Baseball World Cup Round 3, Chieti:
Australia – Puerto Rico 2-4
PUE 004 000 000 4 10 0 AUS 020 000 000 2 3 0
Puerto Rico defeated Australia 4-2 in front of 500 people in Chieti and secured second place in Pool F of the 2009 Baseball World Cup. They will play against Canada on Saturday for third place in the tournament. Australia takes on the Netherlands in the game for fifth.
Australia had the better start, taking a fast 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second on back-to-back solo homeruns by Stefan Welch and Timothy Kennelly. But it didn’t last for long, as Puerto Rico came right back. They loaded the bases for Carlos Rivera in the top of the third and he cleaned up with a grand slam for a 4-2 advantage.
It was all Puerto Rico needed to win the game, as neither team was able to put anything on the board afterwards. Alexander Woodson (PUE) started, but lasted only two innings, allowing two hits, two runs and a walk. Orlando Roman replaced him and shut the door with eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 brilliant relief innings. He conceded just one hit and a pair of walks during his outing. Drew Naylor (L 2-1) issued five hits, four runs and two bb in two-plus innings.