Australia and Mexico
to face off in rematch Winner to advance
to Classic's second round in San Diego
Australia meets Mexico on Wednesday
night at Foro Sol Stadium in a rematch of Sunday's game between
the two teams that Australia won swiftly, 17-7
Adding to the anticipation, the team that wins will lock up a
spot in Round Two of the World Baseball Classic, while the loser
will be sent home
There's also been no shortness of animosity between Australia
and Mexico since their opening-night showdown
Australia tallied twenty-two hits in the game to set a Classic
record, and in the process, humiliated Mexico in front of its
home crowd
Mexico ever since has cast aside the loss as a consequence of
the team's overconfidence heading into the tournament, which
Australia believes is a slight at its ability
"You don't get twenty-two hits by accident" Australia
manager Jon Deeble said
Mexico defeated South Africa 14-3 on Monday to set up the rematch
that it has not-so-secretly been seeking
"We'd love to face them again" Mexican shortstop Oscar
Robles said
"I think there might be a strong opportunity to beat them
this time
We have to be ready"
Mexico jumped out to an early lead against Australia, which Robles
suggested was part of his team's downfall
"I think that when we were beating them in the first inning,
we felt we were doing great, and we lost" he said
Mexico will send Jorge Campillo to the mound to start, while
Australia counters with left-hander David Welch
It's not likely Australia will duplicate its offensive outburst,
especially after a grinding 5-4 loss to Cuba on Tuesday
But with clearly no loss of words from the pair of ball clubs,
this meeting has the build of an epic battle
"I thought we did very well on Tuesday" Deeble said
"But we're very confident that we can beat Mexico on Wednesday
We want another shot at the Cubans after that"
Pool B - Australia and
Mexico
A few days ago we reported in our
preview series that Mexico likely is favored over Australia
This has changed since then
First the Aussies won the opener in Pool B with a stunning 17-7
score against Mexico
On Tuesday they had the Cuban team in the ropes, leading 4-3,
going into the eighth inning, but lost on a pinch hit homerun
by Yosbany Peraza
Mexico came back after their loss, defeating South Africa 14-3,
setting up tonight’s meeting
The winner is going to San Diego, the loser home
Comments from Jon Deeble
- Australian Team Manager
"The boys will be ready tonight
It will be tough
Mexico have three Major League pitchers going against us but
I have no doubt these guys are up to it and we will go through
to San Diego
I told the players if we keep playing like we have done the last
two days ... we will win"
NOTE - click
here to see the above
shot
hanging in Brett's home !!
Brett Roneberg's
solo shot in the fourth innings was all the offense Australia
could muster
Our AROOS end impressive
WBC with sad mauling from Mexico from Flintoff
and Dunn's Australian Major League Baseball Web Site
Revenge, it’s said, is a dish
best served cold
Mexico added some of its signature spices to end Australia’s
dreams of advancing to the second round of the World Baseball
Classic
After being humbled, humiliated and harangued following its mercy
rule 17-7 loss to Australia in the WBC series opener, Mexico
inflicted an equally embarrassing defeat to the Australians
So over matched in all departments were the Australians, that
the mercy rule was invoked after six innings with Mexicans triumphant
16-1
Australian manager Jon Deeble said it was a disappointing end
to what had been a series that had showcased the quality of Australian
baseball
Deeble said the heart-breaking one run loss against Cuba the
day before had taken its toll on the players who unable to rally
once the Mexicans gained the early lead
“Unfortunately, we just couldn’t come up after the
Cuban game
We were just over matched” Deeble said
“In the end it was a non event
Hopefully, the young kids will learn from it”
While the Australians dined on a feast of a record breaking twenty-two
hits in its first game, Mexican starter Jorge Campillo, a member
of the Atlanta Braves starting rotation, ensured there would
be no second helpings
Campillo restricted the Australians to six hits and one run -
a home run by Brett
Roneberg, the only Australian Campillo was unable to retire - in his four and two third innings
Australia had its chances in the second and third inning with
runners (three) in scoring position, but Campillo was able to
pitch his way out of the potential jam
It proved the only chances Australia would have as the Mexicans
climbed all over a succession of pitchers manager Jon Deeble
sent out to stop the bleeding
While Australia was theoretically still in the game after the
