Northern Metros will represent Australia region at the Little League Intermediate (50/70) Baseball Division World Series in the US for a second-straight year.
The Metros punched their ticket to next month’s World Series in Livermore, California, with an 8-2 victory over Hills in the 2019 Australian Intermediate League Championship gold medal game in Mildura this afternoon.
Jack Angeloff’s first-inning single handed Northern an early lead over previously undefeated Hills.
The Metros added to their advantage in the second, piling on six runs.
Angeloff, Dawson George and Xavier Fatai drove in runs for Northern ahead of an error and wild pitch extending their lead to 7-0.
Hills’ red-hot offence was unable to fire for the first time all week.
An error put Hills on the board in the fourth as they battled to string together hits against Angeloff.
The Metros’ starter struck out six batters in four innings.
Bailey Parcel scored a second run for Hills after Hayden Chappell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth.
Angeloff drove in his third run of the ballgame with a triple in the top of the seventh to restore a six-run lead for Northern.
Hayden Elliott toiled hard on the mound for Hills, striking out eight in 4 2/3 innings.
The Metros will represent Australia region at the World Series for a second time after claiming the inaugural Australian Intermediate League Championship last year.
Catch up on the rest of the day five action:
Bronze medal game: Manly 12, Ryde Hawks 5 | Box Score
An impressive outing from Daniel Mills and steady offence helped Manly claim bronze at #AILC2019.
Mills struck out 10 and was only replaced on the mound in the bottom of the seventh as he helped Manly to a 12-5 win over Ryde.
Manly’s offence delivered in bursts, scoring three in the third, fifth and seventh.
Toby Russell drove in three runs and Kane Flew two.
Cooper Wilson and Thomas O’Brien drove in runs for Ryde.
Ryde took an early 3-1 lead before Manly hit the front in the third.
Western Comets 8, Twins 5 | Box Score
Western Comets rode a fast start to an 8-5 win over Twins in their #AILC2019 consolation game.
The Comets built a 6-1 lead after two innings and kept the Twins at bay on diamond two.
Campbell Froude drove in a game-high four runs for Western on three base hits.
Jousha Voute also collected three hits for the Comets.
Froude also picked up five strikeouts on the mound, while Miller Wortley had seven punchouts for the Twins.
Eastern Athletics 13, Southern Mariners 6 | Box Score
Eastern Athletics wrapped up their #AILC2019 campaign with back-to-back wins after downing Southern Mariners.
The Athletics took the ascendancy early and padded their lead late, winning 13-6 on diamond three.
Ashley Geary-Smith finished with three runs batted in and Max Saggers, Ryder Wilson and and Ethan Jenkins each drove in a pair of runs.
Sidney Stillwell plated two of Southern’s runs.
Western Comets 12, Western Suns 4 | Box Score
Western Comets scored eight unanswered runs to record a consolation game win over Western Suns.
The Comets pulled away to win 12-4 after breaking a tie with three runs in the third.
Jesse Neretlis led the offence with three runs batted in and Jake Micah and Daniel Papiccio drove in two runs each.
Felix Kingston drove in two runs for Western Suns.
Head to the #AILC2019 tournament page for results all the latest news from Mildura.