TAICHUNG, Taiwan – In what can only be described as perhaps the wildest and perhaps biggest win in Baseball Canada history, Canada fought off a hostile crowd and a one run deficit in the top of the ninth to overcome Chinese Taipei 6-5 in ten innings at the Final Olympic Qualifier. In what was already a heated contest with both benches clearing in the eighth inning, Canada had their backs against the wall with two out in the top of the ninth inning trailing 5-4. Then, Stubby Clapp (Windsor, ON) legged out an infield single, diving head first to the bag to beat the throw and keep the Canadians alive. Mike Saunders (Victoria, BC) followed that up with a single to right that allowed Clapp to score and tie the game for the Canadians. From there, Steve Green (Greenfield Park, QC) silenced the Chinese Taipei offence with a one-two-three bottom ninth, with two strikeouts, to put the game into extras. In the tenth inning, Matt Rogelstad (New Westminster, BC) led off with a single to bring up Jimmy VanOstrand (Richmond, BC). VanOstrand would hit a double which brought around Rogelstad with the go-ahead run to the elation of the Canadian dugout. Chinese Taipei however would not go down without a fight as they would have runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the tenth. But Mike Kusiewicz (Ottawa, ON) got Yi Chuan Lin to ground into the game ending double play and put Canada at a 3-1 record at the tournament. “I can’t even talk right now. Incredible the way... I mean, after what happened with that brawl the guys came out, showed alot of heart. Obviously we didn’t give up,” says Kusiewicz who got the final two outs of the game. “This is the most incredible game I’ve ever seen or been a part of. I’m just happy to be here.” “I can’t describe it. This is the most fun I’ve ever had in my life on the baseball field,” says VanOstrand, who was 3-for-5 along with driving in the winning run. “I was told by Terry (Puhl) that if (Rogelstad) got on that we would put on a hit and run. The count came into my favour and we put it on and... Everything happened right,” says VanOstrand of his tenth inning hit. “Oh my God! This win ranks pretty high up there. I mean our program was on the line tonight,” says Clapp, who was 2-for-5 and scored twice, including the tying run. “If we lose that game, it would have been tough to come back and qualify. The way the guys prevailed after all the incidents... They kept their focus and I can’t say enough at how well they settled down and played the game. My hat’s off to them.” The game would see three lead changes as Chinese Taipei opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. Canada would respond in the third a pair of their own after Saunders drove in Emmanuel Garcia (Montreal, QC) with a single and Ryan Radmanovich (Calgary, AB) with a RBI single to score Adam Stern (London, ON) to tie the game, 2-2. Canada would take the lead in the fifth when Radmanovich would drive in his second run of the game on a fielders’ choice to score Clapp. Saunders broke up a double play to allow Canada to take the lead on the play. They would add to their lead in the sixth on a solo home run from Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, ON) to make it 4-2 Canada. But Chinese Taipei would quickly turn things around in the bottom half of the sixth when Kuo-Hui Lo hit a three-run homer to give Taipei the lead 5-4. Then fireworks would erupt in the eighth inning when Canada was threatening to tie. Pinch-hitter Emerson Frostad (Calgary, AB) hit a two-out single with VanOstrand trying to score from second. The throw from the outfield beat VanOstrand as he would try to run over the catcher Chun-Chang Yeh. However, Yeh held on to the ball for the out and flipped the ball directly at VanOstrand. VanOstrand turned around to confront Yeh, which cleared the benches of both teams. From there, fans began throwing debris on the field at the Canadians, which forced the Taiwanese police to intervene. After a delay of several minutes to make sure the situation was under control with the fans, Canada would generate perhaps one of the most exciting comebacks in Baseball Canada history. “This will go down as one of the greatest games I have ever been involved in with Team Canada,” says Manager Terry Puhl. “There are so many heroes on this team tonight, just one after another you can name them.” Canada has an off day on Tuesday and will return to action on Wednesday, March 12 at 12:30 pm against Spain.
