New South Wales capped off an undefeated tournament with a hard-fought 10-3 win over Victoria Blue to claim the U16 Australian Championship.
After a perfect tournament in 2018, NSW again went undefeated coming back from three runs down.
After trailing by three runs in the early stages, NSW’s offence jumped on Vic Blue’s pitching through the middle innings, plating 10 unanswered runs to end the ballgame.
James Lynch worked well through the first two frames, but NSW’s offence clicked into gear in the fourth, as the defending champions scored three crucial runs.
NSW starter Jaxon Forbes gave up three early runs, but maintained his composure.
“I just wanted to bounce back and take it inning-by-inning,” Forbes said.
“This is the best team I’ve ever been a part of, I knew the guys could back me up offensively.”
Forbes was relieved by Solomon Maguire, who tossed three scoreless innings under pressure.
Maguire was also a threat with bat in hand, going 2-for-3 with a double and driving in three runs.
Charlie Collins set the tone early for Victoria Blue, nailing a triple off the first pitch of the ballgame, but NSW stormed home to claim their 21st consecutive win in the U16 age group.