Curtis Mead's homer sends Australia to WBC win over Czech Republic
Sep 3, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Chicago White Sox third baseman Curtis Mead (29) hits a single against the Minnesota Twins in the second inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Curtis Mead hit a three-run homer in the third inning, powering Australia to a 5-1 win over the Czech Republic on Friday in a World Baseball Classic Pool C game at Tokyo.
The Aussies moved to 2-0 in the round-robin phase with games against defending champion Japan and South Korea remaining. The Czechs fell to 0-2.
Mead, a Chicago White Sox infielder, finished the night with two hits, as did Australian teammates Alex Hall, Jarryd Dale and Chris Burke. Hall hit a solo homer in the ninth inning before Robbie Perkins added an RBI single.
Australian starter Josh Hendrickson got the win after throwing three innings of one-run ball.
The Czechs opened the scoring in the second inning on a sacrifice fly from Vojtech Mensik. Martin Cervenka had half of the team's four hits.
Czech starter Tomas Ondra yielded three runs in 3 1/3 innings.
--Field Level Media
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