on top qualifier Japan hoping to repeat its surprise 9-4 victory over the Asians in the preliminary rounds last Wednesday.

Australia is chasing its first Olympic baseball medal and is at least guaranteed a playoff for bronze on Wednesday.

Australia's best finish in baseball at the Olympics was seventh in both Sydney four years ago and Atlanta in 1996.

Baseballers go down to Canada

Australia has stumbled into the Olympics baseball semi-finals with an 11-0 loss to Canada.

With both teams already assured of a semi-final spot, the result determined the final positions with Australia advancing in fourth.

Australia will meet top qualifier Japan on Wednesday, while Canada meets world champion Cuba.

The loser of both games will meet in the bronze medal play-off with Australia's best finish at an Olympic Games a seventh in Sydney and Atlanta.

Despite the loss to Canada, Australia will take plenty of confidence into its semi-final, having been the only team to beat Japan, 9-4 last Wednesday.
Canada lost to Cuba 5-2 in the preliminary rounds.

Canada took control of the game against Australia with three runs in the third inning, two in the fourth and surged home with six at the bottom of the ninth.

Australia, who used six pitchers, gave up 12 hits to Canada's four, with Australia's first not coming until the fourth inning.

Pitcher Adrian Burnside started for Australia after recovering from an elbow injury but gave up six hits, three walks and five runs in four innings.

'We wanted to work our pitchers and it was also important to rest our players,' Australian coach Jon Deeble said.

Captain David Nilsson was one of the players rested.

Baseball team thrashes Aussies

Canada's baseball team put an end to its two-game losing streak Sunday, pounding Australia 11-0 in its final round-robin Olympic matchup.

The win gave Canada a 5-2 record and allowed them to avoid playing top-ranked Japan in the semifinals on Tuesday.

Canada will instead face Cuba - who beat Canada 5-2 on Saturday - while Japan will play Australia.

The win over Australia represented Canada's fourth shutout in the tournament, with Phil Devey of St. Jerome, Que., getting his first win in Athens.
The left-hander, who was the final player added to the Canadian roster after the Colorado Rockies held on to top prospect Jeff Francis, limited the Aussies to just two hits in six innings of work.

"I felt great," Devey said after the game. "I wasn't really nervous. I worked my butt off to get here."

But more importantly for Canada, its bats finally came back to life, highlighted by a 3-for-5 performance by catcher Andy Stewart, of Oshawa, Ont., who batted in three runs.

Shortstop Peter Orr of Richmond Hill, Ont., also had three hits and scored two runs.

Ryan Radmanovich of Calgary and Jeremy Ware of Orangeville, Ont., both homered for Canada.

"We hadn't played to our potential (recently) so it's nice to get some momentum going into the medal round," said Ware, whose three-run home run capped off a six-run ninth inning to give Canada its total of 11 runs - a tournament high for the club.

Canada, which had only scored five runs in its last three games while managing just 17 hits in that span, notched a total of 12 hits against Australia.

"Hitting is contagious," said Radmanovich. "Once a couple of guys found a sweet spot, everyone began to relax at the plate."

Canada will use a scheduled off-day tomorrow and hold a practice instead to help prepare for its semifinal game.

Australian pitcher Graeme Lloyd said Australia's 9-4 win over Japan in the preliminaries will help the Aussies in the semis.
"We got them one time and maybe they have some doubt in their minds.
Hopefully that will help," said Lloyd.

Comments
Jon DEEBLE (AUS) - Manager
On the team's performance throughout the tournament
"I think we've played great. We wanted to win today."
"We wanted to work our pitchers and it was also important to rest our players."
On facing Japan in the semifinal
"To get a gold, you have to beat both teams; so it doesn't matter."
"We'll just play the game as we have from the first game until the last."

Graeme LLOYD (AUS) - Pitcher
On the medal round
"We're looking forward to the medal round.
The day after tomorrow should be great."
On Japan
"We got them one time and maybe they have some doubt in their minds. Hopefully that will help."
On the Olympic experience
"The experience has been great.
We got our sights on the prize and we're going after it."

Ernie WHITT (CAN) - Manager
On his team's performance
"All we did was swing the bat well.
We combined solid pitching with good defence."
On their semifinal game with Cuba
"The Cubans are a solid ball club. They are really aggressive.
We will have to play our best."
On their initial expectations in the Olympic tournament
"We came here aiming to qualify for the medal round.
We want the gold medal and we will try our best for it."

Richard CLAPP (CAN) - Second baseman
On their performance
"We played tough defence. Good defence is part of our strategy and with good defence it's easy to win.
We have good pitchers who throw a lot of strikes."

Ryan RADMANOVICH (CAN) - Right fielder
On his performance tonight
"We've done this before and it's not outside our expectations to hit like this.
For the future, we have to bring our bats like this in order to win."
On their semi-final game with Cuba
"If our batting is as good and our timing is on, there's a good chance we will beat Cuba with a strong performance."

Jeremy WARE (CAN) - Left fielder
On their semifinal game with Cuba
"Cuba is a very good team and we have to show more intensity and pressure."