HOW SWEET IT IS…Australia bounce back against Netherlands

HOW SWEET IT IS…

Australia bounces back with “Walk Off” win against Netherlands.

AUS 4 def. NED 3

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Play-by-Play Recap of Netherlands Game

                                    The Jubilant Australian side celebrates after their dramatic 'Walk-Off' win

Box Score

Australia has regained momentum in their quest for World Cup glory with a thrilling come from behind 4-3 victory against the Netherlands in Taipei on Thursday.

Trailing by a run heading into their final turn at bat, the Aussies mustered every bit of fortitude they had in reserve to grind out one of the gutsiest wins in recent memory.

The victory evens Australia’s record at 1-1 after two games, and saves them from a perilous second loss that would have left them languishing at the bottom of Pool B.

The standout for Australia was centerfielder Trent Oeltjen (NSW), who scored twice and finished the day with three hits from four at-bats, including the game winning double in the bottom of the 9^th inning.

After the game, a euphoric Oeltjen was surprised the Dutch gave him such a good pitch to hit with the scores deadlocked.

“I really didn’t expect them to come right at me with a base open,” Oeltjen said.

“I was sitting on a fastball, and when he put it right there I was a little surprised…but they gave it to me, and you can bet I am happy to take it,” he said.

Oeltjen wasted no time in putting together his monster evening by hitting a lead-off triple in Australia’s first chance at the plate.

And when Glenn Williams crushed a two-out RBI double, it seemed clear the Aussies had put the disappointment of yesterday’s heartbreaking loss to Cuba well and truly behind them.

But Dutch starting pitcher Leon Boyd soon found his rhythm and kept the Australian bats relatively quiet for the next few frames, limiting the damage to a single run - Oeltjen again, this time scoring on a Ben Risinger double - in the bottom of the 5^th inning.

Meanwhile Australia’s Travis Blackley was making short work of the Netherlands hitters, mixing an effective fastball a vast array of off-speed pitches to shut out the Dutch offence through the first five innings.

However Blackley’s night hit a speed bump in the top half of the sixth when right fielder Dirk Van’t Klooster just barely beat out an infield single, before an error gave the Netherlands two runners on with nobody out.

A well executed sacrifice bunt followed and paved the way for two runs to score on shortstop Hainley Statia’s ground ball single to centerfield, tying the game a two.

From there another base hit ended Blackley’s night; as he handed the reigns to Western Australian Brendan Wise to put a stop to the threat.

Wise, a ground ball specialist, was effective from the outset and cruised through the next eight Dutch sluggers, before things started to come unravelled in the top of the 9^th inning.

After a lead-off single, a wild pitch allowed the runner to advance to second base – putting him just 180 feet home and handing the Netherlands a perfect opportunity to take the lead.

But the Aussies thought they had escaped unscathed when veteran Dutch slugger Sharnol Adriana smoked a line drive straight 3^rd baseman Glenn Williams, who quickly relayed the throw Luke Hughes in an attempt to double-off Raily Legito at 2^nd base.

It appeared that Legito was out on the play, but 2^nd base umpire William Higgins called the runner safe – much to dismay of Luke Hughes who wasn’t shy about illustrating his thoughts to the Canadian official.

The close call would prove costly for Australia as the next two batters both hit safely against relief pitcher Brad Thomas – scoring Legito and handing the Netherlands a 3-2 lead.

Staring down the barrel of their second soul-destroying loss in as many games, the Australians were a little nervous heading into the final frame –to say the very least.

Aussie stalwart Brett Roneberg was one amongst several players in the dugout who were already thinking about the hole they had just dug for themselves.

“All I kept thinking was, ‘How the hell are we going to come back from two games down’,” he said.

Thankfully, those unnerving thoughts running through the minds of the Aussies were yet to make their way into their pounding Green and Gold chests – when a leadoff single by shortstop Brad Harman started the vital 9^th inning rally.

With Harman at first base, Head Coach Jon Deeble turned to Gavin Fingleson off the bench – for one last throw of the dice.

After Fingleson bunted the first pitch foul – Deeble, who was looking to move Harman into scoring position – took a major punt by setting the runner in motion on a “Hit and Run” play.

The gamble paid off in spades when Fingleson chopped a ground ball to second baseman Michael Dursma who bobbled the ball before making a horrid throw to second that caromed into centre field, allowing Harman to advance to third with nobody out.

Facing the Dutch reliever Michiel van Kampen, Luke Hughes then lofted a ball into left field – just deep enough to plate Harman on a sacrifice fly and tying the game 3-3.

Fingleson, who had cleverly made his way into scoring position on the throw, now represented the winning at run second base, with one-out and ‘white-hot’ Oeltjen coming to the plate.

With first base unoccupied and a right-hand batter on deck, many thought Oeltjen would be lucky to see a pitch to hit.

But the speedy centerfielder wasted no time in delaying the celebrations by crushing a belt-high fastball the outfield wall on the very first pitch he faced and handing the Aussies a dramatic walk-off win.

The victory was crucial for Australia’s chances in advancing to the quarter finals, as it now places then into a four-way tie for second place in Pool B.

Australia, The Netherlands, Canada and Venezuela all stand tied with one win and one loss, while Cuba and Korea are early frontrunners in the eight-nation Pool as neither side has yet to lose a game.

That leaves World Cup minnows Thailand sitting at the bottom of the ladder along with Germany, who are also 0-2.

Next up for Australia is the critical match-up with Venezuela – a country renowned for being tenacious opponents during international competition.

The game can be seen LIVE via the internet, with the first pitch set for 3pm AEST.