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.