Great Britain 7, Colombia 5
PHOENIX, Mar. 13 — One day after being mercy-ruled, Great Britain showed that the lion on their chest was more than a logo, rallying from a 3–0 deficit to defeat Colombia, 7–5, Monday afternoon. The win over Colombia, who beat Mexico 5–4 in their first game, was the first-ever win in World Baseball Classic Pool Play for Great Britain.
Colombia opened the scoring in the top of the second. With one out, catcher Meibrys Viloria hit a grounder to short. The throw to first was wide to the right-field side, too far for first baseman Nick Ward to corral. As Ward hustled to retrieve the ball, Viloria scampered to second. He advanced to third on a grounder to second by second baseman Jordan Diaz and scored on a single to center by center fielder Oscar Mercado.
Two innings later, Colombia extended their lead. Great Britain starting pitcher Tyler Viza walked the bases loaded, bringing out the hook from manager Drew Spencer. In came Graham Spraker to face Dayan Frias, who lined a single to right. Both Meibrys Viloria and Jordan Diaz scored, making the score 3–0.
Great Britain Turns the Tables on Colombia
That lead did not last long. Catcher Harry Ford led off the bottom of the same inning with a single to left before Ward walked. In came Julio Vivas in relief of starter William Cuevas. An errant pickoff throw to second advanced Ford to third. Third baseman B.J. Murray cracked a sacrifice fly to deep left, making the score 3–1 Colombia. Shortstop Darnell Sweeney followed with a walk, as did left fielder Jaden Rudd, loading the bases.
That was it for Vivas, who gave way to Yapson Gomez. He struck out second baseman Anfernee Seymour for the second out, but he did not have such luck with the next hitter, as right fielder Chavez Young roped a base hit to left. Both runners scored easily, tying the game at three. Meanwhile, Team Colombia left fielder Harold Ramirez muffed it, allowing Young to advance to second. After center fielder Trayce Thompson drew an intentional walk, designated hitter Matt Koperniak grounded to first unassisted for the third out.
With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Ward punched a single to right. A 5–3 groundout by Murray advanced Ward to second. Colombia intentionally walked the next hitter, Sweeney, to put a force at any base as Rudd dug in. But a wild pitch by Gomez moved the runners up to second and third, nullifying the strategy. Both scored on a double to the left-field corner by Rudd, giving Great Britain a 5–3 lead. Their lead widened in the bottom of the seventh. Ford led off with a homer to left. Ward walked, advancing to third on a one-out double by Sweeney. A wild pitch scored Ward and advanced Sweeney to third. The inning ended on a called strikeout by Rudd, and a popup to second by Seymour.
The Final Two Innings
With the score now 7–3, Spencer brought in Ian Gibaut. He got into a slight jam right away, as first baseman Reynaldo Rodriguez singled to left and advanced to second on a follow-up walk by Viloria. But Gibaut settled down, striking out Jordan Diaz before retiring Oscar Mercado and Dayan Frias on flies to center and right, respectively.
Colombia did not go down without a fight in the ninth. Pinch-hitter Dilson Herrera led off with a first-pitch home run to left, making it a 7–4 game. Ramirez followed with a grounder to third. The throw went wild, putting Ramirez on second with no outs. Gio Urshela, up next, flied to right, where a strong, accurate throw by Young held Ramirez at second. The throw ultimately didn’t matter, as Alfaro followed with a single to left, scoring Ramirez and making it 7–5.
This brought a mound visit from Spencer. After a brief discussion, he returned to the dugout and left Gibaut in the game. Spencer said after the game he asked a “quick” question. “How are you feeling?” Spencer said. He explained that it was almost a rhetorical question “just to settle him and give him a chance to understand the significance of the moment in front of him and then to ask him if he wanted to deliver. And he did want it, and he delivered.”
“An Unbelievable Save”
Deliver he did, as he got Rodriguez to hit a grounder to short for the second out. The throw, however, put a scare into the British faithful. It went wide of first toward the right-field side, but Ward made a tremendous lunging scoop — an “unbelievable save,” according to Colombia manager Jolbert Cabrera — keeping his toe on the bag in the process. “That was huge. HUGE,” Ford said after the game, his eyes as big as saucers. “For Ward, that’s a guy — normally he’s a shortstop going over to first. For him to make the plays he’s been making, it’s been great.”
That put Great Britain one out away from the milestone win. The last out was Meibrys Viloria. After taking ball one low, he swung through two changeups. The next pitch was a fastball at the top of the zone. Viloria whiffed, sending Team Great Britain and its’ fans into a jubilant celebration.
Postgame Reflections
Despite Colombia’s crucial victory against Mexico Saturday and Great Britain being mercy-ruled by Canada Sunday, Cabrera was “not surprised at all” by the game result. “That lineup was a matchup nightmare with all those switch-hitters in there,” he said. Later he added, “The guys that I deployed from the bullpen earlier couldn’t bring the command today. They issued extra walks that ended up hurting us.” He also said, “Teams like Great Britain, if you don’t start off early beating them and they’re even out throughout the game, they will flip it over. That’s what happened.”
Spencer said the win was “the beginning of Chapter Two for Great Britain baseball and British baseball in general,” noting that Chapter One ended when they qualified for the tournament. “There will be people who can use this moment as inspiration to come out and play the game and to believe that someone with this name (Great Britain) on the front of their chest can be successful, not only in competitions like this, but they can achieve all their aspirations.
“It’s possible to go and play college baseball. It’s possible to go play in international leagues, to play in the best professional leagues around the country. And soon we’ll see somebody in the Major Leagues because of this moment.”
The historicity of the victory is not lost on the players. Graham Spraker — the winning pitcher — said, “I was glad that I was the guy that got the ball first. Just tried to make the most of my opportunity and throw as long as I could. All I can say to all the people in Great Britain, thanks for watching. If you weren’t, I hope you are now,” with a smile.
Looking Ahead
The result gives Great Britain a 1–2 record and Colombia a 1–1 record. Depending on the result of the United States–Canada game, this could create a three-way tie between Colombia, Mexico, and Canada in the Pool C standings.
Colombia faces Canada at noon Arizona Time/3 pm Eastern on Tuesday. Great Britain faces Mexico at 7 pm Arizona Time/10 pm Eastern Time the same day.
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