Tokyo: South Korean hitters will be up against a familiar face on the mound when they play Australia in a win-or-go-home game at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) on Monday. Australia manager Dave Nilsson announced Sunday that left-hander Lachlan Wells will get the ball against South Korea in the teams' final Pool C game at Tokyo Dome. The first pitch is 7 p.m. Monday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Wells pitched in four games in the Korea Baseball Organization last year as a temporary injury replacement for the Kiwoom Heroes. He went 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA over 20 innings, recording 16 strikeouts against six walks. Then over the offseason, he signed a full contract with the defending champions LG Twins as their Asian quota player.

"He's been in a position to start this game since the tournament began," Nilsson said, following Australia's 4-3 loss to Japan. "Pitching is lined up really well, and the guys are very healthy. If we can get through tomorrow, I think that's just the first step of something we're chasing."

With the top two nations from Pool C advancing to the quarterfinals, Japan, with a 3-0 record, has already secured one ticket. Australia (2-1), South Korea (1-2), and Chinese Taipei (2-2) all have a chance to join Japan, depending on the outcome of the Australia-South Korea game. In order to advance, South Korea must beat Australia by the scores of 5-0, 6-1, or 7-2 in nine innings. If Australia scores three runs or more, it will still advance even with a loss.

Nilsson stated he won't worry about the number crunching. "We're going to play the game to win," he said. "Obviously, there is some math to it but we're just going to play it to win."

Australia won the first two games of the tournament and then led Japan, world No. 1 and defending WBC champion, by 1-0 through six innings. Japan rallied with two runs apiece in the seventh and eighth innings. Australia battled back with two solo homers in the top ninth but fell short of its third straight win that would have clinched a knockout ticket.

Nilsson expressed his disappointment with the outcome but believes his team has the ability to shake off the loss. "Obviously, there's a lot of emotions after tonight. We had an opportunity to win the pool," he said. "We'll take a while and then we'll flush that and then we'll be in a good position tomorrow. We came here really feeling good about our opportunity to get through the second round and we have that opportunity tomorrow. So I think we're in good shape."

Source: Yonhap News Agency