▲ Australian players participate in a workout for the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 8, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ Australian players walk on to the field at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 8, 2023, for a workout ahead of the World Baseball Classic. (Yonhap)

(WBC) Australia pitcher-S Korea

(WBC) Australia to start left-hander Jack O'Loughlin vs. S. Korea in 1st game

By Yoo Jee-ho

TOKYO, March 8 (Yonhap) -- Australia will start left-hander Jack O'Loughlin against South Korea to open the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in Tokyo on Thursday.

Australia manager Dave Nilsson on Wednesday announced the 22-year-old native of Adelaide as his starter in the crucial Pool B opener at Tokyo Dome.

South Korea manager Lee Kang-chul has not yet unveiled his starter. Teams have until 9 p.m. the night before their games to reveal their starters.

O'Loughlin has pitched some minor league ball in the Detroit Tigers system and spent the past season in the Australian Baseball League (ABL). He has a career 9-8 record with a 3.34 ERA in 61 minor league appearances, including 33 starts.

"The day that I found out that I was getting the ball for Game 1 against Korea was extremely exciting," O'Loughlin said at a pretournament press conference Wednesday at the dome. "It was something that I have worked very, very hard on and work towards, being the best pitcher I can be. All my time playing in America and Australia, it is starting to show that I put the work in, and I was fortunate enough to get the ball for Game 1."

O'Loughlin said South Korea is "a team that is being well renowned for a very long time."

"So singling out one individual on that team would be very hard to do," he said. "They're a very well-respected team. And it is a team that you would definitely go up against and respect all hitters, one through nine, and go about it one batter at a time."

Nilsson said starting the game will be "a very big moment" for O'Loughlin.

"I'm excited to see how he responds and how the team responds to playing behind Jack," Nilsson added.

O'Loughlin said he was looking forward to a "super special" experience of playing at the WBC.

"We're going to go out there and control the controllables," he said. "Pitchers are going to go out there and do their job. If we go out there and play solid defense, we have a really good chance to play some good baseball and see if we can move on to the next round.

Aaron Whitefield, one of only two Australians with major league experience here, said there is a palpable sense of excitement on the team.

"The boys are ready to go out there and go to war," Whitefield said. "Tomorrow, once the game starts, we're trying to take every advantage. We're trying to score as many runs as we can. We're trying to leave and make a statement each game at a time. I think we're going to come out the gates hot, and hopefully, we keep pushing that way all the way to the end."

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