Photo: Cheltenham Baseball Club
100 Little Leaguers took to the field for the opening day of the 2021 Little League State Championships at Cheltenham Baseball Club.
The standings after the first day of play are:
Little League Major
- Eastern Athletics (1-0)
- Southern Mariners (1-0)
- Twins (1-1)
- Geelong Baycats (0-2)
Little League Development
- Twins (2-0)
- Eastern Athletics (1-1)
- Southern Mariners (0-2)
Click HERE to view the official tournament page with updates and GameChanger links.
Little League Major
Southern Mariners 7 - Twins 6
Southern Mariners nabbed the lead late in the game, claiming a 7-6 victory over the Twins. The game was tied at six-all with the Mariners batting in the bottom of the fifth when Ned Richards drew a walk to score a run.
The Twins scored five runs in the fourth inning but the Mariners still managed to pull out the victory. The big innings for the Twins came thanks to singles by Lachlan Brennan, Charlie Davenport and Brody Stokes.
The Mariners got their offense started in the first when Euan Clarkin grounded out to score a run.
Brooklyn Riwaka led things off on the mound for the Mariners, surrendering one run on one hit over two innings, striking out five.
Windsor Breckenridge started for the Twins, giving up one run on one hit over three innings, striking out four. Cooper Bishop-Worn and Roman Coote entered the game as relief.
Southern Mariners tallied one home run on the day – Mitch Langworthy connecting well in the fourth inning.
Jarvis Johansen went two from three at the plate to lead the Mariners while Bishop-Worn lead Twins in hits with two in two at bats.
Eastern Athletics 15 - Geelong Baycats 0
It was an impressive outing for Eastern Athletics, securing a big shutout victory over Geelong, 15-0.
The game started off with the Athletics claiming a three-up, three-out display of the Baycats batters. The bottom of the frame saw the Athletics plate seven runs, helped by two walks to start the inning.
Ethan Nakamura got the first hit of the game, hitting a triple on a ball that sailed into left field, scoring one run in the process. Nakamura scored next on a wild pitch. Another walk and a catcher's interference saw the bases loaded but the Athletics scored two more after a fielder's choice. They tacked on another two before Lachie Kilmartin was caught stealing second to end the inning.
The second inning started well for Geelong, Beau Spencer doubling on a hard hit that could've seen the Baycats' fortunes change. However, a tight defense from the Athletics resulted in three quick outs.
The Athletics lead grew to 13 by the end of the second inning, a Kycen Dowling double kicking things off. Nakamura grounded out but not before Dowling reached third, and he later scored on a error.
The Athletics were down to two outs when Angus Saggers grounded out, but the side knuckled down and back-to-back singles from Denzel Wynne-Primus and Tom King scored two more runs.
Darcy Squire doubled next to score King, and then Squire came home on a Oliver Allen single. Minsung Shin was walked and advanced to third on a Dowling double that saw Allen score. Finally, Geelong was able to record the final out.
Arnott struck out to start Geelong's third chance at the plate, but a single to Ash Kaberry and walk to Archillies Baumann saw some baserunners on for the Baycats. Unfortunately for the side, the Atheltics got the final two outs before either runner could advance or score.
A walk to Cooper Busch, a single to Saggers, and a walk to Scott Takairangi saw bases loaded for the Athletics. King singled on a line drive to left field which allowed Busch and Saggers to score, ending the game in the Athletics’ favour.
Dowling and King each lead the way for the Athletics with two hits, King claiming three RBIs and Harvey Devlin two RBIs.
Brodie Trevean saw two innings on the mound for the Athletics, claiming one strikeout. Saggers pitched one innings for two strikeouts. Theo Hedt plied his trade on the mound in one and two-thirds innings for Geelong.
Twins 15 - Geelong Baycats 5
The Twins claimed a 15-5 victory over Geelong, despite the Baycats fighting back throughout the fourth inning.
The Twins' nine-run fourth inning was led by Joseph Lotan, Oliver Bergin, Lachlan Brennan, Samuel Land, Andrew Zdihan and Sawyer Fisher, all knocking in runs through the frame.
Roman Coote singled in the first inning for the Twins that kickstarted their runs tally.
