Led by a dominating effort by the Victorian women, all the state teams shrugged off a lacklustre 2-6-1 opening act with a much-improved 4-5 second day, with one of those losses unavoidable with the Under 16 White and Blue teams playing each other. But ladies first.
Determined to get off to a fast start after being shutout in their first game, the host women tallied two in the first, five in the second (to break the tie), before busting out for a ridiculous 14 runs in the bottom of the third. Though they allowed eight to cross the plate in the top half of the fourth, they put the game away with two insurance runs in the bottom of the frame to provide the final margin in the five inning game.
Two hits each from Victoria’s first five hitters—Belinda Cannington, Shae Lillywhite, Amy Collins, Bronwyn Gell and Hannah Jackson—set the table for the dominating performance. Risa Tanaka went 1-1 with an RBI and four runs scored.
In relief, Georgia Page got the win, throwing 1.2 effective innings.
Looking to build on their big victory, the women play a double header today, hosting ACT at 12.30 p.m. and then welcoming Western Australia three hours later.
Speaking of WA . . . their youth women were too much for Victoria’s, shutting them out 14-0 in a game in which pitcher Emily Devine was the only Aces player to record a hit. In their next game against New South Wales Country, they did manage to plate two runs but it was not enough in a 16-2 defeat. Devine, now in left field, had two of her team’s six hits and also had one of the runs batted in. The other RBI came courtesy of third baseman Emma Chandler who also scored one of the two runs (catcher Jamieson Bastian was the other).
The youth women get back out there again this afternoon when they host New South Wales at 1.30 p.m.
It was a mixed bag for the Under 18 sides as both the White and Blue squads each split their two games. Down 3-0 after one and 4-2 after two, the White team fought back to score once each in the third and fourth and three in the fifth to take a commanding 7-4 lead. Though they ceded single runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, hurler Mitchell Whiting closed the door, allowing just two runs in five innings while striking out a pair to get the win. At bat, Hamish Foreman and Andy DiGiovambattista each had two hits for the Aces with Foreman, DiGiovambattista, shortstop Tyson Cox and first baseman Tim Lane contributing the RBI, with three runs of the unearned variety.
In their second game of the day the Aces were no match for Western Australia who blanked them, 6-0. Victoria only managed two hits (Foreman and first baseman Jack Daniels) and struggled in the field, committing four errors. Their next game is tonight at 6.45 against New South Wales Country.
The Blue team played two terrific games, losing one 6-4 to Queensland before coming back to stymie South Australia, 5-3. In the first contest they led 3-2 after two and a half innings but then surrendered a couple runs in the bottom of the third. They tied it at four in the fourth but single runs in the fifth and sixth doomed them to defeat. Catcher/first baseman Justin Bourke again starred for the Aces, going 2-2 with a walk, run and RBI. Designated hitter Matthew Beattie knocked in two and Jordan Busch, playing left, had the other run batted in.
Some highlights, courtesy of Trevor Bird:
Great defensive play by Liam Spence.
Matthew Beattie steals second base.
Safe at home.
In the nightcap, they started fast, tallying all their runs in the first five innings. Though they surrendered three in the bottom of the sixth, Oliver Dunn closed out the win with a dominant one and a third innings when he struck out three of the four batters he faced in the 5-3 victory.
Matthew Beattie pitched five innings, allowing no runs while striking out four.
Today the Blue team plays against Western Australia. First pitch is set for noon.
The most highly anticipated game of the day was replete with Victorian blue and white as the two Under 16 battled it out in a high-scoring grudge match.
Blue got the lead early, scoring once in the top of the first and then three times in both the second and third frames. Undeterred, the White squad tallied twice in the bottom half and then seven times in the fourth to lead 9-8. But on this day Blue was just too much, adding five runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to build a comfortable lead. Though the White squad scored another two runs in the bottom of the seventh, the win went to Blue, 16-11.
Kaioh Sato started for the Blue team, pitching two scoreless innings. But the real stars—as they usually are when 27 runs cross the plate—were the hitters. Conor Myles (four), Jean-Paul Callil (three), Harvey Chinn (three), David Hurley (two) and Jarrod Belbin (two) all dominated for the winning side.
Leadoff hitter Ben Fierenzi had four knocks for the White team and his keystone combo Ryan Pathos and fellow infielder River Stevens-Dobby each had two hits for the vanquished side.
No rest for the weary as both teams play two more games today.
Day One of the 2016 National Youth Championships held at Blue Sox Stadium, got underway yesterday with 12 games being played on the opening day.
Opening up the championship saw Victoria White U18's take on South Australia and the game went the distance with SA getting up in the end 14 to 11.
The first U16 game of the tournament was between Queensland and Western Australia and WA chalked up their first win in a tight game 4 to 3.
Diamond 1 played host to U16 South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory and a strong defensive game saw claim the win 3 to 2 in game 3.
U18's were back in action at 12:00pm with ACT holding out NSW with a 6 to 5 win for their first hit out.
