Macarthur 10-2 Eastern Athletics
Macarthur began their day on the right foot, knocking over the Eastern Athletics in convincing fashion to claim their first win of the tournament.
Eastern Athletics were two runs ahead after three complete innings, but a five run fourth inning from Macarthur opened the floodgates and from there the NSW side never looked back.
The hits were shared for the Macarthur team, with Tim Nelson, Rhys Dewick and Maddison Heath each driving in two RBI.
The Macarthur bullpen also shone, with Jordan Richardson, Corey Thurtell and Hayden Blackborrow conceding a combined two hits in the final 4.2 defensive innings.
Nick Dimitrakopoulos did his best for the Athletics, giving up the one hit in his 1.2 innings of work, however the damage was done late in the game as Macarthur piled on ten runs across two innings to shut the door on the Athletics.
Southern Mariners 10-2 Ryde Hawks
The reigning champion Mariners flexed their muscle against a solid Ryde lineup, claiming a 10-2 win on Diamond 1.
The game was knotted at two after four innings before the Mariners piled on four runs in the sixth and seventh inning to put the game beyond reach.
The bottom third of the Mariners order did the damage on the day, with Darcy Trewarn driving in three runs batting in the nine hole. Dante Caruso and Lucas Taylor each drove in two runs for the Mariners, with Conor Myles making the most of his two hits, legging both into doubles.
Despite not striking out any Ryde hitters, Tatsuya Kume managed to scatter four hits across his 3.2 innings of work. Kume, who represented Victoria at the U18 National Youth Championship in 2017, didn’t concede an earned run in a solid performance.
Hits were shared for Ryde, with Tom Pellow picking up the only RBI of the day for the Hawks.
Hills 7-1 Macarthur
Anchored by a dominant pitching performance from Dylan Clarke, Hills defeated Macarthur 7-1 on Diamond 3.
Clarke was perfect through 4.2 innings, striking out four before Corey Thurtell broke up the perfect game bid with a single. Clarke’s offence tacked on a pair of runs early before blowing the game open in the latter frames.
Lachy McCarthy continues to impress this tournament, as he drove in four of Hills’ seven runs, with two of his three hits extending to doubles.
Bryce Stewart, Tim Nelson and Corey Thurtell all managed hits for Macarthur, but five late runs saw Hills skip away to the second win of their tournament.
Adelaide Armada 4-0 Gold Coast Cougars
The Adelaide Armada were lead by an incredible performance from Austin McClure on the mound as they defeated the Gold Coast Cougars 4-0 on Diamond 3.
McClure tossed a complete game shutout, only allowing three hits and striking out five in the performance of the Championship so far.
McClure was backed up well by his offence, as the Armada managed to score runs in the first and third inning, with Curtis Mead continuing his outstanding tournament for the Armada, as he picked up three hits.
Gold Coast’s Doug Briese ensured the game was kept close early as he only gave up the one earned run across four innings of work.
Jett Hasegawa, Briese and Ryan Towart had the Cougars’ three hits, but it was McClure and the Armada’s day as they improved to 3-0 on the tournament.
Greater Western 13-10 Ryde Hawks
A late comeback from Greater Western saw them claim their first win, and in turn keep them in contention for the Australian Senior League Championship.
It took until the top half of the final frame as the Warriors erased a two run deficit against to seal a famous come from behind victory.
Blake Price nailed a bases-clearing triple to send the Warriors dugout into raptures, while NSW state representative Cody Godbold also managed to claimed two RBI from his two hits.
Hayden Salt struck out four across his 2.2 innings pitched for G.W. to keep a powerful Ryde offence at bay. Luis Gonzalez had the game on his shoulders in the final inning, as he drilled a ball to right field. That ball had a chance to leave the ballpark but Mark Thompson was playing just deep enough to claim a game-winning catch and seal a historic win for Greater Western.
Western Meteors 14–4 Southern Mariners
The Western Meteors claimed their first win at the Australian Senior League Championship, and they claimed a scalp, knocking off reigning champions Southern Mariners 14-4.
The top three in the Meteors order did the damage with Caydyn Hancock (H, 3RBI), Ethan Gozzi (2H, 2RBI) and Dylan Walsh (H, 3RBI) each performing strongly. Despite walking six in his 2.2 inning start, Joseph Ranford managed to keep his run total to zero off the back of some solid Meteors defence.
Conor Myles was the only Mariners player to claim multiple hits, as well as two RBI pinch-hitting for River Stevens-Dobby.
No Mariners pitcher managed to find rhythm, however given their two previous victories, their qualification for the second round was guaranteed.
Western Meteors 6-5 Greater Western
The Western Meteors sealed their place in the Australian Senior League Championship semi finals following a heart-stopping walk-off win over Greater Western.
Luke Houston scored the winning run from third after a passed ball, got away from the Greater Western catcher, and in back-to-back games, the Western Meteors claimed two wins and in turn, knocked out a determined and passionate Greater Western lineup.
The Meteors came from five runs down after four innings to score the final six runs of the ballgame, with Daniel Ivester going 2-for-2 with an RBI.
Not only did Luke Houston score his team’s winning run, he set his team up for victory with three shutout relief innings, striking out three in the process.
Shannon Underhill did all he could for the Warriors, striking out seven in 3.2 innings of work, as well as picking up two hits and an RBI.
Western Meteors and Southern Mariners have qualified from Pool B and will remain in contention for the Australian Senior League title.
Following tomorrow’s play, we’ll know which two teams from Pool A will qualify.
Click here for tomorrow’s Australian Senior League Championship schedule.