The Little League Championships kicked off today in ideal weather conditions with the diamonds at Knox Baseball Club in top condition. 

Supporters and players were well taken care of at the canteen thanks to the volunteers from the club, with breakfast and lunch fair as well as ice cold drinks and treats. Supporters were then able to relax and enjoy the action on the fields with some terrific baseball played today. 

Baseball Victoria went LIVE on FACEBOOK with selected innings from each game, as well, we asked supporters to upload their photos from the day to Facebook and the best one will receive a $50 Gift Voucher from The Sporting Globe. (Announced tomorrow). 

Tomorrow and Sunday there will be a professional photographic team taking actions shots and a candid team photos and Lisa McLellan will be around the grounds going LIVE with interviews and action, so make sure you put on your best game face on! 

Photos will be available for free and published on FACEBOOK. 

RESULTS

LADDERS

New South Wales and Victoria Blue will square off in the 2018 Australian Women’s Baseball Championships gold medal game in Geelong on Friday afternoon.

NSW and Blue picked up wins early on day seven to ensure their path to a gold medal clash, leaving Western Australia and South Australia to battle for bronze.

Check out the full day seven wrap below:

 

Open Women

Victoria Blue 17, South Australia 0

Victoria Blue maintained its perfect record in the second round of #AWC2018 with a dominant win 17-0 over South Australia on Diamond 2.

Blue’s offence was too powerful for fourth-seeded SA, collecting 14 hits to two, while starter Amanda Torrington threw five scoreless innings.

Amanda Asay and Abe Rieko drove in three runs each for Victoria Blue, which defeated Western Australia in its opening game of the second round on Wednesday.

Torrington allowed two hits and struck out four in five innings.

  

New South Wales 4, Western Australia 0

Starter Breanna Donnellan’s complete game shutout lifted New South Wales to a 4-0 victory against Western Australia on Diamond 1.

Donnellan struck out five and did not give up a run on six hits scattered across seven innings.

Offensively, Olivia Bannon was the only player to record multiple hits in the game.

  

Western Australia 15, South Australia 5

Western Australia wrapped up its second win of #AWC2018 over South Australia, ahead of a third clash in tomorrow’s bronze medal game.

WA scored four runs in the bottom of the first and pushed the lead out to 10 runs with a seven-run sixth.

Aislinn Morris went 5-for-5, driving in four runs in an impressive display of hitting.

All up WA racked up 16 hits to nine.

Western Australia starter Caitlin Gordon punched out five in three innings.

 

Victoria Blue 8, New South Wales 6

Victoria Blue will take confidence into tomorrow’s #AWC2018 gold medal game after edging New South Wales 8-6 in Geelong today.

Blue will take on NSW again in the gold medal game at 4pm local time tomorrow after topping pool play with a 3-0 record.

A five-run second propelled Victoria Blue to victory in the gold medal game preview on Diamond 1.

Eight of Blue’s nine starters collected a hit as Blue avenged a defeat to NSW on Tuesday afternoon.

Shae Lillywhite drove in two runs in a well-rounded team performance.

Reliever Belinda Cannington allowed just one unearned run in four innings of work.

The gold medal game is on Diamond 1 at Geelong Baseball Centre from 4pm tomorrow, and will be streamed live on ABLtv.com.

  

Victoria White 8, New South Wales Country 7

Victoria White completed its second walk-off win of #AWC2018, scoring two runs in the seventh to top New South Wales Country on Diamond 4.

Rachel Bagley drove in the winning run after Baylin Rousell’s RBI-single pulled White level in the bottom of the seventh.

Country had taken the lead in the top half of the inning, scoring four runs.

Bagley was a standout performer, going 5-for-5.

Emma Cummings went 3-for-3 with four RBIs for NSW Country.

 

Queensland 14, Victoria White 8

Courtney Low drove in five runs and Karina Connors four as Queensland took down Victoria White on Diamond 4.

Queensland jumped to a 4-0 lead after the top of the first and led 8-1 after three following a strong start offensively.

Victoria White hit back though, before Queensland scored four runs in the top of the seventh to record a solid win.

