The Twins earned silver medals after falling 3-2 to Ryde Hawks in the final game of the 2021 Australian Junior League Championship in Adelaide.
The Hawks took the lead with a three-run fourth and held on to win 3-2 despite the Twins plating a run in the bottom of the seventh and loading the bases.
Joshua Nati recorded a strikeout for the final out after Ryde intentionally walked Nathan Rumbelow to load the bases as the Twins pulled within a run. The Twins had scored first in the bottom of the first when Rumbelow doubled to score Andrew Land.
Hudson Pallay kept the Hawks off the board until the fourth. All three runs Pallay allowed for Twins were unearned. The right-hander struck out seven in a strong outing. Patariki Pouaka-Grego tossed three scoreless relief innings, striking out three.
Earlier in the day, Southern Mariners secured a fifth-place finish with a 7-1 win over Brisbane Metro.
Back-to-back singles from Ty Daniels and Zach Dunkley put the Mariners on top in the third and starting pitcher Liam Bald tossed six solid innings on diamond one. Bald allowed only one unearned run – in the second inning – in a one-hit outing. He struck out 10.
Bald gave himself a lead to work with in the first. He doubled to score Daniels after he singled with one out.
Metro hit back in the next inning when Sebastian Shimizu scored on an error after singling and stealing second and third.
Daniels and Dunkley restored the Mariners’ lead in the third. Southern added a fourth run on an error in the fifth and piled on three runs in the sixth.
Daniels doubled in a run ahead of Bald adding a two-run single. Bald finished with three RBIs on two hits and Daniels collected three hits.
Congratulations to Twins and Southern Mariners on a great tournament!
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