TAICHUNG, Taiwan – The Canadians allowed two big innings and could not quite comeback from the deficit as they would suffer the loss against Australia by a score of 10-5 at the Final Olympic Qualifier. Australia would put together two four-run innings and it would turn out to be enough to take down the Canadians. “We just gave them too many runs. You can’t win many ball games when you give up 10 runs,” says Manager Terry Puhl. The game started off well for Canada with a solo home run by Jimmy VanOstrand (Richmond, BC), who was 2-for-3 in the game, in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. It would turn out to be the only lead the Canadians would have in this one as Australia would get their first four run inning in the third. Four runs on four hits and an error against Canadian starter Brooks McNiven (Vancouver, BC) to take a 4-1 lead. Meanwhile, Aussie starter Steve Kent was frustrating the Canadian offence, allowing three runs on six hits with one walk in six innings of work. In that time, the Aussies would put together their second four run inning in the fifth. Australia would load the bases on Jamie Richmond (Mississauga, ON) and Brett Roneberg would clear them with a three-RBI double. In total, four runs on four hits in the inning gave Australia a 8-1 lead. The Canadians were able to produce a bit of a comeback in the seventh inning. VanOstrand lead off the inning with a single and Matt Rogelstad (New Westminster, BC) would follow with a two-run home run to reduce the lead to 8-3. Canada would have the bases loaded with one out in the inning and Mike Saunders (Victoria, BC) at the plate. Saunders would hit a ground ball to second and seemed to have beat out a double play, but first base umpire L.K. Hsieh of Taiwan called Saunders out at first, to the protest of Saunders and Puhl, killing any rally. “It was an obvious bad call and it cost us a run and you never know what would’ve happened after that,” says Puhl. The Canadians were determined however. Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, ON) lead off the eighth inning with a single and Ryan Radmanovich would follow with a two-run homer to bring the Aussie lead down to 8-5. That would be as close as Canada would get. Australia would add a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth for insurance and that would prove to be the final runs of this game. “It was a tough loss, but no one said it would be easy,” says Radmanovich, who was 1-for-4 on the day. “Unfortunately today we came up on the short end of the stick.” “It’s one ball game. We’ve already moved on. There’s nothing you can do about it, you just come back and focus on the game at hand,” says Puhl. Up next for Canada is Chinese Taipei on Monday, March, 10th at 6:30 pm. Jonathan Lockwood (Toronto, ON) is scheduled for the start.
TAICHUNG, Taiwan – With the help of a six-run inning and an outstanding performance from Brett Gray (Petrolia, ON), Canada takes out South Africa in seven innings by a score of 10-0 at the Final Olympic Qualifier. Gray, who is pitching with an injured shoulder, put together a terrific performance with a four inning outing, allowing only three hits and a walk with three strikeouts and in the process, helped save some arms with his feat. “To go out there and throw four (innings) meant the world to me,” says Gray. “I’m a little banged up with my arm so my (pitches) weren’t all that good, but the defence played awesome and it just felt good to get out there and get another win.” “I can’t say enough about Brett Gray,” says Manager Terry Puhl. “He gave a really gutsy effort.” The Canadians opened the scoring in the third inning with a sacrifice fly from Mike Saunders (Victoria, BC) to score Emmanuel Garcia (Montreal, QC) and finished off the game with a walk off home run from Chris Robinson (Dorchester, ON). It’s been a while since I’ve done that,” says Robinson with a laugh of his 4-for-4 performance with a double, the homer and two RBI. “We came into this game with a must win attitude. We handled ourselves well against a scrappy team and we knew that coming in and we were ready for them and we really battled.” “I’ve been working really hard with (hitting coach Rob Ducey) and it felt pretty good,” adds Robinson of his home run. Matt Rogelstad (New Westminster, BC) and Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, ON) scored in the fourth inning to put Canada ahead 3-0. The fifth inning saw the Canadians explode for six runs and put the dagger in the heart of the South-Africans. Saunders and Ryan