This post was originally published on this site
Game 3 | Australia 18 def Guam 1
Game 2 | Australia 9 def Guam 2
Game 1 | Australia 6 def Guam 3
Australia is heading toward the U23 World Cup in style.
Josh Nati (below) hit for the cycle and drove in six runs as Australia cruised past Guam 18-1 in Game 3 of the WBSC U23 Oceania Championship. The win gives Australia a 3-0 lead in the best-of-five series, securing qualification for the U23 Baseball World Cup.
Both remaining games will still be played on Sunday at Blacktown.
Nati went 4-for-5 with a single, double, triple and home run, collecting RBI in three different innings.
He opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first, doubled home two more in a five-run third, and capped off a four-run fourth with a three-run blast over left.
Australia added eight more runs in the sixth to seal the result.
Every player in the starting lineup had at least one hit. Nati led the way with four, while Max Durrington and Will Hardy each collected three. Drew Davies, Matt Trainor, Jake Burns and Ben Nesbit all added two apiece.
Davies drove in three runs for the third straight game, bringing his series total to nine RBI.
On the mound, Damien Wilson delivered a quality outing, throwing all six innings of one-run ball with five hits, one walk and three strikeouts.
Guam scored their lone run of the game on an RBI from John Salas Jr in the fourth.
Australia has now outscored Guam 35-5 across the opening three games of the series.
Check out the Box Score here.
Story via baseball.com.au – photos @smp_images
