Canadian outfielders Michael Crouse, right, Brock Kjeldgaard, left, and Tim Smith celebrate the 4-0 victory over South Korea in a Baseball World Cup second round game in Aguadulce, Panama, on Oct. 13, 2011.
Canada swept a doubleheader Thursday at the Baseball World Cup, defeating Venezuela 7-0 and topping South Korea 4-0.
Canada started strong with a five-run first inning against Venezuela, as Jimmy Van Ostrand got things rolling when he hit an RBI single in the first inning to score Chris Bisson.
Van Ostrand came around to score along with Tim Smith when Emerson Frostad hit a double to right field that rolled to the wall. Brock Kjeldgaard capped the inning when he drilled a two-run homer to left field.
"We came out aggressive today and that is what we wanted to do," said Canadian manger Ernie Whitt. "We had a little talk before the game and the guys know what's at stake."
Canadian starter Kyle Lotzkar threw five innings of shutout ball. Lotzkar only gave up three hits, while not allowing a walk.
"The lead helped out and probably took some pressure off Kyle," said Whitt. "He threw strikes and worked quickly, which allowed our offence to take over."
Canada's other two runs came when Tim Smith hit a single to right that was misplayed by the right fielder. Two runs scored on the play and Smith ended up on third base.
Mike Johnson came out of the Canadian bullpen to start the sixth and worked two perfect innings to seal the victory.
Against South Korea, Canada scored four runs in the fifth inning to take its second win of the day.
Andrew Albers got the start for the Canadians and pitched his second win of the tournament. He left the game after the fifth and was replaced by fellow Saskatchewan native Dustin Molleken, who came out for the sixth and seventh innings and kept the shutout intact.
The victory puts Canada's record at 4-2 in the second round. The Canadians will take on Cuba Friday where they must win to have any hope of playing in Saturday's gold medal game.
"It's going to be a tough game against Cuba," said Whitt. "They run, hit and hit for power. We're going to throw Shawn Hill at them and take our chances."