Championship Game: Hills 8-4 Swan Hills
Hills made Australian Little League history today as the first Australian Charter to attend back-to-back Little League World Series’ after defeating a gallant Swan Hills Aces team 8-4.
Both starting pitchers had moments of brilliance, with Swan Hills’ Elijah Hewett striking out eight Hills hitters. At one stage during the ballgame, Hewett was untouchable, striking out seven consecutive hitters in a brilliant performance.
Hills’ Stephen Courtney was equally outstanding, striking out nine in four hitless innings to lead his team with the ball.
Courtney was equally dominant with bat in hand too, finishing with four RBI and a massive home run to centrefield that broke the scoreless tie.
Hills Manager Chris Swan praised Courtney’s attitude post-game.
“He’s probably the most positive and influential player we’ve got,” Swan said.
“Whenever the boys need some inspiration, they look to Stephen and he delivers every time.”
Harrison Wheeldon and Tyler Spiteri also hit well for Hills, picking up a pair of hits each.
In trademark fashion, Swan Hills never gave up, and when Ben Ferencakovic drove in the Aces’ fourth run in as many at bats, the ballgame was well and truly alive.
Cody Brian got the call to finish the game on the mound for Hills, and the young man delivered, tossing two innings of scoreless relief to end the ballgame.
Hills’ 2017 championship team has three players returning from last year’s historic run at the Little League World Series, with Stephen Courtney, Ethan Treble and Harrison Wheeldon all making a rare second appearance at the biggest Little League event on the planet.
Bronze Medal Playoff: Manly 11-6 Macarthur
Manly fell behind by four late in the game, but a big inning fourth inning proved the difference as they claimed the Bronze Medal, defeating Macarthur 11-6.
Manly’s starting pitcher Nic Tyrpenou kept the strong Macarthur lineup in check for the first three innings, however an offensive explosion saw Macarthur take the lead in the fourth inning.
Bayley Stevens was one of Macarthur’s best with bat in hand, going 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Charles Kernan picked up a double and an RBI as a pinch hitter.
Tallulah Lewis and Wilson Spinks claimed a pair of RBI each for Manly, while leadoff hitter Daigo Yamaguchi showed patience at the plate, picking up a hit and two walks on the day.
Samuel Jackson struck out five and only gave up a pair of earned runs in his 2.2 innings of work for Macarthur. Manly’s Jacob Wander came into the ballgame in a tough situation for a relief pitcher and thrived, striking out five and only giving up one hit in the final 2.1 innings of the ballgame.
5th Place Playoff: Cronulla 9-3 Eastern Athletics
The Eastern Athletics jumped out to an early lead, but some late Cronulla runs proved the difference, as the Sharks claimed a 9-3 victory.
Both starting pitchers threw strongly for their respective teams. Anthony Tsoukarellis only gave up three runs in his four innings of work, striking out nine for Cronulla, while Athletics starter Austin Neave scattered four hits across his three-inning start.
7th Place Playoff: Ryde 11-7 Southern Mariners
Both teams swung the bats well in the seventh place playoff, however Ryde came home stronger, defeating the Southern Mariners 11-7.
Ryde starter Peter Bae showed great speed on his fastball, striking out six in 3.2 innings. Bae also swung the bat well too, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI.
Kynan Leong also chimed in with a home run for Ryde, while leadoff man Dylan Searle hit strongly all day, finished with two hits and three RBI.
Xander Gunn had a strong start on the mound for the Mariners, striking out three and only giving up two runs in his three innings of work.
Nic Volpe, Angelo Reale-Rontos and Matthew Atkins all picked up three hits each for the Mariners, and while the Victorian charter finished the game well, Ryde hung on for a four run victory.
Final Standings:
1. Hills (NSW)
2. Swan Hills (WA)
3. Manly (NSW)
4. Macarthur (NSW)
5. Cronulla (NSW)
6. Eastern Athletics (VIC)
7. Ryde (NSW)
8. Southern Mariners (VIC)
SF1: Hills 7-1 Manly
Hills again used late runs to shake off their opposition and claim a 7-1 victory, with Manly providing some strong resistance.
Harrison Wheeldon shone for Hills, as he struck out 12 in a complete game. Wheeldon only yielded three hits in his six innings of work, and didn’t allow a base on balls all game.
