A massive sixth inning from Victoria Blue proved the
difference, as they defeated South Australia 9-5 in the opening game of the day
on Diamond 1. SA started the game strongly scoring a run in the first inning,
before Victoria tacked on a run in both the third and fourth inning to claim a
2-1 lead. Blake Farr and Tyson McKee had two RBI each for SA, while Will
Kortekaas and Rion Sato claimed the other hits. Ben Fierenzi lead off strongly
for Victoria White, nailing three hits from his three at-bats. Jarryd Wood,
Mohi Kahui and Dante Caruso did the bulk of the damage with bat in hand, all
picking up two RBI each. Despite walking a few SA hitters, Vic Blue started
Liam Evans kept his cool, only conceding one earned run from 5.2 innings of
work.
U16 – Queensland 12-2
Victoria White
Victoria White took an early two run lead against
Queensland, but the Bandits bounced back big time to record a 12-2 victory.
Hits were shared for Queensland, with Marcus Feagaiga, Trent King and Mac
Butler all driving in two runs. Brock Wollin had a strong outing on the mound,
striking out four and not giving up an earned run in 4.2 innings of work.
U16 – New South Wales
Country 16-10 Australian Capital Territory
In one of the strangest game at the National Youth
Championships to date, New South Wales Country pegged back a 10-1 deficit
against the ACT to come back and record a 16-10 victory. NSW Country tacked on
eight runs in the bottom of the fourth, to come back after the ACT scored all
10 of their runs in the first four innings. Bailey Van Leeuwen had one of the
best games of the National Youth Championships so far, with three hits and
three RBI, as well as striking out four throwing two innings of perfect relief.
Sam McLean and Kalin Marum both had three RBI each for NSW Country, while for the
ACT Grant Craft, Stuart Tharle and Riley Watson all had an RBI each.
U16 – Western
Australia 4-1 New South Wales
A strong pitching performance and some timely hitting from
Western Australia sealed a 4-1 victory in the final game on Diamond 3 for the
day. Caiden Nicoletto was one of WA’s best with bat in hand, claiming two hits
and an RBI. The WA pitching duo of Scott Cornish and Zach Holland threw
strongly with some quality defence behind them, giving up only two hits for the
ballgame. Jake Burns and Ky Jackson were the only NSW players to collect hits,
with Aidan Torpey the lone man to cross the plate for NSW.
U18 – South Australia
3-2 Victoria White
Victoria held a two run lead with three innings to play in
the opening game on Diamond 2, however South Australia came home with a bang,
scoring three late runs to claim a tight 3-2 victory. Damon Arnold threw
strongly in warm conditions, striking out five and only giving up two earned
runs in his six innings of work. His opposite number, Vic White starter Adam
Pahos only gave up one earned run in his five innings on the mound. Brock Wells
and Alex Barling picked up a pair of hits each for Victoria.
U18 – South Australia
8-3 Victoria Blue
Two big innings from the South Australians saw them topple
Victoria Blue 8-3, and in turn, claim their second scalp of the day. Victoria Blue
scored an early run, but five runs in the second inning from South Australia
opened the game up. Curtis Mead was
unstoppable with bat in hand, claiming four RBI from his two hits. Vic Blue’s Mitch
Wilcox struck out four in his 1.2 innings of scoreless relief, while for SA;
Tom Norley threw 2.2 innings of shutout relief despite giving up four hits. Pinch-hitter
Harry Knuckey extended SA’s advantage in the sixth, driving in a pair of runs
to seal the win.
U18 – Queensland 8-5
Victoria White
Queensland exploded out of the blocks and held on to win 8-5
despite a late comeback from Victoria White. Queensland put up six runs in the
second inning, with James Franco having a perfect day of the plate, with four
hits from his four at bats. Tyson Zamora’s sole hit drove a pair of Queensland
runs in as the Bandits lead by eight after four innings. Victoria White mounted
a late comeback lead by Lachlan Medew, who’s 2-RBI triple kept Victoria White
in the ballgame. Richard Kiel’s two innings of relief kept Queensland’s bats at
bay, with the Victoria White reliever striking out three.
U18 – Western
Australia 13-0 Australian Capital Territory
Western Australia flexed their muscle in their U18 game
against the ACT, claiming a 13-0 victory on Diamond 3. Every player in the WA
starting lineup claimed a hit, with Josh Greenham claiming three RBI from a
double and a triple. David John and Brock Molloy combined to shut-out the team
from the nation’s capital, with John picking up three strikeouts from his five
innings. Nick Hosie, Tim Dutton and Ricky Deeble all picked up two hits each
for the ACT, while Luke Clapson and Tom Symonds combined for three scoreless
innings.
U18 – New South Wales
3-1 Australian Capital Territory
Despite the best efforts of Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis, New
South Wales snatched a late victory 3-1. Cooper-Vassalakis was immense on the
mound for the ACT, striking out a tournament high nine NSW hitters. Mitch
Skinner was incredible in relief for NSW, striking out six and not giving up a
hit in his four innings. It took til the final inning of the ballgame for NSW
to get on top, with Jack Dormor scoring the go-ahead run, following by an
insurance run from Matt Martinson.
U18 – Western
Australia 8-1 Queensland
Queensland struck early in their contest against Western
Australia, but in the end couldn’t hold on, as WA claimed an 8-1 victory on
Diamond 2. James Franco and Luke Turner both claimed hits in the middle of the
lineup, while Conor Laverty scored Queensland’s only run in the first. Frazer
Brice threw 2.1 innings of perfect relief for WA, striking out two Queensland
hitters, while with bat in hand, Tama Wright-Pihama claimed two RBI from his
two hits. Alex Hall and Jake Taylor also finished with two RBI each for WA.
U18 – New South Wales
Country 8-7 Victoria Blue
Runs were scored early and often between New South Wales
Country and Victoria Blue, but it was NSW Country who snuck home 8-7. Both
teams scored two runs in the first inning, while neither starting pitched could
find any rhythm. Luke Cartwright had a perfect day at the plate for Victoria
Blue, with three hits and two RBI from his three at bats. In the leadoff role
for NSW Country, Nic Anderson Vine was a key contributor, crossing the plate
three times to go along with a hit and an RBI. Jake Amos and Rhys Neuhold were
the only NSW Country players to claim multiple hits, while for Victoria Blue,
Jarryd Dale picked up two hits and two RBI of his own. Ayden Norman threw well
late for Vic Blue, but it wasn’t enough as NSW Country held on to drop Vic Blue
to 0-3 at the tournament so far.
U18 – New South Wales
Country 9-2 New South Wales
In the marquee matchup of day three, New South Wales Country
got the better of their state counterparts with a 9-2 victory under lights at
Blacktown International Sportspark. Jake Amos continued to impress at the
tournament, as he went 3-for-4 with two RBI. NSW Country’s pitching staff
dominated tonight, with Alex Osborne, Samuele Xotta, Josh Peruch only giving up
two hits and striking out eight combined. Alex Brook claimed the only RBI of
the ballgame for NSW, with Mitch Driver claiming the other hit. Patrick Glover
finished with a pair of RBI, while Nic Anderson-Vine picked up two hits for
NSW.