U18: Queensland 8-2 Victoria
A complete game from Jett Hasegawa anchors Queensland to a strong win on Diamond 1.
Hasegawa scattered five hits in seven innings, as he only gave up the one earned run in a fantastic performance.
Queensland scored five runs in the first two frames to gather early momentum, and three runs in the sixth proved vital, as they kept Victoria at bay throughout.
Alex Skepton lead the Queensland lineup with three hits and two RBI, while Callum MacDonald and Daniel Shannon finished with two hits apiece.
Kyle Morrison did his best to keep Victoria in the ballgame, striking out four and only giving up one hit in 2.2 relief innings.
Josh Meyer and Mohi Kahui each picked up an RBI for Victoria, but it wasn’t enough as Queensland began their second round off with a win.
U16: New South Wales Country 11-1 Victoria White
A fantastic start and tournament first highlighted New South Wales Country’s ten run win over Victoria White.
Luke Jacobs nailed the first inside the park home run of the tournament for Country, while Jack Grey’s start (3IP, 1H, 1ER, 5K) set his team up for victory.
Jacobs finished with a team-high three RBI, while Kyle Yeo, Brandon Tangaroa and Brent Iredale all drove in two runs apiece.
Mitchell Shane, Cal Vance and Kurtis Smith were the three Vic White players to claim base hits, but Country’s consistent scoring lead them to a big win.
U18: New South Wales 1-0 Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales scored their first and only run of the ballgame in the fourth which was enough as they snuck home against the ACT.
With two out in the fourth, Luis Gonzalez doubled to left field, was moved around to third and eventually stole home after a throwing error from the ACT catcher.
Both pitching staffs were strong throughout, as NSW reliever Sam Xotta finished the game with 5.1 scoreless innings of work.
Jordan Kelly and Cody Godbold claimed a hit and a walk apiece for the ACT, while Nick Graham only conceded one run in his four inning start.
Gonzalez’s double was the only extra base hit of the game, as Shannon Ward-Underhill, Rhys Dewick and Lachlan McCarthy all picked up singles for New South Wales.
U18: Victoria 1-0 South Australia
Both starting pitchers threw complete games in one of the most unique ballgames of the tournament so far as Victoria defeated South Australia by the slimmest of margins.
Blake Townsend struck out seven in a complete game shutout, while Australian U18 World Cup team member Ky Hampton struck out five and only allowed one run in the epitome of a pitching duel.
Sean Maple kept his strong tournament going with a pair of hits, while Conor Myles finished with two hits.
Chris Burke drove in the game's only run, scoring Josh Meyer care of an RBI single to left.
South Australia threatened with late baserunners, but Townsend did the job - as the Victorian lefty completed his second lights-out start of the tournament.
U18: Queensland 8-2 New South Wales Country
New South Wales Country struck first, but Queensland had the last laugh, claiming their second win of the day and moving one step closer to the gold medal game.
Tyson Zamora finished with two hits, two RBI and three stolen bases at the top of the Queensland lineup, while Duane Johannsen also finished with a pair of hits.
Callum Pike had a fantastic four innings relief effort for Queensland, only allowing three hits and keeping NSW Country hitters at bay throughout.
Rixon Wingrove continued his strong tournament with two hits and an RBI while Tristan Watts went 2-for-3 with a double.
Both teams finished with eight hits on the day, but Queensland made the most of runners in scoring position to get their second round off to a flying start.
U18: Western Australia 2-1 New South Wales
Western Australia and New South Wales played out a tight and tense encounter, before an extra innings go-ahead run saw WA claim a tight win.
Raleigh Pelkonen kept his cool in the bottom of the eighth, with the WA reliever not allowing a run in the extra inning, as Jett Wright made the game ending putout.
Both starting pitchers were strong in warm conditions, as WA pitcher Lachlan Waite (5.1IP, 4H, 0ER) and Lachlan Giulieri (7IP, 3H, 1ER, 1K) both did their best to quell the opposition’s offence.
Rhys Dewick was the only NSW hitter to finish with a hit and an RBI, while Daniel Bannon chimed in with a sixth inning double.
New South Wales had the winning run at third base in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t capitalize.
The extra inning wasn’t without drama, but Pelkonen kept his cool, claiming the final two outs with the bases loaded to give WA some momentum moving forward.
U16: Victoria Blue 3-2 South Australia
South Australia had the go-ahead run on base in the final inning, but a game-ending double play sealed a tense victory for Victoria Blue.
Victoria’s pitcher Dante Caruso caught a liner off the bat off Ethan Chuck then tossed it to shortstop to end complete the game-ending double play.
Earlier in the ballgame, Caruso went 2-for-2 with an RBI as Victoria Blue broke through in the third inning.
Charlie Collins set his team up with a scoreless three inning start, while Chris Nielsen worked hard in relief, only giving up one run in his three innings.
Jack Higginbotham kept his SA team in the ballgame throughout, going 5.2 strong, while with bat in hand, Jasper Clark and Jacob Scott picked up two hits apiece.
U16: New South Wales 10-0 Western Australia
New South Wales kept rolling on at the U16 Australian Youth Championship, defeating Western Australia for their ninth win in as many games.
Josh Pearl gave his team a great start on the mound, striking out three in two complete innings, and his offence clicked into gear early.
Jake Burns finished with a team high three RBI, while Solomon Maguire continued his excellent tournament.
Maguire went 3-for-3 with three doubles and two RBIs to lead the NSW offence.
New South Wales scored six of their ten runs in the second inning, as they carried that momentum throughout.
Elijah Hewett, Ben Drew and Dan Stephenson all managed two hits apiece for Western Australia, while on the mound, Josh Paull threw 2.1 outstanding innings to keep the red-hot NSW offence at bay.
U16: Queensland 4-3 Australian Capital Territory
The ACT scored three runs in the fourth, but at the end of the day it was Queensland who claimed a walk-off 4-3 win.
Riki Ward got ahold of a ball with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, scoring Harrison White with two outs to seal a memorable win.
Ward was also Queensland’s best hitter on the day, going 4-for-4 with a triple and the game-winning RBI.
Deegan Powell struck out five in 3.2 innings of strong relief, including a tense seventh inning to deprive the ACT of any runs.
Cleanup hitter Jack Mitchell finished with three hits for the ACT, while leadoff man James Warwick nailed a double and finished with a team high two RBI.
The ACT had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the seventh as they continued to threaten, but Queensland got the job done in a ballgame of exceptional quality.
U18: South Australia 9-7 New South Wales Country
A see-sawing affair put the exclamation point on a fantastic day of baseball, as South Australia kept their championship hopes alive with a 9-7 win.
Country scored two runs in the sixth inning, but Tyson McKee threw a pressure filled scoreless inning to end the ballgame.
Harry Knuckey and Brodie Arriola each drove in three runs for South Australia as they scored four runs in the fifth inning to break the game wide open.
Rixon Wingrove’s two run blast in the opening frame gave NSW Country the momentum as the U18 World Cup team member finished with four RBI on the night.
New South Wales Country made the most of their opportunities, plating seven runs from five hits, but South Australia had the final say as they remain in contention for Gold at the Australian Youth Championship.
Check out the schedule for the penultimate day of action here!