The Twins racked up 11 hits in the game as Windsor Breckenridge went 3-for-4 and Land and Zdihan had multiple hits too. Three players stole at least two bases, Lotan leading the way with three stolen bases.
Beau Spencer, Tylah Laurie and Toby Arnott tried their hardest in the fourth inning to bring Geelong back into the game, all driving in runs.
Oliver Baillargeon was on the mound for Twins, lasting one and two-thirds innings, giving up zero runs on zero hits while striking out one. Cale Morris came in from the bullpen in relief.
Laurie had the ball in hand to start the Baycats defensive innings, allowing one hit and two runs over two innings with two strikeouts.
Little League Development
Southern Mariners 6 - Twins 7
The Twins seized victory in dramatic walk-off fashion, thanks to an Olivia Walker single that ended the game to topple the Mariners. The game was tied at six-apiece with Twins batting in the bottom of the fifth when the winning run scored.
The Twins got things started in the first inning when Reeve Hammond drew a walk, scoring a run. The team collected three hits in total from Harry Davenport, Maisen Ricketts and Walker. The Mariners had four hits over the course of the game.
Walker led things off on the pitcher's mound for Twins, surrendering six runs on four hits over three and two-thirds innings, striking out five. The Twins backed up their pitcher in the field, with no errors committed.
Chase Potts started the game for the Mariners, going one-third of an inning and allowing three runs on zero hits. Hunter Rouse, Charlie Waugh and Ryder Ochoa each contributed in relief for the Mariners.
Eastern Athletics 13 - Southern Mariners 7
The Athletics claimed a 13-7 victory, despite a big push by Southern Mariners in the fourth inning.
The Mariners fired up the offense in the first as Connor Mckenzie drew a walk, scoring a run.
However, the Athletics pulled away with five runs in the second inning. Jonathan Ryan, Sam Stafilis and Harry Govenlock each drew walks that scored runs while Nathan Healy and Matthew Gooden had RBI singles.
The Athletics kept the offence going with five runs in the fourth inning – Angus Friend, Cooper Box, Healy and Govenlock all driving in runs.
There was plenty of action on the basepaths as the Athletics collected six hits from Flynn Gallagher, Nathan Clark, William Ferguson, Healy, Gooden and Friend.
The Mariners recorded four hits over the course of the game. Kai Cottam, Grayson Corrington, Cooper Gust, and Charlie Waugh each had RBIs in the fourth inning for the Mariners.
Govenlock led things off on the mound for the Athletics, surrendering three runs on one hit over one and one-third innings, striking out one batter.
Mckenzie pitched one inning for the Mariners, allowing two hits and two runs, striking out two. Xander LaPrade, Corrington, Gust and Cottam pitched in relief.
Eastern Athletics 9 - Twins 11
Eastern Athletics fought back from down seven runs in the third inning but came up just short, as they fell 11-9 to Twins on Friday. The Athletics scored five runs in the failed comeback on a walk by Harry Govenlock and an error in the third and a stolen base by Nathan Healy in the fourth.
Despite the loss, the Athletics did collect five hits in the high-scoring affair, while the Twins had seven on the way to victory.
The Twins got things moving in the first inning, when Cruise Chase-Tukapua grounded out, scoring one run. They added five in the second on RBIs from Olivia Walker, Nikau Galligan, and Maisen Ricketts.
The Athletics tallied five runs in the third inning with RBIs from Govenlock and Angus Friend.
Kieran Hurlestone led things off on the hill for the Twins. The bulldog lasted two-thirds of an inning, allowing zero hits and one run.
William Ferguson was on the pitcher's mound for the Athletics. The pitcher allowed five hits and seven runs over one and one-third innings, striking out one. Flynn Gallagher, Cooper Box, Reiley Marshall, and Nathan Clark each entered the game as relief, throwing one inning, two-thirds of an inning, two-thirds of an inning, and one-third of an inning respectively.
Marshall went 2-for-2 at the plate to lead the Athletics in hits. They tore up the base paths, as two players stole at least two bases. Marshall led the way with two.
Ricketts led the Twins with two hits in two at bats. The Twins stole ten bases during the game as three players stole more than one. Hurlestone led the way with two.
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