Manly 6-3 Gold Coast Pirates
Despite a fantastic effort from the Gold Coast Pirates, Manly scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to escape with a tight 6-3 victory.
Toby White was exceptional in his start for Manly, striking out seven and only giving up one hit across four innings. Manly manufactured some big innings with bat in hand, as Tom Newbold lead the way with two home runs. Both of Newbold’s shots were to centrefield, one was a solo homer, with the other driving in his brother Zac.
Ryu Otsu claimed a hit and an RBI for Gold Coast in the leadoff spot, with Ian Lee and Jasper King picking up the Pirates other two hits.
The Pirates took an early 3-1 lead before Manly clawed two runs back in the third inning. The middle innings proved pitching and defence friendly before three runs in the bottom of the sixth gave Manly an insurmountable lead. Carlos Jorges put the exclamation point on the ballgame with a two RBI triple to push the lead to three for Manly.
Southern Mariners 6-5 Ryde
In one of the games of the tournament thus far, the Southern Mariners ended the game with a fantastic double play to defeat Ryde 6-5.
Adam Harris was fantastic for the Mariners against a strong Ryde lineup, striking out seven and only giving up two earned runs across his four innings.
James Nati and Ewan Ney both claimed two hits for Ryde, with Ney driving in two of Ryde’s five runs.
The Mariners tacked on four runs in the opening frame of the ballgame, however in a topsy-turvy encounter, Ryde scored the next four to tie the ballgame.
Jacob Bald came into the game in a pressure situation for the Mariners and thrived, striking out two in his scoreless relief inning.
Ryde threatened in the final frame getting within one, however the middle of the Mariners infield turned a game ending double play to seal a hard-fought win.
Eastern Phantoms 16-14 Canberra
The Eastern Phantoms plated six runs in the first frame and withstood a strong Canberra comeback to claim a 16-14 victory.
Tyler Brooks struck out six in only 2.1 innings of work for the Phantoms, and as well as performing with ball in hand, he swung the bat well too, knocking in two runs care of a triple in the bottom of the fifth.
Caiden Deal and Hudson Bos each drove in three RBI for the Phantoms, while for Canberra, James Warwick lead the way going 3-for-4 with three RBI.
Lachlan Ives also hit well for the team from the nation’s capital, driving in three runs from his three hits. Ives and his teammates rallied late in the ballgame as they put up seven runs in the final two innings, however it was too little too late, as the Phantoms made the most of their hits to pick up a narrow win.
Swan Hills 16-0 Gold Coast Mariners
Swan Hills scored early and often to shut-out the Gold Coast Mariners 16-0.
Dan Carter legged his two hits into doubles, driving in three runs in the process. The top third of the Swans lineup did the majority of the damage, with Max Chipper going 4-for-5 with four RBI.
Ethan Clarke claimed all three hits for the Mariners in the leadoff position, while the remainder of the Mariners lineup showed patience to draw five walks.
Swan Hills used their pitchers sparingly, as they only gave up three hits across five innings. Jordan Shillingford only gave up one hit and struck out three in his 1.2 inning start.
Hills 6-1 Adelaide Waves
The Waves took it up to a dominant Hills lineup, however the side from NSW used a large second inning to claim a 6-1 win and seal their place as the top seed in their pool.
Hills reliever Lianna Davidson was exceptional on the mound, with the Australian Youth Women’s Golden Arm winner only giving up one hit in her three innings of work.
After starting pitcher Jack Higginbotham was forced to exit the game due to a line drive that hit him on the elbow. Dayton Mitchell relieved him and threw exceptionally well, only giving up one run and striking out three in 4.1 innings.
Hits were shared for Hills, with Soloman Maguire and Sam McGoldrick driving in two runs each.
That victory sees Hills qualify as the number one seed from their pool regardless of their result tomorrow.
Cronulla 11-0 Adelaide Pirates
Defending champions Cronulla kept their undefeated tournament alive after their second consecutive shutout.
Ethan Badcock was amazing for the Pirates, keeping the red hot Cronulla offence at bay, striking out five and only giving up one earned run in 2.2 innings.
The trio of Josh Pearl, Myles Chabi and Luke Krkovski struck out a combined 17 Pirates, with Pearl shining with bat in hand, going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI. Blake Cavill nailed a home run, while Dan Cummings also drove in a pair of runs.
Cronulla will look to maintain their undefeated tournament and remain in contention to go back-to-back and represent the Australia Region at the Junior League World Series.
Central Firebirds 18-4 Brisbane Metro
Ben Drew created history as the first player to nail a home run on Diamond 1 at the 2017 edition of the Australian Junior League Championship.
Drew finished with a home run, a triple and three RBI while Connor Chehab also picked up a bases clearing triple to extend the Firebirds lead. Taiyo Kurosawa hit well from the nine hole, going 4-for-4 including an inside the park home run in the top of the fifth.
Brisbane Metro showed patience and power at the plate, drawing eight walks from the Firebirds pitching staff. Dom French, Gabriel Valdez and Sam Campion picked up the hits for Brisbane Metro, while Ryne Zaryc and Tommy Kenyon drew two walks each.
Northern Metros 19-4 Eastern Athletics
The final game of the day saw the Northern Metros score early and often to claim a 19-4 victory over the Eastern Athletics.
Henry Hayman was the only Athletics player to pick up two hits, while a 2RBI double from Sadi Nergiz in the bottom of the fifth gave the Athletics some confidence heading into the final day of pool play.
The top half of the Metros lineup again did the damage with Javier Pelkonen and Tarrant Reimers both claiming four RBI each. Carter Dowling was near perfect in the leadoff spot, going 4-for-5 with a single, a double, a triple and three RBI.
Reimers also gave the Metros the initial momentum, striking out seven and only giving up two hits in his three inning start.