In a festive atmosphere
on a cold night, Australian bats warmed up the crowd as they powered
their way to a 5-0 win over Chinese Taipei in game six of the
2006 Financial Wealth International Baseball Challenge at Melbourne
Ballpark (Altona) last night
Luke Hughes, who is battling for a spot on the 30-man roster for
the upcoming World Baseball Classic commencing in March, continued
to make a case for his selection by continuing his red hot hitting
Hughes had three hits in five at-bats including a grand slam homerun
which accounted for four of Australia's five runs
The WA native, who plays professionally for the Minnesota Twins
in the USA, is batting .385 over six games in 13 at-bats
Tom Brice and Brad Harman had two hits each for the Aussies
Starting pitcher Matthew Gahan kept the Taiwanese hitless through
four innings
Donavon Hendricks, Ryan Rowland-Smith and Richard Thompson finished
to combine on the five-hit shutout
Chinese Taipei's pitchers proved very hit-or-miss for the Aussies
as starter Ming-Ching Kao and reliever Chi-Hung Cheng combined
to record 11 strikeouts
Designated hitter Chih-Sheng Lin and outfielder Chien-Ming Chang
had a pair of hits each to account for four of the visitors five
hits
The lively and festive Taiwanese supporters did everything they
could to rally their team on and really added a unique flavour
to the packed out stadium by immersing themselves into every play
of the game
Australia now holds a 4-2 lead in the series that continues this
evening at Melbourne Ballpark (7.30pm EST)
After losing the previous
international, Australia powered its way today to a 5-0 drubbing
of Chinese Taipei in game six of the International Baseball Challenge
Luke Hughes, who is battling for a spot on the 30-man roster for
the upcoming World Baseball Classic commencing in March, continued
his red-hot streak to make a case for selection
Hughes had three hits in five at-bats including a grand slam home-run
which accounted for four of Australia's five runs
Australia now holds a 4-2 lead in the series which continues tonight
at Melbourne Ballpark