The U16's were on Diamond 2 and WA showed their strength in this tournament with a convincing 15 to 2 final score to close out game 5.
Victoria Blue U16's than took it out to Queensland dominating over the Sunshine State with a 10 to 0 result after just 5 innings of play.
The 3.15pm time slot had U16's New South Wales Country matched up against Victoria White and the home team advantage went in Countries favour with the score board as they got up over Vic White 10 to 2.
Game 8 the U16s were back on Diamond 2, this time SA held on in the tight game with a final score of 5 to 4 over NSW.
The day of double headers continued for the U16's with Victoria Blue shutting down ACT 3 to 2 to complete game 9.
Queensland U18's first hit out of the tournament saw them go down to WA 7 to 2 in the first of the night games on day one.
New South Wales Country showed their strength with a solid 8 to 4 win over Victoria Blue for a great start to their championship goals.
Diamond 1 was the stage for the U16 home town derby which after a game of big hits, saw NSW win the game and bragging rights over Country with a 9 to 4 result to wrap up day one.
For all Standings, Live Scoring, Photo Galleries please follow the links below to the Event Pages
U16 Event Page
U18 Event Page.
Though it wasn’t the best day for the six Victoria teams vying for national championships—two under 16 and under 18 boys’ squads and a youth and adult women contingent—there were bright spots. At Blacktown International Sportspark, the Under 16 Blue team won both games: 10-0 over Queensland and a 3-2 nailbiter over the Australian Capital Territory, 3-2. The White squad wasn’t as fortunate, falling 15-2 to Western Australia and 10-2 against New South Wales Country.
The Under 18s, also playing in Blacktown, lost both contests, the Whites in heartbreaking fashion. In a wild back-and-forth affair, the Victoria White team led 3-1 after one and then gave up six runs in the third and two in the fourth before answering with five in the fifth to narrow the deficit to one, 9-8.
After giving up a run in the sixth, they scored two in the bottom half to tie the game. The teams then traded single runs (the top of the seventh for SA, the bottom of the eighth for Victoria) before the visiting team scored three in the top of the 10th to provide the winning margin.
Despite two hits from catcher Chase Hodkinson (including a triple), the Victorian Blue team fell to New South Wales Country, 8-4.
Below are some photos (courtesy of Trevor Bird) from the Under 18 Blue’s game against New South Wales Country.
Staying loose before the game.
Justin Burke's triple . . .
. . . and then Hodkinson does likewise from the other side of the plate.
Jackson Boyd allowed just one run in two innings of work.
Showing a remarkable amount of adversity, the Victorian Youth Women’s team rallied to tie the Queensland contingent 6-6 after losing earlier in the day 25-0 to New South Wales at the Narrabunah Ballpark in Canberra. Pitcher/third baseman Jamieson Bastian starred in the nightcap, going 2-3 with a run and an RBI.
Jackson Boyd allowed just one run in two innings of work.
Showing a remarkable amount of adversity, the Victorian Youth Women’s team rallied to tie the Queensland contingent 6-6 after losing earlier in the day 25-0 to New South Wales at the Narrabunah Ballpark in Canberra. Pitcher/third baseman Jamieson Bastian starred in the nightcap, going 2-3 with a run and an RBI.
The Victorian adult women managed just four hits—Belinda Cannington, Abbey Kelly, Amy Collins and Risa Tanaka each had one apiece—in a 17-0 whitewashing by a powerful New South Wales team.
The Victorian adult women managed just four hits—Belinda Cannington, Abbey Kelly, Amy Collins and Risa Tanaka each had one apiece—in a 17-0 whitewashing by a powerful New South Wales team.
The 2016 National Youth Women's Championship started with a bang at the Cavalry home, Narrabundah Ballpark with some impressive wins to close out Day One.
Queensland took on New South Wales Country in the tournament opener, and the sunshine state came out on top with a 10 to 4 victory over Country.
Reigning Champs New South Wales, showed they are determined to continue their past championship dominance with 25 to 0 outing over Victoria to finish out game 2.
Game 3 saw a similar scoreline when Western Australia held Country to just 3 runs to their 25 in the game 4 match up.
Concluding play on Day One, the double header saw Victoria take on Queensland, and at the bottom of the 7th and after 2 hours of play they couldn't be separated, and finished the game locked at 6 all.
Play resumes 9am Monday January 11, with live scoring and team rosters all available here
As the sunset over Narrabundah Ballpark, home of the Cavalry, play wrapped up on Day one of the Women's National Championship for 2016.
First game of the Championship saw Western Australia take on the Australian Capital Territory with the win going to WA a convincing 13 to 3.
Starting their tournament off with a bang, New South Wales with a 17 to 0 win over Victoria to close out game 2.
Final game for the opening day, had Western Australia with the double header taking the win from Queensland, final score 12 to 9 and finishing the day two from two.
Play resumes tomorrow morning 9.30am, for team rosters, fixtures and results click here.
