AUSSIES CRUISE PAST THE NETHERLANDS

AUSSIES CRUISE PAST THE NETHERLANDS

Solid Pitching and clutch hitting the key

Australia World Cup Home 

Box Score

                                 Justin Huber hit two doubles and drove in three

Australia cruised to a comfortable 10-1 victory in an auspicious start to their 2007 World Cup campaign - confirming that early predictions of success remain firmly on target.

The lopsided affair showcased what many knew to be the strength of the Australian squad, with four Aussie pitchers combining to limit the Dutch to a lone run.

Greg Wiltshire, making his first start for Australia in international competition, pitched four solid innings allowing just one run on two hits while striking out three.

Assistant Coach Tony Harris was impressed with the debutants’ performance.

“He (Wiltshire) was good today…he’s not overpowering, but he’s a real competitor and gave us exactly what we needed first up,” Harris said shortly after the game.

Not to be outdone, a trio of Aussie relievers dominated the final five frames; with Dushan Ruzic, Tristan Crawford and Adam Bright shutting down the Dutch offence the rest of the way.

But as impressive as that was, a relentless display at the plate has the Australian camp quietly confident that the pitchers wont be the only ones enjoying their time in Taiwan.

Trent Oeltjen, Justin Huber, Glenn Williams, Brett Roneberg and Tom Brice all had fantastic days, combining to go an outlandish 11-18 at the plate with 10 RBIs to lead the Australian onslaught.

Things started early for the Aussies in the top of the first when back-to-back one-out walks followed by singles to Williams and Roneberg gave the home side a 2-0 advantage.

The lead was stretched to three the very next hitter, when some good hustle from Roneberg broke up a double play and allowed Williams to score from second base.

The offence remained relatively quite for the next three frames before a walk to Ben Risinger spelled disaster for Dutch starter Kenny Berkenkosch.

Justin Huber laced a two-out double to the left centre that allowed Risinger to score, before being driven in on a Brett Roneberg single that gave the Queenlander 3 RBIs for the game, and stoked Australia a 5-1 lead.

That would do it for Berkenkosch, but not for the Australian hitters who continued to make things tough for the Dutch staff scoring 5 more times in the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th – and scoring four of those runs with two outs.

Centerfielder Trent Oeltjen finished the day just a home run shy of the cycle, while Justin Huber’s second two-out double of the afternoon all but told the story of what was a tremendous first hit-out for Australia.

However as good as their performance was, the Aussies will be careful not to mistake this for what really counts in about two weeks time – the medal rounds of the World Cup.

“It was certainly a great performance from top to bottom, not too much really went against us today,” Head Coach Jon Deeble said.

“But they’re (Netherlands) a lot better than that and we need to remember that today’s win counts for nothing more than a good opportunity to dust off some of the cobwebs”.

Deebs…consider them dusted!

                             Trent Oeltjen talks tactics after his third hit of the game