Gold Medal Game: Adelaide Armada 4-0 Hills
The Adelaide Armada are Australian Senior League Champions and will represent the Australia Region at the Senior League World Series following a 4-0 victory over Hills at Albert Park Baseball Complex in Lismore.
Ky Hampton was the star of the show as he tossed a complete game shutout for the Adelaide Armada, striking out three and scattering five hits across seven dominant innings.
Adelaide Armada Manager Zac Stokes was full of praise for Ky’s performance.
“Ky was absolutely amazing today,” Stokes said.
“The plan is always to attack with him. Ky doesn’t like to walk hitters, he has great velocity and some solid off-speed pitches which ensures he can work hitters out.”
Ky’s opposite number Mitchell Vickery was exceptional on the mound for Hills, tossing 6.2 innings, striking out one and only giving up two earned runs.
The Armada’s trademark all week has been scoring runs in bunches and today was no exception, with the third inning proving the catalyst. Curtis Mead was the rock all week for the Armada lineup, and today was no exception, picking up two hits in the leadoff spot.
Hills fought all day however they couldn’t quite get over the line, however the perennially strong charter can hold their heads high.
Curtis Mead got the third inning going with a leadoff double, before catcher Mason Clavell drove in the opening run of the ballgame. From there, it was all the Armada as a pair of errors and a single from Will Kortekaas saw the Armada take four run lead and never looked back.
The Armada will now represent the Australia Region at the 2017 Senior League World Series in Easley, South Carolina. They’ll be the first South Australian team to represent the Australia Region at any Little League level, and the second Australian team to play at the Senior League World Series.
Stay tuned to littleleague.org.au for updates from the Armada’s next journey at the Senior League World Series.
SEMI FINAL: Adelaide Armada 8-2 Western Meteors
The Adelaide Armada booked their place in the Australian Senior League Championship final following an 8-2 win over the Western Meteors.
The Armada remain undefeated so far in the tournament, and were lead by Will Kortekaas, who gave up two earned runs in his six inning start, setting the tone for the victory.
The Armada came out swinging as per the norm, and put up all eight runs in the first two frames to give Kortekaas some run support.
Curtis Mead lead his team from the front, going 3-for-4 and scoring two runs, while Harry Knuckey drove in two of his own.
In trademark Meteors fashion, they continued to put pressure on the Armada defence. Caydyn Hancock proved a tough out for the Armada, picking up two hits and an RBI in the leadoff position.
Despite a shaky first few innings, Caige Kazmierowski settled and finished the game tossing 2.2 scoreless innings.
SEMI FINAL: Hills 3-1 Southern Mariners
In one of the games of the tournament, Hills exacted revenge over the Southern Mariners and claimed a hard fought win in the semi final.
The man who claimed the loss in the 2016 Championship Game was given the honour of starting for Hills, and this time it was Sam Xotta’s game, as he struck out seven and only scattered two hits in his six innings of work. His opposite number Declan Croker also performed well, only conceding two earned runs in six innings.
Conor Myles, Zak Skinner and Darcy Trewarn picked up the Mariners three hits, while Hills showed plenty of patience at the plate, drawing six walks.
The Mariners infield shone, consistently cancelling out leadoff walks with the tandem of Will Tucker and Ben Fierenzi turning a trio of double plays to keep the Mariners in the ballgame.
The final inning saw the Mariners have the winning run aboard, however JP Callil lined one straight to Luke Passmore at second base, and when Passmore flipped to Clapson to turn a game ending double play, Hills sealed a hard-fought two run win over the defending champions.
Greater Western 13-7 Gold Coast
The Warriors and the Cougars kept relatively even through the first few frames, however some consistent scoring through the middle innings saw Greater Western power away to a 13-7 win.
Mark Thompson lead from the front for the Warriors, claiming two hits, three runs and three RBI in the leadoff spot. Cain Doyle was also impressive with bat in hand, picking up three hits and two RBI. The Warriors used plenty of arms in their win, with the bullpen only giving up four hits across the final 4.1 innings.
Jett Hasegawa continued his strong tournament, picking up two hits, while Ky Griffiths and Mason Robson drove in a run each for the Gold Coast.
Greater Western 3-2 Macarthur
Pitching and defence was the order of the day as Macarthur and Greater Western played out a tight one, with the Warriors eventually claiming a 3-2 win.
NSW representative Cody Godbold hit well for Greater Western, picking up two singles, while on the mound he shone too, only giving up two hits and no earned runs in 4.1 innings of work.
Macathur’s Lachlan Dean also proved tough for the Warriors lineup, as he struck out seven and scattered three hits in a strong performance.
Trent Pierce has been strong during the tournament for Macarthur, as he, Tim Nelson and Rhys Dewick all picked up hits.
Macarthur threatened in the final frame, picking up a run, however Mark Thompson claimed the final two outs for Greater Western as they went two from two on the day.
Ryde 5-2 Eastern Athletics
Eastern Athletics again challenged however late runs from Ryde were the difference, as the Hawks claimed a 5-2 win.
Ky Jackson was the lynchpin for Ryde, as he only gave up two hits and struck out nine in six innings of work.
Luis Gonzalez, Jake Dargan and Liam Spinks all nailed doubles for Ryde, with Gonzalez driving in two of the Hawks’ five runs.
David Hurley and Riley Light were the men to claim hits for the Athletics, Light picked up the team’s solitary RBI while on the mound Liam Evans struck out a tournament high 12 hitters.
The one run ballgame was blown wide open in the final inning, as Liam Spinks and Kiyan Dolatshahi both scored off errors to give Ryde some insurance. From there it was Andrew Johnstone who threw a scoreless final inning to seal Ryde’s win.
There will be consolation games tomorrow, click here to view the full schedule.