The 2018 Under 12 State Winter Championships finished up in Mildura on Sunday 29th July. After some very competitive play on Day 1, the forecast for Day 2 was more of the same. Whilst not as warm as Saturday, the sun still shone on Mildura’s Old Aerodrome Ovals and the teams were all enthusiastic for another day of games. Going into the first rounds, Sunraysia held top spot in pool A and City West had control over pool B.
First up, Bendigo took on Latrobe Valley on Diamond 1. Lily Czuczman started on the mound for Bendigo and went toe-to-toe with Latrobe Valley’s Jack Thomas. Both teams came out firing with the bats, scoring 5 a-piece in the first inning. It was a tight game the entire way but Bendigo eventually posted a 12 – 11 win.
On Diamond 3, Geelong played Dandenong in a bottom of the pool clash. Geelong scored in each frame but was ultimately outclassed by a potent Dandenong offense, going down 15 – 11.
Another tight contest took place on Diamond 4 between Ring/DV and the home team, Sunraysia. The lead went back and forth for most of the game before Ring/DV took control and toppled the first placed Sunraysia, 10 – 9.
In round 2, Ring/DV nailed their second win of the day, this time over Geelong. Sid Grimmer and Luke Morrow were great on the hill for Geelong but the Ring/DV bats were hot and managed to score 15 runs to Geelong’s 9.
Dandenong were also charging up the rankings, taking a comfortable 15 – 7 win over current first placed Sunraysia. Lachlan Richardson and Ned Johnson combined on the hill to keep Sunraysia relatively quiet while their own offense piled on the runs.
Latrobe Valley and City West both scored their own fair share of runs over on Diamond 4. Latrobe Valley started Daniel Toms, followed by Liam Duncan and then Darcey Pump but they were unable to stop City West running away with the game, 13 – 10.
At 1:45pm, the final for both pools were set; Ring/DV had topped pool A and would face Dandenong in the championship game and Bendigo would take on second-placed City West. Over on Diamond 4, Sunraysia and Geelong planned to play off for third place in pool A.
Dandenong kicked things off on Diamond 1 with a strong, 5-run first inning. Ring/DV struggled a little bit early in the game to put runs on the board but in the third frame things clicked and they scored 15 from there. The 17 – 6 win saw the combination team of Ringwood and Diamond Valley crowned the winners of pool B.
In the pool B final, Bendigo took a narrow lead over City West on the back of an excellent combined pitching effort from Ryan Kinkade, Hayley Jack, Dexter Rodgers and Shanara Kitt. However it wasn’t enough to dent the success of the kids from the city, who couldn’t be knocked off the top of pool B. Thanks to excellent run differential throughout the tournament, City West became the winners of pool B.
In the race for third place in pool B, Geelong and Sunraysia found themselves evenly matched. Both teams had big innings where they scored the maximum of 5 runs but it was the home team who scored consistently enough to earn themselves the win with a score of 12 – 10.
The final results for the day were;
Results from Day 2 Under 12’s State Winter Championships
Bendigo
11
Latrobe Valley
12
Geelong
11
Dandenong
15
Ring/DV
10
Sunraysia
9
Ring/DV
15
Geelong
9
Sunraysia
7
Dandenong
13
Latrobe
10
City West
13
Dandenong
6
Ring/DV
17
Bendigo
12
City West
11
Sunraysia
12
Geelong
10
The final standings were;
Day 2 Ladder
POOL A
POOL B
Ring/DV
City West
Dandenong
Bendigo
Sunraysia
Latrobe Valley
Geelong
Baseball Victoria would like to thank everyone who helped make the event such a success. Congratulations to all the participants, coaches and executive officers for their excellent efforts this past weekend. Thank you to all the hard-working parents for making the journey to Mildura. Sincerest thanks to the Sunraysia Baseball League and all their volunteers, from working in the canteen to slaving away over the grounds and everything in between. Thank you to Stewart Howe and his umpiring crew for officiating this wonderful tournament. Thank you to the scorers who not only travelled a long way to Mildura but who also embraced the new iScore system with skill and enthusiasm. Thank you to Julie Jones, who functioned as Assistant Tournament Director. These competitions would not run as smoothly without you. And finally, thank you to Council Member Jason Modica and the Mildura Rural City Council for their support of this event – your presence is much appreciated and adds a special quality to the closing ceremony proceedings.
This was the last in the 2018 series of State Winter Championships; Baseball Victoria hopes that everyone involved enjoyed themselves and looks forward to seeing everyone there again next year.