Australia's Timothy Kennelly (centre L) celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run during the World Baseball Classic (WBC) Pool B round game between Australia and South Korea at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 9, 2023. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP)
Tokyo: Australia's manager hailed "a big moment" for Baseball in the country after a shock 8-7 win over South Korea at the World Baseball Classic on Thursday.
Tim Kennelly, Robbie Glendinning and Robbie Perkins all blasted home runs in Tokyo to lift Australia past the heavily fancied Koreans in their opening game of the tournament.
Australia have never gone past the first round in four previous appearances but they can qualify for the quarter-finals if they finish in the top two of a Pool B that also includes Japan, China and the Czech Republic.
Manager Dave Nilsson, a former player with the Milwaukee Brewers in Major League Baseball, said the win was "a pretty big moment" for a country better known for cricket bats than Baseball ones.
"A lot of relief right now, I'm very proud of my team and the resilience they showed," he said.
"Korea threw a lot of challenges at us but we responded like I knew we could. It's very rewarding for everyone involved."
Baseball has been played in Australia since the 1850s but it enjoys only a fraction of the popularity of cricket, rugby or Australian Rules football in the sport-loving country.
Australia's World Baseball Classic squad has mostly been picked from the domestic league and also features 10 players based in the United States, although none of them are on MLB rosters.
Star pitcher Liam Hendriks, of the Chicago White Sox, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in January and is currently undergoing treatment.
No let-up
The win puts Australia in prime position to reach the quarter-finals ahead of Korea.
Japan, featuring Shohei Ohtani and other MLB stars, are hotly tipped to wrap up first place in the group.
The Australians have a rest day before playing China on Saturday and Nilsson said he does not "see any let-up from any of our players".
"It gives us a lot of confidence to never quit and keep rolling," said Glendinning, who put Australia ahead with a huge three-run home run in the seventh inning.
"No one really gave us a shot to win that game and we believed in ourselves. It just gives us confidence."
Australia hung on despite a furious late fightback by the Koreans, who are now in real danger of exiting at the group stage for the second straight tournament.
Nilsson, who was part of the Australia team that won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said he would "have to reflect" on whether he had just overseen the team's greatest victory.
"That's a little bit too early for me to answer right now," he said. "What I can tell you right now is that feels pretty significant."