Stephen Courtney nailed a massive solo home run to right centre field in the third inning to extend Hills’ lead. Courtney was ably supported by Jett Watson who also claimed a hit and an RBI in the game.
Wilson Spinks managed two hits for Manly, while Nick Gall’s RBI double in the first inning gave Manly an early lead.
From there however, the pitching and defence of Hills shone, and some consistent hitting throughout the ballgame saw them eventually claim a six run win, and a spot in the Bendigo Bank Australian Little League Championship Gold Medal Game.
SF2: Swan Hills 8-0 Macarthur
Tristan Burgess was simply outstanding as he tossed 5.2 scoreless innings to book Swan Hills’ place in the Bendigo Bank Australian Little League Championship Gold Medal Game.
The Aces backed their starting pitcher up well with some late runs, as it took until the fourth inning to break the scoreless deadlock.
Hits were shared for Swan Hills all day, with Kai Cahill picking up a pair of RBI. Elijah Hewett made his only hit of the ballgame count, nailing a two-run home run to break the tie in the fourth inning.
Lachlan Bigwood, Owen Glover and Bayley Stevens all picked up hits for Macarthur, with Stevens also striking out nine in his 4.1 innings of work.
Swan Hills will take on Hills in the Gold Medal Game for the Australian Championship and the right to represent the Australia Region at the Little League World Series.
QF 1: Swan Hills 11-3 Eastern Athletics
Behind a stunning complete game from Ben Ferencakovic, Swan Hills booked their place in the Semi Final after defeating the Eastern Athletics 11-3.
Ferencakovic struck out 13 and only gave up two earned runs as he anchored the Aces to a semi final berth against Macarthur.
The top half of the Aces lineup did the damage with Matthew Kemp leading off strongly. The right-hander went 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI.
Jordan Brokas, Elijah Hewett and Tristan Burgess all nailed doubles for the Aces as Hewett finished with a pair of RBI.
Tyler Evans was the only Athletics player to claim multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with an RBI, while James Richardson chimed in with the other RBI for the Athletics. Evans kept the Swan Hills hitters honest all day striking out nine, however the Aces lineup claimed some crucial hits to seal their place in the final four.
QF2: Macarthur 11-4 Ryde
Ryde skipped out to an early four run lead, however 11 unanswered runs from fellow NSW charter Macarthur saw them run out 11-4 winners on Diamond 2.
Ryde used a battery of six pitchers to try and keep the strong Macarthur bats at bay, while Macarthur reliever Zac Small was outstanding.
Small struck out eight and scattered three hits in four shutout relief innings for Macarthur, as the top seed from Pool A progressed to the Semi Finals.
Bayley Stevens had a strong day at the plate for Macarthur, claiming two hits and two RBI from his three at bats. Stevens was ably supported by Owen Glover, as Macarthur’s four hole hitter drove in two runs of his own.
Kaiden Fasion and Matthew Cecere both picked up two hits for Ryde, while Dylan Searle also chimed in, driving in a pair of runs with his double.
A five run inning wrestled momentum back for Macarthur as they stormed home to, claim a semi final berth and keeping their Little League World Series dream alive.
QF3: Manly 6-5 Cronulla
Manly withstood a remarkable comeback from Cronulla to win 6-5 in the final inning in Diamond 3’s quarter final matchup.
Cronulla erased an early four run deficit with five runs of their own, however Manly’s James Frederikson scored the game winning run as he drew a bases loaded walk in the final inning.
Jacob Wander and Wilson Spinks both hit well for Manly, both claiming two hits apiece. Spinks proved a tough out for Cronulla all day, nailing a double, a triple and claiming two walks in a fantastic performance at the plate.
Nick Gall was fantastic as Manly’s starting pitcher, striking out eight and only giving up one earned run in his five innings of work.
Cronulla roared back into contention care of some timely and strong hitting. Matthew Palmer and Nathan Howarth claimed a home run each for Cronulla, while Patrick Glasheen and Jye Burns both nailed RBI triples to tie up the game in the top of the sixth.
Manly’s Tallulah Lewis walked to load the bases with one out in the final frame,, and with two out, Frederikson showed patience to draw a walk and seal Manly’s spot in the semi final.
QF4: Hills 9-3 Southern Mariners
Defending champion Hills kept their quest for back-to-back Bendigo Bank Australian Little League Championship alive after a six run quarter final victory over the Southern Mariners.
