The 2024 Under 18 State Winter Championship is officially underway at Wangaratta Rangers Baseball Club from 6-7 July.
Bendigo, Geelong, Latrobe Valley, MWBL Diamond Valley, MWBL Ringwood, and host association North Eastern enjoyed an action-packed opening day with lots of high scores.
Stay tuned to BV Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates from the tournament and follow along on GameChanger - recaps are published below.
Geelong 21, North East 0
Riley Peoples collected four hits in four at-bats as Geelong defeated North East on Saturday. He had singles in the first, second, and third innings.
Geelong jumped out to an early lead after Bradyn Barker singled, scoring one run, Jordan Ellis doubled, scoring two runs, and Diego Appeldorff singled, scoring two runs. Tyson Sherry finished things off with a 2-RBI base hit.
Geelong added seven runs on five hits in the top of the second inning. Peoples, Rivi Zdravesk, Josef Glass, and Sherry all hit RBI singles. Thomas McKee and Barker drew bases-loaded walks before Ellis singled to bring home one more run.
Another five hits and seven runs came in the third. Cruz Appeldorff singled, scoring one run, Sherry drew a bases-loaded walk, and Ollie Gray induced Zack Hurstfield to hit into a fielder’s choice but one run scored. An error and RBI singles to Peoples and Zdraveski added to the tally.
McKee stepped on the hill first for Geelong, giving up zero hits over two scoreless innings, striking out three and walking one. Hurstfield threw one inning of no-run ball in relief with zero hits, a walk, and a strikeout.
Tanner Godenzi led things off on the bump for North East, giving up three hits and four runs.
Geelong accumulated 15 hits in the game, led by Sherry with four runs batted in on a 2-for-2 day. Zdraveski and Ellis had multiple hits while Barker and Tyson Bell took two walks each with 10 total on the day.
Sherry, Barker, Peoples, and Zdraveski each stole multiple bases as there were 12 overall.
Geelong’s defense turned one double play and didn’t make any errors as Barker had the most plays with four.
Ringwood 6, Diamond Valley 3
Ringwood was victorious against Diamond Valley 6-3 on Saturday. Ringwood got on board in the bottom of the first inning, scoring on a wild pitch and bases-loaded walk. They added one run in the third after Macy Priamo stole home.
Cameron Branson started the game for Ringwood with zero runs or hits, just two walks and five strikeouts over two innings. Priamo, Rui Ota, and Michael Bassi each appeared in relief.
Jesse Hando stepped on the hill first for Diamond Valley, giving up one hit and three runs over one inning with three walks and two strikeouts.
Matthew Brache, Patrick Watson, Blake Halupecki, Paul Schultz, and Berryman each collected one hit for Ringwood. Brache and Watson drove in one run.
Priamo took three of the team's seven walks and stole multiple bases alongside Brache, Archie Hooper, and Berryman. Ringwood stole 14 bases total.
Nate D'atri and Lincoln Dauparas each collected one hit for Diamond Valley while Diego Surace knocked in a run. D'atri and Ethan Raynor stole multiple bases with eight total in the game. The defense also turned a double play.
Latrobe Valley 12, Bendigo 4
Latrobe Valley defeated Bendigo 12-4 on Saturday thanks in part to seven runs in the third inning. Riley Duncan, Ryan Glass, and Harrison Kus drew bases-loaded walks before Jesse Wilson hit a 2-RBI double and Jarrod Thomas knocked in two on a single.
A base hit by Elliot Harrington put Bendigo on the board in the top of the second.
Latrobe Valley flipped the game on its head in the bottom of the second, scoring five runs on one hit to take a 5-1 lead. The biggest blow in the inning was a groundout by Wilson that drove in two.
Connor McKenzie stepped on the mound first for Latrobe Valley, allowing zero hits and one run over one and one-third innings, striking out three and walking none. Austin McConville pitched one inning of zero-run ball in relief with a hit, two walks, and two strikeouts.
Callum Bolton led things off on the hill for Bendigo, allowing one hit and two runs over one inning with two strikeouts and three walks.
Wilson provided pop in the middle of the lineup, leading Latrobe Valley with three runs batted in. The 3-hole hitter went 2-for-3 on the day. The team tallied 12 walks with two apiece for Kus, Liam Duncan, Michael Coulthard, and Thomas.
Kus, Thomas, and McConville stole multiple bases for Latrobe Valley with 10 overall.
Harrington, Bolton, and Lachlan Dennis each collected one hit for Bendigo while Josh Ralston batted in a run. Harrington stole two bases.
Bendigo didn't commit a single error in the field as Dennis had the most chances in the field with six.
