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US edges Japan as baseball pros debut with longest Olympic game
SYDNEY, Sept 17 (AFP) - Mike Neill slammed a two-run homerun in the 13th inning here Sunday to give the United States a 4-2 victory over Japan as the professional era of Olympic baseball began with the longest game in the history of the world's biggest sports event. American minor-leaguers and a team with eight Japanese pro stars staged a thriller before a crowd of 13,404 at Homebush Bay that viewed another Olympic first, the use of wooden bats in Olympic play rather than aluminium ones. Japanese relief pitcher Toshiya Sugiuchi walked US centerfielder Brad Wilkerson to open the 13th inning. Mike Neill followed with the blast to right field to end the dramatics between two gold medal contenders. The Americans had been one strike from victory in the regulation nine innings, but an error by US third baseman Mike Kinkade allowed Japan to push home the tying run. The Americans led 2-1 when third baseman Norihiro Nakamura of the Kintetsu Buffaloes singled off US relief pitcher Todd Williams to open the ninth inning. Pinch hitter Jun Hirose followed with an infield hit to advance Nakamura into scoring position. Then second baseman Jun Heima tapped a two-out, two-strike ground ball to Kinkade, who made a barehanded grab and an off-target throw to first base, allowing Nakamura to score the equalizer. Hirose was picked off at third base to end the Japanese threat. In the American ninth, Doug Mentkiewicz singled to centerfield and was replaced by pinch-runner Travis Dawkins, who promptly stole second base to put himself in scoring position with one out. Marcus Jensen sacrificed Dawkins to third with a ground out but Japanese starting pitcher Daisuke Matsunaka of the Seibu Lions struck out shortstop Adam Everett to send the game into extra innings. Matsunaka, who turned 20 last Wednesday, pitched 10 impressive innings. He made his fame in 1998 by hurling 28 innings in three days to help his team win the Japanese "Koshien" high school baseball tournament. In Sunday's other early game, two-time reigning Olympic champion Cuba routed South Africa 16-0. The Cubans pounded 18 hits while Norge Luis Vera and two relief pitchers combined for a no-hitter in a game halted after seven innings under the 10-run mercy rule. Japanese League standout Matsunaka and American hurler Ben Sheets staged a pitcher's duel through the first six innings, both backed by impressive defense from fielders. US designated hitter John Cotton opened the bottom of the seventh inning with a triple off the centerfield wall and third baseman Kinkade followed with a single to left field to put the Americans ahead 1-0. First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz then chopped a high bouncer up the middle for a single that sent Kinkade to third. Catcher Marcus Jensen followed by hitting the ball back to Matsunaka, who threw to second base for the force out but in doing so allowed Kinkade to run home and double the US lead to 2-0. Japanese leftfielder So Taguchi of the Orix Blue Wave opened the eighth inning with a triple to centerfield and scored Japan's first run on a ground out by Tomohiro Iizuka off American southpaw relief pitcher Bobby Seay. Japan threatened in the third inning when leadoff hitter Taguchi singled and was sacrificed to second and third bases. But Sheets got Japanese cleanup hitter Nakamura to hit an inning-ending ground out to the pitcher. The Americans finally tagged Matsunaka for a hit in the third inning and Young got another in the fourth, when three US hitters slammed fly outs to deep centerfield. Japan threatened again in the sixth inning when Iizuka singled, but Nakamura of Fukuoka grounded into a double play and the US team escaped.
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