'DAS IST GUT' - Australia beat Germany

“DAS IST GUT” – Australia ‘grind one out’ against Germany

Aussies now assured of 3^rd place in Pool B.

AUSTRALIA 4 def. Germany 2

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Australia’s affinity for dramatic finishes at the 2007 World Baseball Cup has continued – this time with a gutsy 4-2 win over rank outsiders Germany in Taipei on Tuesday.

While it was anything but pretty, the victory now assures Australia of at least third place in Pool B, and means they are likely to avoid playing the highly seeded United States squad in the cross-over Quarter Final stage.

As has been the story for much of the tournament, Australia’s pitching was impressive, with Tuesday’s nod going to rookie Dushan Ruzic who continues to bamboozle opposition offences in his debut World Cup campaign.

Just three days after his clutch relief performance against Venezuela, the Six-foot-Eight-inch right hander fired four scoreless frames against the Germans to shoulder the Aussies in the game’s opening stages.

The lofty hurler now has fired an impressive 7.1 scoreless innings in the 2007 World Cup, allowing just five hits and striking out seven along the way.  

At the plate, Australia again turned to their spark-plug centerfielder Trent Oeltjen, who scored twice and banged out another four singles – giving him his fourth multi-hit game of the tournament.

Oeltjen, who invariably remains modest about his performance, was typically reserved when quizzed on his efforts Tuesday.

“I guess I feel pretty comfortable in the (batter’s) box right now and I seem to just keep hitting the ball in the right places,” Oeltjen said.

“The first at-bat I hit the ball pretty hard right back at the pitcher, and I was surprised he stayed in the game after trying to catch it barehanded.”

Cuban born German starting pitcher Enorbel Marquez, continued on the mound despite Oeltjen’s shot that deflected off his pitching hand,  - and was solid  for his adopted country, managing to temper the formidable Aussie offence.

Marquez, who was threatened by the Australian sluggers in almost every inning, managed to limit the damage thanks to some key strikeouts and the help of his at times spectacular defence.

The turning point for the Aussies came with two-out in the bottom of the fourth inning, when back-to-back singles from Tom Brice (SA) and Luke Hughes (WA) each drove in runs after it looked like the Germans might escape unscathed.

And when three innings later, an RBI single from Glenn Williams scored Oeltjen to extend the lead to four; what had been an uncomfortable margin was starting to look more like the one Australia had envisioned going into the lowly ranked Germans.

But just when the Green and Gold camp thought the game was in the book, a German rally ignited against relief pitcher Scott Mitchinson and returned the Aussies to some all too familiar territory – close game…late in the day.

With one out in the top of the 8^th, Mitchinson allowed German infielders Jendrick Speer and Jens Heymer to reach base safely. And when he was relieved by Queenslander Tristan Crawford –clean-up hitter Kai Gronauer capitalised immediately - driving a pitch to the outfield wall that scored two.

Even after Crawford ended the threat by retiring the next two batters, the Australians might have been forgiven for thinking that the plucky Europeans had played their ace.

But as seems to be the case in all of their games during the World Cup, the Australian team kept fans on the edge of their seat until the final out – when a ‘bloop’ hit followed by an uncharacteristic error from defensive wiz Brad Harman, brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the 9^th inning.

Despite the threat, Australian pitcher Brad Thomas induced a weak ground ball to second base to end the game – earning him his first save of the tournament.

Boasting a 5-1 win-loss record, Australia will now play Canada on Wednesday in a game that will likely determine 2^nd & 3^rd place in Pool B.

The Australians, who continue to be tipped as Gold Medal contenders by many baseball pundits, will be eager to maintain their momentum into the second round with a good showing against their traditional rivals.

And while the final Quarter finalists in Pool A are yet to be determined, a 2^nd place finish would help Australia to avoid either the power-packed USA or host nation Chinese Taipei – who have been enjoying the fanatical support of sell-out local crowds.

Australia’s final preliminary round game against Cnaada will be broadcast LIVE on the internet at www.Stadeo.tv starting at 9pm AEST on Wednesday. For fans without Broadband connections, follow courtesy of live updates on www.baseball.com.au