Courtney Murphy fanned three in one inning and Taylah Welch struck out four in two innings out of the bullpen.

  

Day eight schedule

Diamond 1:

11am – Bronze medal game: Western Australia vs South Australia

4pm – Gold medal game: Victoria Blue vs New South Wales

+ The gold medal game will be streamed live on ABLtv.com

 

Diamond 4:

9:30am – New South Wales Country vs Queensland

12.30pm – New South Wales Country vs Victoria White

 

Click here for the updated schedule! 

New South Wales and Victoria Blue moved a step closer to squaring off in the Open Women's gold medal game with day six wins at #AWC2018 in Geelong.

NSW shut out South Australia in the early game on Diamond 1 ahead of Victoria Blue downing Western Australia.

Check out the full day six wrap below:

 

Open Women

New South Wales 11, South Australia 0

New South Wales moved a step closer to booking its ticket to the #AWC2018 gold medal game, shutting out South Australia on Diamond 1 at Geelong Baseball Centre.

Starter Chloe Jones struck out three in three innings and reliever Lauren Donnellan punched out three in two frames as NSW kept SA to two hits.

Offence came easier for NSW, which racked up 13 hits and scored six runs in the second inning to break the contest open.

Shortstop Olivia Bannon went 3-for-4 for top-seeded NSW, while Laura Neads drove in three runs.

NSW plays Western Australia and Victoria Blue in a doubleheader on Diamond 1 tomorrow.

SA is in action against Victoria Blue and Western Australia on Diamond 2.

 

Victoria Blue 8, Western Australia 2

Bronwyn Gell homered early and Victoria Blue used a six-run fourth to top Western Australia at the 2018 Australian Women’s Baseball Championships in Geelong on Wednesday.

Gell pulled Blue level with a solo homer in the bottom of the first after WA opened the scoring.

Victoria Blue found itself trailing once more when Kaila Borgomastro drove in a run in the top of the fourth.

A six-run bottom half of the inning put Blue in control.

All six runs came with two outs as the Victorian team built a 7-2 lead.

Rieko Abe’s RBI-single in the fifth made it a six-run ballgame.

Amanda Asay worked three scoreless innings in relief for Blue.

Victoria Blue faces South Australia and New South Wales tomorrow as it hunts a spot in Friday’s gold medal game.

Western Australia squares off with New South Wales and South Australia.

 

Queensland 11, Victoria White 1

Cate Lessmann finished with six strikeouts in four innings as Queensland completed an 11-1 victory over Victoria White on Diamond 4.

Fifth-seeded Queensland scored in all five completed innings to support a strong start by Lessmand.

After taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, Victoria White hit the scoreboard in the second on an error.

Queensland pulled away from there, scoring the next eight runs.

Karina Connors and Moe Kurihara both drove in two runs.

 

New South Wales Country 14, Queensland 12

New South Wales Country held off a strong Queensland rally to claim its first win of #AWC2018 in a wild encounter on Diamond 4.

Country built a 10-0 lead entering the bottom of the third and led 13-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth.

Queensland fought back, headlined by an eight-run sixth, to force a wild finish.

But Country prevailed in the end to collect its maiden win of the tournament.

Yolanda Rogers drove in a team-high four runs for NSW Country.

Chloe Humphreys went 3-for-5 with four RBIs for Queensland.

 

For the full #AWC2018 schedule click here!

Youth baseball in Victoria is heating up with the state Little League Championships kicking off at Knox Baseball Club on Friday 6th of April.  

Teams from four Charters (Regions) made up of the best under 12 players from around the state will play off in a round robin series for the title of State Champion. 

 

John Carlile, coach of the Southern Mariners is keen for his team to just enjoy the game. Based out of Cheltenham Baseball club, he believes his squad has done all the things they need to do and is looking forward to the competition. He notes Lachlan Smith and Ryan Langworthy as stand out players he expects to shine. Both boys are 2nd year players who should be very competitive given their experiences from last year and twelve months further development. When asked about the opposition, Carlile says “we just got to do what we can do and play with confidence that our preparation will help us be competitive over the weekend”. When asked about the other teams Carlile says with a quiet dignity “All I know is what my team can do”. 

