Aussies come painfully close to victory against Cuba.

“UN PASO LEJOS DEL RESCATE” (One step from redemption)

Aussies come painfully close to victory against Cuba.

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Australia came within one strike of exorcising some lingering Latin demons – falling just short of a dramatic opening round win against reigning champions Cuba on day one of the 2007 Baseball World Cup in Taipei.

Leading 2-1, with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the 9^th inning, the Australians gave up a game tying home run veteran Cuban slugger Frederich Cepeda, before the relentless Latin powerhouses put an end Green and Gold fairytale with a walk off blast in the 10^th.

Adding to the agony of defeat, the Aussies seemed well in control of the nail bighting contest from the outset, a fact not lost on Head Coach Jon Deeble.

“The truth is, we outplayed the World Champions in every facet of the game today,” Deeble said.

“Our pitching was better, our hitters were better, and defensively we were unbelievable…only thing is that we didn’t come out on top where it counts.”

“Consider the gap between us and the Cubans closed,” he said.

The dominance that Deeble refers to began with a remarkable performance by 27 year-old Aussie debutant Greg Wiltshire, who allowed just one unearned run in 5.2 dazzling innings pitching in his first official game for Australia.

Wiltshire, who is renowned for his poise in big games, was masterful against the Cubans as he rekindled the form that saw him pitch Victoria to a Claxton Shield title in January of this year.

As early as the 2^nd inning, Australia was unlucky not to take the lead when Brett Roneberg was thrown out at the plate attempting to score on a Michael Collins single to right field.

Even after allowing an unearned run in the bottom half of the 2^nd frame on what should have been a tailor–made double play, the Aussies called on the catch-cry “Mangy Dog” attitude to tie the score in their very next turn at bat.

Second baseman Luke Hughes started 3^rd inning the rally with lead-off  single, before Centerfielder Trent Oeltjen followed suit with his second safe hit in as many tries.

When both runners were advanced on a perfectly executed sacrifice by Ben Risinger - all that was needed from Major League slugger Justin Huber was to lift a shallow fly into foul territory, just deep enough to score Hughes from third.

From that point the score remained deadlocked until the top half of the 7^th inning when 21-year-old shortstop Brad Harman started his personal assault on the game by belting a lead off double into the gap in right-centre.

As Harman moved to third on another textbook sacrifice (this time by catcher Andrew Graham) it was soon clear that the Australians were having no trouble taking the game to the highly favoured Cuban stars.

The hero on this occasion was Trent Oeltjen who laced a ‘hanging slider’ up the middle, plating Harman and giving the Aussies a 2-1 lead with his third single of the afternoon.

With the score painfully close, a trio of Aussie relievers took up where Wiltshire left off; as Adam Bright, Tristan Crawford and Brendan Wise all managed to set down the Cuban offence in order throughout the late innings – albeit with the at times superhuman help of their shortstop Harman.

The defensive phenom made three of the best plays witnessed by anybody, anywhere in the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th innings respectively – eliminating any hope of a Cuban rally.

The defensive wizardry left many in the Australian dugout dumbfounded.

“He must have some Venezuelan in him…That’s the best play I have ever seen,” left hand pitcher Adrian Burnside said in reference to one particularly freakish gem more typically associated with Latin defensive greats.

Sadly for Harman and his team-mates, the highlight reel plays ultimately counted for nothing when two ill-fated pitches ended up in gardens surrounding Taipei’s Tien-Mou stadium.

Reliever Brad Thomas, who arrived in Taiwan less than 24 hours earlier after a marathon transit from Venezuela, had induced a weak ground ball for the second out of the 9^th inning and was millimetres away from striking out Cepeda to end the game on a foul-tip that deflected of catcher Andrew Graham’s glove. 

However the Cuban turned on the very next pitch, a 93mph fastball, all but erasing 8.2 innings of excellence from the Australians in the blink of an eye.

And after a promising Australian rally in the top half of the 10^th was extinguished, Cuba did to the Aussies what they have been doing to teams from around the World for decades…breaking hearts with big hits.

With the ball in the hands of ace reliever Richard Thompson, fresh of his stint in the Major Leagues with the Los Angeles Angels, the Aussies were confident of extending the game beyond the 10^th inning.

But, as is so often the case with the reigning Champs, one mistake is all they need to make you pay; and when Thompson left a fastball up to Cuban giant Osmani Urrutia, he belted it over the ceterfield wall, ending what would have been the ideal start for Australia to the 2007 campaign.

Despite the loss, the Australians remained relatively buoyant after the game – a positive sign as they look to bounce back against the Netherlands tomorrow.

Game time is at 9pm AEST  - and Australian fans should onto the World Cup Homepage for updates posted throughout the game.