Canada's run at the IBAF World Cup came to a controversial end Wednesday in Taiwan when a disputed call sealed a heartbreaking 7-6 loss to Australia in a must-win game.
The Canadians trailed by three heading into the bottom of the ninth before RBI singles from Nick Weglarz of Stevensville, Ont., and Mike Saunders of Victoria narrowed the gap.
They proceeded to load the bases with one out before New York Mets prospect Emmanuel Garcia of Montreal hit a ground ball up the middle to Aussie shortstop Brad Harman, who juggled the ball as he stepped on second base before making a relay to first.
Although Harman didn't seem to have control of the ball, second base umpire Edgar Estivison called runner Jamie Romak of London, Ont., out at second, while Garcia was called out at first, even though he appeared to beat the throw, to end the game.
National team manager Terry Puhl wanted to argue the call but the umpire crew rushed off the field before he could get out of the dugout.
"It's a disappointing loss," he said. "The players did everything they possibly could and we get a very poorly called play at the end of the ball game. Our club is never out of any ball game, as they showed again tonight. It's just a privilege to be a part of this team."
The loss left Canada at 4-3 in Group B, tied for fourth with South Korea, an 8-1 winner over Germany (1-6). But the South Koreans moved on to the quarter-finals thanks to their 5-0 win over the Canadians in the round robin.
The must-win game for Canada was set up earlier in the day when the Netherlands (5-2) posted a 2-1 upset win over group winner Cuba (6-1) to clinch third spot. The Cubans lost at this event for the first time since falling to Japan in November 2001.
"The young guys showed that they can handle the pressure situations in this kind of an environment," said veteran infielder Kevin Nicholson of Langley, B.C. "It's unfortunate that our tourney was cut short due to a terrible call."
Beijing qualifier coming
Australia (6-1) finished second in the pool. The top four countries in each group at the 16-team tournament advanced to the quarter-finals.
Canadian starting pitcher Jon Lockwood of Toronto allowed three runs — one earned — over 5 2/3 innings of work. He left with the game tied 3-3.
"I just pitched to my strengths today," he said. "I thought I executed pretty well and I felt I got stronger as the game got on."
Despite the disappointing end, the tournament provided a good evaluation tool for Baseball Canada ahead of next March's final Olympic qualifier, also in Taiwan.
The core of this team will make up the club for that event, provided that big-league teams release the players. That's a big question mark, as the qualifier conflicts with North American spring training.
In Group A play Wednesday, Japan (5-2) and Panama (4-3) clinched the final quarter-final berths with victories. Japan was a 4-3 winner over Spain (1-6) while Panama laid a 13-3 beating on South Africa (0-7).
The United States (6-1) was a 10-7 winner over Taiwan (5-2) to clinch top spot over the hosts in Group A.
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