Radmanovich (Calgary, AB) got things going by each drawing a walk against Shadley Sasman. After a wild pitch from new pitcher Gavin Jeffries advanced the runners, Rogelstad hit a sacrifice fly to score Saunders. After a single from Emerson Frostad (Calgary, AB) and a walk to Weglarz, Robinson drove in one of his two runs with an RBI single to score Radmanovich and put Canada ahead 5-0. The lead would go to 7-0 on Garcia’s RBI single which scored Frostad and Weglarz. Robinson then came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Adam Stern (London, ON) and Garcia scored on a RBI single from Stubby Clapp (Windsor, ON) to complete the inning’s scoring. From there, Alexandre Periard (St. Eustache, QC) and Aaron Wideman (Mississauga, ON) took care of business in relief of Gray. Periard threw two scoreless innings, allowing only two hits with two strikeouts and Wideman threw a perfect inning, striking out a pair. “Periard and Wideman did a nice job, which is what we needed,” says Puhl. Then Robinson closed out the game with his leadoff walk off homer. Robinson had as good a game as you can ask for,” says Puhl. When you get that kind of offence from both Chris and David (Corrente), it makes managing alot easier.” Now, Canada’s attention turns to Australia who they are very familiar with. “We got to come out and set ourselves up going into the off day to be in good position,” says Robinson, “but it’s one game at a time and hopefully we’ll put ourselves in a spot tomorrow to come out with the win.” Canada’s matchup with Australia goes Sunday, March 9th at 12:30 pm.
TAICHUNG, Taiwan – It was a slugfest between these two teams as they would combine for 25 runs and 36 hits with Canada coming out on top in their opener of the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament with a 15-10 win. When it was all said and done in this one, Canada would scatter 18 hits with every hitter in the lineup getting at least one hit. “That’s a big win for us right off the bat,” says Stubby Clapp (Windsor, ON) who was 1-for-4 with a double, RBI and a run scored. “It wasn’t pretty, but we hung in there and kept swinging the bats and our pitchers kept going out there, attacking the strike zone and they did a great job.” The offence got started early and would not stop the entire game. Canada got on the board first in the first inning when Mike Saunders (Victoria, BC) hit a RBI triple to score Stubby Clapp (Windsor, ON) for the first run of the game. Saunders would later score on a RBI single from Matt Rogelstad to put the Canadians ahead 2-0. Canada would add one run in the second inning and three in the third to take a 6-0 lead, but they would quickly see it evaporate. Mexico would respond with an eight run bottom of the third, including a two-run homer from Carlos Valencia to pull ahead 8-6. “That’s international baseball because you just never know,” says Manager Terry Puhl. “Mexico has a lot of experienced hitters and they got back into the game. They just kept coming at us every inning and that’s a trademark of this ball club.” But the Canadians would come up with a rebuttal of their own in the fourth inning, putting up three runs to take a 9-8 lead. Ryan Radmanovich (Calgary, AB) would get things started with a two out single and move to second on a Rogelstad walk. Jimmy VanOstrand (Richmond, BC) would bring around Radmanovich on a RBI single and both he and Rogelstad would come in to score on the triple from Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, ON), who was 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. With Canada ahead 10-8 in the seventh inning, they would put up another five runs to cement their lead. Adam Stern (London, ON) would double in David Corrente (Chatham, ON) and Emmanuel Garcia (Montreal, QC), who had both reached base to start the inning, then VanOstrand, who was 3-for-5 with four RBI in the game, would drive in Radmanovich and Rogelstad with a triple to complete the Canadian scoring. “It’s a good start for us to beat a tough team like Mexico,” says Rogelstad, who was 3-for-4 with three runs and drove in the winning run. “We came out the gates ready to play. We got some runs early in the game and we were able to keep that going.” Canada would shut down the Mexican offence the rest of the game as Steve Green (Greenfield Park, QC) and T.J. Burton (Ottawa, ON) would combine to blank Mexico for two and 2/3 innings to solidify the win. Canada’s next game at the Final Olympic Qualifier comes on Saturday, March 8th at 12:30 pm against South Africa.
