The Little League Charter & Junior League Charter Academy made its debut on Saturday, 7 November, with four games featuring Under 14s taking the field. This week it was the Under 12s turn, with the Northern Diamondbacks, Geelong Baycats, Eastern Athletics, and Southern Mariners vying for supremacy. The games last Saturday (14 November) were held at the home grounds of Werribee (Northern and Geelong) and Blackburn (Eastern and Southern).
Northern Diamondbacks (Green) 13, Geelong Baycats 5
Four Diamondback hurlers—Harrison Green-Williams, Campbell Hutton, Joel Prpic, and Connor Schibeci—combined to limit the potent Baycats to just five runs on Saturday morning. Though Green-Williams started it was the stellar bullpen that carried the day, with the three relievers allowing only a single batter to reach base safely in 3.2 innings.
For Geelong two Coopers (Tipping and Rickard) and Bradyn Barker took the mound ably.
Jordan Baumann paced the Baycats with two hits while the D’Backs Schibeci had three hits and two runs batted in and Billy Kolyniuk blasted the game’s only home run.
Geelong Baycats 6, Northern Diamondbacks (Orange) 3
Scoreless after one, the Baycats crossed the plate first in the top of the second. The Northern Diamondback responded immediately, tallying three times in the bottom half of the frame to take a two run lead. Like the first the third was scoreless, but the fourth inning was where the game was won with the Baycats putting five runs on the board. Hudson Carter got the win for Geelong, pitching three scoreless innings in relief.
Eastern Athletics (Green) 5, Southern Mariners (A) 3
Pitching was the name of the game in this first clash between the A’s and Mariners at Blackburn’s home ground. Finn Weichard and Ferris Sallaka dominated for the Eastern and Southern squads, respectively, before ceding the mound to teammates who also pitched well. The Mariners jumped on the board first, plating three runs in the top of the fourth inning. The A’s answered right back, however, scoring once in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the deficit. A scoreless fifth by Southern left the door open for Eastern to walk off the win by scoring four times in the final frame.
The A’s used five pitchers—Weichard, Kynan Jones, Charlie O’Connell, Ewan Jones, and winning hurler Kobi Lyen—to navigate a win. The Mariners, meanwhile, had Mitchell Johnson and Luke Anson take the mound after Sallaka, with Balin O’Laughlin and Sallaka’s teammate with St Kilda, Millar Kuhl, doing the catching.
Southern Mariners (A) 10, Eastern Athletics (Gold) 6
Rebounding from their earlier loss, the Southern Mariners (A) used a huge seven run second inning to run away with their first victory of the season. Led by starting catcher Millar Kuhl, the Mariners scored runs in every inning but the first, following up their robust second frame with two in the third and one in the fourth.
The Eastern Athletics (Gold) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but it was not enough. They failed to score in the second but added two runs in each of the last two innings to provide the final margin.
Dylan Williamson, David Pillinger, Genevive Beacon, and Angus Newman combined for the victory while Bronson Neave, Blake Mitchell, and Will Stone pitched for the A’s.
Eastern Athletics (Green) 8, Southern Mariners (B) 4
Completing a remarkable day on the diamond, the Eastern Athletics (Green) swept their compatriots from the south. Nick Parton started, leading a cavalcade of pitchers who limited the Mariners to just four runs (all in the third inning). For the losing side, five pitchers also took the mound. The A’s scored five in the first, one in the second and two more in the fourth for good measure.
Northern Diamondbacks (Green) 13, Geelong Baycats 5
Four Diamondback hurlers—Harrison Green-Williams, Campbell Hutton, Joel Prpic, and Connor Schibeci—combined to limit the potent Baycats to just five runs on Saturday morning. Though Green-Williams started it was the stellar bullpen that carried the day, with the three relievers allowing only a single batter to reach base safely in 3.2 innings.
For Geelong two Coopers (Tipping and Rickard) and Bradyn Barker took the mound ably.
Jordan Baumann paced the Baycats with two hits while the D’Backs Schibeci had three hits and two runs batted in and Billy Kolyniuk blasted the game’s only home run.
Geelong Baycats 6, Northern Diamondbacks (Orange) 3
Scoreless after one, the Baycats crossed the plate first in the top of the second. The Northern Diamondback responded immediately, tallying three times in the bottom half of the frame to take a two run lead. Like the first the third was scoreless, but the fourth inning was where the game was won with the Baycats putting five runs on the board. Hudson Carter got the win for Geelong, pitching three scoreless innings in relief.
Eastern Athletics (Green) 5, Southern Mariners (A) 3
Pitching was the name of the game in this first clash between the A’s and Mariners at Blackburn’s home ground. Finn Weichard and Ferris Sallaka dominated for the Eastern and Southern squads, respectively, before ceding the mound to teammates who also pitched well. The Mariners jumped on the board first, plating three runs in the top of the fourth inning. The A’s answered right back, however, scoring once in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the deficit. A scoreless fifth by Southern left the door open for Eastern to walk off the win by scoring four times in the final frame.
The A’s used five pitchers—Weichard, Kynan Jones, Charlie O’Connell, Ewan Jones, and winning hurler Kobi Lyen—to navigate a win. The Mariners, meanwhile, had Mitchell Johnson and Luke Anson take the mound after Sallaka, with Balin O’Laughlin and Sallaka’s teammate with St Kilda, Millar Kuhl, doing the catching.
Southern Mariners (A) 10, Eastern Athletics (Gold) 6
Rebounding from their earlier loss, the Southern Mariners (A) used a huge seven run second inning to run away with their first victory of the season. Led by starting catcher Millar Kuhl, the Mariners scored runs in every inning but the first, following up their robust second frame with two in the third and one in the fourth.
The Eastern Athletics (Gold) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but it was not enough. They failed to score in the second but added two runs in each of the last two innings to provide the final margin.
Dylan Williamson, David Pillinger, Genevive Beacon, and Angus Newman combined for the victory while Bronson Neave, Blake Mitchell, and Will Stone pitched for the A’s.
Eastern Athletics (Green) 8, Southern Mariners (B) 4
Completing a remarkable day on the diamond, the Eastern Athletics (Green) swept their compatriots from the south. Nick Parton started, leading a cavalcade of pitchers who limited the Mariners to just four runs (all in the third inning). For the losing side, five pitchers also took the mound. The A’s scored five in the first, one in the second and two more in the fourth for good measure.