ROB’S RECAP - STATE LEAGUE D1 - ROUND 1

BASEBALL (October 12, 2024)

GRAND SLAM SETS TONE FOR RAMS

By Robert Laidlaw

A HUGE GRAND SLAM HOME RUN BY Liam Bull in the second inning helped set up Henley & Grange’s 12-9 victory over Adelaide, in division one baseball’s opening series at Plympton.

Thanks to that early cushion, the Rams were able to withstand a tremendous two-out six-run fight-back by Adelaide in the seventh frame.

Henley scored twice in the first dig, on RBI doubles from Bull and Adam Rowe, for a good start to the season.

But in the bottom of the opening inning, Stefan Welch smashed a dinger for the Angels to half the deficit.

Then the big second frame, where three free passes and Jack Partington’s infield single saw one run in and the bases loaded, for Bull to step to the plate and clear the bases, for a commanding 7-1 advantage.

Jet Clohessy extended the lead with a two-run double at the top of the third, with Adelaide scoring single runs in the bottom of the third, after Ty Forney’s double and an error, and in the fifth, after two walks and Riley Yeatman’s RBI groundout.

At the top of the sixth dig the Rams scored another two runs, after hits to Adam Rowe and Patrick Inglis to go 11-3 up.

The Angels were looking down the barrel with two out in the bottom of the seventh frame, but consecutive hits to Chris Congdon, Lachlan Pace, Forney, Welch and Billy Damon saw six runs cross the plate and Adelaide was just two runs behind.

Only one more run was scored in the game, on Clohessy’s RBI double in the ninth, to close out the scoring.

REIGNING PREMIER STURT DID not miss a beat in starting a new campaign with a solid 9-1 victory over West Torrens at Mitcham.

The Saints scored three times in the bottom of the opening inning, after hits to Mitch Lightbody, Blake Farr and Matt MacBeth, which held up over the next four frames.

West Torrens finally broke through at the top of the sixth, when Sam McGarry walked and came home on Austin Gallagher’s double.

But then the Sturt batters came alive, first in the bottom of the sixth with three runs, on Lightbody’s RBI single and Jackson Brebner-Russ’ two-run double.

Then in the seventh, another three runs, on a huge home run from perennial big-hitter Jordan McArdle.

Ky Hampton started for the Saints and earned the win, pitching five innings for three hits and eight strikeouts.

For the Eagles, Nathan Vanderlinden took seven catches in leftfield.

IN A TOPSY-TURVY GAME, East Torrens came from behind twice – after taking an early lead – to beat Southern Districts 10-7 at Christie Downs.

The Redsox scored three times at the top of the second inning, after a Dalton Probert home run, a couple of walks, Charlie Ashcroft’s sac fly and Mark Stewart’s RBI single.

South mounted a challenge in the bottom of the fifth frame to score four runs and grab a 4-3 lead, on Tailen Hobson’s two-run triple and Matt Hutchings’ RBI double.

But East Torrens came right back at the top of the sixth with a pair of runs, after hits to Will Couzner, Stewart and Carter Powell.

And another run at the top of the seventh, on Aiden Lucas’ RBI double, saw the lead out to 6-4.

The Hawks again turned the result on its head with three runs at the bottom of the seventh to grab a 7-6 advantage, after big hits to Nick Rees, Brett Hattersley and Luke Hansen.

Still there was more fight in the Redsox, as they unleashed a four-run rally in the eighth after two-run hits to Jay Sanderson and Probert, to again take control of the game, with a 10-7 lead, which stood up the rest of the way.

WOODVILLE TOOK AN EARLY LEAD and built on it to beat Gawler Rangers 5-0 at Findon.

The Senators came out of the box in the bottom of the first inning, with hits to Wade Moore, Cesar Perez, Drew Janssen and AJ Verastegui for two runs, and a 2-0 lead, which could have been more except for a runner being thrown out at the plate.

With Verastegui dominant from the mound – six innings for two hits and 10 strikeouts – the Rangers were unable to challenge.

Woodville went 4-0 up in the bottom of the fifth after Drew Janssen’s two-run homer, and scored the game’s final run in the seventh, on Cesar Perez’s dinger.

WITH THREE BIG RALLIES, Port Adelaide was too strong for Goodwood at Semaphore, and won 13-2 in eight innings.

The Magpies took advantage of five walks and hits to Tommy Bird and Ryan Schrapel to score five runs in the second frame.

When Goodwood took advantage of a walk and two errors in the fifth dig for two runs, the deficit was just three runs, at 5-2.

But Port powered away with four runs in the bottom of the seventh, after hits to Schrapel, Nick Vasic, Sammy Steigert and Ethan Murphy.

Then in the eighth, scored another four runs, after four walks and hits to Bird, Schrapel, and Murphy, to mercy the Indians.

