The 2022 Senior, Junior, and Intermediate League State Championships concluded on Monday with action-packed finals at Geelong Baseball Centre.
Congratulations to Eastern Athletics Senior and Junior League and Twins Intermediate League on their grand final wins!
Well done to all participants on a fantastic weekend of baseball, and a special thanks to all the wonderful volunteers from Guild All-Stars, Baycats, and East Belmont Saints who helped with the tournament!
Check out grand final recaps below and stay tuned for updates as first and second-place teams turn their attention to nationals.
Senior League
Baycats 9 v Southern Mariners 4
The third-place playoff saw Baycats get their first win on the board, even though Southern Mariners outhit them 11 to six.
Baycats scored in the second inning when Nyah O'Brien drew a bases-loaded walk, although Southern Mariners evened it up at one-all on an error.
Baycats pulled away for good with three runs in the third as Cade White singled on a 1-1 count and Harvey Elderfield grounded out to score runs. The side added three more in the sixth on another big hit from Elderfield.
Bradyn Barker got the start for Baycats. The fireballer went seven innings, allowing four runs on 11 hits, striking out one and walking one.
Ryan Williams led things off on the mound for Southern Mariners. The pitcher lasted three and a third innings, allowing three hits and four runs while striking out four. Liam Bald threw three and two-thirds innings out of the bullpen.
Southern Mariners tallied 11 hits on the day. Patrick Jones went 3-for-4 as Hayden Finney and Bald had multiple hits, too.
White and Elderfield had two hits apiece for Baycats.
Eastern Athletics 6 v Twins 5
The grand final came down to the wire as Eastern Athletics won on a dramatic walk-off single from Ryder Wilson. The game was tied at five apiece with Eastern batting in the bottom of the seventh when Wilson singled on a 0-2 count, scoring one run.
Twins scored on Logan O'Brien's single in the first, but soon fell behind as Eastern Athletics worked their way to a 4-1 lead. Twins kept the game alive by adding three runs in the sixth inning on RBIs from O'Brien and Will Gaskett.
Aiden Patterson led things off on the mound for Eastern Athletics. The bulldog surrendered one run on three hits over five innings, striking out five and walking one.
Lachlan Amon started the game for Twins. He gave up two runs on five hits over three and a third innings, striking out six. Nathan Rumbelow threw three and a third innings out of the bullpen.
Eastern Athletics racked up 11 hits, with Max Saggers going 3-for-3 as Jack Ratcliffe, Taran Rose, and Wilson had multiple hits, too. Eastern tore up the base paths as three players stole at least two bases, including Matthew Johnston with three.
Addison Bishop-Worn went 2-for-4 at the plate to lead Twins in hits.
Junior League
Baycats 8 v Twins 4
Baycats won 8-4 over Twins and wasted no time getting on the board, scoring in the first inning when Riley Peoples hit a solo homer. Twins quickly tied things up at one when Avanish Jaygan grounded out to bring home a run.
Baycats pulled away for good with two runs in the second inning. Emma Sullivan induced Toby Arnott to hit into a fielder's choice, but one run scored and Baycats added another on a stolen base.
Three more Baycats runs came in the fourth with RBIs from Patrick Johnson and Sid Grimmer.
Peoples led things off on the hill for Baycats. The ace surrendered three runs on two hits over five innings, striking out 12.
Sullivan pitched for Twins, allowing four hits and three runs over one and two-thirds innings, striking out two and walking one. Walter Le Ferve and Fletcher Wilson entered the game from the bullpen, throwing two and a third innings and one and two-thirds innings respectively.
Austin Caulfield and Jai DiBlasi had Twins' two hits of the day, while Baycats collected 10 hits total. Jordan Ellis went 3-for-4 as Allistaire Lang and Peoples had multiple hits on the day. The team stole nine bases, too.
Eastern Athletics 5 v Southern Mariners 1
Southern Mariners lost the lead late in a 5-1 defeat to Eastern Athletics in the grand final. The game was tied at one with Eastern Athletics batting in the top of the eighth when Declan Marshall drew a walk, scoring one run.
Southern Mariners got things started in the second inning as Brandon Elton singled on a 3-1 count to bring home a run. Eastern Athletics tied it up at one in the top of the third with a base on balls from Samuel Walk.
Jiaze Li led things off on the hill for Eastern Athletics, giving up one hit in a scoreless inning.
Robinson Smith was on the mound for Southern Mariners. Smith went six innings, allowing one run on four hits, striking out 12 and walking one. Hunter Richardson threw two innings in relief.
Elton led Southern Mariners with two of the team's five hits, while Ethan Johnston and Walk had multiple hits for Eastern Athletics. Johnston led the winning side with two stolen bases.
Eastern Athletics didn't commit a single error in the field as Zak Stafilis had eight chances, the most on the team.
Intermediate League
Southern Mariners 24 v Eastern Athletics 16
Five hits from Blake Ochoa helped Southern Mariners top Eastern Athletics 24-16 to book their spot in the grand final. Ochoa had singles in the first and second, followed by a triple in the third and two more base hits in the fourth and sixth.
Southern Mariners got the win despite giving up 14 runs in the second inning. Eastern Athletics' big inning included RBIs from Eric Webster, Thomas King, Darcy Squire, Noah Traplin, Angus Saggers, and Daniel Williams. It all started with Webster's groundout to score two runs.
Southern Mariners bounced back, tallying ten runs in the third inning on RBIs from Jack Thomas, Harrison Brodie, Euan Clarkin, Ochoa, Fielden, and Thomas. Three more runs came in the fourth as Lachie Wright drew a walk, scoring one run and Matthew Fielden grounded out, scoring another.
Clarkin took the mound for Southern Mariners and joined Ochoa, Ashley Hill, and Brodie with multiple hits. The Mariners stole 22 bases with seven players stealing more than one. Ochoa led the way with five.
Archie Shorland-Hooper, Saggers, and Squire handled pitching duties for Eastern as the side racked up 14 hits total. King went 4-for-5 with five stolen bases while William Ferguson and Saggers had multiple hits.
Twins 11 v Southern Mariners 7
Twins stole the lead late in the game in an 11-7 grand final victory over Southern Mariners. The game was tied at seven with Twins batting in the bottom of the fifth when Joseph Lotan laid down a sacrifice bunt, scoring one run.
Oliver Bergin led Twins to victory by driving in four runs, going 3-for-3 with a double in the third, a single in the fifth, and another base hit in the sixth.
Southern Mariners got on the board in the second inning when Jax Clarke singled on a 2-1 count, scoring one run.
Windsor Breckenridge got the start for Twins. The ace went five innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits and striking out eight.
Blake Ochoa toed the rubber for Southern Mariners. Ochoa went six innings, allowing 11 runs on 12 hits, striking out five and walking one.
Twins socked one home run on the day as Lotan had a four bagger in the second inning. The team had 12 hits total, including three apiece for Lachlan Brennan and Bergin.
Southern Mariners tallied eight hits with multiple hits from Ashley Hill and Clarke. Harrison Brodie led Southern Mariners with three stolen bases, as they ran wild on the base paths with 14 stolen bases total.