The U25 National Championship got underway today at Trinity Beach Baseball Facility in Queensland. Four teams faced off in four games on day one of the six-day tournament, which features squads from New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.
Game 1: Queensland 5, Victoria 2 (7 innings)
Queensland struck first and hung on to beat Victoria 5-2 in the opening game of the tournament. The QLD side scored a pair of runs in the top of the first frame, but VIC cut the lead in half in the bottom of the same inning and tied the ballgame in the next inning. QLD regained the lead with a run in the top of the sixth inning and put a pair of runs on the board in the next frame to win 5-2. Ryan Battaglia led the QLD offence with three RBIs.
Game 2: South Australia 4, New South Wales 3 (7 innings)
The second game of the tournament was also a back-and-forth affair, with South Australia emerging victorious over home side New South Wales. Brad Torkington, who went 3-for-3 on the day, got SA on the board first with a two-run home run in the top of the second inning. However, the lead didn't last long as NSW came charging back, taking a one-run lead with a run in the fourth and two runs in the fifth. SA tied the game with a run in the sixth and took the lead with another run in the final frame.
Game 3: Queensland 6, Victoria 0 (7 innings)
After beating Victoria in the morning, Queensland made it two wins on the day with a 6-0 shutout win over VIC in the afternoon. Jake Muscat tossed seven innngs and struck out five batters on the mound for QLD, while Ryan Battaglia once again led the Queenslanders at the plate with three RBIs. VIC managed just one hit in the loss, though pitcher Hayden Godbold struck out five batters in his three innings on the mound.
Game 4: New South Wales 7, South Australia 0 (7 innings)
Powered by a three-run sixth inning, New South Wales got redemption over South Australia after the close loss in the morning, shutting out SA 7-0. The game was a scoreless tie until the top of the third frame, when NSW took a 1-0 lead. Another run followed in the fifth inning, followed by the three-run sixth. NSW scored twice more in the seventh to win 7-0. Josh Strong drove in four runs for NSW, while Claude Bova struck out six batters in five innings.
OSAKA, Japan -- No. 14 Australia has a chance to medal at the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation U18 Baseball World Cup. After falling to No. 8 South Korea today by a close score of 3-0, Australia will face South Korea again in the tournament's bronze medal game Sunday, 6 September at 11:00am AEST.
Today's game stood a scoreless tie until mid-game, when South Korea put three runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth. The Korean side score the first run on back-to-back-doubles, and the next two on a long home run off the bat of Hwang Sundo.
Australia had chances to cut into the lead late in the game, putting a pair of runners on with one out in the sixth inning and loading the bases with one out in the eighth. However, the team left the baserunners stranded in both situations.
Jye Deeble took the loss for Australia, surrendering three runs on five hits in his four innings on the mound. He also struck out six batters and walked none. Jess Williams tossed four scoreless innings in relief of Deeble, allowing one hit and striking out three batters and walking two. Mitch Holding led Australia at the plate, going 2-for-4 on the day with a double.
The tournament's bronze medal game will take place tomorrow at 11:00am AEST. Following Australia and South Korea in the bronze medal game, No. 1 Japan and No. 2 USA will play for the championship at 7:00pm AEST.
Live scoring links for the bronze medal and championship games can be found here.
Cairns Baseball League will host the 2015 U25 National Championship, starting today at Trinity Beach Baseball Facility in Queensland. The tournament features teams from New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria, and ends Thursday, 10 September.
Today will see four games played between the four squads. Queensland and Victoria kick off tournament action this morning at 10:00am AEST, followed by a 10:30am AEST start time for South Australia and New South Wales. Both matchups will repeat this afternoon, followed Sunday by matches between Victoria and South Australia, and New South Wales and Queensland. All games will be live scored on GameChanger.
More information on the U25 National Championship can be found at the following links.
The day after an historic win against No. 3 Cuba in the Super Round of the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation U18 Baseball World Cup, No. 14 Australia fell to No. 7 Canada 10-3 in a game that was a back and forth battle until Canada pulled away late.
Canada got on the board first, scoring one run in the top of the second inning. Australia tied the ballgame two frames later, but Canada scored another pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning to make the score 3-1.
A sacrifice fly by Nate Vankan cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fifth, but Canada added two more runs in the sixth to extend the lead. The Canadians broke away in the top of the seventh, putting a five-spot on the board in the frame to extend their lead to eight runs. Australia mustered another run in the bottom of the eighth, but it wasn't enough to mount a complete comeback.
Despite the loss, Aussie starting pitcher Alex Wells put together a quality start, allowing just three runs on seven hits and striking out three Canadian batters in his five innings of work.
The team will conclude the Super Round against No. 8 South Korea tomorrow at 1:00pm AEST. Follow the game via live scoring or live streaming.
The Under 25 State Championships begin this Saturday the 5th of September at Trinity Beach Baseball Facility in Cairns Queensland. The Victorian team is headed by coach Dean Marnell and assistant coaches Matt Gourlay, Scott Meagher and Tony Cornish.The tournament is played over the following week and finishes up on the 10th of September.
Baseball Victoria wishes all the teams good luck in the tournament.
For all updates during the tournament please go to the link below:
http://www.baseball.com.au/Events/National-Championships/Under-25
Ten innings, seven runs and nine hits led to one historic night for No. 14 Australia, which defeated No. 3 Cuba 7-4 in the team's opening game of the Super Round of the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation U18 Baseball World Cup in Osaka, Japan.
The win marked Australia's first international victory over Cuba since 2010, when the Aussie side beat Cuba 2-1 in the semifinals of the 2010 U18 Baseball World Cup en route to a silver medal finish in the tournament.
