Hills 11-0 Central Firebirds
The defending champions picked up right where they left off, defeating the Central Firebirds 11-0 in five innings to begin the tournament.
Eight runs in the first two innings saw Hills provide their pitchers some solid run support, and they never looked back.
Tom Stancic and Harrison Wheeldon combined to strike out five and only allow three baserunners in the first two frames, while a strong relief outing from Cody Brian (2.2IP, 2H, 3K) kept the Firebirds offence at bay.
The top third of the lineup did the majority of the damage for Hills, with Ethan Treble, Harry Wheeldon and Stephen Courtney combining for seven hits and five RBI.
Callum Plant picked up two hits for the Firebirds, with Peter Alexander and Jai Hewitt also claiming a base hit each.
Illawarra 5-4 Macarthur
At their first game at the Bendigo Bank Australian Little League Championship since 2011, Illawarra claimed a narrow 5-4 victory over Macarthur.
Both teams scored three in the first frame, however Illawarra scored a pair of runs in the middle innings and held on to pick up their first win of the tournament.
Mitchell Wheatley went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, while Liam Herbert played his role of leadoff hitter well, picking up two hits and a walk.
Owen Glover, Blake Gooding and Jesse Toon claimed two hits each for Macarthur, as Toon showed his skills on the mound too, striking out three in his relief inning.
Macarthur's bats fired early, however an amazing relief outing from Zach Cole kept the Macarthur side at bay, and lead his team to a historic victory.
Canberra 9-8 Brisbane Metro
Macks Powell played the hero, as he nailed a walk-off double to pick up a narrow 9-8 victory against Brisbane Metro.
Canberra was down by one heading into the final frame, however back-to-back RBI doubles from Will Page-Allen and Powell saw Canberra draw level, then pick up a walk-off victory.
Brisbane Metro used the long ball to great effect, nailing three home runs. A two run blast from Jackson Grounds levelled the game in the top of the sixth, while Jett Raven showed his power, nailing two home runs including the go-ahead run in the sixth.
Takuma Arakawa and Will Page-Allen claimed two RBI each for Canberra, while Hamish McGuire also chimed in with a pair of base hits.
Southern Mariners 10-9 Northern Metros
An eventful final frame saw Northern Metros score five to grab a narrow lead, however two runs in the bottom half of the inning saw the Southern Mariners claim a 10-9 win in the first game on Diamond 1.
Felix Brunner stepped up to bat with the bases loaded and worked a full count before watching ball four and scoring Lachlan Stevens to end the ballgame.
Aden Browne put his Metros back in the lead in the top of the sixth with a solo home run, while Tyler Jones (3-for-3, 2RBI) and Josh Davies (2H, 2RBI) also contributed strongly with the bat.
Tyler Ellis claimed two hits and an RBI for the Mariners, while Lachlan Stevens also claimed a hit and an RBI in the Victorian Charter’s narrow victory.
Brisbane North 14-12 Adelaide Marlins
Brisbane North withstood a late Adelaide Marlins fightback to claim a narrow 14-12 win on Diamond 2.
Brisbane North flew out to an 8-0 lead, but the Marlins wouldn’t go away, scoring three runs in the final frame, but ultimately falling just short.
Joel Hogan and Miller Bell both showed power and speed as each claimed a home run for Brisbane North. Hitting third and fourth in the lineup, Bell and Hogan each claimed three RBI.
Hogan also was exceptional on the mound, striking out seven and only giving up the one run in 2.2 innings of work.
The Marlins pitching staff shared the duties, with no pitcher throwing more than 1.1 innings. Aiden Lucas threw more than 70% of his pitches for strikes, and didn’t allow an earned run to keep the Marlins in the contest.
The Marlins scored 11 of their 12 runs in the final three frames, however their late fightback fell just short, as Blair McDonald finished off the game in style, striking out the final Marlins hitter to seal a first up win for Brisbane North.
Adelaide Rays 14-4 Gold Coast Pirates
Archie Lovelock put the ultimate exclamation point on the Adelaide Rays 14-4 victory, nailing a grand slam to end the ballgame.
Gold Coast hit well early as they lead by three runs after three innings, however the Rays came home with a wet sail, scoring a combined 14 runs in the fourth and fifth inning to put the game beyond doubt.
Oscar Hyde finished with a perfect day at the plate for the Pirates, going 2-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk. Will Baker had a fantastic start for the Pirates, striking out three and only giving up one hit in his 2.2 innings.
Jay Couzner went 2-for-2 with 3 RBI for the Rays, while on the mound, the Rays pitching staff showed their stuff, striking out a massive 11 hitters across five innings.
Brisbane South 10-8 Illawarra
Brisbane South broke the tie in the bottom of the fifth, and held on against Illawarra for a narrow 18-0 victory.
Harry Stewart and Josh McDougall both nailed home runs for Brisbane South, while Gabe Kushi and David Riley each drove in a pair of runs in the victory.
Callum Donnelly was one of Illawarra’s best with bat in hand, picking up two hits and two RBI. Mitchell Wheatley finished off his day strongly, with the Illawarra cleanup hitter going 2-for-2 with a double, a triple, two walks and an RBI.
Ty Iddon came into the game into a tough situation and finished it on the mound for Brisbane South, striking out two and only giving up one run in his two innings of work.
