The Little League Charter & Junior League Charter Academy made its debut on Saturday, 7 November, with four games featuring Under 14s taking the field. Last week it was the Under 12s turn. Now the 14s are back playing, with these contests held at Blackburn (A’s v. D’Backs) and Moorabbin (Baycats and Mariners).
Eastern Athletics (Gold) 9, Northern Diamondbacks (Blue) 6
Hitting, not pitching, ruled the day at Billabong Reserve in Blackburn. Both teams scored early and often as the hurlers were no match for superior batting. The D’Backs began the barnburner with three runs in the top of the first. Undaunted, the A’s answered right back, plating three of their own to tie the game after one.
Northern then scored two in the second and one in the third to go up 6-3. But the A’s were relentless, striking back for two in the their half of the third before holding their opponent scoreless in the fourth and tallying four times in the bottom half to win the game 9-6.
Jason Kane started for the A’s, throwing 47 pitches, before giving way to Koetsu Sakamoto who threw 28. Across the diamond, Yoshiki Sutherland began the game and Harun Pelta finished it off for the Northern Diamondbacks Blue squad.
Eastern Athletics (Green) 10, Northern Diamondbacks (Red) 5
Resilience and fortitude featured prominently in the A’s victory on Saturday morning. They scored three times in the first but then lost the lead two innings later by surrendering five runs. Undaunted, they immediately struck back, plating five of their own in the bottom of the third before adding two more for good measure in the fourth to secure an impressive 10-5 win.
Finn O’Connor, Riley Light, and Mitchell Homfrey managed all the pitching for the A’s while Harvey Hadlow and Cody Dertell threw for the D’Backs.
At the plate Zach Kallis went 1 for 2 with a double, a run scored and two RBI and teammate Adam Tsardakis also contributed a two bagger. Jonah Hope added a hit and run scored to the Diamondbacks totals.
The A’s eight hits included four doubles, including catcher Damon Hill who went 2 for 2 with three runs scored, three batted in and two stolen bases.
Stellar defense was also on display for Eastern in the fourth when they turned a rare 1-3-5 double play.
Geelong Baycats 11, Southern Mariners (A) 1
Five run innings are normally a prelude to success. So they were again in the second week of games for the elite Under 14s in Victoria. The Baycats—playing away against the Mariners in Moorabbin—busted open a scoreless game by scoring five times in both the second and fourth to easily defeat Southern, 10-1. Buoyed by pitchers Kobe Greenhalgh and Connor Hickey, the Baycats pounded out 12 hits and reached base four times via the walk.
Hickey, who also starred at shortstop, contributed at the plate with two knocks. Jarryd Wood and Eugene Gay also had two hits.
For the Mariners, Dante Caruso pitched well, striking out two in his only inning of work. He also had one of Southern’s three hits.
Josh Smith, Max McLauchlin, and Riley Soutar also took the mound for the Mariners.
Eastern Athletics (Gold) 7, Northern Diamondbacks (Red) 3
A great day for the A’s and tough one for the D’Backs came to a head in this tilt, won by Eastern, 7-3.
Similar to previous iterations, the A’s scored first, tallying thrice in the first and two in the second to take a 5-1 lead into the third. Following up their run from the previous inning, the D’Backs scored twice to halve the deficit to 5-3.
It didn’t matter. The Gold team added insurance markers in both the fourth and fifth frames to provide the winning margin.
Reese Longstaff and Zack Busch ably handled the pitching duties for the A’s, with the former starting and throwing the first two innings and the latter tossing the last three, two of which were scoreless.
Eastern Athletics (Green) 6, Northern Diamondbacks (Blue) 3
Following up their impressive win earlier in the day, the Eastern Athletics (Green) squad scored early and often (five runs in the first two innings) to cruise to a sweep of the two Diamondback teams.
Leading the way was Nick Cleland who pitched three scoreless innings while also contributing a hit, run scored, and RBI in his only plate appearance. Will Richardson and Damon Hill also pitched well for the A’s.
Hill also starred at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a two-run home run, ground rule double and three RBI out of the three-hole. Finn O’Connor, Charlie Collins, and Cleland joined Hill as their doubles hitters. In total the A’s finished with eight hits.
Across the diamond, Nick Pascuzzi, Keenan Spence, and Aaron Robson took the hill for the Diamondbacks. Spence connected for a two-bagger and James Billing paced Northern with two hits and a run scored.
Two stellar defensive plays—a perfectly executed 1-3-4-1 run down in the fifth by the D’Backs and a 2-5 caught stealing by the A’s in the third—were among the game’s highlights.
Geelong Baycats 5, Southern Mariners (B) 4
Two clubs won all six meetings of the Under 14s this weekend: the Eastern Athletics and Geelong Baycats. That feat was accomplished when the Baycats eked past the Mariners, 4-3, in Moorabbin.
The Mariners got off to the start they wanted, leading 4-1 after two. But Geelong stormed back and scored three in the third and one in the fourth to complete the weekend sweep.
Nick Hau (53 pitches) got the win for the Baycats and Jarryd Wood (28) finished off the game. Eugene Gay called an excellent game behind the plate.
For the Mariners, it was Jed Woodger (five strikeouts), Mitchell Shane, and Josh Ashen on the hill with Malcolm Elliott catching.
Woodger and Elliot also homered for the Mariners. Ditto for the A’s Angus McNee.
Here is how the comp stands after two rounds: https://sportsdesq.imgstg.com/portal/index.cfm?fuseaction=competition&competitionID=10392&OrgID=16724&clubOrganisationId=0##ladder.