Australia took an early 3-0 lead over Cuba in the first inning on an RBI single and two bases-loaded walks. Rainy conditions in Osaka forced the game's first pitch to be pushed back by about 90 minutes, but Aussie starting pitcher Lachlan Wells showed no signs of fatigue in his first inning of work, striking out the first batter he faced and allowing a single before striking out two more batters to end the inning.
Cuba cut the lead to one run in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI double and a wild pitch, but Wells battled his way out of a jam, striking out Luis Robert with the bases loaded to end the inning and the threat. Wells allowed just two runs in his four innings of work, striking out seven batters total.
An RBI groundout in the top of the fourth inning increased Australia's lead to 4-2, but home team Cuba scored one run apiece in the fifth and sixth innings to tie the ballgame. Cuba loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Aussie reliever Mitch Neunborn got a strike out and a groundout to send the game into extra innings.
International tiebreaker rules came into effect in the tenth inning, when manager Steve Fish placed George Callil on second base and Jess Williams on first base, with Nate Vankan at the plate to start the frame. Vankan laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position for the middle of the Aussie lineup. With runners on second and third no outs, Ryan Kift walked to load the bases for Mitch Holding. Holding came through in the clutch with a single to right field, scoring both Callil and Williams and giving Australia a 6-4 lead. One out later, Australia loaded the bases for Tristan King. King walked to drive in Australia's seventh run of the game.
In the bottom of the frame Cuba placed runners on first and second in accordance with the rules. The runners on base didn't faze Aussie pitcher Neunborn, who struck out the first two batters he faced in the inning and induced a groundout to end the game victoriously for Australia, by a score of 7-4.
An especially big congratulations to Victorians to Mitch Holding, Max Barrett, George Callil, Jack Enciondo, and assistant coach Damian Shanahan.
Australia will play its second Super Round game tomorrow against No. 7 Canada. Game time is 1:00pm AEST and the game can be followed via live streaming or live scoring.
Ten innings, seven runs and nine hits led to one historic night for No. 14 Australia, which defeated No. 3 Cuba 7-4 in the team's opening game of the Super Round of the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation U18 Baseball World Cup in Osaka, Japan.
The win marked Australia's first international victory over Cuba since 2010, when the Aussie side beat Cuba 2-1 in the semifinals of the 2010 U18 Baseball World Cup en route to a silver medal finish in the tournament.
Australia took an early 3-0 lead over Cuba in the first inning on an RBI single and two bases-loaded walks. Rainy conditions in Osaka forced the game's first pitch to be pushed back by about 90 minutes, but Aussie starting pitcher Lachlan Wells showed no signs of fatigue in his first inning of work, striking out the first batter he faced and allowing a single before striking out two more batters to end the inning.
Cuba cut the lead to one run in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI double and a wild pitch, but Wells battled his way out of a jam, striking out Luis Robert with the bases loaded to end the inning and the threat. Wells allowed just two runs in his four innings of work, striking out seven batters total.
An RBI groundout in the top of the fourth inning increased Australia's lead to 4-2, but home team Cuba scored one run apiece in the fifth and sixth innings to tie the ballgame. Cuba loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Aussie reliever Mitch Neunborn got a strike out and a groundout to send the game into extra innings.
International tiebreaker rules came into effect in the tenth inning, when manager Steve Fish placed George Callil on second base and Jess Williams on first base, with Nate Vankan at the plate to start the frame. Vankan laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position for the middle of the Aussie lineup. With runners on second and third no outs, Ryan Kift walked to load the bases for Mitch Holding. Holding came through in the clutch with a single to right field, scoring both Callil and Williams and giving Australia a 6-4 lead. One out later, Australia loaded the bases for Tristan King. King walked to drive in Australia's seventh run of the game.
In the bottom of the frame Cuba placed runners on first and second in accordance with the rules. The runners on base didn't faze Aussie pitcher Neunborn, who struck out the first two batters he faced in the inning and induced a groundout to end the game victoriously for Australia, by a score of 7-4.
OSAKA, Japan -- Australia will continue to face off against the best up-and-coming baseballers in the world after qualifying for the Super Round at the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation U18 Baseball World Cup in Osaka, Japan.
The team kicks off Super Round play against No. 3 Cuba on Thursday, 3 September at 4:30pm AEST. Friday, 4 September the team will play No. 7 Canada at 1:00pm AEST. The two teams clashed recently in an eight-game WBSC sanctioned series, which Australia won 7-1.
Australia will conclude Super Round play against No. 8 South Korea on Saturday, 5 September at 1:00pm AEST. All of Australia's Super Round games will be live streamed on WBSC Channel 2 and can be followed via live scoring.
The team beganthe World Cup with a dominant 10-0 win over No. 12 Mexico on the first day, and followed that win with an 11-1 victory over No. 15 Brazil. After a pair of losses to No. 1 Japan and No. 2 USA, Australia ended the first round by beating No. 20 the Czech Republic 10-0. The team finished with a 3-2 first round record, ranking third in Group A and earning a spot in the tournament's next round.
The Super Round concludes on Saturday, 5 September and the finals will take place on Sunday, 6 September.
More information can be found using the following links.
Resignation of Baseball Victoria Chief Executive Officer, Neale Price
The Board of Baseball Victoria wishes to announce the resignation of the Baseball Victoria Chief Executive Officer Neale Price effective Friday the 11th of September 2015. The Board accepted Neale’s resignation, respectful and understanding of his departure due to personal reasons.
The Board of Baseball Victoria also wishes to announce the appointment of Ashley Blair as Interim General Manager of Baseball Victoria effective Friday 11 September 2015. Ashley will occupy this role until the recruitment of Neale’s replacement is concluded.
Please find attached the full media release detailing Neale's resignation and Ashley's appointment.
(Interim General Manager Ashley Blair and Baseball Victoria President Myles Foreman)