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Fields and Allen lead
hit parade v Aussies
Offense clicks
and Minor League hurlers impress in Exhibition Game
White Sox 10, Australia 3
at Phoenix, Ariz
March 6, 20O9
Australia at the plate
Luke Hughes knocked out two hits, including a run-scoring triple
in the third
Chris Snelling also drove home a run with a third-inning single
White Sox at the plate
Josh Fields and Brandon Allen had three hits and two RBIs apiece,
as Allen continues to impress with the bat during Spring Training
Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez chipped in two hits each, with
Ramirez driving home two
Australia on the mound
Paul Mildren started and didn't allow a run in one scoreless
frame
He gave up one hit and didn't strike out or walk a White Sox
hitter
Australia used nine pitchers in total
White Sox on the mound
Aside from Jon Link, who gave up two runs in two innings, the
White Sox used nothing but Minor League pitchers who were not
part of big league camp in this Exhibition Game
Wes Whisler and Brian Omogrosso were the most impressive, with
both hurlers fanning four over two scoreless innings
Chicago knocks the 'socks'
off Team Australia
Team Australia were caught with
their "socks down" this afternoon when they were defeated
by the Chicago Whitesox 10-3 in front of 2625 fans at Camelback
Ranch, a new state of the art spring training complex shared
by both the Whitesox and L.A Dodgers in Glendale, Arizona
Today's game marks the end of a three-game exhibition series
that has seen the Australians take on the Milwaukee Brewers (10-5
Brewers) and the Seattle Mariners (11-9 Aus) in preparation for
the 2009 World Baseball Classic which commences for Australia
on Sunday night when they take on Mexico in Round One
Australia has faired well statistically against their Major League
counterparts - scoring a total of 19 runs in 27 innings, with
33 hits and just 3 errors - a solid effort that is not too dissimilar
to their big league opponents accumulative total of 29 runs,
40 hits, 3 errors
Josh Fields and Brandon Allen were the first to get on the board
for the host team in the bottom of the second inning
Brad Harman's dazzling ball skills robbed Josh Kroeger of a hit
and turned it into a forced out at second, before Beckham popped
up to retire the side, the Sox leading 2-0
The Aussies bounced back in the top of the third when Mitch Dening,
who led off with a single, came home on an RBI double by Trent
Oeltjen
Oeltjen later crossed home off a Luke Hughes RBI single to tie
it at 2-2
The Whitesox added another run in the bottom of the third after
Brandon Allen legged out a slow roller for an infield hit securing
an RBI single, but it was in the bottom of the fourth that the
thunder really came, and it wasnt from Down Under!!
Chicago had white knuckles, let alone 'socks' in the fourth as
they choked up on the bat, this time putting up five runs headlined
by a leadoff homerun by Brian Anderson, and a single that drove
in two by Josh Fields - his third hit of the day
The inning resulted in 5 hits, 5 runs, 0 errors and 2 left on
base and giving the Sox an 8-2 lead
The Sox placed another two runs on the board before the end of
the game, adding one in the fifth and another in the seventh,
advancing their lead to 10-2
Justin Huber scored off an RBI single from Stefan Welch in the
top of the eight, but it was not enough to ignite the Aussies
bats and the score was left at 10-3
The Australians didn't hold back on their bullpen today, making
nine pitching changes in as many innings
On the mound for Team Australia was Paul Mildren, Brendan Wise,
David Welch, Drew Naylor, Tristan Crawford, Adam Bright and Brad
Thomas all pitching single innings
Ryan Searle made a guest appearance for the Aussies, as did Whitesox
pitcher Ryan Rote, who completed the final rotation
Australian Pitching Coach Phil Dale said the revolving bullpen
door was an aid in assisting to define each players position
in the rotation
"Everyone has to adhere to the same pitching counts, we
have the roles clearly defined going in to Mexico now, which
is what we were mainly looking at"
Standout hitter for the Aussies Luke Hughes, who went two-for-three
with one RBI, said the team is not concerned about the loss and
are ready to go to Mexico
"Weve been working a lot back in Australia
We came over here pretty much ready having justed played in the
Claxton Shield
These games are just a tune up for the guys who havent had too
many events
Team goals are to keep executing no matter what the scoreboard
is"
Team Australia will depart for Mexico City this evening and will
spend fourty-eight hours south of the boarder before competing
against Mexico in Round One of the 2009 World Baseball Classic
on Sunday 8 March 2009 at 7.00pm local Mexican time
Manager Jon Deeble is not concerned about the reputation of the
team's competition
"Well see when the game comes
We played Cuba twice last year, we beat them 5-0 and they beat
us one nothing in extra innings
We will face Cuba and Mexico the same way we approach South Africa
... we are not afraid of either of them that is for sure"
When asked about Mexico's perceived home country advantage, Deeble
said:
"We have been there before, we played Taiwan in Taiwan for
the Olympics last year, guys are used to that, by the end of
the day the crowd should be irrelevant" |