TAICHUNG, Taiwan – Qualifying for the Olympic Games is always the ultimate goal for any national sports federation. Baseball Canada is no exception and the ultimate goal could be achieved very soon at the Final Olympic Qualifier. Canada will be competing to qualify for their third Olympics, second since becoming an official Olympic sport and second in a row here in Taiwan from March 7-15. The 2008 team attempting to qualify is quite different from the one that competed in the 2004 Olympics with only five players on the current roster returning for Canada in this qualifier. But the experience of players like Stubby Clapp (Windsor, ON) and Adam Stern (London, ON) goes a long way with a young team. “You just have to remind them that it’s still baseball,” says Clapp. “There is obviously alot a stake, but if they can learn to relax and just do what they can do and not do anything extra. Everybody has a role on the team, everyone will fill in and the job will get done.” “They all understand what needs to be done,” says Stern. “Those guys are coming in with a lot of intensity and it shouldn’t be a problem getting anybody up for these games and they all know what’s on the line.” To help motivate the team and perhaps visualize the objective, the team held a meeting while in Australia and showed a montage of Olympic footage from 2004 where Canada finished fourth. Mike Saunders (Victoria, BC) was moved by the video. “I got chills,” explains Saunders. “The hairs were standing on my arms and I got goosebumps. It’s something I’ve been wanting this since (the qualifier in) Cuba and it’s now or never.” Even those who lived it were moved by the video. “It brings back alot of memories and you relive alot of emotions,” remembers Stern. Now, it is up to this team to accomplish what the 2004 team did and they know what lies in the road ahead. All players are eager for a chance to play in the Olympics. “This might be the most excited I’ve been for baseball for a long time,” says Saunders. “Going to spring training, getting ready to start the season is pretty exciting but it’s nothing like this.” “When we were in Australia, everybody was excited to be back together again and playing. Now it’s game time and that is different electricity and a different type of intensity,” says Clapp. For the dream to come true, Manager Terry Puhl says that the pitchers must lead the way. “We’re going to need continued good pitching,” says Puhl. “If the pitching holds up, the offence is good enough to score runs, but pitching is the key.” This experience is also new to Puhl, who has been the Senior National Team Manager since 2006. Ernie Whitt managed the 2004 team that went to the Olympics and the former Major League outfielder hopes to duplicate that feat and says it would be a career highlight. “To be a part of something like this is why I’m here. This is a great bunch of guys. I never had that opportunity as a player to represent Canada and it’s exciting for me, but it’s about the players and the team is always first. But for what I hear, the Olympic experience is one of a kind.” For Stern and Clapp, they witnessed an event that few athletes have experienced. They hope to relive that experience. “It was probably one of the greatest memories as far as baseball goes,” says Stern. “No matter what happens in your life or career I think that will be one of the highlights and whatever you can do to be there is what you want to do.” “I can’t even begin to describe the feelings I had from being at the Olympic ceremonies to playing in the games and playing against the best athletes in the world. It’s awesome,” says Clapp. For younger players like Saunders, a spot at the Beijing Games would be a dream come true. “The Olympics would be the number one highlight of my career right now. It would be number one for a long time, if not always.” The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be the last for baseball until the International Olympic Committee reinstates baseball as an Olympic sport and the earliest that can happen is for the 2016 Olympics. For that, there is an extra sense of urgency to qualify for the Games. “It’s going to be special because it could be the last Olympics, but it’s also a big part of our program,” says Clapp. “If we’re not able to participate, our program could take a big hit.” And for those who were there in 2004, qualifying for the 2008 Games would a second kick at the can to get a medal. “Going from a good position, then losing a heartbreaker to Cuba those things stick with you,” says Stern. “Even four years later those things are fresh in your memory. People need to understand what went on there and try to avoid that this time around.”