Northern Diamondbacks 15-12 Swan Hills
Victoria’s Northern Diamondbacks claimed their first opening round win in Australian Little League Championship history as they defeated Swan Hills 15-12 on Diamond 1.
Trailing by five after three frames, the Diamondbacks rallied hard, scoring 12 runs in their final three innings to escape with a tight win over the Aces.
The Diamondbacks’ offence was consistent all day, with Shintaro Kato and Joel Prpic each claiming three hits. Ned Hargreaves and Harry Firtzgerald did the bulk of the damage for the Diamondbacks, driving in a pair of runs each.
Hits were shared for the Aces, with leadoff man Matt Kemp scoring three times, claiming one hit and driving in a run.
The Aces split the pitching responsibilities, using six pitchers, with Elijah Hewett striking out three and only giving up one hit across 1.1 innings.
Northern Metros 33-5 Brisbane South
The Northern Metros struck early and often, and eventually ran away with the ballgame, defeating Brisbane South 33-5.
Reef Tana only allowed three baserunners in his two innings of work, as he struck out three and only gave up the one hit. Brody Pickett and Ethan Campbell drove in four runs apiece for the Metros, as every player that made a plate appearance claimed an RBI.
Taylor Robitaille picked up a single and a triple for Brisbane South, while Ben Paton went 1-for-2 with a triple and an RBI.
The Metros piled on 16 runs in the opening inning, and despite the Brisbane South bats coming to life late in the game, the damage was done.
Manly 10-0 Canberra
Manly used a balanced overall performance to defeat Canberra 10-0 on Diamond 1.
Wilson Spinks, Nick Gall and Yuto Goto combined for a no-hitter as they struck out nine and only allowed two baserunners in a clinical performance.
Hits and RBI were shared among the Manly lineup, as Gall, Daigo Yamaguchi, Jaden Grant and Jacob Wander managed a hit and an RBI each.
Gall and Jack Leonard each picked up doubles for Manly, and that hitting combined with a number of walks kept the line moving for the NSW charter.
Brisbane North 12-11 Eastern Phantoms
Runs came thick and fast for both teams, however at the end of the day, Brisbane North snuck home care of some heads up baserunning from Joel Hogan, who crossed care of a wild pitch in the final inning.
Ben Randall went 3-for-4 with three runs, a home run and three RBI and was one of the Phantoms best with bat in hand. Riley Oliphant also excelled at the plate, going 2-for-2 with an RBI.
Randall also struck out three across his 2.2 inning start, as he only gave up one earned run during his start.
Joel Hogan was solid in the Brisbane North lineup, as he claimed three hits and two RBI. Enzo Moriguchi also chimed in with two hits and an RBI.
Both teams traded late runs, however Brisbane North managed to maintain the slimmest of leads, and eventually claimed their second victory of the day.
Cronulla 10-5 Eastern Athletics
A five run first inning saw Cronulla defeat the Eastern Athletics 10-5 to claim a first up with at the championship.
Nathan Howarth nailed a home run for the Sharks, while Brendan Regan and Finn Ramanauskas each drove in three runs apiece in a strong hitting display.
Cronulla manager Jarrod Martin used his pitchers wisely, as six Cronulla players took the mound. Those six worked well, as they combined for 13 strikeouts across six innings of work.
Tyler Evans and Austin Neave threw well in relief for the Athletics, striking out seven hitters and only allowing one earned run in the middle innings.
Ellis, Jack Ratcliffe and Finley Ronalds-Greatbatch each claimed hits for the Athletics, with Matthew Lavery driving in the only earned run.
The Athletics trimmed the Sharks lead to two with an inning to play, however a three spot from Cronulla and a game ending strikeout from Van Lister sealed his team’s first win of the tournament.
Ryde 4-2 Adelaide Rays
The Adelaide Rays scored an early run, however Ryde came back to eventually run out 4-2 winners.
Callum Lambert struck out four in his 4.1 inning start, as he only gave up two earned runs in a strong performance. Edward Hogg relieved Lambert and kept it rolling for Ryde, striking out four and only giving up one hit in 1.2 innings.
Peter Bae claimed Ryde’s only hit of the ballgame in the top of the sixth, as he drove in the go-ahead run. That run broke open the ballgame and Ryde never looked back. Hogg then slammed the door shut on the Rays offence, and Ryde claimed a win as the action finished up on Diamond 1.
Adelaide Marlins 8-7 Eastern Phantoms
The floodgates didn’t open until late in the game on Diamond 2, as the Adelaide Marlins snuck by the Eastern Phantoms 8-7.
Hitting in the two hole, Yuta Uemoto nailed a home run and drove in three RBI for the Phantoms, while for the Marlins, Aiden Lucas also drove in three RBI from his three hits.
Brandon Hale was exceptional for the Phantoms in his start, striking out six and only giving up one baserunner in his 3.1 innings of work.
Jude Barker struck out nine through his five inning start, while Connor Yeatman fanned the final three hitters in the seventh inning to end the Phantoms rally.
With bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, a two-RBI single from Aiden Lucas tied the game. Owen Paschke claimed a fielders choice out, and some heads up running from Gregorio Bravo saw the Marlins utility cross the plate and seal a hard-fought win for the South Australian side.