---Canada v Australia---

What a difference a day makes!! - Aussies bounce back against Canada with 10-5 win
Australia’s Olympic hopes are back on track after a thrilling 10-5 win against Canada on day three of the 2008 IBAF Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan
The win was made even more impressive as it came just hours after a demoralising 16-2 loss to Korea that had Australia languishing outside the all important top three places in the standings
Facing a vastly more experienced Canadian outfit, the Aussies hung their Olympic hopes squarely on the shoulders of eighteen-year-old debutant Steve Kent who was pitching in his first international for Australia
Kent, a native of Canberra, was simply breathtaking on debut and pointed out that there was little different in the way he approached what was one of Australian Baseball’s most important games in recent memory
“I really didn’t feel all that nervous” Kent said
“I mean, apart from just before the first pitch of the game, the nerves didn’t affect me at all … and as soon as I got that first pitch over it was business as usual”
Kent, who finished with the win after firing six innings and allowing just three runs, enjoyed ample run support from his sluggers who managed to score ten runs while racking up double-digit hits for the second straight game
Infielders Daniel Berg and Glenn Williams enjoyed the best of it for the Aussies, as the pair combined to punch out six hits and drive in four runs between them
The majority of the damage was done in the third and fifth innings
The biggest play came on Brett Roneberg’s bases-loaded double in the fifth that drove in three and handed the Aussies a comfortable 7-1 lead
After six innings the lead was extended to a seemingly safe 8-1, when the Aussies hit a minor speed bump and subjected their fans to a nail biting late innings finish
Kent entered the top half of the seventh and allowed a lead-off single to first-baseman Jimmy Van Ostrand before third-baseman Matt Roglestad blasted a two-run home run that crossed just inside the rightfield foul pole
That would do it for Kent who handed over the fellow debutant, New South Wales’s Brad Tippett, to try and shut down the Canadian offence
When Tippett loaded the bases with one out (fielding error, two hit batters) things looked daunting as Canada’s designated hitter Mike Saunders strode to the plate,but the twenty-year-old right hander managed to compose himself and get Saunders to ground into an inning ending double play
However after momentarily extinguishing the threat, the Canadians weren’t done there, as one innings later Ryan Radmanovich belted a two-run homer (his team’s third of the game) that narrowed the Australian lead to 8-5
That was as close as manager Jon Deeble wanted to let things get, wasting no time calling on one of his more experienced relievers, lefthander Adam Bright, to stifle the comeback
Bright was brilliant from the moment he toed the pitching rubber, retiring the next three batters in order and allowing the Australian bench just enough time to take a collective sigh of relief
Things were are little more comfortable for Bright as he returned to close out the ninth after fellow Victorian Daniel Berg crushed a two-run triple in the bottom of the eight inning, handing the Aussies are more relaxed five run buffer
The win places Australia in the driver’s seat entering tomorrow night’s match-up against Mexico where a victory will put them within reach of ticket to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
Mexico, who boast a line-up packed with former Major Leaguers, were one of the teams targeted by Australia coming in to the tournament and will be desperate to bounce back against the Aussies after dropping their opening three games

Canada suffers setback against Australia
The Canadians allowed two big innings and could not quite comeback from the deficit and they would suffer the loss against Australia by a score of 10-5 at the Final Olympic Qualifier
Australia would put together two four run innings and it would turn out to be enough to take down the Canadians
“We just gave them too many runs
You can’t win many ball games when you give up ten runs” says Manager Terry Puhl
The game started off well for Canada with a solo home run by Jimmy VanOstrand (Richmond, BC), who was 2-for-3 in the game, in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead
It would turn out to be the only lead the Canadians would have in this one as Australia would get their first four run inning in the third
Four runs on four hits and an error against Canadian starter Brooks McNiven (Vancouver, BC) to take a 4-1 lead
Meanwhile, Aussie starter Steve Kent was frustrating the Canadian offence, allowing three runs on six hits with one walk in six innings of work
In that time, the Aussies would put together their second four run inning in the fifth
Australia would load the bases on Jamie Richmond (Mississauga, ON) and Brett Roneberg would clear them with a three RBI double
In total, four runs on four hits in the inning gave Australia a 8-1 lead
The Canadians were able to produce a bit of a comeback in the seventh inning
VanOstrand lead off the inning with a single and Matt Rogelstad (New Westminster, BC) would follow with a two-run home run to reduce the lead to 8-3
Canada would have the bases loaded with one out in the inning with Mike Saunders (Victoria, BC) at the plate
Saunders would hit a ground ball to second and seemed to have beat out a double play, but first base umpire L.K. Hsieh of Taiwan called Saunders out at first, to the protest of Saunders and Puhl, killing any rally
“It was an obvious bad call and it cost us a run and you never know what would’ve happened after that” says Puhl
The Canadians were determined however
Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, ON) lead off the eighth inning with a single and Ryan Radmanovich would follow with a two run homer to bring the Aussie lead down to 8-5
That would be as close as Canada would get
Australia would add a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth for insurance and that would prove to be the final runs of this game
“It was a tough loss, but no one said it would be easy” says Radmanovich, who was 1-for-4 on the day
“Unfortunately today we came up on the short end of the stick”
“It’s one ball game
We’ve already moved on
There’s nothing you can do about it, you just come back and focus on the game at hand” says Puhl

