A capsule look at Curacao’s 2-1 win against Australia
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A closer look at the 2-1 win Curacao had over Australia on Wednesday afternoon at Volunteer Stadium.
PLAY OF THE GAME -- Jay-Dlynn Wiel with a shutout inning: Australia was looking to take the lead in the beginning of the fifth inning. After a phenomenal triple to left field by Jaden Jang from Australia, Jay-Dlynn Wiel was pulled in to pitch for Curacao in hopes to not allow Jang to score.
Wiel was able to hold Jang at third as he struck out the next three batters and not allow Australia to rally and get momentum.
CURACAO PLAYERS OF THE GAME -- Sean Serverie: It was a battle to see which team would score first as the game was scoreless after the first inning. Curacao was eager to score and looking for any way to do so.
After reaching base by an error then reaching second due to a walk for Nasir El-Ossais, Serverie was ready to reach home. He quickly stole third on a passed ball and was then waiting for the perfect time at third to score. At the first sight of a pass ball, Serverie was on his way to home leading Curacao to have the first run of the game and setting the pace for his team.
AUSTRALIA PLAYER OF THE GAME -- Adrian Jankuloski: Jankuloski had an amazing day out on the mound. With 4 1/3 innings pitched, he struck out eight batters and did not leave much room for his other teammates to make many plays. Jankuloski was quick to figure out that Curacao was struggling to make contact with his curveball so many of his strikeouts are due to this curve ball.
BIG INNING -- By the start of the fifth inning, the game was tied. With Yaedon Martie on second and Helmir Helmijr on first, Jayvery Felicia hits a ball out to right field which allows Yaedon Martie to score from second. This RBI single allowed Curaçao to take the lead over Australia.
BEST EFFORT -- Curacao was first to score in this game but Austrailia was trying their hardest to take the lead. Australia was able to make a comeback in the third inning thanks to Hayden Salmon. With a walk to start him off, Salmon knew it was on him to get Australia on the board. He quickly stole second base on a pass ball and knew that he could score from there. Justin Jang came up to the plate and hit a ball right into center field which allowed Salmon to be placed on third. With two outs, Salmon knew he had to score at the first chance he got. With another pitch thrown past the Curaçao catcher, Salmon stole home and put Australia on the board which tied up the game.
FLASHING LEATHER -- Alexander Provacia Roach was a star on the field today. The second baseman from Curacao fielded a ground ball perfectly and got the out at first in the fourth inning. Along with that in the same inning, he made an incredible play at second base to get the lead runner out. Then proceeded to get the final out of the inning by fielding another ball and making the play at first.
WHAT THE ADULTS SAY -- Zaino Everett gave a lot of credit to Australia's coach by stating, "I will credit the pitching of the Australian pitcher. It was amazing, the way he was able to mix up his pitches."
"It is so great. You can't even imagine. It's so hard to be here for the second time. It is great being here for the second time in a row," Everett added. "I keep telling the guys 'we just need to keep coming back to represent the Caribbean.'"
WHAT THE KIDS SAY -- "In my mind, there wasn't a lot going on because I was here last year and I knew from the experience that it wasn't going to be hard," Jay-Dylnn Wiel said. "That is my role on the team. When in tied games, I need to come close the game out."
WHAT IT MEANS -- Australia is going to move into the losers' bracket and face Cuba on Saturday at noon at Volunteer Stadium. Curacao will play the winner of Game 9 on Monday at 1 p.m. at Volunteer Stadium.