GOLD COAST, Australia – Canada’s offence got the job done and the pitching was stellar as they would take the final exhibition game of this series by a score of 4-1 over Australia. The pitchers were solid in shutting down the Aussie offence in this eight inning contest, starting with the starter Jonathan Lockwood (Toronto, ON). Lockwood only allowed one hit and two walks with a pair of strikeouts in three inning of work. “You have to approach this time to work on things you need to work on and treat it as a learning experience going into the tournament so you can be at your best,” says Lockwood. “Every game is going to be a combination of guys. It’s good that everybody finished well and did what they had to do and that looks good come tournament time because guys are going to go in there and get it done.” Jamie Richmond (Mississauga, ON) and Alexandre Periard (St. Eustache, QC) were in good form in relief. Richmond, in three innings pitched, allowed two hits with two strikeouts and Periard gave up a run on three hits and a walk with one punch out in two innings in relief. “It was a good outing for everybody today,” says Manager Terry Puhl. “Lockwood was outstanding, and he’s going to be a workhorse for us going forward. Richmond did what he always does and Periard was solid as well.” Offensively, the star in this game was Jimmy VanOstrand (Richmond, BC) who doubled, homered and scored twice. He hit the double in the second inning and would come in to score the game’s first run on a single from Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, ON). VanOstrand would homer in the fourth inning off of Adam Blackley with Matt Rogelstad (New Westminster, BC) on base to increase the Canadian lead. “It was good to have a game like that to finish off the exhibition series,” says VanOstrand who was 2-for-2 with two RBI. “I’m looking forward to going to Taiwan and hopefully keep it going.” David Corrente (Chatham, ON) would also add to the offence with a solo-home run to lead off the fifth inning off of Gavin Dlouhy. Corrente would hit the second pitch of the inning over the left field fence to put Canada ahead 4-0. The Aussies would break the shutout bid in the seventh inning when Andrew Utting would single off of Periard to drive in Ben Risinger and put the Australians on the board. The Canadians finished the exhibition series with a 3-1-1 record, which could be a good sign going into the Final Olympic Qualifier. “It looks good for us,” says VanOstrand about his hopes for the qualifier. “It’s a tough tournament and there is going to be a lot of tough competition there but we definitely have a good team to give ourselves a chance. It’s going to be lots of fun.” “We have all the tools here to get it done. We just need to stick to our game and we’ll get the results that we want,” says Puhl. Canada will make its way over to Taiwan on Tuesday, March 4th to begin its road to Beijing at the Final Olympic Qualifier which is scheduled to begin on March 7th to the 15th. Canada will play for three open spots against Australia, Germany, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Spain and Taiwan.
GOLD COAST, Australia – Canada’s offence once again came up big as they would break a 5-5 tie in the eighth inning to beat Australia in the fourth exhibition game of the series by a score of 9-5. The Canadians would score four runs on five straight hits in the eighth inning before the Aussies could register an out. Emmanuel Garcia (Montreal, QC) started things off with a leadoff double and would score on Mike Saunders’ (Victoria, BC) RBI triple. Ryan Radmanovich (Calgary, AB) would then drive in his second run of the game with a single to score Saunders. Matt Rogelstad (New Westminster, BC) would move Radmanovich up to third base with a double and Emerson Frostad (Calgary, AB) would cash in Radmanovich with a single. David Corrente (Chatham, ON) would drive in Rogelstad to complete the scoring. “Manny Garcia had a wonderful night, Saunders was fabulous and Radmanovich had some big RBIs. It’s coming together for us,” says Manager Terry Puhl. It was a good start to the ballgame for Canada as they would open the scoring in the first inning when Radmanovich would drive in Stubby Clapp (Windsor, ON) for the first run of the game. “I’m feeling good about my swing right now. It was nice to get a couple big hits in key situations which is the things we’re going to have to do in (the qualifier) to win,” says Radmanovich, who was 2-for-3 with the two RBI. From there, James Avery (Moose Jaw, SK) shut things down, allowing only two walks with three strikeouts in three innings of work to start the game. “I’m feeling pretty good. I’m building up every time we go. I threw pretty well tonight, a couple of walks were disappointing, but other than that I thought I threw pretty well,” says Avery. But the Aussies would comeback and score four runs in the fourth inning off Brooks McNiven (Vancouver, BC) to take a 4-1 lead. Two doubles, two singles and an error was the cause for the Australian runs in the inning. The Canadians would tie thing up however in their half of the fourth inning on two sacrifice flies from Rogelstad and Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, ON) and a wild pitch that would score Saunders who reached on a single. Canada would then take the lead in the sixth inning when Garcia, who tripled to lead off the inning, would score on a ground out by Rogelstad. Once again though, Australia would comeback to tie the ballgame when Daniel Berg hit an RBI single to score Mitch Dening to tie things up at 5-5. But the Canadians would score four in the eighth and T.J. Burton (Ottawa, ON) would pitch a one, two, three ninth inning to preserve the win for Canada. The Canadians will play their final exhibition game against Australia on Monday, March 3rd at 2 pm.