Australia 10 – Canada 5
Following an embarrassing 16-2 loss to the Koreans on Saturday night, Australia needed a big win against Canada – and it got just that
Behind two four-run innings – the third and fifth – the Aussies secured their second win and handed Canada its first loss, bringing both teams to 2-1 on the Tournament
Brett Roneberg and Daniel Berg each had three RBI for Australia
Starter Steven Kent struck out six while giving up only three runs in six innings pitched
Ryan Radmanovich, Jimmy Van Ostrand and Matt Rogelstad all hit homeruns for Canada in the loss

Australia back in the mix after defeating Canada
Australia bounced back after the discouraging 2-16 loss against South Korea and defeated Canada 10-5
Both squads are now 2-1
Jimmy Van Ostrand put Canada up in front with a solo home run, leading off the second
However Australia overcame the deficit, by scoring four runs in the third
They added four more in the fifth
The Maple Leafs rallied through two run home runs by Ryan Radmanovich and Matt Rogelstad
It was too little too late
The Aussies sealed the victory with two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth
The Australian offense was led by Glenn Williams and Daniel Berg who each had three hits and combined for four RBI
Brett Roneberg hit a three run double
The eighteen-year-old Steven Kent (W 1-0) didn’t falter under the pressure
He gave up six hits, three runs and a walk in six innings
Adam Bright pitched the last two innings to earn the save
Brooks McNiven (L 0-1) was charged with four runs (2 ER) on five hits in three innings
Reliever Jamie Richmond allowed seven hits and four runs in four innings

Two four run innings result in Canada losing 10-5 to Australia at baseball event
Giving up two four run innings proved to be too much for Canada's National Baseball Team to overcome Sunday at the final Olympic Qualifying Event
Jimmy VanOstrand of Richmond, B.C., had two hits - including a homer - but Canada dropped a 10-5 decision to Australia for its first loss of the tournament
"We just gave them too many runs" said manager Terry Puhl
"You can't win many ball games when you give up ten runs"
VanOstrand's solo homer in the second inning put Canada ahead 1-0
But Australia countered with four runs in the third on four hits and an error against starter Brooks McNiven of Vancouver
Australia's Steve Kent held Canada to three runs on six hits and a walk over six innings
The Australians cemented the outcome with a four-run fifth, the big shot being a bases loaded double by Brett Roneberg
Canada pulled to within 8-3 in the seventh on a two run homer by Matt Rogelstad of New Westminster, B.C
The Canadians had the bases loaded in the inning with one out when Victoria's Mike Saunders hit a ground ball but appeared to beat out the double play
However, the firstbase umpire didn't agree and called Saunders out to kill the rally
"It was an obvious bad call and it cost us a run and you never know what would've happened after that" said Puhl
Calgary's Ryan Radmanovich belted a two run homer in the eighth to pull the Canadians to within 8-5

Canada v Australia
It was a big day for the Asian teams as Chinese Taipei and South Korea had to work a little harder but came through with their third victories
They are now tied at the top of the standings, followed by Canada and Australia
South Korea smashed the high hopes of Mexico today
Like in November at the World Cup, the latter started with three defeats into the Tournament
Of course, their schedule was much tougher than from the other squads
But their chances now are really slim, even though three of their remaining games are against the underdogs
With Australia they will face another favourite tomorrow
The Aussies are right back in the mix after defeating Canada due to an outburst by their offense, which brought ten runs on the board and held against three more homeruns from the Maple Leafs
Both teams stand now at two wins and one loss
The team from Northern America, though, has the best shot because of the fact that they still have two games left against the, on paper, lighter hitting Europeans
Next one for them is host Taiwan

