ROB’S RECAP - STATE LEAGUE D1 - ROUND 2
BASEBALL (October 19, 2024)
SAINTS BIG BATTERS THE DIFFERENCE
By Robert Laidlaw
THE DIVISION ONE BASEBALL clash at Mitcham between last season’s grand finalists lived up to the hype, as Sturt scored the winning run late to beat Henley & Gange 5-4.
It was all the Saints early, with single runs in the first (Mitch Lightbody single, stole second base and scored on a wild pitch) and second (Zach Altamura home run) innings, and another pair in the third (Lightbody double and Jordan McArdle dinger), to lead 4-0.
But the never-say-die Rams came charging back with four runs at the top of the sixth frame to tie, after hits to Boston Hodges, Jet Clohessy, Jack Partington, Koki Yonezawa and Adam Rowe (two-run double).
The deciding run came in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Simon Adkins ran out an infield single, McArdle walked and grand final MVP Jackson Brebner-Russ hit one up the middle for the go-ahead run, which held up.
Ky Hampton started on the mound for the Saints and over the first five frames faced the minimum 15 batters, giving up just one hit, to Boston Hodges, who was out in a double play. But in the sixth the Rams got to Hampton, which saw him leave the game.
Todd van Steensel pitched two frames for four K2s to secure the victory, with Damon Arnold coming in to throw the ninth dig, conceding one two-out hit to Luke Trevaskis, for three strikeouts.
GAWLER RANGERS CAME FROM behind to beat Goodwood 7-5 at Karbeethan Reserve, for the club’s first division one victory over the Indians.
The game started sloppy, as Goodwood scored a run at the top of the opening frame, when Tom Fiebig singled, ran the bases well and came home on an error, for a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first dig, two-out RBI singles by Boyd Worden and Sam Bawden saw the Rangers grab a 2-1 advantage.
But with a run in the second inning, on Billy Sutton’s RBI infield hit, and two in the third, after a pair of errors and hits from Darren Fidge and Brodie Heeps, the Indians led 4-2.
And at the top of the fifth frame, Goodwood took advantage of three walks, when Sutton laid down a sacrifice bunt, to make it 5-4.
Gawler’s fightback started in the bottom of the fifth, after the Heintze-Unger brothers Zak and Seb were hit by pitches, Aiden Prokopec had a RBI double, Bawden singled and a wild pitch, to close the gap to a single run, 5-4.
Taka Homma came onto the mound at the top of the sixth and shut down Goodwood over the next three innings, while the Rangers made their game-winning charge at the bottom of the seventh, with three runs.
Prokopec singled and stole second base, Worden laid down a perfect safe bunt, and Seb Heintze-Unger hit a two-run single, followed by Brad Przibilla’s RBI double, for a 7-5 Gawler advantage.
While Homma shut the Indians out for three digs (two hits, two K2s) to claim the win, Seb Heintze-Unger finished the job for the save, coming onto the mound at the top of the ninth.
Good fielding played a part for the Rangers, with two runners thrown out at home plate, in the third and fourth digs, which played a major part in keeping Gawler in the game.
For Goodwood, veteran Darren Fidge took the loss, after conceding five hits for five strikeouts in two innings, while for the second consecutive game, the father-son combination of John and Trent Challinor pitched.
IN ANOTHER COME-FROM-BEHIND success, Adelaide beat Golden Grove Central Districts 7-3 at Plympton, after trailing 0-2 going into the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Dodgers scored a run in the opening frame on Kynan Skein’s sac fly, after infield hits to Brandon Manzella, Daniel Youngblood and Jake Shotton had loaded the bases with one out.
That 1-0 scoreline held up until the top of the fifth, when Noah Rodgers singled and came home on Youngblood’s double to double the advantage.
In the bottom of the sixth dig the Angels struck, with three runs, after three walks, Chris Condon’s RBI double and Lachlan Pace’s two-run single, to go 3-2 up.
But the Dodgers fought back at the top of the seventh when Youngblood doubled, Shotton singled and Skein laid down a sac bunt for a run and a 3-3 tie.
Adelaide re-took the lead in the bottom of the seventh, on Nick Callaghan’s RBI single and Ben Ganley’s sac fly, and extended the advantage to 7-3 in the eighth, on Ganley’s two-run hit, after Billy Damon reached on an infield single and Riley Yeatman was hit by a pitch.
Damon pitched 3.1 innings for the win, conceding six hits for six K2s, while Yeatman pitched the final two frames, collecting four strikeouts. For the Dodgers, John Inglis started and threw five digs for four hits, five K2s.
IN A TIGHT CONTEST at Christies Downs, West Torrens triumphed 3-1, after the game was scoreless through the first four innings.
The Eagles scored twice at the top of the fifth frame, after hits to Jude Barker, Nico Vanderlinden and Nat Vanderlinden, and an error.
South pulled one run back in the bottom of the sixth, after Jake Campbell reached on a wild throw, stole second base, went to third on a wild pitch and came home on a balk.
Neither side could score again until the top of the ninth, when Barker walked and came home on Nico Vanderlinden’s double, for the final run of the game.
Masa Sawada pitched 5.1 innings for the win, conceding three hits for five strikeouts, with some relief help from Bradlee Marsh, Joel Chapman and Mason Clavell.
For the Hawks, Nick Hutchings threw six frames for five hits and four K2s in taking the loss.
WOODVILLE SCORED EARLY and held on for a 6-4 victory over Glenelg at Findon.