Both starting pitchers had their strikeout pitches working, as Hills’ Tom Stancic fanned eight while Genevieve Beacom reached 10 strikeouts for the Mariners.
As well as a fantastic performance on the mound, Tom Stancic had an outstanding game with bat in hand, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and four RBI.
Tom Brookes and Angelo Reale-Rontos both claimed two hits for the Mariners, with both young men driving in a run each.
The Mariners swung the bats well against Hills reliever Liam Padovan, however Padovan’s outing remained scoreless, as he struck out three in 2.1 innings to end the ballgame for Hills.
The game remained scoreless through three innings, and the Mariners kept Hills at bay for five of the six frames, however a five run final inning from Hills proved too tough a task for the Mariners.
Eastern Athletics 8-6 Ryde
The Eastern Athletics fought off a tough Ryde team to claim an 8-6 win and a spot in the 5th place playoff at the 2017 Bendigo Bank Australian Little League Championship.
Nick Parton kept the Athletics offence ticking over, as he went 2-for-3 with three RBI. James Richardson also claimed two hits for the Athletics, while Tyler Evans drove in a pair of runs.
Hitting fifth for Ryde, Kynan Leong picked up two RBI from his two hits, while Zen Stevens was an impossible out for the Athletics. The Ryde infielder went 2-for-2 with a walk.
Ryde scored the final three runs of the ballgame, however Matthew Lavery finished off the ballgame for the Athletics, picking up the final out and sealing a hard fought victory.
Cronulla 10-5 Southern Mariners
Some consistent early scoring put Cronulla in front for good, as they ran out 10-5 winners against the Southern Mariners.
Nathan Howarth had a hand in everything for Cronulla, nailing two doubles, driving in a run and scoring twice. As well as his performance with the bat, Howarth struck out 10 in 3.2 innings of work.
Brendan Regan came on in relief of Howarth and performed well in a pressure situation, striking out three and only giving up the one run in 2.1 innings of work.
Tom Brookes continued his solid day for the Mariners, driving in two of his team’s five runs. Noah Kelly and Bailey Toms both swung the bat well for Cronulla, with both young men driving in two runs each.
Wesley Ka kept a hot Cronulla lineup at bay, throwing two innings of scoreless relief, however the damage was done, as Cronulla booked their place in the 5th place playoff.
Click here for a full schedule of the final day’s action at the Bendigo Bank Australian Little League Championship.
Original story via Waverley Baseball Club
Original story via The Waverley Baseball Club
Diamond Valley have been crowned our 2017 U18 State Winter Champions after defeating Dandenong 12-2 in a hard fought final.
Dandenong went through the pool round undefeated after defeating Diamond Valley 4-5 in an an extremely tight game before Diamond Valley were able to respond in the final and win the Championship with the scoreline not a true reflection on how evenly matched these two teams were.
All competitors across the six teams played hard and fair with the following players names Most Valuable Player for their respective teams: Braydon Douglas (Sunraysia), Joel Anson (Latrobe Valley), Liam Evans (Ringwood), Kobe Greenhalgn (Geelong), Declan Croker (Dandenong), Jarrod Belbin (Diamond Valley).
Congratulations to the Diamond Valley team on taking out the 2017 Under 18 State Winter Championships as we now prepare for the U16 Championships in Wangaratta.
Team Australia plans to take on Cuba in late 2018 in an international baseball series announced by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in Cuba on Friday 30 June 2017 (Saturday morning Australian time).
The historic agreement recognises Australia’s improved standing on the world baseball stage, with Team Australia now ranked at eighth in the world - an all-time high, and Cuba ranked three places higher in fifth.
It is envisaged that the Australia-Cuba series would alternate between the two countries, opening up significant opportunity for tourism, business and trade, further demonstrating the power of sports diplomacy in building greater understanding and cooperation between Australia and Cuba.
The International series will bring top-level baseball to Australian soil and provide the opportunity for both countries to get meaningful preparation as both Australia and Cuba seek to qualify for the Premier12 Baseball Championship and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The countries most recently met at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in the group stage, with Australia taking an early lead, only to go down 4-3 against a strong Cuban team. The series will see the two nations lock horns again, in what is sure to be a classic series.
Baseball Australia CEO Cam Vale was delighted to confirm the news, as baseball continues to take great strides forward on the Australian sporting landscape.
