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Game 2 | Australia 9 def Guam 2
Game 1 | Australia 6 def Guam 3
Team Australia U23 overcame an early deficit to defeat Guam 9–2 in Game 2 of the U23 Oceania Championships, taking a 2–0 lead in the best-of-series that doubles as World Cup Qualifying.
Guam jumped ahead 2–0 in the opening frame, but Australia responded quickly in the second and controlled the game from there.
Drew Davies continued his hot start to the tournament with another three runs batted in, backing up his three-RBI performance in Game 1.
Matt Trainor delivered the go-ahead hit in the third inning after coming on to replace Solomon Maguire, who exited with an injury earlier in the contest.
Trainor, Will Hardy, Davies, Josh Nati, Jake Burns and Brad Griffin all recorded hits for Australia, while nine different players reached base.
Seventeen-year-old Patrick Crotty started on the mound, working 2.1 innings with two earned runs, five walks and four strikeouts. Jai Hewitt (below) steadied things in relief, tossing 2.2 crucial shutout innings, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out two.
Tyrone Fergie and Jackson Grounds each threw a scoreless inning to close out the win.
Australia can clinch the series — and a spot in next year’s U23 Baseball World Cup — with a win in any of their next three games.
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Story via baseball.com.au
