THUNDER BAY – Win and they’re in.
As improbable as it may have seemed two days ago after an 0-2 start to open the Under 18 World Cup of Baseball, that’s the scenario facing Team Canada after Tuesday night’s 8-2 win over Australia at Port Arthur Stadium.
The Canadians did it the Earl Weaver way – blasting three home runs in the opening two innings to build a 6-0 lead that all but put the game out of reach as the crowd was settling into their seats.
Catcher Archer Brookman, who has several relatives that call Thunder Bay home, started the power-fest in the first, cracking a two-out, two-run shot off Australia starter Jackson Boyd.
Michael Stovman followed with a solo home run of his own, Canada taking a 3-0 lead after one.
Edouard Julien picked up in the second inning where his teammates left off, connecting on a one-out three-run blast with Denzel Clarke and Lucas Parente aboard.
The early runs were a relief for a team in desperate need of a win to keep its medal hopes alive.
“We made a point of trying to get on the board early and often,” said Brookman, who had a cheering section all of his own, with family from Quebec also in town to support his efforts.
Julien, who has a pair of homers in the tournament, said he had no idea the Canadian team would rely on the long-ball to carve out victories.
“I thought we were a fast team that would move the runner and drive people in, not home runs. I was not expecting that all,” said Julien, whose second-inning homer soared over the yellow line on the centre-field fence, clearing the 385-foot mark with plenty of room to spare.
Getting those six runs in the first two innings took the pressure off, he added.
“The last couple of games we didn’t have the push in the first couple of innings. It was always at the end, at (our) last chance. But we went out with a lot of energy and we’ve got to keep that for tomorrow,” Julien said.
Manager Greg Hamilton was pleased.
“It’s nice to have a little breathing room. It takes some of the pressure off. You like to give yourself some room, some space. You can’t manage for tomorrow, but it’s the best-case scenario because you don’t have to use up a lot of pitching to get there,” Hamilton said.
Starter Jack Decooman pitched six innings, allowing just one run on five hits.
It was a lot easier going, knowing he was spotted a six-run lead.
“It’s huge. It gives you a lot of confidence and allows you to go out there and throw a lot of strikes and let your defence make plays behind you,” Decooman said.
Cade Smith pitched the final three innings in relief, allowing a single run in the seventh, to earn the save. Boyd surrendered all eight runs for Australia. Alex Hall and Jamie Young had run scoring hits for the losing side.
Canada’s fate lies in Wednesday’s 5 p.m. make-up game with winless Nicaragua, a contest originally scheduled for Sunday before rains washed it out.
If they come out on top, they’ll move on to the Super Round and dates with Japan, Cuba and the United States for a chance to advance to a medal game.
Australia’s future is in the hands of the mathematicians – assuming Canada gets the job done on Wednesday. The two teams, and Chinese Taipei, would finish with identical 3-2 records in that scenario and a complicated tiebreaker would come into effect for Australia and Chinese Taipei.
Japan 12, South Africa 0: Kotaro Kiyomiya homered and doubled and scored three times as Japan soared into the Super Round at 4-1.
Netherlands 4, Mexico 0: Richgelon Juliana doubled twice and scored two runs for the Netherlands, who finished 2-3. Mexico will wrap up play on Wednesday against South Africa, both team seeking their first win.
Chinese Taipei 10, Nicaragua 5: Chinese Taipei kept their Super Round hopes alive, thanks in part to Han-Yu Tseng, who was 3-for-4 with four RBI. Guzman Aguilar homered for Nicaragua.
Korea 10, Italy 1: Korea wrapped up the Group A title and a 5-0 record, five pitchers combining on a five-hitter Jin Won Ye doubled and scored twice in the victory.
USA 8, Cuba 1: The Americans (5-0) completed the round robin having given up just two runs. Mitchell Wilcox went seven innings, allowing just two hits to earn the win. Cuba finished at 3-2, advancing to the Super Round.