With more than 20 players from the Waverley Baseball Club participating in either the 2016 National Championships or the Australian Baseball League, the Victorian Summer Baseball League (VSBL) after careful consideration has resolved to reschedule two of Waverley Baseball Club’s games from the following two Sundays (10 and 17 January) to mid-week games in February.
Please see the attached release for more information.
Baseball Australia is pleased to announce, the 2016 Australian Junior League Championship will be held from 22 to 26 May, at Diamond Sports SA, West Beach, South Australia.
The Championship will feature 16 All-Star Junior League teams from across Australia for the five-day tournament.
“Baseball SA is pleased to be able to host the Australian Junior League Championship, to have the best youth teams in the country coming to Adelaide to compete for the National Title is very exciting” Nathan Davison, Baseball SA and Adelaide Bite CEO.
With the Junior League Championship now in its second year, Baseball Australia is looking forward to working with our partners at Baseball SA to deliver a memorable Championship in 2016.
Further information on the 2016 Australian Junior League Championships will be released in the coming weeks on our website baseball.com.au
Baseball Australia is pleased to announce, the 2016 Australian Junior League Championship will be held from 22 to 26 May, at Diamond Sports SA, West Beach, South Australia.
The Championship will feature 16 All-Star Junior League teams from across Australia for the five-day tournament.
“Baseball SA is pleased to be able to host the Australian Junior League Championship, to have the best youth teams in the country coming to Adelaide to compete for the National Title is very exciting” Nathan Davison, Baseball SA and Adelaide Bite CEO.
With the Junior League Championship now in its second year, Baseball Australia is looking forward to working with our partners at Baseball SA to deliver a memorable Championship in 2016.
Further information on the 2016 Australian Junior League Championships will be released in the coming weeks on our website baseball.com.au
Baseball Australia is pleased to announce the Coaching Staff for the Australian Women’s A-Roo Development Team, that will compete in the Phoenix Cup, 19 to 22 February 2016 in Hong Kong.
The Phoenix Cup is an open-age tournament that provides important development opportunities and international tournament experience, to those players who are looking to move through to the Senior National Women’s Program in the future.
2016 Australian Women’s A-Roo Development Team Coaching Staff
Lisa Norrie (QLD) Manager
Ashleigh Ross (NSW) Assistant Coach
Sharon Moss (QLD) Executive Officer/Assistant Coach
BA wishes to congratulate Lisa, Ashley and Sharon on their appointment.
This is the fourth consecutive year Australia has competed at the Phoenix Cup, finishing with Silver in 2013 and Bronze in 2014 and 2015.
The team will be selected at this years National Women’s and National Youth Women’s Championships, 10 to 17 January, Narrabundah Ballpark, ACT,. Successful players will be notified shortly after those events.
Further information on the Women’s Nationals at baseball.com.au
Baseball Australia is pleased to announce the Coaching Staff for the Australian Women’s A-Roo Development Team, that will compete in the Phoenix Cup, 19 to 22 February 2016 in Hong Kong.
The Phoenix Cup is an open-age tournament that provides important development opportunities and international tournament experience, to those players who are looking to move through to the Senior National Women’s Program in the future.
2016 Australian Women’s A-Roo Development Team Coaching Staff
Lisa Norrie (QLD) Manager
Ashleigh Ross (NSW) Assistant Coach
Sharon Moss (QLD) Executive Officer/Assistant Coach
BA wishes to congratulate Lisa, Ashley and Sharon on their appointment.
This is the fourth consecutive year Australia has competed at the Phoenix Cup, finishing with Silver in 2013 and Bronze in 2014 and 2015.
The team will be selected at this years National Women’s and National Youth Women’s Championships, 10 to 17 January, Narrabundah Ballpark, ACT,. Successful players will be notified shortly after those events.
Further information on the Women’s Nationals at baseball.com.au
In a move that will help shape the future of Women’s Baseball in this country, Baseball Australia has today announced the appointment of a new Women’s Baseball Advisory Panel, who’s main objective, is to identify area’s and opportunity for improvement and growth of the women’s game, from grass roots through to high performance.
The Advisory Panel, made up of a group of selected volunteers, who boast a vast range of knowledge, which spans all levels of baseball and more specifically Australian Women’s Baseball.
Narelle Gosstray - Northern Territory
Simone Wearne - Victoria
Al Connors - Queensland
Shae Lillywhite - Victoria
David Nagy - New South Wales
Amanda Micro - Western Australia
John Gaynor - New South Wales
Dean White - Western Australia
Hitting the ground running the panel wishes to invite all those in the Australian Women’s Baseball community to come together and help create the future you want to see. A forum will be held in Canberra at the Women’s National Championships Monday 11 January 2016 from 7pm.
We encourage anyone who wants to contribute to the future of Australian Women’s Baseball to get on board and start the conversation now. The forum is open to all junior and senior players, coaches, officials, volunteers and parents and registrations to attend are essential.
To register your attendance or interest click here.
Further information on the forum will be available in the weeks to come.