Mexicans scored four runs off starter David Welsh in the third
innings, it would turn ugly, very ugly from that point
It took four Australian pitchers in the fourth to record the
three outs, but not before the Mexicans had booked themselves
into the second round with a feast of seven unanswered runs
Mexican right fielder Karim Garcia put on a clinic in the concluding
innings as he twice homered to end the game going 4-from-4 with
four RBIs and four runs scored
None of the first seven pitchers - Welsh, Brendan Wise, Liam
Hendriks, Paul Mildren, Tristan Crawford, Joel Naylor and Adam
Bright - used by Deeble were able to able to quieten the rampaging
Mexicans
Scott Mitchinson, the last pitcher summoned from the bullpen,
was the only pitcher not to surrender a hit or a run
Apart from Roneberg,
who earlier doubled off Campillo to end the WBC batting .714, centrefielder Trent Oeltjen collected two hits to
lift his average to .500 while James Beresford (.419) and Ben
Risinger (.400) also collected hits
Deeble said the above mentioned hitters had much to be proud
of how they handled themselves against what was largely Major
League Baseball pitching staffs
He described Roneberg,
a minor league journeyman for the past decade, as a “quality
hitter” who just needed an opportunity
“He swung the bat as well as anyone
They couldn’t get him out
He owned Campillo, a first rate pitcher with the Braves”
Deeble said
“Oeltjen continues to make giant strides
He hit well, got on base for us and really played good defence
He’s a chance to make it to the majors”
Deeble said Beresford, who turned twenty back in January, showed
the poise of a seasoned veteran
He said his at bat against Cuba at a pivotal stage of the game
spoke volumes for his ability
“He really put his hand up for us
He hit to the opposite field, stayed with the ball and had some
quality at bats”
Risinger played against Mexico in the last game with a torn hamstring,
which saw him used as a designated hitter
“Many people on all those forums were questioning why he
was picked, but I think Ben answered all the critics
He hit .400 for the tournament” Deeble said
Deeble praised the pitching of Travis Blackley, who started against
Cuba
“He kept us in the game, he was simply outstanding”
He said cameos from Liam Hendriks in the win against Mexico and
from David Welsh, who pitched well without luck against Mexico
in the rematch, were other positives to take away from tournament
Mexico thump Australia
16-1 to advance at World Baseball Classic
Australia are out of the World
Baseball Classic after Mexico avenged a humiliating loss and
advanced to the second round with a 16-1 rout
Karim Garcia went 4-for-4 with two home runs, scoring four times
and driving in four more runs to pace a 13-hit barrage and put
Mexico into the second round at San Diego for a double-elimination
showdown starting on Sunday
Australia opened with a 17-7 romp over the first-round group
hosts that was halted after eight innings under the same mercy
blowout rule that stopped the Aussies in the sixth innings of
their farewell
Mexico's humbling loss sparked harsh criticism and inspired two
triumphs for the hosts to advance from the losers' bracket
Brett Roneberg homered
for the Aussies who were four outs
from advancing on Tuesday before surrendering a homer and losing
to Cuba
Defending Classic Champions Japan, reigning Olympic Champions
South Korea and international dynasty Cuba - seeking a 39th consecutive
berth in a global event final - will join Mexico in fighting
for two semi-final berths
Cuba and Mexico will meet on Thursday in the final game of the
opening round to decide a top seed and finalise the pairings
for Sunday's San Diego openers
The winner on Thursday will play Japan while the loser will meet
Korea
Australia runs out of
magic against Mexico Aussies head
home after drastically improved Classic showing
Australia may have had the opening-night
spoiler, but it was host Mexico with the vengeful encore
Australia lost, 16-1, a mercy-rule drubbing lasting only six
innings at the hands of Mexico on Wednesday night in a rematch
of the teams' 2009 World Baseball Classic opener
Australia trounced Mexico, 17-7, in eight innings with a Classic-record
twenty-two hits on Sunday but was done one better by the Pool
B host in an elimination game
Offensive outbursts of four runs in the third inning, seven in
the fourth and four in the sixth helped Mexico effectively overwhelm
each Australian pitcher who was called to the mound
"We were very disappointing tonight" Australia manager
Jon Deeble said
"It wasn't the way we wanted to finish
But when you look back at it, we're one-all against Mexico
We kicked their behinds; they kicked ours"
