Rory Spletter drove in five runs as Australia topped New Zealand 12-1 in game two of the best-of-three WBSC Oceania U-23 World Cup Qualifier in Canberra.
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A seven-run third proved decisive as Team Australia broke the game open.
Spletter’s sacrifice fly scored Dermot Fritsch (single) to hand Australia a first-inning lead.
Team Australia then batted around in the top of the third – playing as the away team – to go 8-0 up.
John Lemm’s two-run single opened the inning scoring after Australia loaded the bases.
Bradley Griffin backed it up with a second-straight two-run single.
Nicolas Hawkins delivered an RBI-single before Spletter capped off the big inning with a two-run double.
South Australia Darcy Barry singled to put the green and gold up by nine runs in the fourth.
A Brent Iredale double in the fifth made it 10-0 ahead of a two-run single from Spletter in the sixth after New Zealand tallied its sole run of the night.
Spletter finished 3-for-4.
Fritsch and Hawkins each had two hits.
Australia received a strong start from Zak Elvy.
He struck out three in three innings.
Bailey-Jay Cooke tossed a scoreless fourth ahead of Miller Bell punching out four in two innings.
The WBSC’s 2022 Men’s U-23 World Cup is slated to be held in Taiwan from October 14 to 23.
Article adapted from WBSC Oceania website.