U16 – South Australia
11-2 Victoria White
A strong pitching performance from South Australia enabled
them to defeat Victoria 11-2. Zac Stroud and Kane Woolman struck out six
between them and only gave up a total of three hits in seven innings. Woolman
also starred with bat in hand, claiming a pair of RBI on the day to go with his
solid pitching performance. Joe Gluyas and Liam Bull both had a pair of RBI on
the day too, while Brodie Arriola crossed the plate three times. Cooper de Haan
had two of Victoria White’s three hits, while pinch-hitter Chris Nielsen
claimed the other.
U16 – New South Wales
11-2 Queensland
Queensland again took an early lead against New South Wales,
but the Blue Sox got their bats going and pulled away, defeating the Bandits
11-2. Jack Lee and Daniel Bannon were the leaders in RBI on the day for NSW
with three each, while Zach Lawrence had three hits and scored twice. Aidan
Torpey threw a strong five innings, only giving up two earned runs. Franco
Natale and catcher JD Winlaw picked up a hit and an RBI each for Queensland.
Jake Burns finished the job for NSW on the mound, with two scoreless innings,
allowing only one base runner.
U16 –Western
Australia 13-6 New South Wales Country
A tight ballgame was blown wide open by WA in the fifth
inning, as the piled on eight runs and ended up defeating NSW Country 13-6.
Blake Monaghan and Mitch Bacon were strong in relief for WA, combining for
three perfect innings of relief, while with bat in hand, Cody Nicholas and Zach
Holland both had three RBI each. Tristan Watts claimed three RBI of his own for
NSW Country, with Josh Banks and Ethan Keane the other NSW Country players to
drive in runs.
U16 - Victoria Blue
11-9 Australian Capital Territory (F/8)
The first extra innings ballgame of the tournament saw the
Australian Capital Territory’s game fall just short, as Victoria Blue made the
most of the tiebreaker rules in the 8th inning to claim an 11-9 win.
Zac Skinner made the most of his one hit, with three RBI on the day for
Victoria while Reece Longstaff also had a solid day with two RBI from his two
hits. ACT’s Stuart Tharle claimed three hits and an RBI, while the Victorian
bats were cooled by Riley Watson, with the ACT reliever striking out three
hitters and only giving up one unearned run.
U18 – Victoria Blue
7-2 Queensland
Behind a strong start from Matt Beattie, Victoria Blue
toppled Queensland 7-2 in the opening game on Diamond 1 this morning. Beattie
struck out four and only gave up one earned run in his four innings on the
mound, while the bullpen also found some form, with Blake Hodgson and Jamie
Young combining for a scoreless final five innings. Ciaran Palmer had a strong
day at the plate, claiming two RBI from his three hits. Easton Ray drove in the
two Queensland runs on the day, while Ryota Kusumoto only allowed one
base-runner in 2.2 innings of relief.
U18 – New South Wales
8-3 Western Australia
Host state NSW again performed strongly, defeated Western
Australia 8-3. Right fielder Henry Groth and Mitchell Driver had two RBI each,
with Groth, Alex Brook and Luke Passmore
all claimed a pair of hits. Jett Wright and Josh Greenham each had three hits
during the game, with Greenham driving in two of WA’s three runs. Coen Wynne
had another solid start for NSW, only giving up one earned run in 4.2 innings,
while Mitch Driver continued his strong form this tournament, conceding no
earned runs in 2.1 innings of relief.
U18 – Country New
South Wales 9-8 Victoria White
Victoria White flew out of the blocks but an incredible
comeback from NSW Country saw them take 9-8 walkoff win in the final game on
Diamond 3. Alex Barling and Hamish Foreman each picked up 2 RBI, while John
Paul Callil played his leadoff role to perfection, picking up 3 hits and
stealing a base. Aaron Griffiths threw well in relief for NSW Country, only
giving up one unearned run and striking out three in 3.1 innings. Rixon
Wingrove showed his power and speed, with two doubles and a triple as well as
two RBI, while Jake Amos again impressed, driving in a pair of NSW Country
runners.
U18 – Australian Capital Territory 7-5 South Australia
Some solid hitting through the middle inning saw the ACT
defeat South Australia in the final game on Diamond 2 for the day. Julian
Paramonov had a perfect day at the plate for the ACT, going 3-for-3 with an
RBI, while Jordan Kelly had two hits and two RBI of his own. Jake Green
shouldered the piching load for the ACT, going 8.2 innings and only giving up
two earned runs. Wade Chant was one of SA’s best, claiming three hits and an
RBI, while Todd Marshall and Tom Norley kept the ACT at bay with 2.2 combined
scoreless innings to end the ballgame for SA.