Going for glory

Lesson learned for Team Canada.

Needing a win over the winless Czech Republic on Wednesday to clinch the Pool B round-robin title, it took a two-run Dalton Pompey double in the bottom of the ninth to eke out an 8-7 win and avoid a third-place finish.

Make no mistake, the team celebrated the accomplishment well into Thursday morning, but after a good night’s sleep, it’s all business from here on in, Pompey said. They won’t make the same mistake twice, taking a team too lightly, especially now that it’s win-or-go-home time at the World Junior Baseball Championship.

Canada, by virtue of their first-place finish, drew the 2-3 Italians in Friday’s quarterfinal round (Port Arthur Stadium, 7 p.m.), a team that hit just .221 during the round robin, allowed an even 10 runs a game and made 21 errors, second to the Czechs.

This time, Canada is ready, said Pompey, hitting .375 with six RBI in the tourney.

"It was a huge lesson just to not take any team lightly. Even though (the Czechs) had no losses, we know now that going into Italy that even though they were 2-3 we can’t underestimate them or it may come back to bite us and we’ll end up losing," Pompey said.

Ditto, said teammate Philip Diedrick, who like Pompey didn’t start Wednesday’s game but made his way to right-field when catcher Kellin Deglan – who will play Friday – was pulled for precautionary reasons with a jammed thumb.

Diedrick went 4-for-4 after joining play and said he and his teammates, for whatever reason, just weren’t into the game against the Czechs until they found themselves playing catch-up, trailing by four runs with time running out.

It shouldn’t happen again, the stocky outfielder said.

"I think that we’re OK, as long as we keep our heads on our shoulders and keep the task at hand," he said.

Their performance may have been a blessing in disguise, he added.

"I think the way we finished last night’s game is how we should go into all the other games now, with that same intensity, instead of (with a) team that not on par with ours on talent level, letting them hang around and letting them back into the game," said Diedrick, who has hit .476 at the WJCH, with a pair of doubles and a homerun, a first-inning grand slam that helped Canada knock off two-time defending champion South Korea last Sunday.

"Last night I used the Cuba-Netherlands game. On paper the game shouldn’t be within 10 runs, the games should have been a blowout for Cuba. But anything can happen on any given day. A guy could go out and have his best game of his life on the mound or the best game of (his) life at the dish."

Manager Greg Hamilton took the wake-up call seriously, and so did his troops, he said, noting the message was delivered loud and clear that the game still has to be won on the field, despite what the statistics say.

Hamilton guided his club to a 4-1 record during the round robin, and said the outcome has been discussed, adjustments made and he’s expecting a much better effort Friday night.

"I think our players are well aware of it now. There’s no better message than the reality of what happened (Wednesday) night. We have to look at Italy only. We can’t look at the path beyond Italy and what it looks like beyond Italy. We have to come out ready to play," Hamilton said.

A win Friday night would guarantee Canada at least a spot in Sunday’s bronze medal game, and would set up a Saturday semifinal match between them and the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal between Chinese Taipei and the Netherlands.

But like he said, Hamilton isn’t thinking that far ahead just yet.

"That was a narrow escape. We don’t want to be there again. We’re playing a quarterfinal game. You’re playing a game against a team that’s made it to the quarterfinals, and they’re not a bad team. Are we a better team? Yeah, on paper we are, but you still have to play the game and you have to be ready."

Other quarterfinal action Friday includes a marquee match-up between the United States and Cuba (2 p.m., Port Arthur Stadium) and Australia and South Korea (Baseball Central, 4:30 p.m.) Also on tap are consolation games between France and Panama and the Czech Republic and Venezuela.