Top 1st (Canada AB)
Adam STERN - Strikes out swinging, (1 out)
Stubby CLAPP - Walks, (1 out)
Mike SAUNDERS - Flys out to LF in foul ground, (2 out)
Jeremy WARE - Singles on aground ball to 3B, CLAPP advances to 2B, (2 out)
Ryan RADMANOVICH - Grounds out to 2B, 4-3, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)

Bot 1st (Australia AB)
Paul WEICHARD - Strikes out swinging, (1 out)
Daniel BERG - Strikes out looking, (2 out)
Ben RISINGER - Flys out to deep LF, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Top 2nd (Canada AB)
Jimmy VAN OSTRAND - Homers to RF, 1-0 CAN, (0 out)
Matt ROGELSTAD - Grounds out to 2B, 4-3, (1 out)
Chris ROBINSON - Grounds out to 3B, 5-3, (2 out)
Manny GARCIA - Strikes out looking, (3 out)
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)

Bot 2nd (Australia AB)
Glenn WILLIAMS - Singles on a soft line drive to LF, (0 out)
Brett RONEBERG - Flys out to LF, (1 out)
Luke HUGHES - Pops out to 2B, (2 out)
Tom BRICE - Grounds out to 2B, 4-3, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)

Top 3rd (Canada AB)
Adam STERN - Flys out to LF, (1 out)
Stubby CLAPP - Strikes out looking, (2 out)
Mike SAUNDERS - Flys out to RF, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Bot 3rd (Australia AB)
Mat KENT - Singles on a ground ball to RF, (0 out)
Brad DUTTON - Singles on a line drive to LF, KENT advances to 2B, (0 out)
Paul WEICHARD - Reaches on a fielding error by SS, KENT scores, DUTTON advances to 3B, SCORE TIED 1-1, (0 out)
Daniel BERG - Reaches on Fielder's Choice 3-6 (RBI), DUTTON scores, WEICHARD out at 2B, 2-1 AUSTRALIA, (1 out)
Ben RISINGER - Singles on a line drive to CF, BERG advances to 2B, (1 out)
Glenn WILLIAMS - Singles on line drive to CF (RBI), BERG scores, RISINGER advances to 2B, 3-1 AUSTRALIA, (1 out)
Brett RONEBERG - Flys out to deep CF, (2 out)
RISINGER advances to 3B,
WILLIAMS advances to 2B,
With HUGHES batting RISINGER scores from 3B on a wild pitch, WILLIAMS advances to 3B, 4-1 AUSTRALIA (2 out)
Luke HUGHES - Strikes out swinging, (3 out)
(4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)

Top 4th (Canada AB)
Jeremy WARE - Pops out to 3b, (1 out)
Ryan RADMANOVICH - Grounds out to 2B 4-3, (2 out)
Jimmy VAN OSTRAND - Pops out to SS, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Bot 4th (Australia AB)
Pitching Change #23 Jamie RICHMOND replaces McNIVEN
Tom BRICE - Doubles on a line drive to LF, (0 out)
Mat KENT - Grounds out to 3B 5-3, (1 out)
Brad DUTTON - Singles on ground ball to LF, BRICE advances to 3B, (1 out)
Paul WEICHARD - Grounds into a double play 6-4-3, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)

Top 5th (Canada AB)
Matt ROGELSTAD - Grounds out to 3B, 5-3, (1 out)
Chris ROBINSON - Strikes out swinging, (2 out)
Manny GARCIA - Grounds out to 3B, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Bot 5th (Australia AB)
Daniel BERG - Singles on soft line drive to RF, (0 out)
Ben RISINGER - Hit by Pitch, BERG advances to 2B, (0 out)
Glenn WILLIAMS - Singles on a soft line drive to CF, BERG advances to 3B, RISINGER advances to 2B, (0 out)
Brett RONEBERG - Doubles off the RF wall (3 RBI), (0 out)
BERG scores,
RISINGER scores,
WILLIAMS scores,
7-1 AUSTRALIA,
Luke HUGHES - Strikes out swinging, (1 out)
Tom BRICE - Singles on a line drive to RF, RONEBERG advances to 3B, (1 out)
Mat KENT - Grounds into Fielder's Choice 4-3 (RBI), RONEBERG scores, BRICE advances to 2B, 8-1 AUSTRALIA, (2 out)
Brad DUTTON - Strikes out looking, (3 out)
(4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)

