Gold Coast Cougars 13-9 Macarthur
Both teams scored four runs in the opening inning, but Gold Coast went to another gear in the second, piling on nine runs to claim a 13-9 victory over Macarthur on Diamond 1.
Matt Hughes steadied his team’s pitching staff after a shaky start, tossing three shutout innings and striking out three in the middle innings to cement Gold Coast’s lead.
Sam Reeves went 2-for-5 with two runs, a double and three RBI for Gold Coast, while Mason Robson also hit well, picking up two RBI of his own.
Rhys Dewick continued his excellent tournament for Macarthur, driving in three of Macarthur’s runs with Hayden Blackborrow and Tim Nelson each picking up a hit and two walks.
Pitching and defence reigned supreme in the final four frames, with neither team managing to push a run across.
Hills 8-1 Eastern Athletics
Hills sealed their place in the Semi Finals as they consistently scored to defeat Eastern Athletics 8-1.
Hits were shared for Hills, with leadoff man Hayden Lyberopoulos, Lachy McCarthy and Eaden McLeod all picking up two hits each.
Marcus Macdonald gave up a run in the first frame for Hills, but from there, he never looked back, only giving up three hits and striking out five in 6.2 innings of work.
Riley Light drove in the Athletics only run of the ballgame, while Harvey Mitchelhill and Nick Dimitrakopoulos each picked up a hit each.
Hills sewed up the second seed in Pool A after claiming three wins from four games in pool play.
Greater Western 4-3 Ryde
A topsy turvy encounter began with Ryde shutting out the Warriors, however a four run fifth inning proved the catalyst as Greater Western snuck home with a 4-3 victory.
Liam Spinks was perfect during his four innings on the mound for Ryde as they pulled away to a three run lead. RBIs from Jai Hetherington, Shannon Underhill, Cody Godbold and Tom Fester in the fifth inning saw G.W grab the lead.
Billy Oldfield was immense in his 6.1 innings of work for the Warriors, as he scattered four hits and three runs.
Luke Livian picked up two hits for Ryde, however it wasn’t enough as Greater Western kept their cool and came away with a hard-fought 4-3 victory.
Southern Mariners 9-5 Western Meteors
The Southern Mariners put up two runs in each of the first three frames as they set the tone and claimed the top seed in Pool B. The Meteors fought back hard but couldn’t get over the line as the defending champions claimed a 9-5 win.
Aiden Flynn struck out five and only gave up two runs in an exceptional five-inning start for the Mariners. Flynn’s offence took the pressure off, with leadoff man John-Paul Callil and Ben Fierenzi each claiming three hits.
Fierenzi and Callil were both members of the Mariners side that claimed the inaugural Australian Senior League Championship last year, and both will be key cogs in their tilt for back-to-back titles.
Luke Houston and Mitch Brown each picked up hits for the Meteors, while their plate discipline was evident as they drew nine walks as a team.
In trademark Meteors fashion, they tacked on three runs in the final frame to send a scare through the Mariners camp, but the damage was done and the defending champions sealed their place as the #1 seed from Pool B.
Adelaide Armada 13-0 Eastern Athletics
The final game of the day on Diamond 1 saw the Adelaide Armada cap off pool play with their fourth consecutive victory, shutting out the Eastern Athletics 13-0.
Curtis Mead was outstanding with bat in hand for the Armada, as he nailed a triple and the first inside the park home run at the Australian Senior League Championship, finishing with four RBI.
The bottom half of the Armada lineup swung it well too, with Rion Sato (2H, 3RBI), Austin McClure (2H, 2RBI) and Cameron Blackwell (H, 2RBI) all chipping in to cap off a team hitting performance.
Callum Park struck out five in two perfect innings of work for the Armada, while the bullpen combined to only allow four baserunners as the Armada finished pool play undefeated as the #1 seed in Pool A.
Given the inclement weather looming for Friday in Lismore, Championship Director Michael Ibbotson has revised the schedule. Please see a statement below from Michael.
With the weather forecast for Friday looking to have a very high chance of a significant amount of rain, we have made the decision to schedule the Championship Final tomorrow following the completion of the Semi Final games. The Bronze medal game played between the losing teams from both semi-finals will be scheduled for Friday.
Considering all possible factors and the possible alternative if a Championship Final cannot be completed, the choice to made this change was not made lightly, however, in believed to be the best option to ensure we are able to crown an Australian champion.
Both the semi finals and the Championship Game will take place tomorrow, click here for the full schedule.