Geelong 16, Bendigo 2
Luca Delaney drove in five runs on two hits to lead Geelong past Bendigo 16-2 on Saturday. Delaney doubled in the second scoring three and walked and tripled in the fourth to bring home two more.
Geelong got on board in the top of the first inning after Bradyn Barker hit a sacrifice fly and Bendigo dropped a third strike, each scoring one run.
Geelong scored seven runs on six hits in the top of the second inning. Thomas McKee doubled, scoring one run, Riley Peoples singled, scoring one run, and Delaney doubled, scoring three. An error and single by Tyson Sherry scored two more.
Geelong added seven runs on four hits in the top of the fourth inning. Delaney tripled, McKee doubled, and Zack Hurstfield singled, each scoring one run. Two errors and a bases-loaded walk added to the tally.
Spencer Tyers stepped on the mound first for Geelong, giving up one hit and two runs over one and one-third innings, striking out three and walking two. Sherry and Barker each came on in relief for Geelong to shutout the opposition.
Alaric Tibbett stepped on the bump first for Bendigo, giving up three earned runs over three and one-third innings with two strikeouts and three walks.
Geelong collected 13 hits in the game. Sherry, McKee, and Peoples collected three hits each while Hurstfield went 2-for-4. Sherry, Peoples, and Cruz Appeldorff stole multiple bases with eight total in the game.
Geelong didn't commit a single error in the field as Diego Appeldorff had the most chances with nine.
Cameron Brian and Elliot Harrington each collected one hit for Bendigo as the defense turned a double play.
Latrobe Valley 9, Diamond Valley 2
Latrobe Valley took care of business 9-2 over Diamond Valley. A single by Jesse Hando put DV on board in the top of the first, although LV quickly tied it up on a wild pitch in the bottom frame.
In the bottom of the third, LV broke up the tie when a wild pitch scored one run. Then a walk by Rhys McKenzie followed to extend the lead to 3-1.
Jarrod Thomas started on the bump for LV, giving up one hit and one run (zero earned) over two innings, striking out four and walking two. Jack Thomas threw one inning of no-run ball in relief with no hits or walks and one strikeout.
Joshua Antonacci started the game for DV, giving up zero hits and one run over two innings, striking out two and walking two.
Jesse Wilson drove the middle of the lineup, leading LV with two runs batted in on a 1-for-3 day. Austin McConville set the tone at the top of the lineup, leading LV with two hits in three at-bats.
The winning side had patience at the plate, tallying nine walks with two apiece for McKenzie and Thomas. Thomas and McConville stole multiple bases with 11 overall.
Hando and Antonacci were a force together in the lineup, collecting one hit for DV. The defence was sure-handed in the field and didn't commit a single error as Samuel Blakely had the most chances with three.
Ringwood 16, North East 10
Bats were blistered as Ringwood bested North East 16-10. Ringwood collected six hits and North East had five.
Ringwood scored in the top of the first inning after a couple of errors and bases-loaded walks.
Ringwood scored seven runs on four hits in the top of the second inning. Sutherland singled, scoring two runs, Aiden Burt hit a sacrifice fly, scoring one, and Paul Schultz singled to bring home another. Hayley Mather singled to score a run and Patrick Watson hit a 2-RBI double, too.
North East scored five runs on one hit in the bottom of the second inning. Mikayla Jonker and Liam Quinton drew bases-loaded walks while Blake Boon hit an RBI single and Makayla Pool grounded out to score one.
Ringwood scored seven runs on two hits in the top of the third. Burt singled, scoring three runs, before an error, bases-loaded walk, and wild pitch scored three more. Cameron Branson wrapped it up with an RBI single.
Archie Hooper opened the game for Ringwood, giving up four hits and four runs (one earned) over one inning, striking out two and walking none. Zach Berryman appeared in relief.
Michael Nistico stepped on the mound first for North East, giving up zero hits and five runs (one earned) over one-third of an inning, striking out one and walking three.
Branson, Mather, Watson, Schultz, Sutherland, and Burt each collected one hit for Ringwood. Sutherland and Burt were tough to handle back-to-back in the lineup, both driving in two runs.
Brache paced Ringwood with three out of 10 walks while Branson, Brache, Priamo, Blake Halupecki, Schultz, and Sutherland stole multiple bases (21 total in the game).
Pool led North East with two runs batted in from the number seven spot in the lineup. The infielder went 1-for-2 on the day. Pool, Jonker, Boon, Angus Weal, and Nistico collected one hit.
Oscar Maiden, Jonker, Boon, Weal, and Quinton each stole multiple bases for North East with 17 overall.
North East 15, Diamond Valley 13
There were runs aplenty on Saturday as North East beat Diamon Valley 15-13. North East collected six hits while Diamond Valley had five.
