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USA defeat Australia in pre-Olympic warm-up

SI At The Olympics • Grant Wahl: Women's Soccer -- One-on-One with April Heinrichs • Brian Cazeneuve: Pinning away • Tim Layden: U.S. track coach faces tough call • Leigh Montville: A movable feast More Features • Viewers' Guide: What to watch for • Quiz: Today's Tester • Closer Look: Michael Lewis -- U.S. soccer team uses its heads Multimedia • Photo Gallery: Athletes arrive • Photo Gallery: Let the games begin • Multimedia Central: Photo Galleries, Audio and More

BRISBANE, Australia, Sept 9 (AFP) - The United States baseball team got off to a strong start in their Olympic campaign when they defeated the host country Australia in a pre-Games warm-up on Friday night.

After opening its Olympic preparations with a win over the Netherlands on Thursday night, Australia started slowly against the Americans and went on to lose 3-1 on Queensland's Gold Coast.

The United States put the first run on the board when their second batter Brad Wilkerson slammed a solo home run over the right field fence.

Both starting pitchers - Mark Hutton for Australia and Roy Oswell for the Americans - then fought a tight dual for two innings when no further runs were scored by either team.

It was Hutton who cracked first when a Marcus Jensen double to centrefield sent teammate Mike Kinkade over the plate for the United States to take a 2-0 lead.

With both teams replacing their starting pitchers at the end of the fourth inning, Australia only managed to keep the American bats at bay for another dig before Kinkade sent a solo home run over left field in the sixth off first reliever Shayne Bennett.

While the Australians failed to master the American pitchers, the team rallied in the seventh to score their only run. After getting on base on a walk, Byrne was sent across home plate with compliments of a run batted in by Gary White.

"We're not happy with tonight's result. It was a good game for us to monitor our pitchers and continue to look at our offensive players," said Australia's head coach Jon Deeble.

Deeble's American counterpart praised the Australian side. "Our pitching was once again outstanding," said Tom Lasorda, former manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers. "It was a solid victory over a very good Australian team." Australia and the Americans play again Saturday on the Gold Coast.

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