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Sunday, September 24
Abernathy leads U.S. hit parade over Aussies
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Not a bad way to finish, mates.
Showing the type of offense missing all tournament, the United
States completed its Olympic preliminaries Sunday with a 12-1
victory over host Australia.
|  | | U.S. player Brent Abernathy (5) leaps over teammate Doug Mientkiewicz as he catches a foul ball. |
A day after taking its only loss against Cuba, the United States
(6-1) headed into the medal round on an upbeat note. Brent
Abernathy had four hits as the Americans played their most complete
game of the tournament.
"We came out and did what we needed to do all week -- put runs
on the board," Abernathy said.
There was little drama and nothing at stake for the Americans,
who knew before the final out they were headed for a medals-round
matchup with South Korea (4-3) on Tuesday.
Cuba (6-1) will get a rematch with Japan (4-3) in the other
game. The two winners will play for the gold medal on Wednesday.
"I think we needed this one," said first baseman Doug
Mientkiewicz, whose eight-inning grand slam beat South Korea during
round-robin play. "Our emotion was dropping a little bit. Tonight
we got our intensity back and were focused in the right
direction."
A cold, steady rain and a steady stream of mistakes by the home
team left the Aussie crowd soaked and disappointed. The Americans
batted around twice in the first four innings for a 10-0 lead that
ended the "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!" chants.
It was a bitter finish for Australia (2-4), which had hopes of
contending for a medal with former major league All-Star Dave
Nilsson behind the plate. Rather than play in the majors this year,
Nilsson passed up millions of dollars and played in Japan so he
would be eligible for the Olympics.
"I made it very clear from the start that the Olympics is just
a two-week experience, something I wanted to be a part of,"
Nilsson said. "I've been fortunate to have played some time in the
majors. This is something else I wanted to do, so I'm very glad I
could."
Nilsson held up his end, going 13-for-23 (.565) as the
tournament's top hitter. No one else did much consistently as the
Australians finished seventh in the eight-team field, managing only
one more win than first-time entrant South Africa.
Nilsson signed with the New York Yankees earlier this month, but
the deal was too late to make him eligible for the playoffs.
Nilsson plans to take a vacation with his family and start thinking
about what he'll do next year.
"That will just evolve over the next month or so," he said.
In their last chance for a warm memory, the Australians'
pitchers unraveled.
Mark Hutton, who played with the Yankees and several other major
league teams, gave up five hits, four walks and four runs in the
first two innings before a 36-minute rain delay.
With a steady rain falling, the United States sent 10 batters to
the plate for four runs in the second. Anthony Sanders and
Abernathy had RBI doubles and Ernie Young drew a bases-loaded walk.
Abernathy's five doubles in the tournament set a U.S. Olympic
record.
Abernathy's two-run single highlighted a five-run fourth inning
as the Americans sent 10 batters to the plate again. Marcus Jenson
hit a homer in the sixth, and the game was ended under the 10-run
mercy rule after the seventh.
Kurt Ainsworth gave up one run on five hits in five innings, his
second impressive start. Ainsworth, the San Francisco Giants' top
draft pick last year, gave up one run in 6 2/3 innings of a win
over the Netherlands.
Young, serenaded with choruses of "Ernie! Ernie!" in each
at-bat, was hit by pitches two more times Sunday, but went to first
without complaint. Young shoved the Cuban catcher after he was hit
in the back Saturday during a 6-1 loss, bringing both teams onto
the field briefly.
Cuba 6, Japan 2: Orestes Kindelan hit a three-run homer as Cuba clinched the top seed for medal-round play by beating Japan 6-2 Sunday.
Kindelan, Cuba's top power hitter, singled home a run in the third and hit a three-run homer in the fourth, only his second of the tournament.
Danel Castro also had an RBI single and Antonio Scull tripled and scored on Juan Manrique's single as Cuba pulled away. Omar Linares went 3-for-4.
After taking their first loss in Olympic baseball after 21 wins on Wednesday, the Cubans finished strong, beating Australia, the United States and Japan.
Cuba used three pitchers, none for more than 3 1/3 innings, as it rested its staff for the medal round. Japan used four pitchers -- none for more than three innings each.
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ALSO SEE
U.S.-Australia box score
Cubans rout U.S. in a tension-filled baseball game
U.S. gets two runs on error in eighth to beat Italy 4-2
U.S. survives shaky first inning to beat the Netherlands
U.S. baseball victory features Unit-like performance
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