Mexico with the win advances to Round Two of the Classic in San
Diego, while Australia is left to look back upon its experience
and wonder what might have been
"We took a big step forward
There's no doubt about that" Deeble said
"We've got to get more depth
A lot of people here don't realize we didn't have our eight Major
League pitchers and our three pitchers from Japan"
Australian lefty David Welch began the game well, sitting down
Mexico batters 1-2-3 in the first and second innings, but that
didn't last long
Mexico right fielder Karim Garcia led off the third inning with
a single into right and moved to third base on the next play
when Miguel Ojeda singled on a chopper past first With runners at the
corners, Augie Ojeda hit a slow grounder fielded by first baseman
Brett Roneberg, whose hesitation allowed Garcia to score and
Ojeda to reach first safely----------(refer to the notes and video below
near the end of the page)
Brothers Edgar and Adrian Gonzalez kept Mexico's rally rolling,
with Edgar singling in Miguel Ojeda and Adrian hitting a grounder
to bring in Augie Ojeda
Jorge Cantu capped the scoring with a double into left-center
field that sent home Edgar Gonzalez and gave Mexico a 4-0 lead
Lifted after the inning, Welch gave up four hits and four runs
in three innings while striking out a pair
Australia sent seven pitchers to the mound in relief, and all
but one allowed Mexico to add to its lead
Brett Roneberg accounted
for Australia's lone run, blasting a home run far over the fence
in right field in the bottom of the fourth inning
Australia finishes the Classic with a 1-2 record and having held
its own against the likes of Cuba and Mexico, though that still
isn't pleasing to Deeble
"I wouldn't say it was a success" Deeble said
"Did we get better? ... Yes ... Are we going to get better?
... Yes ... We've still got a way to go, too"
Australia has been eliminated
from the 2009 World Baseball Classic
On the mound for Australia
Starting pitcher for Team Australia, David Welch went 3.0 innings
allowing 4 hits, 4 runs, 4 errors, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts for
a 12.00 ERA
Liam Hendriks went 0.1 innings allowing 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 errors
for an ERA of 10.80
Paul Mildren pitched 0.1 innings allowing 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 errors
for a tournament ERA of 11.57
Standouts at the plate for Australia Brett Roneberg
batted .714, going 2-for-2 with 1 homerun and 1 RBI
Trent Oeltjen batted .500, going 2-for-2
Ben Risinger batted .400 going 1-for-2
Mexico take revenge on
Australia
Australia found themselves out
of the World Baseball Classic and on the end of a verbal barrage
from new rivals Mexico, who avenged a humiliating loss with a
16-1 rout on Wednesday
Fired up by some seemingly innocuous comments made by Australian
coach Jon Deeble, the Mexicans advanced to the second round in
a thrashing that was halted after six innings
Karim Garcia went 4-for-4 with two home runs, scoring four times
and driving in four more runs to pace a thirteen hit barrage
The route happened just three days after Australia had a record
twenty-two hits in a 17-7 boilover over Mexico that was stopped
after eight innings
Mexican players took exception to Deeble defending his side after
Tuesday's 5-4 loss to Cuba, in which the Australians came within
four outs of booking their own trip to Round Two
Deeble had agreed with an interviewer that Australia's strong
showing against Cuba had shown their upset of Mexico was no fluke
The Mexicans saw red and, after avenging their loss, delighted
in the fact they had "killed" the upstart Australians
"The Australia manager says 'You don't get twenty-two hits
out of nowhere"' said Mexico's Jorge Cantu
"They were convinced they were going to beat Mexico
It's no coincidence we knocked them out"
Added teammate Edgar Gonzalez ... "We showed up to this
game thinking about the other team's comments
We kept mulling over these and it really gave us the energy we
needed"
Manager Vinny Castilla, however, did say he'd expected a closer
match against his improving opponents
"It was fantastic after starting off on the wrong foot"
said Castilla
"I didn't expect anything close to that
I was expecting a much closer game
But that's what baseball is like
We really killed them"
Australia, lacking some top players not made available by US
and Japanese clubs, could only take satisfaction in an otherwise
impressive effort
"We've played very good baseball
We were very disappointing tonight
It wasn't the way we wanted to finish" Deeble said
"I wouldn't say it was a success because we didn't get to
the second round
Did we get better? ... Yes ... Are we going to get better? ...