The Eastern Athletics will be looking to Austin Neaves and Matthew Lavery to carry the pitching load whilst power hitters Harry Elustando, Aiden Patterson and Jack Ratcliffe are expected to lead the offense. Coach, Simon Ratcliffe says, “There’s a good even spread across the group this year”. He references last year’s championship game against the Southern Mariners and maintains that they will be a very tough team to beat this year. 

Coach Barry Fisher and the Twins have had a rough ride going into the post season championships, dealing with two different players with broken bones. Battling adversity the entire way, Fisher says that the whole squad has been working exceptionally hard regardless. He notes Ben Howard as a pitcher who has really proven his mettle and Spencer Wray who as a utility has really come through for the offensive.   

Assistant Coach of the The Baycats All Star team, Grant Drew says the Baycats have been working hard in the lead up to the tournament with strong improvements shown by all players. "We will be looking to Tanner Stack and Riley Peoples to lead the way with both players showing impressive form in the lead up to the championships."

Catch the Little League National Championships down at Knox Baseball Park 

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LITTLE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT RULES CLICK HERE

New South Wales has wrapped up top seed following the opening round of the 2018 Australian Women’s Baseball Championships in Geelong.

NSW proved too strong for Victoria Blue in a battle of the last two unbeaten sides in the Open Women’s event.

Leslie Anglin’s two-run homer in the sixth made it interesting, cutting the lead to one in the sixth before NSW pulled away for a 9-5 win.

Check out the full day five wrap and standings entering the next round below:

 

Open Women

Queensland 15, Victoria White 1

Queensland finished the opening round of #AWC2018 with a comfortable 15-1 victory over Victoria White on Diamond 1.

Moe Kurihara drove in four runs, going 3-for-5, as Queensland claimed its second win of the opening round.

Starter Olivia Stevens punched out five in 2 1/3 innings.

  

Western Australia 10, South Australia 8

Western Australia wrapped up third seed entering the next stage of #AWC2018, holding off South Australia 10-8 on Diamond 4.

WA scored three runs in the third and fourth to overturn a 5-4 deficit, before surviving a late SA rally.

SA scored three runs in the top of the sixth to cut WA’s lead to one.

Kaila Borgomastro’s RBI-single provided a late insurance run for WA.

WA reliever Natalie House stranded two runners in the bottom of the seventh to secure victory.

Erin Fox and lead-off hitter Morgan Doty both drove in three runs.

The result ensured a third-place finish for WA after the opening round of #AWC2018.

 

New South Wales 9, Victoria Blue 5

New South Wales finished as top seed after the opening round of #AWC2018 following a thrilling 9-5 win over Victoria Blue on Tuesday.

NSW navigated the opening round with a perfect 6-0 record, holding off a late rally from Victoria Blue on Diamond 2.

Blue cut the NSW lead to one run in the bottom of the sixth to set up a thrilling finish.

But NSW added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh of the top-of-the-table clash.

Leslie Anglin’s two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth sparked the Victoria Blue resurgence.

Melinda Latimer went 3-for-4 for NSW, while Maddison Heath drove in three runs.

 

Victoria White 12, New South Wales Country 4

Victoria White closed out day five action with a 12-4 win over New South Wales Country on Diamond 1.

A seven-run fourth for White broke a 4-all tie.

Gabby Bevan went 3-for-5 for Victoria White, while reliever Kristen Bezzina struck out two in three scoreless innings.

 

Standings

1. New South Wales 6-0

2. Victoria Blue 5-1

3. Western Australia 4-2

4. South Australia 2-4

5. Queensland 2-4

6. Victoria White 2-4

7. New South Wales Country 0-6

* South Australia, Queensland and Victoria White ranked by tiebreak rules (runs allowed)

 

Day 6 schedule

Diamond 1

10:15AM - New South Wales vs. South Australia

2:00PM - Victoria Blue vs. Western Australia

Diamond 4

10:30PM - Queensland vs. Victoria White

1:45PM - Queensland vs. New South Wales Country

 

Click here for updated #AWC2018 schedule

 

Baseball Australia is proud to announce the latest group of athletes heading to the 2018 Spring Training Program, which gives 30 young Australians the chance to gain exposure and experience in the United States.

