SURFERS PARADISE, QLD — After becoming the first Australian Little League team to participate in the Little League World Series, Perth Metro Central made history again as the first Junior team to win the inaugural Australian Junior League Championships, presented by Rawlings.
“We’ve got six players from that World Series team that went … and so yeah it’s been a pleasure to work with them,” Head Coach Wayne Sheldon said. “They’re getting stronger, they’re getting faster, they’re getting fitter.”
Despite trailing early, the Firebirds battled back in the late innings and defeated Perth Metro North 8-4 in the event’s grand final. The win earned them the right to represent Australia at the 2015 Asia-Pacific Junior Championships in Saipan in June.
“It wasn’t just today that we played well, it was all the other games that got us to this game,” winning pitcher Maverick Hamilton said. Perth Metro Central went 6-0 overall in the tournament and began the day with a dominant 12-3 win over Manly in the morning semifinals.
In the afternoon grand final, the Northern Metros, history-makers in their own right as the first Australian team to win a game at the Little League World Series, scored one run apiece in the first three innings while holding Metro Central scoreless. The Firebirds got on the board in the top of the fourth inning, scoring two runs to pull within one of their inner-city rival.
Metro North added another run in the bottom of the same frame and the score stood at 4-2 heading into the fateful fifth inning, when the Firebirds ignited for four runs to take a 6-4 lead. Evan Perera and Jake Sheldon drove in two runs apiece for Metro Central, which added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh frame to secure the 8-4 win.
Hamilton, a member of the Firebirds 2013 Little League team, earned the win after tossing 4-2/3 inning of strong relief, striking out six batters and allowing just one run on three hits.
“I was hoping that I could get a win, and I wasn’t nervous towards the end because I got the last out at the 2012 Little League championships, so I was just relaxed,” Hamilton said.
While preparing to face off against the rest of Asia in June will be a challenge, Sheldon knows his team is ready to once again represent Australia on a global stage.
“I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work,” Sheldon said. “[But it’s] going to be fun, it’s going to be a good experience. I’m looking forward to it and I know these guys will be too.”
“I don’t even know where this Saipan place is but I know I’m looking forward to it,” Hamilton said. “Being to the World Series, that was fun. … I’m hoping it will be just as good if not better.”
Visit the event website littleleague.org.au/AJLC for all game results, photo galleries and stories, and ABLtv.com for game highlights and postgame interviews.
SURFERS PARADISE, QLD — After becoming the first Australian Little League team to participate in the Little League World Series, Perth Metro Central made history again as the first Junior team to win the inaugural Australian Junior League Championships, presented by Rawlings.
“We’ve got six players from that World Series team that went … and so yeah it’s been a pleasure to work with them,” Head Coach Wayne Sheldon said. “They’re getting stronger, they’re getting faster, they’re getting fitter.”
Despite trailing early, the Firebirds battled back in the late innings and defeated Perth Metro North 8-4 in the event’s grand final. The win earned them the right to represent Australia at the 2015 Asia-Pacific Junior Championships in Saipan in June.
“It wasn’t just today that we played well, it was all the other games that got us to this game,” winning pitcher Maverick Hamilton said. Perth Metro Central went 6-0 overall in the tournament and began the day with a dominant 12-3 win over Manly in the morning semifinals.
In the afternoon grand final, the Northern Metros, history-makers in their own right as the first Australian team to win a game at the Little League World Series, scored one run apiece in the first three innings while holding Metro Central scoreless. The Firebirds got on the board in the top of the fourth inning, scoring two runs to pull within one of their inner-city rival.
Metro North added another run in the bottom of the same frame and the score stood at 4-2 heading into the fateful fifth inning, when the Firebirds ignited for four runs to take a 6-4 lead. Evan Perera and Jake Sheldon drove in two runs apiece for Metro Central, which added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh frame to secure the 8-4 win.
Hamilton, a member of the Firebirds 2013 Little League team, earned the win after tossing 4-2/3 inning of strong relief, striking out six batters and allowing just one run on three hits.
“I was hoping that I could get a win, and I wasn’t nervous towards the end because I got the last out at the 2012 Little League championships, so I was just relaxed,” Hamilton said.
While preparing to face off against the rest of Asia in June will be a challenge, Sheldon knows his team is ready to once again represent Australia on a global stage.
“I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work,” Sheldon said. “[But it’s] going to be fun, it’s going to be a good experience. I’m looking forward to it and I know these guys will be too.”
“I don’t even know where this Saipan place is but I know I’m looking forward to it,” Hamilton said. “Being to the World Series, that was fun. … I’m hoping it will be just as good if not better.”
Visit the event website littleleague.org.au/AJLC for all game results, photo galleries and stories, and ABLtv.com for game highlights and postgame interviews.