Ringwood Districts 7 Defeated Diamond Valley 5
Under 14 State Championships Game 13 Ringwood Districts 7 defeated Diamond Valley 5
Ringwood and Diamond Valley both came into the game evenly poised at 2 wins and a loss after Day 1 of the Under 14 State Championships. It was cold wet and foggy but that only applied to the weather. Both teams knew that this game was effectively an elimination final and it hotted up from the start. Ringwood seemed to have the edge for most of the game but Diamond Valley didn't see it that way and pulled out some great 2 out batting and a clutch bang bang double play late in the game.
It was all tied up at one run all after the 1st innings, then Ringwood scored a second run in the 2nd and McKenzie Salmon (in green) blew it out with a 2 run home run bomb, to take his teams’ tally to 4.
The first pitching change came when Clute took the mound from Hargreaves for Diamond Valley and got the last out catching a batter looking at a low and away pitch.
Ringwood caught a runner stealing 2nd and looked in control, but Ewings and Cookson for Diamond Valley hit with 2 out, to have two runners in scoring position for Hargreaves. He walked to load them for Clute who worked the count full then walked in a run. Diamond Valley left bases loaded and Ringwood went into the 3rd leading by 2 runs.
Skinner of Diamond Valley made a good play at shortstop for the last out in the top of the 3rd, and his team had all the work to do. Diamond Valley forced the 1st pitching change when Jones vacated after a top effort on the hill. Diamond Valley then closed the gap to just two runs and upped the tension when they scored on a wild pitch. Keyhoe who came to the hill for Ringwood with two out and halted the scoring there with 15 minutes to play.
The bats were still aggressive for Ringwood in the top of the last. Busch stole and Hosking bunted beautifully into the gap to move him to 3rd. Pahos singled and scored the light-footed runner to reinstate the lead to 3 runs. However, Diamond Valley again showed real class in the field with a tight 4-6-3 double play (probably the best of the tournament). Both teams knew they had 10 minutes to go with their place in the championship on the line. Diamond Valley needed to score 4 to win and Ringwood needed 3 outs.
Another pitching change brought Keam to the hill for Ringwood. Diamond Valley got the tying run to the plate with one out and scored on a 1st and 3rd steal with 2 minutes of regular time left. The crowd was tense but that’s where the ledger stayed as Ringwood held their nerve for the win. The final score in a well played, high-pressure and entertaining game was 7-5. Ringwood go on to play off against Dandenong Red in the last round-robin game at 1.30pm. That match will decide the Division 1 Championship for 2014.
By Cam Gleeson
(follow on Twitter @valiantcam)