Preview: Japan opens WBSC Premier12 2024 against Australia on Wednesday in the Vantelin Dome Nagoya
The opening round in Group B at the WBSC Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS starts on Wednesday with a game between the number one in the KONAMI/WBSC Men’s Baseball World Rankings, Japan and the current 15th-ranked team Australia at 7pm at the Vantelin Dome in Nagoya, Japan.
Prior tothe game Atsunori Inaba is going to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. The52-year-old, who racked up more then 2,000 hits in NPB as an outfielder/firstbaseman for the Yakult Swallows and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, is theformer manager of Japan in the WBSC Premier12 2019 and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Currentmanager Hirokazu Ibata is sending Haruto Inoue to the mound as starting pitcherfor Japan in their opening game into the WBSC Premier12 2024. The 23-year-oldleft-hander of the Yomiuri Giants made his NPB debut in 2022. During the 2024season he celebrated his breakout year in professional baseball. He went 8-5with an ERA of 2.76 in 25 games. He struck out 99 and walked 27 in 101 inningspitched.
Australia’smanager David Nilsson has selected Lewis Thorpe as their starting pitcher inthe first game of the opening round. The 28-year-old left-hander from Melbourneis a former MLB player for the Minnesota Twins. In three seasons with the Twinshe went 3-5 with an ERA of 5.67 in the big leagues. He spent a total of eightyears in affiliated ball before joining the independent league circuit. In 2024he played for Dorados de Chihuahua in Mexico. He went 1-7 with an ERA of 5.30and 80 strikeouts and 37 base on balls in 74.2 innings pitched. Thorpe pitchedin the 2012 and 2013 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cups.
Samurai Japan is entering the game as the heavy favorite. Not only are they sitting in first place in the Men’s Baseball World Rankings, but also are the defending WBSC Premier12 champion, having defeated Korea 5-3 in the final in 2019. In 2015 Japan finished in third place. Japan closed out preparations ahead of the tournament by defeating Czechia in a pair of exhibition games.
Australia, which currently sits in 15th place in the Men’s Baseball World Ranking, qualified for the WBSC Premier12 2024 as 11th ranked team on December 31, 2023, which set the participants for the tournament. The team from Down Under finished in 6th place in the WBSC Premier12 in 2019. Australia held training camp in Japan ahead of the WBSC Premier12 2024, playing five games as tune-up against Japanese Industrial League teams.
Inhead-to-head matchups it’s a one-sided story between Japan and Australia.
Samurai Japan owns a 17-1 record in games against Australia since 2011. Japanhas scored 144 runs in these games, while allowing only 38. The lone win byAustralia came in 2019, when Australia beat Japan 4-1 in the Super Round of theWBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup. The two programs last met this year at the WBSCU-23 Baseball World Cup with Japan prevailing 4-1. In the Super Round of theWBSC Premier12 2019 Japan won 3-2 in their matchup against Australia.