GRENWELL Point's Tim Atherton has praised the defence of his Australian men's baseball team, after they played a key role in a stunning 2-1 Premier12 win over the United States on Wednesday.
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Australia jumped out to a two-run lead in the first and rode a strong start from Atherton to its first win of the super round and first over the US in 10 meetings at major senior events.
The win, characterised by the team's resilient defence, kept the Aussies hopes of playing off for a Premier12 medal alive - setting up a massive clash with Chinese Taipei on Saturday.
"I don't have the confidence to go out there and throw the pitches that I want to throw unless I have that defence picking me up," Atherton said in an interview with Baseball Australia.
"It took great performances in all three facets, pitching, defence and offence.
"The offence did their job at the start of the game getting two runs.
"It's great to get the win but now we're looking forward to the next game."
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Tim Kennelly drew a lead-off walk in the first and advanced to third on a double from Andrew Campbell ahead of Robbie Glendinning drawing a second walk of the inning.
Kennelly was out at home on a fielder's choice before Aaron Whitefield singled back up the middle to drive in two runs and give Australia an early lead a day after being shut out by Mexico.
Mark Payton cut Australia's lead in half in the eighth, but the green and golds held on to record a memorable win.
Atherton, who did not allow a hit until the fifth inning, credited the win, at the Tokyo Dome, to hard work.
"This feeling is a great feeling, but it's also an expected feeling," Atherton, who plays for the Brisbane Bandits and Berkeley Eagles, said.
"We came to this tournament with this expectation in mind and now we're just executing not just six months leading up to it but lifetime's of hard work."
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The right-hander combined with catcher Ryan Battaglia to make life tough for the US.
"We got ahead, established the fastball on both sides of the plate and then we pitched to our game," he said.
"We wanted to get the American team in swing mode and then once we knew that they were swinging we could then go with the off speed pitches.
"It was just about staying aggressive and not giving in.
"I gave up a couple of walks but stayed aggressive and backed the defence and the people who were behind me ... they made the plays for us."
Australia has the next two days off ahead of closing out the super round against Chinese Taipei on Saturday.