From the mound, Sammy Steigert pitched 7.2 innings for two hits and nine strikeouts in a dominant performance.

CONSISTENT SCORING PROVED THE recipe for success, as Golden Grove Central Districts beat Kensington at Illyarrie Reserve 10-4.

Jake Shotton gave the Dodgers the early lead with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the opening inning, with Kensington going 2-1 up at the top of the third, on a Jack Platten two-run home run.

But the Dodgers fought back in the bottom of the third with three runs, after hits to Daniel Youngblood, Tyler Green and Nick Wallis, then in the fourth went 7-2 up after another three runs, on Shotton’s two-run double and Kynan Skien’s sac fly.

The game was all but finished in the bottom of the sixth when Shotton, who was having a big day with the bat, smashed a two-run dinger.

Kensington refused to just lay down and managed a pair of runs at the top of the ninth dig, after hits to Elijah Spratt, Jack Robinson and Tyler Butterwick.

John Inglis recorded the win with 4.2 innings of relief pitching, for four hits and 10 strikeouts. The Dodgers’ starter Brayden Calkey threw 4.1 frames for three hits and four K2s.

IT WAS SLOW GOING early for Glenelg before the Tigers broke out the bats to record a convincing 12-0 victory over Northern Districts at Ingle Farm.

After two scoreless innings Glenelg managed a single run at the top of the third, on Dylan Bentley’s sac fly, and went 2-0 up in the fourth, on Tyson Arnold’s RBI double.

Then the floodgates opened, as the Tigers scored five runs at the top of the fifth dig, after three hit batsmen, an error, Elliott Ross’s two-run double and Arnold’s RBI single.

Another three tallies in the sixth, on Rion Sato’s RBI hit and Arnold’s two-run single, and Bentley’s two-run homer in the seventh and final frame, made it 12-0.

Carson Angeroth pitched two relief innings for the win, conceding one hit for three strikeouts, while Glenelg starter Jayden Eldridge threw four digs for two hits and five K2s.

For the Reds, starter Todd Marshall pitched four innings for four hits and seven strikeouts, to keep North in the game early.

* * * * *

Division one baseball results:

Glenelg d Northern Districts 12-0 (hits: Bentley 3 (hr), Arnold 3, Sato 2, Ross 2, Jac. Eldridge, Mathews, Martinella; North – Dominguez, Marshall, Maguire. WP: C. Angeroth; LP: T. Marshall).

East Torrens d Southern Districts 10-7 (hits: ET – Probert 4 (hr), Stewart 3, Powell 3, Couzner 3, Lucas 2, Sanderson; South – M. Hutchings 2, Hansen 2, Hattersley, Short, Hobson, Rees. WP: C. Ashcroft; LP: T. Stevens).

Henley & Grange d Adelaide 12-9 (hits: H&G – Clohessy 3, Partington 2, Bull 2 (gshr), Rowe 2, Lee, Inglis, Trevaskis, Couzner; Adelaide – Congdon 3, Forney 2, Welch 2 (hr), Damon 2, Callaghan, Pace. WP: J. Hodges; LP: H. Batchelor).

Port Adelaide d Goodwood 13-2 (hits: Port – Murphy 3, R. Schrapel 3, Steigert 2, Bird 2, Vasic, Stead, Paech; Goodwood – Fiebig, Wiese. WP: S. Steigert; LP: T. Challinor).

Woodville d Gawler Rangers 5-0 (hits: Woodville – Perez 3 (hr), Janssen 2 (hr), Moore, Castellano, T. Nicholson, Verastegui; Gawler – Prokopec 2, Z. Heintze-Unger, Bawden. WP: AJ Verastegui; LP: E. Badcock).

Sturt d West Torrens 9-1 (hits: Sturt – Lightbody 3, Beaumont 3, Adkins 2, MacBeth 2, Ottaway 2, McArdle (hr), Brebner-Russ, Farr, Dawson; WT – T. McGarry 2, Gallagher, Clavell, Scott, George. WP: K. Hampton; LP: M. Clavell).

Golden Grove Central Districts d Kensington 10-4 (hits: GGCD – Youngblood 3, Wallis 3, J. Chenoweth 3, Shotton 2 (hr), Manzella, Rodgers, Green; Kensington – J. Spratt 2, J. Platten (hr), Robinson, T. Butterwick, Bishop, E. Spratt. WP: J. Inglis; LP: K. Miura).

Premiership points: Henley & Grange 2, Woodville 2, Sturt 2, Port Adelaide 2, Glenelg 2, East Torrens 2, GGCD 2, Adelaide 0, West Torrens 0, Southern Districts 0, Goodwood 0, Kensington 0, Gawler Rangers 0, Northern Districts 0.