Next week it’s the Under 12s turn to again take the field! Check back here for a full report of all six games.
Eastern Athletics (Gold) 9, Northern Diamondbacks (Blue) 6
Hitting, not pitching, ruled the day at Billabong Reserve in Blackburn. Both teams scored early and often as the hurlers were no match for superior batting. The D’Backs began the barnburner with three runs in the top of the first. Undaunted, the A’s answered right back, plating three of their own to tie the game after one.
Northern then scored two in the second and one in the third to go up 6-3. But the A’s were relentless, striking back for two in the their half of the third before holding their opponent scoreless in the fourth and tallying four times in the bottom half to win the game 9-6.
Jason Kane started for the A’s, throwing 47 pitches, before giving way to Koetsu Sakamoto who threw 28. Across the diamond, Yoshiki Sutherland began the game and Harun Pelta finished it off for the Northern Diamondbacks Blue squad.
Eastern Athletics (Green) 10, Northern Diamondbacks (Red) 5
Resilience and fortitude featured prominently in the A’s victory on Saturday morning. They scored three times in the first but then lost the lead two innings later by surrendering five runs. Undaunted, they immediately struck back, plating five of their own in the bottom of the third before adding two more for good measure in the fourth to secure an impressive 10-5 win.
Finn O’Connor, Riley Light, and Mitchell Homfrey managed all the pitching for the A’s while Harvey Hadlow and Cody Dertell threw for the D’Backs.
At the plate Zach Kallis went 1 for 2 with a double, a run scored and two RBI and teammate Adam Tsardakis also contributed a two bagger. Jonah Hope added a hit and run scored to the Diamondbacks totals.
The A’s eight hits included four doubles, including catcher Damon Hill who went 2 for 2 with three runs scored, three batted in and two stolen bases.
Stellar defense was also on display for Eastern in the fourth when they turned a rare 1-3-5 double play.
Geelong Baycats 11, Southern Mariners (A) 1
Five run innings are normally a prelude to success. So they were again in the second week of games for the elite Under 14s in Victoria. The Baycats—playing away against the Mariners in Moorabbin—busted open a scoreless game by scoring five times in both the second and fourth to easily defeat Southern, 10-1. Buoyed by pitchers Kobe Greenhalgh and Connor Hickey, the Baycats pounded out 12 hits and reached base four times via the walk.
Hickey, who also starred at shortstop, contributed at the plate with two knocks. Jarryd Wood and Eugene Gay also had two hits.
For the Mariners, Dante Caruso pitched well, striking out two in his only inning of work. He also had one of Southern’s three hits.
Josh Smith, Max McLauchlin, and Riley Soutar also took the mound for the Mariners.
Eastern Athletics (Gold) 7, Northern Diamondbacks (Red) 3
A great day for the A’s and tough one for the D’Backs came to a head in this tilt, won by Eastern, 7-3.
Similar to previous iterations, the A’s scored first, tallying thrice in the first and two in the second to take a 5-1 lead into the third. Following up their run from the previous inning, the D’Backs scored twice to halve the deficit to 5-3.
It didn’t matter. The Gold team added insurance markers in both the fourth and fifth frames to provide the winning margin.
Reese Longstaff and Zack Busch ably handled the pitching duties for the A’s, with the former starting and throwing the first two innings and the latter tossing the last three, two of which were scoreless.
Eastern Athletics (Green) 6, Northern Diamondbacks (Blue) 3
Following up their impressive win earlier in the day, the Eastern Athletics (Green) squad scored early and often (five runs in the first two innings) to cruise to a sweep of the two Diamondback teams.
Leading the way was Nick Cleland who pitched three scoreless innings while also contributing a hit, run scored, and RBI in his only plate appearance. Will Richardson and Damon Hill also pitched well for the A’s.
Hill also starred at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a two-run home run, ground rule double and three RBI out of the three-hole. Finn O’Connor, Charlie Collins, and Cleland joined Hill as their doubles hitters. In total the A’s finished with eight hits.
Across the diamond, Nick Pascuzzi, Keenan Spence, and Aaron Robson took the hill for the Diamondbacks. Spence connected for a two-bagger and James Billing paced Northern with two hits and a run scored.
Two stellar defensive plays—a perfectly executed 1-3-4-1 run down in the fifth by the D’Backs and a 2-5 caught stealing by the A’s in the third—were among the game’s highlights.
Geelong Baycats 5, Southern Mariners (B) 4
Two clubs won all six meetings of the Under 14s this weekend: the Eastern Athletics and Geelong Baycats. That feat was accomplished when the Baycats eked past the Mariners, 4-3, in Moorabbin.
The Mariners got off to the start they wanted, leading 4-1 after two. But Geelong stormed back and scored three in the third and one in the fourth to complete the weekend sweep.
Nick Hau (53 pitches) got the win for the Baycats and Jarryd Wood (28) finished off the game. Eugene Gay called an excellent game behind the plate.
For the Mariners, it was Jed Woodger (five strikeouts), Mitchell Shane, and Josh Ashen on the hill with Malcolm Elliott catching.
Woodger and Elliot also homered for the Mariners. Ditto for the A’s Angus McNee.
Here is how the comp stands after two rounds: https://sportsdesq.imgstg.com/portal/index.cfm?fuseaction=competition&competitionID=10392&OrgID=16724&clubOrganisationId=0##ladder.
Next week it’s the Under 12s turn to again take the field! Check back here for a full report of all six games.