The opening round is done and dusted, and there are four teams left in contention for the U16 and the U18 Australian Youth Championship presented by Beastwear! Check out a full recap of each game below.
U16: Victoria White 12-10 South Australia | BOX SCORE
Victoria White came from seven runs down to record a narrow win over South Australia and seal a top four finish in the U16s.
Vic White nailed 14 hits against SA, with leadoff man Travis Finney picking up a double and driving in two RBI.
Charlie O’Connell and Ryan Othen also picked up two RBI for Vic White, and in a high scoring encounter, Rhys Fairweather was excellent on the mound.
Fairwearther kept the SA offence quiet in the final two frames, as he only allowed two hits in 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
Cooper Davidson-Peacock continued his strong tournament with three RBI, with shortstop Darcy Barry picking up three of SA’s 10 hits.
Victoria White claim the four seed heading into pool play and take on NSW tomorrow, while SA own the #6 seed.
U16: Victoria Blue 3-2 Western Australia | BOX SCORE
Victoria Blue and WA played out an enthralling battle to wrap up their opening rounds, as Vic Blue held on for a one run win.
Hayden Peoples managed two hits and two RBI in warm conditions, while leadoff man Nathan Smith also claimed two hits.
Marshall Hansen, Matthew West, Kynan Jones and Nikau Pouaka-Grego kept WA’s strong offence at bay throughout, as the quartet only allowed five hits in seven innings.
Max Chipper was crucial in his 3 1/3 innings of relief, striking out four and only allowing one hit. Chipper continued his strong tournament, and only needed 33 pitches to record 10 outs.
After finishing second and third respectively, WA and Vic Blue will play each other again tomorrow.
U18: Australian Capital Territory 9-7 Victoria White | BOX SCORE
The ACT broke through for their first win of the tournament, after coming from behind against Victoria White.
Vic White lead by as many as three in the early stages, but some clutch pitching and timely hitting saw ACT get home.
Luke Readdy struck out four in the eighth and ninth inning under immense pressure to guide the ACT to a two run victory.
Grant Craft and James Warwick nailed three hits for the ACT, with Craft claiming two crucial RBI.
Harvey Mitchelhill picked up a team high three hits for Vic White, with centerfielder Riley Light chipping in with two RBI.
Vic White’s Liam Cruz tossed two innings of scoreless relief to end the ballgame, but it wasn’t enough, as ACT picked up a confidence boosting win heading into pool play.
U18: Victoria Blue 15-2 South Australia | BOX SCORE
Victoria Blue used consistent scoring to eclipse South Australia and remain undefeated in the U18 opening round.
Chris Nielsen gave Vic Blue the perfect platform, tossing four shutout innings under lights on diamond 1. Nielsen only needed 47 pitches to navigate four innings, as he continued his strong tournament. Nielsen combined with Reece Longstaff, Kobe Greenhalgh and Zak Skinner well, as the quarter only allowed five hits in seven innings.
Conor Myles has been one of Vic Blue’s best in the first seven games, and tonight was no exception as the right-fielder went 4-for-5 with a triple, a homer and five RBI.
Josh Ledgard lead the way for SA with two hits, Seiichiro Suzuki and Will Day picked up RBIs.
Vic Blue will be the #1 seed heading into pool play, while SA will be the #4 seed.