GOLD COAST, Australia-Australia scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to earn a 9-8 win over Canada in the final tune-up game prior to the opening of the IBAF 18U World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan on August 30th.
Reliever Sean Ratcliffe (Ajax, ON) allowed three straight singles to start the ninth and hit a batter to bring the Aussies within two.
After a pop-up to shallow right field fell in for a single, Ratcliffe hit another batter to tie the score and with two-out, a single up the middle brought in the game winning run.
The juniors got on the board quickly in the top of the first as Jake Lumley (Windsor, ON) drew a one-out walk and stole second base before Malik Collymore (Mississauga, ON) drove him in when he drilled a double down the left field line.
The Aussies came back to tie the score when starter Daniel Procopio (Toronto, ON) hit a batter with the bases loaded in the bottom of the second.
Procopio allowed a one-out single and walked a batter before giving up a free pass with two out on a questionable strike call.
He managed three strikeouts during two innings of work
In the top of third, with runners on the corners, Demi Orimoloye (Orleans, ON) and Chris Thibideau (Dartmouth, NS) executed a successful double steal with Orimoloye scoring and later on, Josh Naylor picked-up his first hit of the day when he singled to left to bring in two runs.
After Naylor made it 5-1 with an RBI single in the fifth, Demi Orimoloye drilled a solo homer over the wall in left field to put Canada up by five.
Australia got one run back in the bottom of the inning and added three runs in the seventh to pull within one before Owen Spiwak (Mississauga, ON) hit a two-run single in the ninth to give Canada a three-run cushion.
Josh Naylor picked up three RBI on a pair of singles, while JP Stevenson (Hunter River, PE) tossed three scoreless allowing only one hit with five strikeouts.
Luke Manuel (Surrey, BC) also worked one scoreless inning of relief.
The juniors pounded-out 14 hits with Chris Thibideau leading the way collecting three singles.
The Junior National Team will depart tomorrow morning for Taichung, Taiwan where they will open the IBAF 18U World Cup on August 30th at 9am CST (9pm ET 08/29) against Japan.
Notes: Live scoring for all games at the IBAF 18U World Cup along with Rosters, Stats and a complete game schedule can be found by visiting www.ibaf.org... You can follow the Junior National Team during exhibition play and at the IBAF 18U World Cup by visiting Baseball.ca or by following @baseballcanada on Twitter.
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