Olympic Baseball Blog

olympicbaseball February 28th, 2008

On Thursday, February 28, 2008, Canada lost to Australia on Exhibition Game one.

Canadian press said:

The Aussies cobbled together two singles, four walks and a wild pitch for a five-run fifth off pitchers Aaron Wideman of Mississauga, Ont., and Steve Green of Greenfield Park, Que., that erased a 3-0 deficit.

“They had a soft five runs off of balls that weren’t hit real hard and our guys are still just trying to see some pitches,” said manager Terry Puhl. “Defensively we did well. We made some really nice plays. They’re good athletes. It’ll be a couple more days and they’ll be right there.”

Canada went up 2-0 in the third on an RBI double by Emmanuel Garcia of Montreal and a sacrifice fly by Emerson Frostad of Calgary. Jeremy Ware of Guelph, Ont., made it 3-0 in the fourth with an RBI double.

Starter James Avery of Moose Jaw, Sask., and Brooks McNiven of Vancouver each threw two scoreless innings for the Canadians.

And the Baseball Canada said:

It started off well, but one inning would turn out to be Canada’s downfall in their first exhibition game as they would fall at the hands off Australia by a final score of 5-3.

The Canadians would be the ones to break it open in the third inning when Emmanuel Garcia hit a double to cash in Jeremy Ware (Guelph, ON) would had reached base on a walk.

“I was just trying to see the ball well. I got a 3-1 fastball and I was able to put the bat on the ball,” says Garcia.

David Corrente (Chatham, ON), who also walked, would score the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly from Emerson Frostad (Calgary, AB) to make it 2-0.

The Canadians would add to the lead in the fourth inning when Ware hit a double of his own to score Matt Rogelstad (New Westminster, BC) and make it 3-0.

“I’m just trying to keep it simple, put a good swing on the ball and it worked out,” says Ware of his double.

Things were going smoothly until the fifth inning when the Aussies would put up a five spot and take the lead. Aaron Wideman (Mississauga, ON) and Steve Green (Greenfield Park, QC) combined to give up those runs on two singles, four walks and a wild pitch.

“We’re obviously getting out there for the first time, facing hitters for the first time this year and it feels good to get out there,” says Wideman of his outing. “I didn’t have my control today, but I’m working on all of the glitches and the bumps and bruises, but my arm felt good. I just need to get rid of the wrinkles and be ready for the next day.”

James Avery (Moose Jaw, SK), who started for Canada, and Brooks McNiven (Vancouver, BC) threw two innings a piece and combined to shutout the Australians allowing only two hits with six strikeouts.

There were more positives than negatives for Canada in a game which saw most of the players taking the field for the first time since the end of last season.

“They had a soft five runs off of balls that weren’t hit real hard and our guys are still just trying to see some pitches,” says Manager Terry Puhl.

“Defensively we did well. We made some really nice plays. They’re good athletes. It’ll be a couple more days and they’ll be right there.”

You can also find the Box Score and Play-by-play at Baseball Australia web site.

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olympicbaseball February 14th, 2008

To prepare the Final Olympic Qualifying tournament in Taiwan next month, the Australian Baseball Team will host four games to the Canadian National team.

Based on the news released from Australian Baseball Federation, the series will be held in Brisbane and the Gold Coast from February 28 – March 2, will be the Australian Team’s final stage of selection trials and has been targeted to help the Aussies peak ahead of their must win tournament in Taiwan.

Australian Head Coach, Jon Deeble, is excited about playing the Canadians on home soil – especially as he puts some of the National squad’s youngest talent through the rigors of the two-week selection camp.

“For the first time in a number of years there are several spots in the team that are wide open (for selection) – I’m really looking forward to letting these guys go at it,” Deeble said.

“In terms of our preparation, we have had the benefit of the recent Claxton Shield season to identify some emerging talent and will now we get the chance to see how they perform against Canada – one of the World’s top sides,

“Truth be told, nobody is guaranteed a ticket to the qualifiers, so I am going to take whoever’s “hot” at the time,” he said.

The Games against Canada will mark the first time the National Team has hosted the North American powerhouses on home soil in well over a decade, and promises to deliver a thrilling showcase between two evenly matched teams.

When the two sides locked horns at the Baseball World Cup last November, Australia came away with a nail-biting 7-6 victory that eliminated Canada from the finals – a result that the Canadians will be eager to avenge next month as they battle the Aussies for one of the final three Olympic berths in the eight-nation tournament in Taiwan.

Canada, who finished 4th in Athens, remains one of the biggest threats for the Aussies’ and will join Korea, Mexico, Chinese Taipei, Germany, Spain and South Africa as they vie for their own piece of Olympic history.

Although Australia will enter the March Qualifier as reigning Silver Medallists, they clearly face an uphill battle on their road to Beijing, placing even greater emphasis on their preparation in these games against the touring internationals.

The four-game series will follow closely on the heels of a two-game exhibition schedule in Sydney that sees the Australian squad match up against the NSW Patriots at Blacktown Olympic Park on February 22 & 23.

In the mean time, Korea national team will be in Taiwan to play three exhibition games with Chinese Professional Baseball League Team. And you can find the final Olmpic Qualifier here.

AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL TEAM SCHEDULE

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