Bazzana, top pick in '24 Draft, makes Australian national team debut against Japan
November 13th, 2024
Just 22 years old and Travis Bazzana already has a lifetime's worth of accomplishments: He was the MVP of the Cape Cod League in 2023 and was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year for his performance with Oregon State last year. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the Draft by the Guardians -- becoming the first Australian player to be selected in the first round. He even captained his high school's cricket team.
On Wednesday night in Nagoya, Japan, Bazzana fulfilled another dream: He made his debut with the senior national team. While playing for the U-18 squad in 2019, he made a note in his phone, projecting himself to be the leadoff hitter and second baseman for the national team at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Instead, he found himself leading off a little earlier, this time in the Premier12 tournament, which pits the top-12 ranked baseball nations against one another. (Another difference from this dream: He was playing left field, not the keystone.)
Coming to bat in the top of the first against Samurai Japan southpaw Haruto Inoue, Bazzana worked the count full before fisting a bloop single into the outfield. MLB Pipeline's No. 12 overall prospect was on the board.
“You have to attack a pitcher like that in the right spots in the zone," Bazzana said after the game. "I was just trying to get the ball in the middle on the inner-half. If I am on time to that, I have a good chance to get line drives and get hits.”
Bazzana picked up a second hit in the top of the sixth, lining a ball to right-field and knocking Inoue out of the game. Bazzana would come around to score when Twins prospect Rixon Wingrove blasted a two-run shot. Despite the multihit game from the team's new superstar, Australia lost the game, 9-3, to Japan.
"It’s a team game," Bazzana said afterward. "Two hits was good in this environment, but it’s disappointing the way we played, so it only means so much."
A consummate competitor with high expectations from himself, Bazzana wasn't even pleased with his own performance.
"I think my approach was consistent for how I wanted to attack the pitching. There was quality pitching throughout the game, but I had a plan and it worked out for two at-bats but the other two I missed two pitches to hit," Bazzana said.
“I think we need to learn what we did poorly tonight, but not take it into the next game. Play with confidence. Trust the players next to us. But we have to play with confidence and not let this game lower our expectations of winning. Refresh, learn from mistakes, but play with great confidence.”
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Premier12 | "We weren't really sharp" - Japan defeats Australia 9-3 in Nagoya to open Premier12
recap by Eric Balnar, photos by Scott Powick 12/13/24
You wouldn’t say Team Australia was particularly sharp in their 9-3 Premier12 opening game loss to Japan.
You need to be clean if you have hopes of defeating a world number one team, like reigning Premier12 champions Japan. Especially in their house.
The Japanese line-up took advantage of an Australian team that wasn’t at their best.
Australia’s head coach Dave Nilsson called the day “disappointing.”
Japan piled on early and pulled away late in the Group B clash in Nagoya in front of an enthusiastic and supportive sold out crowd.
Although, Australia did find themselves within a pair of runs in the late stages of the game, thanks to Travis Bazzana’s second hit of the night, and homers to Ulrich Bojarski & Rixon Wingrove.
Japan, though, were persistent and consistent.
All nine batters in Japan’s starting nine reached base. Six of them reached twice. Japan scored in six of their eight offensive innings.
Australia didn’t help themselves.
They made a crucial error, saw wild pitches and were caught out on the base baths.
Japan scored five of their runs in the first four innings, scoring at least once in each frame, to race out to a 5-0 lead.
One of those runs came off a wild pitch, another two of them came off a Robbie Glendinning throwing error.
“I’m disappointed with today,” says Australia’s manager Dave Nilsson. “The moment was maybe a bit too big for the guys early. The first few innings we weren’t really sharp. We let ourselves down with a few errors. When you give a team like that opportunities, it makes it hard.”
For Australia, Travis Bazzana had two hits and a stolen base in his senior team debut.
Rixon Wingrove and Ulrich Bojarski hit home runs in the sixth inning to cut the margin to 5-3. Bojarksi’s was a 452 foot monster shot. Rixon powered his to 436 feet.
At the post-game press conference, Bazzana wasn’t interested in talking much about his two-hit performance.
“It’s a team game,” Bazzana said. “Two hits was good in this environment but it’s disappointing the way we played so it only means so much.”
Bazzana accounted for two of the five hits vs 21-year-old Japanese starter Haruto Inoue. Bazzana's second hit in the top of the sixth, lining a ball to right-field and knocking Inoue out of the game.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1856649177905988006
The Tokyo Giants pitcher, who had a 2.76 ERA in the NPB this season, tossed 5.0 innings with eight strikeouts, five hits, no walks and two runs.
Australia provided a glimmer of home in the sixth. To their credit, they worked themselves right back in the ballgame to give themselves a chance.
Ulrich Bojarski led off the inning with a solo shot off Inoue. Rixon Wingrove put an exclamation mark on it with a two-run homer of his own of their first relief pitcher.
“We did show a bit of fight and did some good things. And we can build on that in Taiwan,” says Nilsson. “[That] was encouraging. Some good swings of the bat. It was a tough night. We will get back after it.”
Japan’s relentless batting was led by Hanshin Tigers superstar Shota Morishita who had three hits and two RBI.
Japan, laced with a team of NPB All-Stars, also benefitted from multi-hit contributions from Kaito Kozono, Ryoya Kuhihara, Shugo Maki and Shoji Sakakura.
Those collection of stars helped blow the game open late.
The crowd was whipped into a frenzy most of the night. They were singing, chanting and cheering their Japanese heroes with vigour.
Japan scored one run in the seventh and pulled away with a crooked eighth inning, scoring three runs.
9-3 is your final score from Nagoya.
Of note, Australia used 12 pitchers in the game: Lewis Thorpe (below), Sam Holland, Blake Townsend, Mitch Neunborn, Jon Kennedy, Todd Van Steensel, Tim Atherton, Coen Wynne, Dan McGrath, Will Sherriff, Josh Guyer and Steve Kent.
“I wanted to make sure our pitching staff was ready for the rest of the tournament. We need to make sure we are set up for the next four games and I can understand who they are a bit better,” Nilsson said.
Australia continues their tournament in Taiwan on Friday night when they’ll face the Dominican Republic.
They’ll use Thursday as a travel day.
Nilsson isn’t panicking.
“Losing one game doesn’t derail us or take us off course. We know every team will probably have some losses along the way,” says Nilsson. “It’s about being able to bounce back and stay on target and that’s what we’ll do.”
For Bazzana and the players, it’s time to regroup.
“I think we need to learn what we did poorly tonight, but not take it into the next game,” he says. “Play with confidence. Trust the players next to us. But we have to play with confidence and not let this game lower our expectations of winning. Refresh, learn from mistakes, but play with great confidence.”
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