The delegation will be based in Phoenix, Arizona between 6-15 April where they will participate in three games as well as showcasing their skills to a multitude of professional and college scouts.

The 30-man squad is highlighted by four U18 World Cup members (Lochlan Southee, Rixon Wingrove, Jake Green & Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis) as well as the reigning MVPs in the Australian U16 (Travis Bazzana) and U18 (Curtis Mead) Youth Championships.

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL SQUAD LIST

Williams believes that the emphasis on the continuous development of Australian athletes remains the highest priority.

“The experiences on this trip are designed to provide context of what it’s actually like to compete in college or professional baseball.”

“It’s also designed to equip them with data to determine where they currently are performance wise and baseline to work from for further improvement.”

The selection process for the 30 athletes on this trip was conducted through information provided by state high performance managers, as well as professional scouts that evaluated players at the 2018 Australian Youth Championship.

The coaching staff in attendance brings a multitude of experience both domestically and internationally, with three former MLB stars (David Nilsson, Jim Colborn, Josh Spence) and a number of State High Performance Managers making the trip.

The squad will also be working closely with Driveline, which will feature the production of high level video analysis to aid the implementation of data driven improvement programs.

Glenn Williams believes the benefits of this tour reach far beyond just the 30 athletes selected.

“Many of the staff in attendance run their state’s respective high performance programs.”

“I have no doubt this trip will aid the execution of higher level training methods within their relevant state based programming.”

Stay tuned for updates from the team's 10-day experience.

Head of delegation: Glenn Williams
Coach: Jason Pospishil
Coach: Chris Adamson
Coach: David Nilsson
Coach: Shayne Watson
Coach: Damian Shanahan
Coach: Jim Colborn
Coach: Josh Spence
Executive Officer: Scott Hillier

Victoria claimed Youth gold while in Open Women's Victoria Blue and New South Wales continued their perfect runs in an action-packed fourth day of #AWC2018.

The Victorian Youth team claimed gold over New South Wales on the back of Genevieve Beacom’s 17-strikeout performance and a two-run homer by Emily Devine.

Check out the full day four wrap below:

 

Open Women 

Western Australia 22, Victoria White 2

Western Australia picked up its third win, crushing Victoria White 22-2 on Diamond 1.

Natalie House and Rebecca Torpy both drove in four runs for WA, which scored 18 in the second inning.

Starter Caitlin Gordon struck out three in two one-hit innings for Western Australia.

The win improved WA’s record to 3-2 ahead of a day five clash with South Australia.

 

South Australia 11, New South Wales Country 1

South Australia snapped a two-game losing skid, taking down New South Wales Country 11-1 on Diamond 2.

SA scored seven in the third inning to open up an 8-0 advantage.

Saeko Suzuki was the star, throwing six one-run innings and going 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Jessica Maslin went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

The result left NSW Country winless after five games.

 

New South Wales 10, Queensland 0

New South Wales maintained its perfect #AWC2018 record with a shutout win over Queensland on Diamond 1.

NSW starter Breanna Donnellan worked five scoreless innings, giving up four hits and striking out three.

Offensively, Amy Collins went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Elodie O’Sullivan went 4-for-4 at the top of the order.

Olivia Bannon collected three hits.

 

Victoria Blue 20, South Australia 8

Victoria Blue overcame an early deficit against South Australia on Diamond 2 to stay undefeated in #AWC2018.

Blue scored the final 13 runs of the ballgame after trailing 8-7 after two.

SA took the ascendancy with an eight-run second, before Blue took control.

Sinead Flanigan drove in seven runs, going 3-for-5.

 

Standings

New South Wales 5-0

Victoria Blue 5-0

Western Australia 3-2

South Australia 2-3

Victoria White 1-3

Queensland 1-4

New South Wales Country 0-5

 

Youth Women

Bronze medal game: Queensland 14, New South Wales Country 10

Queensland used a seven-run fourth to claim Youth bronze at #AWC2018.

Both teams traded early runs before Queensland took a 7-6 lead in the third.