In the bottom of the third inning AJ Verastegui singled, Joe Papps was safe on his bunt, Jose Castellano hit a RBI double, Cesar Perez had a RBI ground out and Drew Janssen reached on an error for a third run, and a 3-0 lead.
The Tigers got on the scoreboard at the top of the fifth dig, after hits to Rion Sato, Alec Stef, Kris Nankivell and Jaikob Mathews, but had to settle for just one run.
Wade Moore doubled to lead off the bottom of the seventh frame for the Senators, and Braeden Taheny walked, but the next two batters were struck out, with Castellano coming through with a two-run double to push the lead out to 5-1.
It was a timely hit, because Glenelg responded at the top of the eighth with a pair of runs, after RBI doubles to Deiken Burnside and Dylan Bentley, after Mathews had singled.
An error helped Woodville score a run in the bottom of the eighth, while at the top of the ninth, Elliott Ross and Steff collected hits, with Tom Huttunen hitting a sac fly for the final run of the game.
Verastegui pitched five innings for the win, conceding four hits for five strikeouts, while for the Tigers, Jayden Eldridge took the loss, tossing five frames for three hits and seven K2s.
ALTHOUGH PORT ADELAIDE MERCIED Kensington 10-0 in seven innings at Semaphore, it was actually a tight ball game until the Magpies’ final at bat.
Over the first five frames only one run was scored, in the second dig, when Byron Wiley walked and Jack Stead’s long outfield fly was dropped, for Wiley to come charging home.
That 1-0 scoreline held up until the bottom of the sixth, when Port scored nine runs, after two errors, seven walks and hits to Stead and Wil Paech.
Tyson McKee started on the mound for the Magpies and threw three innings for one hit and five strikeouts. Reliver Sammy Steigert claimed the win, conceding three hits for five K2s over four digs.
Cardinal starter Kensuke Miura pitched five innings for two hits and a strikeout for just one run.
A SIX-RUN FIRST INNING and a seven-run final frame bookended East Torrens 16-2 victory over Northern Districts at Ingle Farm.
To open the game, hits to Charlie Ashcroft, Carter Powell, Jay Sanderson and Dalton Probert (two-run double), a Lucas Aiden walk and Will Couzner’s grand slam home run accounted for the Redsox’s six-run start.
Single runs at the top of the second (Sanderson RBI double), third (Ashcroft RBI single) and fourth (pair of walks and an error) digs, saw East Torrens go to a 9-0 lead.
North finally found some form with the bat in the middle innings, with Albert Dominguez smashing a home run at the bottom of the fourth, and then an inning later, back-to-back two-out doubles by Alex Dailey and Tyson Lee saw another run and the lead was cut to 9-2.
But at the top of the seventh East Torrens put the result to bed with seven tallies, thanks to two hit batsmen, two errors and hits to Mark Stewart, Probert, Lucas, Couzner and Jude Ard (two-run dinger).
Connor Yeatman claimed the win, to compliment his brother Riley’s first victory with Adelaide!
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Division one baseball results:
Gawler Rangers d Goodwood 7-5 (hits: Gawler – Prokopec 3, Worden 2, Bawden 2, S. Heintze-Unger 2, Przibilla 2, Child, Renken; Goodwood – Heeps 3, Weber 2, Sutton, Fiebig, Fidge. WP: T. Homma; LP: D. Fidge).
Sturt d Henley & Grange 5-4 (hits: Sturt – Lightbody 2, Altamura 2 (hr), Adkins, McArdle (hr), Brebner-Russ, Ottoway, Beaumont; H&G – B. Hodges 2, Partington, Yonezawa, Rowe, Trevaskis, Clohessy. WP: T. van Steensel; LP: J. Hodges).
West Torrens d Southern Districts 3-1 (hits: WT – Nico Vanderlinden 2, T. McGarry, S. McGarry, Barker, Nat Vanderlinden; South – M. Hutchings, Davies, Turner, Hansen. WP: M. Sawada; LP: N. Hutchings).
Port Adelaide d Kensington 10-0 (hits: Port – Steigert, Murphy, Stead, Paech; Kensington – Bishop, J. Spratt, W. Tanner, Robinson. WP: S. Steigert; LP: K. Miura).
Adelaide d GGCD 7-3 (hits: Adelaide – Damon 3, Callaghan 2, Ganley, Edwards, Congdon, Pace; GGCD – Youngblood 4, Manzella 2, Rodgers 2, Shotton 2, Walsh 2, Skein, Wallis. WP: B. Damon; LP: B. Caskey).
Woodville d Glenelg 6-4 (hits: Woodville – Castellano 3, Moore, Verastegui; Glenelg – Mathews 2, Steff 2, Burnside 2, Bentley, Sato, Ross, Nankivell. WP: AJ Verastegui; LP: J. Eldridge).
East Torrens d Northern Districts 16-2 (hits: ET – Lucas 3, Ashcroft 2, Powell 2, Sanderson 2, Probert 2, Couzner 2 (gshr), Stewart, Ard (hr), Chandler; North – Dailey, Lees, Dominguez (hr), Clifton, Dziego, Matulic. WP: C. Yeatman; LP: T. Marshall).
Premiership points: Woodville 4, Sturt 4, Port Adelaide 4, East Torrens 4, Gawler Rangers 2, Henley & Grange 2, Glenelg 2, GGCD 2, Adelaide 2, West Torrens 2, Southern Districts 0, Goodwood 0, Kensington 0, Northern Districts 0.