Despite falling down by nine runs in the third inning, Diamond Valley fought back, closing the gap on a couple of errors and a single.
North East got on board in the top of the first after a string of bases-loaded walks and a RBI groundout by Lachlan Rosser. A walk by Jonker an an error saw them exten their lead in the second.
North East scored six runs on three hits in the top of the third inning. Austin Clear singled, scoring two runs, Ollie Gray doubled, scoring two runs, an error scored a run, and Clear took a bases-loaded walk.
Diamond Valley scored seven runs on three hits in the bottom of the third inning. Kay-er Yang hit a 2-RBI single and errors added to the tally as well.
Rosser stepped on the hill first for North East, giving up one hit and six runs (five earned) with a strikeout. Luca Barthelmes appeared in relief.
Jordan Bell pitched first for Diamond Valley, giving up one hit and six earned runs with a strikeout.
Outfielder Gray provided pop in the middle of the lineup, leading North East with two runs batted in on a 1-for-1 day. Clear and Barthelmes collected two hits apiece while the team took 13 walks. Clear, Tanner Godenzi, Gray, and Jonker led the team with two free passes each.
Rosser, Clear, Wells, Godenzi, and Jonker stole multiple bases with 17 total in the game.
Leadoff hitter Nate D'atri led Diamond Valley with two hits in two at-bats. Jai Mithen and Yang each drove in two runs while the team took eight walks, two apiece for Mithen and Joshua Antonacci. D'atri, Jesse Hando, Lincoln Dauparas, and Yang stole multiple bases with 11 in the game.
Bendigo 14, Ringwood 13
Despite trailing by as many as seven runs, Bendigo rallied to beat Ringwood 14-13 on Saturday. Both sides had four hits in the game.
Ringwood jumped out to the lead in the top of the first after Cameron Branson drew a bases-loaded walk and Ebony Sutherland hit a 2-RBI single. An error, wild pitch, and a walk also scored runs.
Bendigo flipped the game on its head in the bottom of the first, scoring eight runs on two hits to take an 8-7 lead. The biggest blow in the inning was a double by Callum Bolton that drove in two.
Ringwood retook the lead by scoring six runs in the second, making it 13-8. The biggest blow in the inning was a single by Watson that drove in three.
Bendigo made it 14-13 their next turn up with six more runs, including a single by Marcus Murphy on an 0-2 count that drove in three.
Paul Schultz led things off on the hill for Ringwood, striking out two in one and one-third innings before Elliot Harrington and James Grainger appeared in relief.
Bolton drove the middle of the lineup, leading Bendigo with three runs batted in. The first baseman went 2-for-2 on the day.
Bendigo took 12 walks with two bases on balls for Deon Strahan, Travis Shanahan, Hudson Castle, Grainger, and Josh Ralston. Strahan, Bolton, Shanahan, Castle, Grainger, and Ralston also stole multiple bases with 18 total in the game.
Watson, the number seven hitter for Ringwood, led the way with four runs batted in. Blake Halupecki, Sutherland, and Berryman also had one hit.
Ringwood took 10 walks in the game with two for Branson, who also had multiple stolen bases along with Watson, Rui Ota, Sutherland, and Berryman with 19 total in the game.
Geelong 18, Latrobe Valley 3
Geelong won big over Latrobe Valley 18-3 on Saturday. LV got on board in the top of the first inning after Jesse Wilson and Jarrod Thomas took bases-loaded walks and a wild pitch scored another.
Geelong flipped the game on its head in the bottom of the first, scoring seven runs on three hits to take a 7-3 lead. The biggest blow in the inning was a single by Diego Appeldorff that drove in two.
Geelong scored seven runs on one hit in the bottom of the second inning. Two errors, two bases-loaded walks, an a Josef Glass RBI single brought home runs.
Four more Geelong runs crossed the plate in the third inning to extend the lead to 18-3. Riley Peoples hit a solo home run to left field, Tyers drew a bases-loaded walk, and Thomas McKee doubled, scoring two runs.
Jordan Ellis started on the mound for Geelong, giving up zero hits and three runs over three innings, striking out seven and walking six.
Kaiden Hicks stepped on the mound first for Latrobe Valley, giving up three hits and seven runs (six earned) over one-third of an inning, striking out one and walking three.
McKee, Appeldorff, and Tyers each drove in two runs for Geelong. Peoples led with two hits in three at-bats while McKee took three of the team's 11 walks. Rivi Zdraveski stole two bases with seven total in the game.
Geelong didn't commit a single error in the field as Appeldorff had the most chances with seven.
Thomas paced Latrobe Valley with two out of six walks and a pair of stolen bases.
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