GOLD COAST, Australia – The Canadians erased a six run deficit in the ninth inning and Steve Green (Greenfield Park, QC) struck out five of the six batters he faced to preserve an 8-8 tie in the third exhibition game against Australia. Canada was behind by a score of 8-2 going into the top of the ninth inning. Emmanuel Garcia (Montreal, QC) got things started with a single followed by a two-run home run by Emerson Frostad (Calgary, AB) to cut the margin in half. After Adam Stern (London, ON) drew a walk and a double from Stubby Clapp (Windsor, ON), Mike Saunders (Victoria, BC) hit a three-run bomb to right field to bring the Canadians within one with nobody out. With now two out and Taylor Green (Courtenay, BC) on third, Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, ON) drove in the tying run with a single off Aussie Brendan Wise. “I mark (this game) down as a win,” says Manager Terry Puhl. “When you come back and hit the ball as hard as we did and score runs... a team that never has any quit in it is a team that is going to qualify (for the Olympics).” “It was a great comeback,” says Frostad, who got the comeback started and was 2-for-4 with three RBI. “We were slow the first couple of innings and it took a little while to get going, but that’s the type of team we are. We’re very explosive and we can put up those big innings.” The Aussies started the game with a bang as they would put across four runs in the first inning off Canadian starter Brett Gray (Petrolia, ON). Gray would allow another run in the second inning to put the Aussies ahead 5-0. Canada would cut the gap in the fifth inning on an RBI single from Frostad, who would later score on a bases loaded walk to bring the score to 5-2. “I’m starting to get the flow again. It’s mostly timing. We’ve all been hitting in the cages and working out. It’s just getting that (in game) timing down and it’s going to take a couple games, but a lot of the guys are starting to get going and hopefully we can keep that going,” says Frostad. But the Australians would add to the lead in the sixth when Ben Risinger, Glenn Williams and Mat Kent all came in to score off Scott Richmond (Langley, BC), who allowed one run on two hits, and Mike Kusiewicz (Ottawa, ON), who allowed two runs, one earned, on one hit, to make it 8-2 for Australia. Steve Green came into the game in the eighth inning with Canada trailing by six and silenced the Aussie offence when he struck out two of the three batters he faced in the inning to allow his teammates to generate the impressive comeback the following inning. Green would then shut down the Australian attack by striking out the side in the ninth inning to finish the game. “This game gave me a great boost of confidence,” says Green. “It was an unbelievable game. The thing about Team Canada is that we never give up and that’s key. We showed it with six runs in the ninth and we got the job done.” Canada and Australia will play game four of this exhibition series on Sunday, March 2nd at 5:30 pm.
