The 2021 Under 16 State Winter Championships wrapped up on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Sale, with Geelong taking out the championship following a 10-1 win over Ringwood. Latrobe Valley finished in third place, Bendigo in fourth, and City West in fifth.
Wellington Shire Councillor Ian Bye was on hand to present medals as Geelong's Tanner Stack was earned MVP honours. Stack batted .636 with five singles, two doubles, 7 RBIs, and 10 runs scored throughout the tournament.
Congratulations to Geelong and well done to all players and teams on a great weekend of baseball!
Ringwood 4 v Geelong 14
Ringwood fell behind early and couldn't come back in a 14-4 loss to Geelong on Sunday morning. Geelong took the lead on a single from Macks Powell in the first inning and Ringwood struggled to contain the high-powered offense.
Ringwood scored three runs in the third inning with a single by Charles Mills and a double by Matthew Butler.
Geelong scored five runs in the fourth inning, led by Tanner Stack and Addison Bishop-Worn with RBIs.
Cade White got the start for Geelong. The pitcher allowed three hits and four runs over two and two-thirds innings, striking out four.
Ethan Jenkins was on the hill for Ringwood. The bulldog lasted one inning, allowing seven hits and four runs while striking out one. Tyler Kilby threw two innings out of the bullpen.
Butler, Mills, and Ash Geary-Smith all had one hit to lead Ringwood.
Geelong scattered 14 hits in the game including multiple from Stack, Powell, and White. Stack went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead Geelong in hits and also stole two of the team's six stolen bases.
Bendigo 9 v City West 0 - forfeit
Both sides put together lots of offence in this back-and-forth game.
Bendigo took the lead in the first when Callum Bolton drew a walk to score a run. After City West scored two runs in the top of the fourth on a Fletcher Wilson single, Bendigo answered with two of their own as Power doubled on a 0-1 count. Power recorded an RBI and so did Ryan Kinkade after singling on a 1-1 count.
A single by Cooper Bishop-Worn in the first inning was a positive for City West.
Nicholas Walker toed the rubber for Bendigo. The ace lasted two innings, allowing three hits and one run while striking out one and walking one.
Wilson led things off on the pitcher's mound for City West. Wilson allowed nine hits and six runs over three and a third innings, striking out six.
Bendigo had nine hits in the game. Jorden Doherty, Logan Van Der Hagen, and Kinkade each racked up multiple hits as Doherty led the way with a 3-for-3 game. Bendigo didn't commit a single error in the field and Kinkade had the most fielding chances with four.
Daniel Crichton led City West with two hits in three at bats while Rivi Zdraveski had a 2-RBI single. City West stole eight bases during the game as two players stole more than one. Thomas McKee led the way with two.
The final result was a forfeit by City West due to a pitching breach.
Latrobe Valley 10 v City West 3
Latrobe Valley cruised to a big victory over City West 10-3 on Sunday, although City West struck first with a groundout from Daniel Crichton to score in the first
Jesse Wilson toed the rubber for Latrobe Valley. The fireballer surrendered one run on zero hits over one inning.
Baili Quach was on the hill for City West, allowing one hit and five runs. Cooper Bishop-Worn and Rui Ota entered the game from the bullpen, throwing one and two-thirds innings and one inning respectively.
Jack Thomas led Latrobe Valley with two hits in two at bats. The side tore the base paths, as four players stole at least two bases. Austin McConville led the way with three.
Bendigo 0 v Ringwood 15
Bendigo had a tough time generating runs on Saturday, dropping their game with Ringwood 15-0.
One bright spot for Bendigo was a single by Jack Hooper in the second inning.
Tristan Wainwright led things off on the hill for Ringwood. The pitcher lasted three innings, allowing one hit and zero runs while striking out seven and walking one.
Marcus Murphy threw one-third of an inning for Bendigo, allowing five runs on two hits, striking out one and walking one. Tayte Cottingham threw one-third of an inning in relief out of the bullpen.
Ringwood didn't commit a single error in the field as Sam Walk had the most chances with six. The side stole ten bases during the game as three players stole more than one. Riley Johnson led the way with three.
Latrobe Valley 7 v Bendigo 2
Latrobe Valley was victorious over Bendigo 7-2 in the final for third place.
Rhys McKenzie led things off on the hill for Latrobe Valley. The pitcher went three innings, allowing two runs on one hit with four strikeouts.
Jesse Hando was on the hill for Bendigo. The bulldog allowed one hit and five runs over one inning, striking out two. Callum Bolton threw one and two-thirds innings in relief.
Austin McConville, Riley Jackway, and Darcy Cumming each collected one hit to lead Latrobe Valley. The winning side didn't commit a single error in the field as Malachi Dillon had the most chances with six. Latrobe Valley also stole eight bases during the game as two players stole more than one. Jarrod Thomas led the way with two.
Logan Van Der Hagen went 1-for-2 at the plate to lead Bendigo in hits.
Geelong 10 v Ringwood 1
Geelong beat Ringwood for the second time today to secure the Under 16 State Winter Championship.
Ringwood got their offense started when Charles Mills doubled on a 3-2 count, scoring one run. Geelong evened things up at one in the bottom of the second inning, scoring on a Cade White single.
The game was tied at one with Geelong batting in the bottom of the third when Harvey Elderfield doubled on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring one run.
Addison Bishop-Worn led things off on the hill for Geelong, allowing two hits and one run over three innings, striking out five.
Aaron Moffitt toed the rubber for Ringwood, surrendering five runs on six hits over two innings, striking out four and walking zero. Matthew Butler threw two-thirds of an inning in relief out of the bullpen.
Geelong racked up eight hits in the game. Elderfield and Christian Sollberger each collected multiple hits for Geelong. Elderfield led Geelong with three hits in three at bats.