Yes ... We've still got a way to go ... We took a big step forward
... There's no doubt about that"
Retiring first baseman
Brett Roneberg homered for the Aussies in his farewell game after
a week he said he would cherish for the rest of his life
"We're not easy to beat anymore" he said
"I don't think there's any lesson we need to learn
We just need to get better"
Mexico joined Japan, South Korea and Cuba in the double-elimination
fight for two semi-final berths
Cuba and Mexico will meet on Thursday in the final game of the
opening round to decide a top seed and finalise the pairings
for Sunday's San Diego openers
The winner will play Japan while the loser will meet the Koreans
Venezuela downed the US Major League Baseball stars 5-3, while
Puerto Rico blanked giant-killer The Netherlands 5-0 to set the
pairings for Saturday's second-round matches
The Dutch will meet Venezuela in the first game, while the unbeaten
Puerto Ricans play the US
Mexico moves on with
rout of Australia Pool host avenges
opening game shocker with mercy-rule win
After Australia crushed Mexico
last Sunday, everybody hoped for a thriller in the decisive game
of Pool B at the Foro Sol Stadium in Mexico City
However the Mexican offense wanted payback and got it with a
16-1 victory in six innings, winning with the 15-run mercy rule
They will face Cuba in the last round one match tonight
Australia has to go home after a nonetheless nice performance,
at least in the first two games
After two scoreless opening frames, Mexico put on an offensive
show over the next four innings
Starting with four in the third, they put runs on the board at
will and only could be stopped by the rules in the sixth, leading
by 15 runs
Karim Garcia went four-for-four with two homeruns, four runs
scored and four RBI
Scott Hairston hit a two-run shot
Edgar Gonzalez drove in three
Six different players scored at least twice
Brett Roneberg accounted
for the lone Australian run, a solo homerun in the fourth
Jorge Campillo (W 1-0) of the Atlanta Braves allowed one run
on six hits in 4-2/3 innings, striking out two
Rodrigo Lopez closed it out with 1-1/3 perfect frames
David Welch (L 0-1) got the start for the Aussies, giving up
four hits, four runs and base on balls in three innings
He was followed by seven pitchers, who couldn’t provide
any relief, until Scott Mitchinson got the last two outs without
letting a Mexican runner to score
Ouch! Aussies hit brick
wall called Mexico The Australian
team has been eliminated from the World Baseball Classic
after a disappointing return game against Mexico, who were simply
overpowering on the day
It was straightforward assignment
for both sides
A win meant a guaranteed spot in Round Two and a crack at Cuba
tomorrow for top pool placing
A loss meant elimination from this year’s Classic
After drubbing Mexico earlier in the week and going down by a
run to Cuba, the Australians went in justifiably confident of
advancing to Round Two
With the Cuba game in a sense Australia’s "championship
game", they may have suffered something of a letdown - which
is not to take anything away from Mexico, whose pitching was
superb and whose Major League hitters were irrepressible in pounding
Australia 16-1
In the wash-up, it was a pinch-hit home run by Cuba - one swing
of the bat - that turned Australia’s World Classic hopes
from promising to shattered in twenty-four hours
Starting for Australia, AA leftie David Welch walked the lead-off,
but Australia played a textbook double to snuff the early challenge
Mexico returned the favour in the equaliser after Oeltjen hit
a lead-off single but was doubled when Hughes lined out to third
Welch retired Mexico in order in the second and the Aussies were
looking sharp
Risinger singled in the bottom half and Roneberg pulled a double into the rightfield corner
But although Australia was looking dangerous with the bat, Mexican
starter Jorge Campillo escaped from the innings with a strikeout
and a grounder
Mexico hit safely twice in the top of third to put runners at
