Happy Baseball!
This was the first game I scored in 2016, the final of the WBC qualifier played in Sydney that featured the host Aussies, South Africa, New Zealand, and the Philippines. Australia had competed in the first three editions of the Classic, while South Africa had played in the first two as something of a token representative of Africa before qualifying was put in place. Obviously Australia was the favorites, with starter Travis Blackley, reliever Peter Moylan, and right fielder Trent Oeltjen among their players with MLB experience.
Despite the talent imbalance and lopsided final score, it was a very fun game to watch. Gift Ngope led off with a homer for South Africa, and Oeltjen doubled in a run to tie it in the bottom of the frame. The game stayed tied until Australia led off the fifth with back to back homers, but South Africa came right back to lead 4-3 on a three-run homer. Once again the lead was short-lived as the Aussies tied it in the sixth, then took the lead with two in the seventh.
South Africa wasn’t done yet, scoring a run to pull within 6-5 and stranding the tying runner at third. But in the bottom of the eighth, their thin bullpen finally cracked, with Australia sending eleven to the plate and scoring four times off a parade of South African relievers. Still, it was a good way to start another year of watching baseball and keeping score.
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