Two Miracle make Aussie Olympic team

Pair plan to leave Aug. 8 for Greece

They were just two other minor-leaguers Thursday, in the starting lineup for the Fort Myers Miracle in the 91st game of the Florida State League season.

Soon, though, center fielder Trent Oeltjen and third baseman Brett Tamburrino will play for a bigger team on the world's grandest sporting stage. They were recently named to the Australian Olympic baseball team.

They were notified via e-mail last week they had been selected.

"It's been a dream ever since I was little to represent my country," Oeltjen said Thursday evening shortly before the Miracle played the Dunedin Blue Jays at the Lee County Sports Complex.

The first thing Oeltjen did after finding out was call his parents, Carla and John, in Sydney.

"I think my mom cried," Oeltjen said.

The Miracle's Australian Olympians plan to leave for Athens on Sunday, Aug. 8. They won't travel to Australia. No vacation. No trip home. On to the Summer Games.

They'll meet the rest of Australian team in Greece. Although Oeltjen and Tamburrino will miss the final four weeks of the FSL season, the Miracle is supportive if not downright giddy at the opportunity they have.

"How cool is that?" Miracle pitching coach Eric Rasmussen said.

Miracle manager Jose Marzan shared Rasmussen's happiness for the team's Australian duo.

"A once in a lifetime thing," Marzan said. "I couldn't be any more jealous. Going to Greece."

Oeltjen and Tamburrino are both solid players with several years of minor-league experience. Oeltjen, 21, is in his fourth season in the Minnesota Twins organization and his first with the Class A Miracle. He entered the season with a .298 career average and is hitting .278 this year. Tamburrino, 22, is in his sixth season in the Twins organization and second with the Miracle. He began the season with a .253 career average and is currently hitting .272.

Their primary goal as minor-league players is, of course, reaching the majors. That dream will soon be placed aside for the rest of the summer. They'll soon be representing their country.

"We're a good contender for a medal," Tamburrino said. "I don't think anyone on our side is really thinking any less than gold. We're not going there just to play."

One team the Australians won't have to worry about is the United States. The Americans failed to qualify for the Olympics.

"It helps out everybody," Tamburrino said.

Without a baseball team to root for in the Olympics, Oeltjen has a back-up rooting plan for American baseball fans.

"Root for Australia," Oeltjen said.

Notes

Here's an oddity noticed by Miracle scorekeeper Benn Norton: Miracle pitcher Josh Gray leads the league with seven intentional walks allowed. The Miracle's Jeff Randazzo and Justin Olson are in a six-way tie for for second with five intentional walks allowed.

No member of the Miracle are in the league's Top 10 in hitting but Fort Myers as a city is represented. Bishop Verot High graduate Tommy Winrow, an outfielder with the Tampa Yankees, is running away with the FSL batting race. He entered Thursday with a .348 batting average. J. J. Johnson of the Daytona Cubs was second at .319.

Although the Miracle don't have a player in the Top 10, they were third in team batting at .264. ... They were last in homers with 29. ... The team homer leader was shortstop Kaulana Kuhaulua, who had five in 210 at-bats. He entered the season with six homers in 637 career at-bats. ... The Miracle pitching staff led the league with eight shutouts.

The Miracle begins a four-day road trip to Brevard County beginning today. They return home Tuesday to begin a five-day homestand.

STAR OF THE WEEK