Australia has been getting better in baseball in the last decade or so. It started in 2000 with a good showing at the Sydney Summer Olympics. After putting up no fight in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the Aussies were ready to come back and show that they do play baseball Down Under.
And boy did they ever. Taking on favored Mexico, which has its share of star power in Major League Baseball. Trailing after four innings, Australia all of a sudden exploded. The Australians did get off to a good start in the first, with Luke Hughes drilling a 2-run home run off Mexican starter Oliver Perez. Chris Snelling then came up and made it back-to-back jacks with a home run of his own.
The three-run outburst didn't last, as Jorge Vazquez sent a moonshot grand slam into the left-field stands, vaulting Mexico right back into the lead, 4-3. The Mexicans added another run in the bottom of the first to make it 5-3.
Neither starter lasted long, as one might expect with all the offensive production. Australian starter Craig Anderson was the first to be lifted, going only 1-plus innings, giving up 6 runs on as many hits. Perez was lifted in the third after getting knocked around for 4 runs on 7 hits, striking out 5 in the process.
Australia trailed by as many as four, but then a three-run 5th tied the game up at 7. Then, in the 6th, Australia broke out for three more runs with a little two-out lightning. It took four Mexican pitchers to get through the Australian 6th, and the hit parade continued throughout the rest of the game. The final score was 17-7, Australia, as Snelling added another home run later in the game.
Australia now moves on to face Cuba, while Mexico has to face South Africa to see who will move on and who will go home.
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And boy did they ever. Taking on favored Mexico, which has its share of star power in Major League Baseball. Trailing after four innings, Australia all of a sudden exploded. The Australians did get off to a good start in the first, with Luke Hughes drilling a 2-run home run off Mexican starter Oliver Perez. Chris Snelling then came up and made it back-to-back jacks with a home run of his own.
The three-run outburst didn't last, as Jorge Vazquez sent a moonshot grand slam into the left-field stands, vaulting Mexico right back into the lead, 4-3. The Mexicans added another run in the bottom of the first to make it 5-3.
Neither starter lasted long, as one might expect with all the offensive production. Australian starter Craig Anderson was the first to be lifted, going only 1-plus innings, giving up 6 runs on as many hits. Perez was lifted in the third after getting knocked around for 4 runs on 7 hits, striking out 5 in the process.
Australia trailed by as many as four, but then a three-run 5th tied the game up at 7. Then, in the 6th, Australia broke out for three more runs with a little two-out lightning. It took four Mexican pitchers to get through the Australian 6th, and the hit parade continued throughout the rest of the game. The final score was 17-7, Australia, as Snelling added another home run later in the game.
Australia now moves on to face Cuba, while Mexico has to face South Africa to see who will move on and who will go home.