Australia have beaten the Czech Republic 8-3 to reach the World Baseball Classic quarter-finals for the first time, rallying from a 7-1 loss to hosts Japan
Dave Nilsson’s side next face powerhouse Cuba in TokyoAustralia have made history, reaching the WorldClassic quarter-finals for the first time. It rivals the semi-final win over Japan and the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics as the greatest moment in the history of the national men’s team, given the Classic allows professional players.
On Sunday night they hit a roadblock in the form of Japanese star Shohei Ohtani, who hit a monster three-run homer as the host nation overwhelmed Australia 7-1. But Australia rallied impressively less than a day later in a match that was much tighter than the final score suggests. Designated hitter Alex Hall was prolific, hitting a solo home run in the first and a two-run triple in the eighth, ending the match with four RBIs. Tim Kennelly also picked up two hits and made two outstanding catches in right field.
The night before, Australia had been brought down to earth in a crushing loss to Japan, the tournament favourites. It was effectively sealed from the spectacular moment in the first inning when Ohtani, one of the MLB’s biggest stars and a Japanese icon, smacked a massive three-run home run to right field which landed over 136m away, fittingly finishing just below his vast image on an video advertising board.
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