News

The 2019 Senior, Junior and Intermediate League Championships continued on Sunday with a thrilling Day 2, filled with some surprising results and impressive performances from standout junior players across five charters. The tournaments will culminate in Monday’s finals, which will see the top teams competing to go through to the Australian Championships in May.

Please check out results and recaps below. Good luck to everyone in the finals!

Senior League

Game 6 – Field 3 9:30AM Sunraysia vs. Eastern Athletics 7 – 4

Sunraysia Downs Eastern Athletics, 7-4

In an early game for both teams, each side arrived at the grounds this morning wanting a win to move up the ladder. Eastern Athletics started the game by drawing walks along with a few strong hits, bringing home one run on a stolen base.

Going into the bottom of the 2nd inning, Sunraysia came back to tie the game at 1-1, with a RBI Sacrifice Bunt from Zac Stainer. The tie continued through the top of the 4th inning, when the Athletics brought two runners in to score, taking a 3-1 lead.

Sunraysia cranked up the heat in the bottom frame, pulling away for good with a whopping six runs to secure the precious victory. Lindsay Barbary smashed a solo homer, Rahmen Martinez singled on a 2-0 count, scoring one run and Hayden Chase singled on a 2-2 count to score another runner.

The offensive onslaught wasn’t over, as Bailey Edgar laid down a sacrifice bunt to bring the next runner home and Coby Mitchell drew a walk to force in yet another run. Barbary singled to round off the inning and record an RBI.
While the Athletics were able to score one more run, it wasn’t enough as Sunraysia took the ‘W’.
Raiden Wakefield was on the pitcher’s mound for Sunraysia. He went one and one-third innings, allowing one run on two hits and walking zero.

Finnley McGrath was on the mound for Eastern Athletics. He allowed two hits and four runs over three innings, striking out one. Alek Siddans and Lochlan O’Connor entered the game as relief, throwing two and a third innings and two-thirds of an inning respectively.
Barbary went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Sunraysia in hits.

Game 7 – Field 4 9:30AM Southern Mariners vs. Twins 6 – 18

Southern Mariners Fall Short in Matchup with Twins

This morning the Twins and Southern Mariners played the longest game of the day in the Senior League which spanned three hours. A tight competition until the 5th inning, the final scoreline did not reflect the first half of the game.

Despite the loss, Southern Mariners did collect six hits in the high-scoring affair. Unfortunately for them, the Twins had 13 hits on the way to victory.

The Twins started the game strong with a two-run lead over the first three innings, including a groundout from Nathan Smith to score Jaycob Pascuzzi. In the 3rd inning, the Twins scored another three runs, before taking their turn in the field and giving up a pair of runs to the Mariners.

The mood of the game shifted in the 5th inning, when the Mariners allowed seven runs to score, giving the Twins a 12-2 advantage. Connor Shibeci, McCleod Sell, Jaycob Pascuzzi, Trenell Hutchins and Smith all drove in runs during the inning.

Although the Mariners answered with three of their own in the bottom frame, thanks to a lead-off single from Angelo Reale-Rontos and several key walks, it wasn’t enough to keep up. In the 6th inning, the Twins added another run and kept the Mariners off the scoreboard. The Mariners were tired and in a tough spot in the 7th inning when the Twins tacked on another five runs.

The Mariners would score one more time before the Twins officially sealed the deal and took the win.

Many players stood out for their contributions during the game, including Kennan Spence of the Twins who had a batting average of .778 and was only one home run short of hitting for the cycle.

Smith was on the hill for the Twins. He lasted four innings, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out two. Joshua Tribe started for the Mariners, surrendering five runs on six hits over three and two-thirds innings, striking out five. Millar Kuhl and Tahj Rousell entered the game in relief, throwing two and a third innings and one inning respectively.

Angelo Reale-Rontos went 2-for-4 at the plate to lead the Mariners in hits, while Spence, Smith and Shibeci had multiple hits for the Twins. The winning side also tore up the base paths, with Bailey Marcola successfully stealing twice.