The penultimate day of the round robin portion of the national championships concluded with Victorian teams prevailing in three of nine matchups. The big winners were the women (who have now been victorious in four straight contests after a Day 1 loss to defending champion New South Wales), Under 16 Blue (still undefeated), and another stirring win from the Under 18 Blue team (8-1 over the Australian Capital Territory).
A bullpen day—five hurlers took the mound for Victoria—showed the depth and quality of the Women’s team. Madeline Davis started and threw two innings, followed by Sinead Byrne-Connell (who got the win with one inning of work), Hannah Jackson, Georgia Page and Risa Tanaka. In seven innings they only ceded seven hits, striking out seven.
Fulfilling her leadoff hitting duties to perfection, designated hitter Shae Lillywhite went 3-4 with two runs scored and three batted in. Ellen Goodrope, Bronwyn Gell (three RBI), Page and Tanaka also had two hits each. An on-base machine, right fielder Emma French walked three times and came around to score each time.
Sitting pretty at second on the ladder with eight points, Victoria trails only undefeated New South Wales, who has played one more game. They close out the round-robin portion of the tournament with a double header: the visiting team both against Western Australia (9 a.m.) and Queensland (12.30 p.m.).
Despite falling short in both games, the Youth Women’s team impressed on Wednesday, plating 18 runs in a sure sign that their best days of baseball are ahead of them. In the first game against Queensland, they started fast, scoring three times in the first and twice in the second. The star of the game was Maddison Singleton who started in center field and then came in to pitch. She went 2-2 with an RBI. Other knocks came courtesy of Hanami Campitelli, Jamieson Bastian and Emily Devine.
The second game featured a baseball oddity: two 12 run innings. Unlikely that three half innings would account for all 28 runs but indeed they did as Western Australia followed up their dozen first inning runs with four in the second. Victoria valiantly scored their 12 in the bottom half of the frame but a scoreless (of course!) third inning crystallized the final margin.
Starring at the plate for the Aces were Jaymee Hassett-Smith (2-2 with a run) and Hannah Healy (2-2 with two each of runs and RBI). In addition to throwing a scoreless 1.2 innings—no small feat in a game like this one—Gabrielle Bevan had a hit, scored a run and a had an run batted in (ditto for Emily Kline) and Becky Patte finished with a hit, walk, two runs scored and two runs batted in.
The Aces finish off the round robin portion of their tournament with a home game against New South Wales Country at 1.30 p.m.
The Under 18 White team had a tough day, losing to New South Wales 8-4 and being shut out by a resurgent Queensland squad, 10-0.
In the first game the teams traded runs in the first and the sixth but it was in the fourth and seventh frames that the game was lost. NSW scored once in the fourth and then four times in the seventh to build a comfortable 8-3 lead. The White team fought back to score one in the bottom of the inning but it was not enough.
Blake Hodgson, Ayden Norman and Mitchell John all threw for the Aces. At the dish, catcher and leadoff hitter Hamish Foreman had two hits and scored a couples runs; Jack Daniels, William Day and Tim Lane had the other knocks for White.
The lone hit in the second game went to left fielder Mitchell John. Queensland hurler Josh Bedggood was outstanding, pitching a complete game five inning shutout in just 55 pitches, walking no one and striking out four.
The Blue team was dominant in their first game, downing the Australian Capital Territory, 8-1. A run in the first and three in the second gave them the early lead and after they ceded a marker in the top of the third, four huge runs in the bottom of the sixth put the game away.
Max Barrett (3.1 innings, one earned run and six strikeouts), Mitchell Wilcox (2.2, 0, 4) and Oliver Dunn were awesome on the mound. Wilcox got the win.
At the plate, Jordan Barnett scored three runs from the leadoff spot, Dunn went 2-4 with two runs and an RBI, right fielder Jordan Busch had two runs batted in and left fielder Jamie Young went 3-4 with two RBI.
Max Barrett threw 3.1 innings and only gave up one run while striking out six.
Jamie Young stood out at the plate. Here: one of his three hits.
Chase Hodkinson was very solid behind the dish.
A nip-and-tuck affair ended when a New South Wales run in the top of the seventh went unanswered. The Aces got hits from seven of their nine starters, including three from right fielder Nathan Picchioni. Leadoff hitter Barnett continued to get on base, walking thrice. Designated hitter Justin Burke also took two bases on balls to add to his hit and run scored.
Starter Stephen Hughes pitched well.
Good glove work by Aaron Ouwehand.
Baaaack! Heads up baserunning by Oliver McMahon.
For their final game in the round-robin tournament, Victoria White hosts Victoria Blue at Diamond 2. First pitch of the intrastate grudge match is 3.30 p.m.
After scoring plenty of runs in previous games, the Under 16 White team couldn’t solve South Australian hurler Ky Hampton who threw seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits, a walk and striking out two in 72 pitches.
Third baseman Maxwell Leuga showed best for the Aces getting two hits in three at-bats. Catcher Chris Burke and first baseman Curtis Cox had the other knocks off Hampton.
White’s last round-robin game is scheduled for 9.15 this morning, a home game against New South Wales.
It never gets to be old hat, but the Blue team just keeps on winning. Six games, six wins.
This latest victory was another team effort. The boys started strong, scoring twice in the first then, after giving up a run in the second, put the game away by plating single markers in the third, fifth and sixth innings to provide the final margin.
Mackenzie Salmon started and pitched well (one earned run in 2.2 innings). In the third, Brock Wells relieved and pitched even better (3.2 innings, no runs). Joshia Meyer closed the game out with a scoreless two-thirds of an inning.
At the dish, leadoff hitter Liam Madden went 2-4 with two runs scored and six other players contributed hits. Batting second and playing second, Kyle Morrison scored two runs and had one batted in.
Blue finishes off the preliminary rounds with a home game against New South Wales Country at 12.15 p.m.
Updated standings, statistics, fixtures and more can be found on the Baseball Australia website under ‘Events’ and ‘National Championships’.