U16: Victoria Blue 9-7 Victoria White
Victoria White played out of their skin against their state based counterparts, but Victoria Blue eventually got the job done, claiming an 9-7 victory.
Vic White used a five run fourth inning to claim a 6-2 lead, but some strong extra base hits from Vic Blue in the late stages proved the difference.
Connor Hickey nailed the first home run of the AYC 2018 tournament, with Chris Nielsen and Mitchell Thomas both claiming triples. Nielsen finished with two RBI.
The top of the Vic White lineup did the damage, with Sadi Nergiz, Josh Smith and Cameron Zimmerman all finishing with two hits apiece.
Dante Caruso cooled the Victoria White offence late in the ballgame, as he only gave up one earned run in 3.1 innings of relief.
U16: New South Wales 8-1 Western Australia
A fantastic team pitching performance set the tone, as the New South Wales offence clicked into gear late to claim an 8-1 win.
Mitch McDonough set up the win for NSW, only giving up one hit through four innings of work.
Offensively, Jake Burns was one of NSW’s best, driving in three runs from his two hits, while first baseman Luke Krkovski finished with two RBIs of his own.
Will Sherriff struck out four in his three inning start for WA, but unfortunately the offence couldn’t get anything going.
Max Chipper, Ben Drew and Maddux Stivey each claimed a hit for WA, with Stivey driving in the lone run.
U16: South Australia 14-9 New South Wales Country
South Australia flew out of the blocks and held off a determined New South Wales Country side to claim a hard fought 14-9 win.
Jacob Scott and Ethan Murphy both claimed a double, a triple and an RBI as SA broke the game open with nine runs in the second inning.
Ethan Badcock and Jack Higginbotham nailed two RBI apiece, while on the hill for SA, Liam Bull was impressive, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings and striking out four.
First baseman Parker Robinson was the only Country hitter to pick up multiple hits, while Kynan Harding only allowed three baserunners in 2.2 shutout innings.
NSW Country pulled back seven runs in the blink of an eye, but it was too little too late, as the SA defence tightened up and ran away with the win.
U18: New South Wales Country 7-4 Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales Country was pushed by the ACT all the way, but eventually prevailed 7-4 in a tense encounter.
All of NSW Country’s seven runs came in the fifth inning as Sam McLean, Taituha Nukunuku and Chase Karn all finished the game with two hits. Daniel Moss was the only Country hitter to claim multiple RBIs.
Luke Livian was outstanding for Country on the mound, twirling six scoreless innings and only allowing one baserunner - a leadoff walk in the fifth inning.
Back-to-back walks from Nick Hosie and Zac Rauter and a single from Nick Graham saw the ACT threaten in the seventh and final inning, however Country reliever Josh Wingrove got the job done, inducing a flyout from Jordan Kelly to end the ballgame.
U18: South Australia 8-3 Queensland
Queensland jumped out to an early lead, but South Australia’s offence reeled them in, as the croweaters ran out 8-3 winners.
South Australia used a five-run inning to propel them to a lead, with Tom Rundle’s two RBI double capping off the inning. Cooper Marsh was solid in his four inning start, only giving up two runs from two hits.
Griffen Weber finished with two hits and two RBI for South Australia.
Queensland centerfielder Tyson Zamora went 2-for-5 with a triple and an RBI, with Callum MacDonald and Daniel Shannon each driving in a run.
U18: Western Australia 2-0 New South Wales
Behind a strong pitching performance, Western Australia won a see-sawing battle against New South Wales.
Lochlan Southee and Lachlan Waite combined for a four-hit shutout of New South Wales as Western Australia claimed their first win of the tournament.
Southee only allowed four baserunners in his 5.2 inning start, while Waite only allowed two in his 3.1 innings.
New South Wales pitching trio Josh Gessner, Jayden Bastow and Shannon Ward-Underhill all battled manfully on the mound but RBIs from Lachlan Brear and Dawson Summers saw WA prevail.
Western Australia had a massive chance to extend their lead in the top of the ninth with bases loaded, however it mattered little as they outlasted NSW in sweltering heat.
U16: Queensland 4-2 Australian Capital Territory
Both starting pitchers toiled in the heat at Blacktown International Sportspark, but it was Queensland lead by Jack Waters who triumphed in a tight one.
Waters struck out four and let his defence work well behind him as he finished with four scoreless innings. His opposite number - ACT starter Stuart Tharle - only gave up two runs from his four innings in an impressive performance.
The score was tied heading into the bottom of the fifth, but Queensland scored three runs late through RBIs from Ian Lee, Jacob Ponton and Marcus Feagaiga to put the result beyond doubt.
ACT did have an opportunity to extend the game in the finale frame, however they couldn’t capitalise on two runners in scoring position as Riki Ward closed out the ballgame for Queensland.