“This is a great opportunity for the Australian sporting public to watch some of the best baseball players on the planet play in a meaningful series on Australia soil,” said Vale.
“Key to our growth agenda at Baseball Australia is to ensure Australians can watch their national team more regularly on Australian soil, and to secure a series against a world giant of international baseball like Cuba is really significant.”
“We look forward to building on the 2018 Australia-Cuba series and the range of new opportunities it will bring in both a fan engagement and commercial sense.”
“On behalf of everyone in the Australian baseball community I’d like to personally acknowledge the support of Minister Bishop and the Australian Government in helping bring about this important series."
Baseball Australia will release more detail regarding the Australia-Cuba Baseball Series in coming months.
Baseball Australia is excited to announce the schedule and broadcast information for the conclusion of the Bendigo Bank Australian Little League Championship.
The eight remaining teams in contention for the Australian Championship will do battle at Blacktown International Sportspark on the 8th and 9th of July, following the championship’s rescheduling due to inclement weather.
All eight teams will be in action in four must-win quarterfinals, with the final to be played on the Blacktown International Sportspark Softball Centre Diamond at 10.15am AEST on the 9th of July.
The quarter final between Swan Hills (WA) and Eastern Athletics (VIC) will be the first broadcast game of the weekend at 10am AEST. This game will be followed by the second semi final at 1pm AEST.
The Championship Game will begin at 10.15am AEST on the 9th of July and will be broadcast live on www.abltv.com.
The winner of the Bendigo Bank Australian Little League Championship will represent the Australia Region at the 2017 Little League World Series from 17-27 August in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Click here for a full schedule of the weekend’s games
Baseball Australia is excited to announce a partnership with PTP, which will greatly benefit the long term conditioning of our high performance programs.
PTP will become the official supplier of the high performance program’s pre-game injury prevention, post-game recovery and rehabilitation equipment that will provide our high performance athletes with smarter movement and better performance.
General Manager of PTP, Chris O’Sullivan is eager to partner with Team Australia.
“This partnership is especially exciting as Team Australia becomes PTP’s first official National Sporting Team Partner,” O’Sullivan said.
"We are looking forward to working with and helping the team on their road to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”
Baseball Australia CEO Cam Vale is pleased to align Team Australia with a respected company like PTP.
“One of my objectives when taking on the role was to collaborate with quality brands,” Vale said.
“We are delighted to partner with PTP and their team to help build their brand globally, while also providing our programs with first class equipment.”
Head to www.ptpfit.com to browse a vast range of high quality exercise products.
Baseball Australia is proud to launch the 2017 edition of the MLB Australian Academy Program (MLBAAP).
The MLBAAP enables MLB Clubs to evaluate the best and brightest U18 baseball players Australia has to offer.
Held at Surfers Paradise Baseball Club between 28 July and 6 August, the MLBAAP is a continual partnership between Baseball Australia and Major League Baseball, and aims to further enhance the quality and quantity of elite baseball players coming from the region.
As well as giving top Australian prospects the chance of being signed by an MLB team, the MLBAAP gives already signed athletes the chance to improve their skills and give them an insight into the day-to-day rigours of professional baseball.
This year, 51 of the best and brightest talents from around Australia will be put through their paces in an intense 10 day program of high quality games and workouts delivered by the best coaches Australia has to offer.
As well as a multitude of athletes that are yet to be signed to a professional team or college, a number of young men that have already committed to playing baseball in the US will suit up at the MLBAAP.
South Aussie Jack O’Loughlin and Victorian Matt Beattie both signed professional contracts with the Detroit Tigers in the last 12 months, while Queensland native Josh Bedggood and Victoria’s Jordan Barnett have committed to college programs.
March 2017 saw the second edition of Australians competing for the MLB World Select Team in the USA, and 12 of the 13 athletes that spent time playing in front of a multitude of professional scouts will return to the MLBAAP in 2017.
Baseball Australia’s Head of High Performance Glenn Williams is excited to see such a deep playing roster at this year.
“The MLBAAP has a storied history of producing professional players and Team Australia stars,” Williams said.
“These young men will have the chance to work with an amazing coaching staff that have a wealth of experience at the level of baseball they dream of playing at. We are grateful to MLB for their continued support of player development in Australia. Thanks to their support, opportunities for our players, both domestically and internationally, continue to be provided.”
For a full list of 2017 MLBAAP participants, click here.