the corners
A weak grounder scored and Mexico struck first blood
Another single scored a second and the locals were on a roll
An Adrian Gonzalez grounder plated another, Cantu doubled for
a fourth and the Mexican crowd had come alive
Beresford stroked another base hit - his fourth of the series
Oeltjen singled for his second of the night, but Hughes fanned,
Snelling flied and Huber grounded out to strand a couple on base
when Australia had a chance to hit back
Brendan Wise replaced Welch, who had conceded four runs on four
hits and a walk
Wise hit Vasquez, who advanced to third on another single
A wild pitch seemed to hit the next batter, who headed to first
on four balls while a fifth runner crossed the plate, bringing
Liam Hendricks to the hill with two on and none out
But Australia was in trouble as the Mexicans conjured up a huge
fourth innings on a string of hits that blew the scoreline out
to 8-0 before Mildren replaced Hendricks
Cantu singled to score another, before Scott Hairston blasted
a two-run bomb - making it 11-0 - and Australia was on the ropes
after a game-breaking innings that produced seven runs for the
Mexicans
Brett Roneberg plated
Australia’s only run for the night with a solo bomb over
rightfield but Garcia responded with
a moonshot off Crawford in the top of five as the Mexicans piled
on another four runs
With the game realistically gone, Australian management took
the opportunity to give some of its younger squad members a run
Naughton spent some time behind the dish, Mitch Dening came into
the game, Drew Naylor spent some time on the hill and Stefan
Welch went to first
To the credit of a Mexican club that came back from a drubbing
just two days ago, Campillo did a great job over 4.2 innings
in restricting Australia to one run on six hits, with no passes
Wrapping the game up 16-1, Mexico had turned the tables on Australia
in posting thirteen hits to six and playing a belligerent brand
of baseball
Karim Garcia was simply explosive with two home runs and four
RBIs from his four hits
Brett Roneberg (two
hits, with a home run) and Trent Oeltjen
(two hits) were the stand-outs for Australia in a subdued offensive
performance
While analysis of Australia’s effort will be properly be
made by team management, a few things are abundantly clear
Firstly, the World Classic showcases the very best of baseball
talent in the world
No-one could ever have imagined that it would be an easy task
to compete against - and beat - sides of such calibre and baseball
experience
Secondly, in that context, the performance of the Australian
team in playing such quality baseball against Mexico and then
Cuba says plenty about the skill, the toughness and the preparation
of our players
Today’s result was disappointing, sure, but the team continues
to conduct itself in a manner deserving of the utmost respect
both here and overseas
Thirdly, the Australian squad includes a number of outstanding
young players who in large part represent the future of Australian
baseball
The World Classic experience will surely be one of the most memorable
experiences of their baseball lives - one upon which the national
team will continue to build well into the future
Well done to all
The Aussie baseball community is justifiably proud of your performance
"With
runners at the corners, Augie Ojeda hit a slow grounder fielded
by first baseman
Brett Roneberg, whose hesitation allowed Garcia to score and
Ojeda to reach first safely"
Was there some hesitation? ...... well, do you call it "hesitation"
or "checking the runners"? Could Brett have thrown to home? ...... impossible
to determine as the home plate area is not shown Could Brett have thrown to first base? ...... No,
there was no fielder there
firstly, you can see the second-baseman running to the base but
he would have been late,
and secondly, the pitcher is shown in the video and he remains
on the mound Could Brett have thrown to second base earlier?
...... maybe, but he had to check the play at home before doing
that