BRISBANE, Australia – Canada was running on all cylinders as both the pitching and offense flexed their muscle in a 10-1 win over Australia in the second exhibition game of this series. The Canadians collected 15 hits to go along with four home runs in this game which saw 10 of the 12 players who saw action get at least one hit. “We got to see a lot of pitch tonight and this time we were squaring up the baseball,” says Manager Terry Puhl. “You could see that this team has a lot of power. It’s going to be fun.” The Canadian offense did not waste any time to put points on the board. The first inning saw Canada put four runs on the board with the help of a grand slam from Matt Rogelstad (New Westminster, BC). The inning started with two straight walks to Adam Stern (London, ON) and Stubby Clapp (Windsor, ON) and a single by Mike Saunders (Victoria, BC) to load the bases. After Ryan Radmanovich (Calgary, AB) hit into a fielder’s choice, Rogelstad belted the grand slam to put Canada in front 4-0. “Today, guys got a lot of good swings,” says Stern, who was 2-for-4 with a two-run home run. “Now it’s going to be getting (timing) down, getting to hit the breaking balls and off speed stuff, because that’s going to be our biggest challenge when you don’t have a lot of time to prepare.” After increasing the lead to 5-0 on a RBI single from Radmanovich in the second inning, the Canadians scored two more runs in the third inning on a two-run homer by Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, ON), making it 7-0. “I had a pretty good approach, slowed it down and it went good,” says Weglarz, who was 2-for-4 including a double. “It was 3-1 knuckle ball that didn’t break, got it up and it went.” The score would be 7-1 going into the seventh inning when Saunders hit a solo home run to bring the lead back to seven runs. Stern would complete the scoring in the eighth inning with his two-run knock. “Right now, results are good but you want to get comfortable, get ready to hit and today happened to be a good day,” says Stern. “I still want to see more off speed stuff, but it was one of those things that all of a sudden clicked and I was ready to go.” As for the pitchers, they held the Aussie offense in check all night. It started with Jamie Richmond (Mississauga, ON), who threw two no-hit innings, allowing only two walks with a pair of strikeouts. “Not bad for the first time out. I didn’t feel great, but it I think it went good,” says Richmond. “Jamie’s been pitching with a lot of confidence really early,” says Puhl. “He did well for us at the World Cup and he’s going to be a big part of our pitching staff.” Jonathan Lockwood (Toronto, ON) followed with a solid two innings of his own, allowing one run on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Alexandre Periard (St. Eustache, QC) and T.J. Burton (Ottawa, ON) combined to close out the Canadian side on the mound, giving up only a walk with one punch out in three innings of work. Canada will do battle with Australia in the third game of the exhibition series on Saturday, March 1st at 7 pm.
BRISBANE, Australia – It started off well, but one inning would turn out to be Canada’s downfall in their first exhibition game as they would fall at the hands off Australia by a final score of 5-3. The Canadians would be the ones to break it open in the third inning when Emmanuel Garcia hit a double to cash in Jeremy Ware (Guelph, ON) would had reached base on a walk. “I was just trying to see the ball well. I got a 3-1 fastball and I was able to put the bat on the ball,” says Garcia. David Corrente (Chatham, ON), who also walked, would score the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly from Emerson Frostad (Calgary, AB) to make it 2-0. The Canadians would add to the lead in the fourth inning when Ware hit a double of his own to score Matt Rogelstad (New Westminster, BC) and make it 3-0. “I’m just trying to keep it simple, put a good swing on the ball and it worked out,” says Ware of his double. Things were going smoothly until the fifth inning when the Aussies would put up a five spot and take the lead. Aaron Wideman (Mississauga, ON) and Steve Green (Greenfield Park, QC) combined to give up those runs on two singles, four walks and a wild pitch. “We’re obviously getting out there for the first time, facing hitters for the first time this year and it feels good to get out there,” says Wideman of his outing. “I didn’t have my control today, but I’m working on all of the glitches and the bumps and bruises, but my arm felt good. I just need to get rid of the wrinkles and be ready for the next day.” James Avery (Moose Jaw, SK), who started for Canada, and Brooks McNiven (Vancouver, BC) threw two innings a piece and combined to shutout the Australians allowing only two hits with six strikeouts. There were more positives than negatives for Canada in a game which saw most of the players taking the field for the first time since the end of last season. “They had a soft five runs off of balls that weren’t hit real hard and our guys are still just trying to see some pitches,” says Manager Terry Puhl. “Defensively we did well. We made some really nice plays. They’re good athletes. It’ll be a couple more days and they’ll be right there.” Canada takes to the field again on Friday, February 29th against the Aussies for the second game of their exhibition series. The action starts at 7 pm.
