TAICHUNG, Taiwan- In a game that was nothing short of epic, Canada defeated host Chinese Taipei 9-8 to remain undefeated with a 3-0 record, good for first place in Group A at the WBSC Premier 12.
The game was filled with incredible moments with a boisterous crowd of over 13,000 fans providing an electric atmosphere.
Home runs, lead changes, momentum shifts and one incredible game saving catch, this game had it all in what is already an instant classic that will live in Baseball Canada history.
“I’ve been in the game a long time, a lot of professional years. This game tonight was quite a game,” said Canada Manager Ernie Whitt. “I tip my hat to the Taipei team, to the crowd, it was exciting. A lot of things happened, but it was a tremendous ballgame and I’m just glad we came out on top.”
“There was a lot of real good hitting, some key pitching at times. It was just a wild, crazy game.”
One play stood out among all others that defined how incredible a baseball game this truly was. With Taipei trailing by one run in the bottom of the eighth and threatening with a run on second base and two out, a ball was drilled into the gap in right-centre. With centerfielder Tyson Gillies (Vancouver, BC) giving chase, he leapt a caught the ball for a brief moment before hitting the wall only to see the ball pop out of his glove and into the glove of right fielder Rene Tosoni (Port Coquitlam, BC) who was covering on the play.
With Tosoni running hard and with a finger pointed into the air in celebration, the first base umpire signaled ‘no catch’ motioning that the ball hit the wall after coming out of Gillies’s glove. With Canadian players furiously protesting and Manager Ernie Whitt on the field pleading his case, the umpiring crew huddled and concluded that the ball popped out of Gillies’s glove and directly into Tosoni’s for the out.
“The best thing about that whole situation is that the umpires got together and called the play correctly,” explained Whitt. “That’s the beauty of this game, you want the umpires to get the call right.”
Gillies and Tosoni were eager to explain the play after the game.
“They were spraying the ball all over the place so it was tough to know where to play (in the outfield),” said Gillies.
“I don’t think I’ve ever ran so hard in my entire life. I just tried to knock (the ball) down; I didn’t really care where the wall was. Tosoni did a great job backing me up and that was the biggest part of the game.”
Added Tosoni: “I thought I was going to catch it and then I saw Tyson under it so I let up a little bit. He caught the ball and I thought ‘sweet, we’re out of the inning’ but then he hit the fence, it popped out and just landed in my glove.”
The biggest moment up until the catch in the eighth took place in the sixth. After Canada had taken a 7-4 lead with three runs in the top of the inning, Taipei responded with a solo home run before loading the bases on a walk, hit batter and error. Reliever Kyle Lotzkar (Delta, BC) was taken out of the game and Jasvir Rakkar (North York, ON) came out of the bullpen in an unenviable situation. Rakkar handled the situation with ease fanning the first batter he faced before starting a 1-2-3 double play that kept Canada’s two run lead intact.
Rakkar came back out for the seventh and recorded an out before a walk brought in Andrew Albers (North Battleford, SK). Albers lasted until the eighth after giving up a run with two out that brought in Dustin Molleken (Regina, SK). Molleken allowed a two run double before Gillies and Tosoni combined on the game saving catch that got Molleken out of the inning. He came back in the ninth and nailed down the save.
Taipei had opened the scoring in the second inning putting a charge into the hometown crowd as a two run homer with two out in the inning put them up by a pair. With two out, a single up the middle set the stage for the home run that landed in the seats beyond the wall in left-centre off Canada starter Shawn Hill (Georgetown, ON).
Canada responded in the top half of the third and it was Jordan Lennerton (Langley, BC) who came through as he lined a 2-2 pitch to left that brought in Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) from third base. O’Neill had walked and was awarded second base on a balk call before he advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Canada chased Taipei starter Fu Te Ni from the game in the fourth as the put up three runs to take a 4-2 lead. Skyler Stromsmoe (Etzikom, AB) singled to left and scored from first base when Sean Jamieson (Kitchener, ON) lined a double down the left field line. With runners on the corners and two out, Lennerton came through again, this time with a double to the gap in left to pick up his second and third RBI’s of the game. He added an RBI single in the sixth and finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBI’s.
“I had two strikes (on me) before all of my hits and I was able to lay off some good pitches,” said Lennerton. “I wasn’t worried about pulling the ball. With runners in scoring position, I was just trying to get the ball in the outfield and it ended up working out for me.”
Canada flexed their muscle in the eighth as Tyler O’Neill silenced the crowd with a mammoth blast that left the stadium in left before Tosoni launched a solo shot into the right field bleachers to make it 9-5.
The game featured five home runs including three from Chinese Taipei, but Canada managed to keep the damage to a minimum and provided enough on offence to come out on top.
“They kept coming, but the thing was, so did we,” said Lennerton. “It was crazy. I’ve never played in an atmosphere like that. It was a lot of fun and that’s the reason we play baseball.
“Our team was resilient, tough and we got the job done.”
UP NEXT
After an off-day on Friday, Canada will resume play in Group A on Saturday against Italy (6:35pm CST/5:30am EST) at Douliou Baseball Stadium…RHP Jared Mortensen (Abbotsford, BC) is expected to start for Canada…Fans in Canada can watch the game on Sportsnet ONE (5:30am ET with a replay at 3pm ET)…Fans not in the Sportsnet ONE viewing region can view the game at: wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12/streaming.
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