Top 6th (Canada AB)
Adam STERN - Singles on a line drive to RF, (0 out)
Stubby CLAPP - Singles on a ground ball to CF, STERN advances to 2B, (0 out)
Mike SAUNDERS - Strikes out swinging, (1 out)
Jeremy WARE - Strikes out looking, (2 out)
Ryan RADMANOVICH - Flys out to RF, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)

Bot 6th (Australia AB)
Paul WEICHARD - Flys out to shallow LF, (1 out)
Daniel BERG - Singles on a line drive to CF, (1 out)
Ben RISINGER - Grounds into a double play 6-4-3, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)

Top 7th (Canada AB)
Jimmy VAN OSTRAND - Singles on a ground ball to CF, (0 out)
Matt ROGELSTAD - Homers to RF (2 RBI), VAN OSTRAND scores, ROGLESTAD scores, 8-3 AUSTRALIA, (0 out)
Pitching Change #9 Brad TIPPETT replaces Steven KENT
Pinch Hitter #17 Emerson FROSTAD replaces Chris ROBINSON
Emerson FROSTAD - Reaches on fielding error by SS, (0 out)
Manny GARCIA - Pops out to shallow LF, (1 out)
Adam STERN - Hit by Pitch, FROSTAD advances to 2B, (1 out)
Stubby CLAPP - Hit by Pitch, FROSTAD advances to 3B, STERN advances to 2B, (1 out)
Mike SAUNDERS - Grounds into double play 6-4-3, CLAPP out at 2B, (3 out)
(2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error)

Bot 7th (Australia AB)
Glenn WILLIAMS - Flys out to LF, (1 out)
Brett RONEBERG - Strikes out swinging, (2 out)
Luke HUGHES - Lines out to RF, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)

Top 8th (Canada AB)
Pinch Hitter #33 Nick WEGLARZ replaces Jeremy WARE
Nick WEGLARZ - Singles on a pop fly to LF, (0 out)
Ryan RADMANOVICH - Homers to RF (2 RBI), WEGLARZ scores, RADMANOVICH scores, 8-5 AUSTRALIA, (0 out)
Jimmy VAN OSTRAND - Walks, (0 out)
Pitching Change #11 Adam BRIGHT replaces Brad TIPPETT
Matt ROGELSTAD - Grounds out to 2B 4-3, VAN OSTRAND advances to 2B, (1 out)
Pinch Hitter # 28 David CORRENTE replaces Emerson FROSTAD
David CORRENTE - Flys out to RF, (2 out)
Manny GARCIA - Strikes out swinging, (3 out)
(2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)

Bot 8th (Australia AB)
Pitching Change # 32 Mike KUSIEWICZ replaces Jamie RICHMOND
Tom BRICE - Hit by Pitch, (0 out)
With KENT batting BRICE advances to 2B on a failed pick-off attempt, (0 out)
Mat KENT - Grounds out to P 1-3, (1 out)
Brad DUTTON - Reaches on a throwing error by SS, BRICE advances to 3B, (1 out)
Paul WEICHARD - Stikes out swinging, (2 out)
Pitching Change #22 Tim BURTON replaces Mike KUSIEWICZ
Daniel BERG - Triples to CF (2 RBI), BRICE scores, DUTTON scores, 10-5 AUSTRALIA, (2 out)
Ben RISINGER - Flys out to CF, (3 out)
(2 Runs, 1 Hit, 2 Errors)

Top 9th (Canada AB)
Adam STERN - Grounds out to SS 6-3, (1 out)
Stubby CLAPP - Grounds out to SS 6-3, (2 out)
Mike SAUNDERS - Grounds out to 1B unassisted, (3 out)
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
GAME OVER - AUSTRALIA WINS 10-5!!

Not a bad game today after the 'crap' game yesterday
I am feeling really good at the plate and I need to go after it again tomorrow
Each at-bat I am getting better and better
The fly ball to centre in my second at-bat went to the base of the wall ... but for an out!!
And the double felt great!!
My foot is really sore but I am getting it down and staying back so I am pretty happy with how it's all going
I wont be playing tomorrow if there is a lefty pitching ... but I don't care as long we win
Hope to be in a position to maybe pinch hit or something later in the game
I wont email after tomorrow's game but I will the next morning as we have an off day
Glad you enjoyed the double!!