The fourth saw Queensland extend its advantage before a late Country rally fell short.

Charlotte Johnson drove in three runs while Kya Foxwell cleared the bases with a fourth-inning triple and reached home on an error.

 

Gold medal game: Victoria 2, New South Wales 0

A strong start by Genevieve Beacom and two-run homer from Emily Devine lifted Victoria to Youth gold at the 2018 Australian Women’s Baseball Championships in Geelong on Monday.

Beacom struck out 17 and tripled to lead off the fourth ahead of Devine breaking a scoreless deadlock with the first home run of the event.

It was all Victoria needed to prevail 2-0 over New South Wales on Diamond 4 at Geelong Baseball Centre.

The first hit of the contest took until the bottom of the third as Beacom and NSW starter Lianna Davidson traded strikeouts.

Davidson finished with 14 strikeouts in a stunning pitchers’ duel in the battle for gold.

Both starters worked deep into the game, combining for 31 strikeouts.

Beacom allowed just one hit in 6 1/3 innings and offensively collected two of her own.

A strong start by Genevieve Beacom and two-run homer from Emily Devine lifted Victoria to Youth gold at the 2018 Australian Women’s Baseball Championships in Geelong on Monday.

Beacom struck out 17 and tripled to lead off the fourth ahead of Devine breaking a scoreless deadlock with the first home run of the event.

It was all Victoria needed to prevail 2-0 over New South Wales on Diamond 4 at Geelong Baseball Centre.

The first hit of the contest took until the bottom of the third as Beacom and NSW starter Lianna Davidson traded strikeouts.

Davidson finished with 14 strikeouts in a stunning pitchers’ duel in the battle for gold.

Both starters worked deep into the game, combining for 31 strikeouts.

Beacom allowed just one hit in 6 1/3 innings and offensively collected two of her own.

The 2018 Australian Women’s Baseball Championships continue with the Open Women’s final on Friday.

Victoria claimed Youth gold while in Open Women's Victoria Blue and New South Wales continued their perfect runs in an action-packed fourth day of #AWC2018.

The Victorian Youth team claimed gold over New South Wales on the back of Genevieve Beacom’s 17-strikeout performance and a two-run homer by Emily Devine.

Check out the full day four wrap below:

Open Women 

Western Australia 22, Victoria White 2

Western Australia picked up its third win, crushing Victoria White 22-2 on Diamond 1.

Natalie House and Rebecca Torpy both drove in four runs for WA, which scored 18 in the second inning.

Starter Caitlin Gordon struck out three in two one-hit innings for Western Australia.

The win improved WA’s record to 3-2 ahead of a day five clash with South Australia.

 

South Australia 11, New South Wales Country 1

South Australia snapped a two-game losing skid, taking down New South Wales Country 11-1 on Diamond 2.

SA scored seven in the third inning to open up an 8-0 advantage.

Saeko Suzuki was the star, throwing six one-run innings and going 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Jessica Maslin went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

The result left NSW Country winless after five games.

 

New South Wales 10, Queensland 0

New South Wales maintained its perfect #AWC2018 record with a shutout win over Queensland on Diamond 1.

NSW starter Breanna Donnellan worked five scoreless innings, giving up four hits and striking out three.

Offensively, Amy Collins went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Elodie O’Sullivan went 4-for-4 at the top of the order.

Olivia Bannon collected three hits.

 

Victoria Blue 20, South Australia 8

Victoria Blue overcame an early deficit against South Australia on Diamond 2 to stay undefeated in #AWC2018.

Blue scored the final 13 runs of the ballgame after trailing 8-7 after two.

SA took the ascendancy with an eight-run second, before Blue took control.

Sinead Flanigan drove in seven runs, going 3-for-5.

 

Standings

New South Wales 5-0

Victoria Blue 5-0

Western Australia 3-2

South Australia 2-3

Victoria White 1-3

Queensland 1-4

New South Wales Country 0-5

 

Youth Women

Bronze medal game: Queensland 14, New South Wales Country 10

Queensland used a seven-run fourth to claim Youth bronze at #AWC2018.

Both teams traded early runs before Queensland took a 7-6 lead in the third.

