On an emotion charged morning at the National Youth
Championships, Western Australia dug deep and defeated Victoria Blue in a hard-fought
contest on Diamond 1. Both teams found the scoreboard in the early innings,
however a three-run fifth from WA proved the difference as Victoria couldn’t
quite recover. Broadee Binder had two RBI to go with his two hits, while
catcher Dylan Walsh was also a tough out, with a hit, two RBI and two walks on
the day. Victoria Blue mounted a comeback in the final inning, but Dylan
Hopkins-Treloar kept his cool to record the final out and seal the game for WA.
U16 – Victoria White
8-6 New South Wales Country
Despite a strong comeback from NSW Country, Victoria White
held on to claim an 8-6 win, their first of the tournament. Cooper de Haan had
a strong start for Victoria White, throwing 3.2 innings and only giving up one
earned run. Damon Hill and Kobe Greenhalgh were the best with the bat, with two
and three RBI respectively. For NSW Country, Sam McLean created history, as the
first player to claim a home run at this year’s tournament. A five run fifth
inning from NSW Country pulled them back in the ballgame, but it wasn’t enough
as Vic White held on.
U16 – New South Wales
18-0 Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales scored early and often and kept the ACT at
bay, eventually running out 18-0 winners on Diamond 1. Thomas Horne claimed
four RBI from his two hits, while Hayden Lyberopoulos crossed the plate four
times, claimed two hits and three RBI from his two at bats. Ky Jackson, Luke
Livian and Kobe Kunce combined for the second no-hitter of the tournament, only
allowing one base runner during the game.
U16 –New South Wales
14-5 New South Wales Country
Runs were flowing thick and fast in the first all-NSW
matchup of the tournament, but in the end, New South Wales had just too much
firepower, defeating New South Wales Country 14-5 in the final game on Diamond
1. The middle of the NSW lineup did the damage, with Ethan Stacy (2H, 3RBI),
Aidan Torpey (2H, 3RBI) and Kobe Kunce (2H, 2RBI) all swinging the bat well.
Daniel Bannon threw 3.1 innings of hitless relief for NSW, striking out five
Country hitters. Sam McLean continued his strong day for NSW Country, going 2.1
innings on the mound, and only giving up the one hit. Tom Newbold drove in
three of Country’s five runs on the day after a bases clearing triple in the
third.
U18 – Western
Australia 4-0 New South Wales Country
Both starting pitchers settled into their work early,
however Western Australia came up big when it counted, claiming a 4-0 shutout
victory against New South Wales Country this afternoon. Jackson Riley threw
strongly for WA in his start, striking out four and not giving up an earned run
in his four innings. Jett Wright claimed two RBI from his two hits, including a
triple, while Grant Kerry also hit well, picking up one RBI from his two
doubles. Travis Xuereb threw 2.1 innings of scoreless relief for NSW Country,
while Nic Anderson-Vine claimed a hit and two walks.
U18 – New South Wales
3-1 Victoria Blue
Victoria Blue claimed an early lead, but couldn’t hold on
against New South Wales, who came back for a tight 3-1 victory. Jackson Boyd
started strongly for Vic Blue, as he didn’t give up any earned runs in his
three innings of work. His opposite number Liam Holm threw equally as well,
striking out three Victorian hitters and only giving up one unearned run in 4.2
innings. Luke Passmore was the one of the better NSW hitters, with a hit, an
RBI and a run scored, while Jacob Krkovski claimed the other NSW hit on the
day.
After two days of play, you can see the U16 statistics here, and the U18 statistics here. There will be 12 games tomorrow, and you can see the
schedule for Sunday 8 January’s play here.