Baseball World Cup Round 3, Firenze:
Venezuela – Australia 9-4
AUS 012 100 000 4 9 2 VEN 002 100 33X 9 13 3
Venezuela picked up their first win in the third round, defeating Australia 9-4, thanks to three runs apiece in the seventh and the eighth. Rene Reyes capped the win with a three-run homerun. Yosnel Garcia and Dirimo Chavez combined for five RBI. Australia had taken a fast 3-0 lead midway through the third, but couldn’t get much going after. Chris Snelling drove in two.
Adam Blackley (AUS), who pitched for the Dutch club L&D Amsterdam Pirates this year, gave up five hits, three runs and a walk in three-plus innings. Jacobo Sequera (VEN) issued six hits, four runs and two bb in four innings. Jose Rodriguez (W 1-0) received the win. Brendan Wise (L 0-1) took the loss.
Just an embarrassing crowd of 104 people showed up at the ballpark in Firenze to watch the game. Venezuela closes out the third round with a game against Taiwan in Grosseto, possible a preview for the classification match on Saturday. Australia travels to Chieti for a matchup with Puerto Rico. Both are scheduled to start at 7pm CET.