The fourth saw Queensland extend its advantage before a late Country rally fell short.

Charlotte Johnson drove in three runs while Kya Foxwell cleared the bases with a fourth-inning triple and reached home on an error.

 

Gold medal game: Victoria 2, New South Wales 0

A strong start by Genevieve Beacom and two-run homer from Emily Devine lifted Victoria to Youth gold at the 2018 Australian Women’s Baseball Championships in Geelong on Monday.

Beacom struck out 17 and tripled to lead off the fourth ahead of Devine breaking a scoreless deadlock with the first home run of the event.

It was all Victoria needed to prevail 2-0 over New South Wales on Diamond 4 at Geelong Baseball Centre.

The first hit of the contest took until the bottom of the third as Beacom and NSW starter Lianna Davidson traded strikeouts.

Davidson finished with 14 strikeouts in a stunning pitchers’ duel in the battle for gold.

Both starters worked deep into the game, combining for 31 strikeouts.

Beacom allowed just one hit in 6 1/3 innings and offensively collected two of her own.

 (Article published by Baseball Australia - http://baseball.com.au/News/Latest-News/youth-medals-decided-in-action-packed-fourth-day-of-awc2018)

Open Women 

Western Australia 22, Victoria White 2

Western Australia picked up its third win, crushing Victoria White 22-2 on Diamond 1.

Natalie House and Rebecca Torpy both drove in four runs for WA, which scored 18 in the second inning.

Starter Caitlin Gordon struck out three in two one-hit innings for Western Australia.

The win improved WA’s record to 3-2 ahead of a day five clash with South Australia.

 

South Australia 11, New South Wales Country 1

South Australia snapped a two-game losing skid, taking down New South Wales Country 11-1 on Diamond 2.

SA scored seven in the third inning to open up an 8-0 advantage.

Saeko Suzuki was the star, throwing six one-run innings and going 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Jessica Maslin went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

The result left NSW Country winless after five games.

 

New South Wales 10, Queensland 0

New South Wales maintained its perfect #AWC2018 record with a shutout win over Queensland on Diamond 1.

NSW starter Breanna Donnellan worked five scoreless innings, giving up four hits and striking out three.

Offensively, Amy Collins went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Elodie O’Sullivan went 4-for-4 at the top of the order.

Olivia Bannon collected three hits.

 

Victoria Blue 20, South Australia 8

Victoria Blue overcame an early deficit against South Australia on Diamond 2 to stay undefeated in #AWC2018.

Blue scored the final 13 runs of the ballgame after trailing 8-7 after two.

SA took the ascendancy with an eight-run second, before Blue took control.

Sinead Flanigan drove in seven runs, going 3-for-5.

 

Standings

New South Wales 5-0

Victoria Blue 5-0

Western Australia 3-2

South Australia 2-3

Victoria White 1-3

Queensland 1-4

New South Wales Country 0-5

 

Youth Women

Bronze medal game: Queensland 14, New South Wales Country 10

Queensland used a seven-run fourth to claim Youth bronze at #AWC2018.

Both teams traded early runs before Queensland took a 7-6 lead in the third.

The fourth saw Queensland extend its advantage before a late Country rally fell short.

Charlotte Johnson drove in three runs while Kya Foxwell cleared the bases with a fourth-inning triple and reached home on an error.

 

Gold medal game: Victoria 2, New South Wales 0

A strong start by Genevieve Beacom and two-run homer from Emily Devine lifted Victoria to Youth gold at the 2018 Australian Women’s Baseball Championships in Geelong on Monday.

Beacom struck out 17 and tripled to lead off the fourth ahead of Devine breaking a scoreless deadlock with the first home run of the event.

It was all Victoria needed to prevail 2-0 over New South Wales on Diamond 4 at Geelong Baseball Centre.

The first hit of the contest took until the bottom of the third as Beacom and NSW starter Lianna Davidson traded strikeouts.

Davidson finished with 14 strikeouts in a stunning pitchers’ duel in the battle for gold.

Both starters worked deep into the game, combining for 31 strikeouts.

Beacom allowed just one hit in 6 1/3 innings and offensively collected two of her own.