JUPITER, Fla. — Of all the things Lars Nootbaar has jumpstarted during his fantastic voyage abroad for the World Baseball Classic — little leaguers in Tokyo and Shohei Ohtani doing his pepper-grinder celebration, dugout speeches to rally teammates — among the most notable is Team Japan’s offense.
As the national club’s center fielder and leadoff hitter, Nootbaar finished Sunday’s 7-1 victory against Australia leading the tournament in runs scored, with seven. He reached base three times in the win Sunday as unbeaten Japan advanced out of pool play. Through four games, Nootbaar is six for 14 with four walks and 11 times on base for a .