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Deeble
upbeat about World Classic prospects
In
contrast to the series opener in Geelong, Game Two of the Australia
v Chinese Taipei Friendship Series
was a low scoring encounter dominated by the pitchers until the
visitors pinched a break and held on 5-4
The night had been widely promoted
as a fund-raiser for the Victorian Bushfire Appeal and the baseball
community came out in reasonable numbers considering it was a
Tuesday night
“It’s been good” said Baseball Victoria CEO Stephen
Nash
“Of course we would have liked to see more, but it was a
pretty decent crowd
It’s great that baseball has been able to make a contribution
to the bushfire appeal”
“Support from the Taiwanese community was terrific”
Nash said
“They were vocal and enthusiastic and really helped create
an atmosphere”
Australian Manager Jon Deeble used the opportunity to rotate
his pitching
South Australian Paul Mildren started - and went four innings
- while Tristan Crawford, Matt Blackmore, Darryn Cassidy, Glen
Richards and eighteen year-old Kable Hogben all had one-inning
stints on the hill
It was 1-1 after four, with Justin Huber’s single plating
the first Aussie run
Australia scored again in the bottom of five, but Chinese Taipei
came back to level the score and the stretch it to a 5-2 lead
by the eighth
But a two run Chris Snelling bomb over rightfield drew the Aussies
back to a one-run deficit
Recognising that it was a far tougher night for hitters at Melbourne
Ball Park, Australian Manager Jon Deeble was upbeat about how
the World Classic preparations were progressing - despite losing
key pitchers in recent weeks
“I like the make-up of our team” Deeble told Baseball
Radio
“We have a lot of gamers
The hitters have been going well and will get better going forward
It’s great to have Chris Snelling back
He’s a real leader and is a breath of fresh air on the team
Brett Roneberg is important
for us
He wants to get back into pro baseball and is giving this a real
shot
The good thing about this series is that we’ve been able
to give some players an opportunity to wear the Australian uniform
and show everyone what they can do
The pitchers were all good in Geelong, but I thought Elliot Biddle
was outstanding”
While up to ten players have withdrawn from the 45-man provisional
squad for the Classic, there is some scope for replacements depending
on circumstances
“If there is injury involved we can look at this” Deeble
said
“So we’ll need to assess our personnel once we get
to Japan”
The Australian squad will meet in Japan and play games on the
24 and 25 February, after which some squad members will return
home and the final 28 will head to Arizona for nine days, and
then on to Mexico City for Round One of the World Baseball Classic
Altona game contributes
to Bushfire Appeal
Game Two of the Australia v Chinese
Taipei Friendship Series was widely promoted in the baseball
community, with gate proceeds and other contributions to be directed
to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal
The official attendance figure was 645, which does not include
complimentary entry for the Taiwanese Consulate and thirty players
Baseball Victoria is pleased to announce that an amount of $
5431.05 will be forwarded to the Bushfire Appeal as a direct
outcome of the Altona game
That amount includes a magnificent contribution of $1500.00 from
the Baseball Umpires’ Association of Victoria
We are aware that clubs and individuals have already been raising
funds and offering services as the baseball community makes an
ongoing commitment to helping out
Thank you to all who attended the game or who are contributing
in other ways to the cause
Stephen Nash
CEO - Baseball Victoria |
