ROB’S RECAP - STATE LEAGUE DIVISION 1 - ROUND 4

BASEBALL (November 2, 2024)

THRILLER AT THE BAY

By Robert Laidlaw

IT TOOK 12 INNINGS to separate them, with Adelaide beating Glenelg at Glenelg 7-3 in division one baseball, after a five-run rally at the top of the 12th frame.

With both starting pitchers, Billy Damon for the Angels and the home team’s ace Jayden Eldridge on top, the early scoring was at a premium.

The Tigers did break through at the bottom of the first inning, when Jaikob Mathews doubled, Zane Judd singled and Elliott Ross hit a sacrifice fly, for a 1-0 lead, which held up until the top of the eighth dig.

With time running out, Adelaide rode some luck to equalise in the eighth, when Ty Forney walked, went to second base on a balk, advanced to third on Ben Ganley’s groundout and came home on a wild pitch.

At the completion of the regulation nine digs, the scores were locked at 1-1 and extra innings were required.

Adelaide had Riley Yeatman as the placed runner at second at the top of the 10th, but Rahman Martinez’s hot shot was caught at second base and Yeatman doubled up.

In the bottom of the 10th Glenelg was dealt with quickly with the first two hitters struck out, to send the game into an 11th inning.

So on to the 11th where Damon hit a two-out RBI double to see the Angels ahead for the first time in the game, 2-1.

But Glenelg had come too far to just surrender easily, and in the bottom of the 11th Judd hit a RBI single, before a double play ended the threat, and it was 2-2 and the game was headed into a 12th dig.

Hits by Nick Callaghan, Yeatman (an RBI single) and Lachlan Pace, loaded the bases for the Angels with one out. Up stepped Ty Forney and he delivered a two-run double, followed by Ben Ganley’s two-run single, and Adelaide looked safe, with Glenelg only answering with a single run in the bottom of the 12th, on Rion Sato’s RBI hit.

Yeatman pitched five innings for two hits and six strikeouts for the win, after Damon conceded five hits for five K2s in five frames, and Hugh Batchelor threw two digs for two hits and three K2s.

Glenelg starter Eldridge gave up four hits for seven K2s in six innings, while Carson Angeroth pitched a one-hitter for five frames for five K2s, with Flynn Luders taking the loss.

STURT HAD A ‘GIANT’ WIN over Gawler Rangers at West Beach Parks, behind two stars of the ABL, winning 21-0.

The two Giants who played a major part in the game were starting pitcher Ky Hampton, who threw five innings for two hits and eight strikeouts, and Jordan McArdle, who smashed out two home runs from four hits, with five RBIs.

With Hampton dealing from the mound, the Rangers struggled to get anything going with the bat, while the Saints scored in all but one of the seven innings.

At the top of the opening frame, Harry Knuckey doubled and came home on Zach Altamura’s sacrifice fly, to make it 1-0.

Then in the second dig, a pair of errors, Mitch Lightbody’s two-run double and McArdle’s two-run dinger made it 6-0.

Knuckey hit a two-run single in the third, while in the fourth, seven walks assisted Sturt in scoring eight times to go out 16-0.

A two-run home run from Knuckey in the fifth frame and McArdle’s two-run blast in the seventh helped get the Saints up to 21-0.

BACK-TO-BACK HOME RUNS from Jack Partington and Liam Bull in the bottom of the third inning laid the foundation for Henley & Grange’s 6-1 victory over Golden Grove Central Districts at West Lakes.

The Dodgers scored a run at the top of the second frame, after hits to Josh Conry, Nick Wallis and Bandon Manzella to take a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third the Rams equalised, when Koki Yonezawa waked, stole second base and scored on Jay Couzner’s groundout, 1-1.

With those two third inning dingers, Henley went 3-1 up and built on that with runs in the fourth (Couzner sac fly), fifth (through Partington’s single and good baserunning) and eighth (after an Adam Rowe single, Yonezawa sac bunt and Pat Inglis’ RBI hit), to win 6-1.

The Dodgers had good relief pitching from John Inglis to stay in the game, as he conceded four hits in four innings for nine K2s.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF FIVE HPBs and home runs from Matt Hutchings and Drew Davies, Southern Districts beat the previously undefeated Woodville 10-0 at Christies Downs.

The Hawks scored four runs in the bottom of the second. Tamoya Kamakani led off with an infield hit, followed by five walks and a hit batsman.

A couple of hit batsmen set up Hutchings’ three-run dinger in the fourth inning, as South went 7-0 up, while Davies smashed a solo shot in the sixth, and had a RBI single in the eighth, as did Brett Hattersley, to cap the score at 10-0.

Kamakani pitched a blinder for the Hawks, conceding two hits over seven frames for 12 strikeouts for the win.

BEHIND SOLID PITCHING and outstanding hitting, East Torrens was untroubled in beating Kensington 19-2 at Erindale.

Charlie Ashcroft led off the game with a home run to give the Redsox a 1-0 lead, which was short-lived, as Kensington scored twice in the bottom of the opening frame to take a 2-1 lead, after hits to Lachie Spratt, Deakin Filko and Tyler Butterwick (a two-run double).

But it was all East Torrens the rest of the way. Ashcroft hit a two-run double in the second dig, Dalton Probert had a two-run single in the third, and Troy Chandler kept the scoreboard ticking over with a two-run two-bagger in the fourth, as the Redsox led 10-2.

Aiden Lucas smashed a two-run double in the sixth, while in a five-run seventh and final frame, Troy Chandler and Lucas both belted dingers – for Troy it was his first in division one.

As for the pitching, Connor Yeatman threw four innings for six hits and nine strikeouts, Jude Ard struck out five for no hits in two frames, and Lucas collected three K2s in his one dig.

ONE OF THE CLOSEST GAMES of the round saw Goodwood beat Northern Districts 4-1 at Mortlock Park.

The Reds opened the scoring in the first inning, after Tyson Lees walked, Abert Dominguez singled and an error.

That 1-0 scoreline held up until the bottom of the third frame, when the Indians scored three times, after Billy Sutton reached on an error, Griffin Weber hit a RBI double, Darren Fidge walked, Henry Wiese hit and Dylan Howarth belted a two-run single.

In the bottom of the fourth the final run of the game was scored, when Sutton tripled and came home on Howarth’s groundout to make it 4-1. Howarth also pitched two innings for six strikeouts.

For North, Todd Marshall pitched five frames for seven hits and three K2s in a solid outing.

IN ANOTHER BLOWOUT, behind a three-homer game by Mason Clavell, West Torrens beat Port Adelaide 19-3 at Semaphore, breaking the game open with a nine-run seventh inning.

James McFarlane hit a home run at the top of the first for the Eagles, while for Port, consecutive hits to Nick Vasic, Sammy Steigert and Flynn McKee gave the Magpies the equaliser, at 1-1.

Tom McGarry put West Torrens up in the second frame with a RBI double, while a four-run third frame, with Clavell smashing a two-run dinger, made it 6-1.

Clavell had another two-run homer in the fourth, while in the bottom of the frame, Brodie Arriola put one over for the Magpies.

And in the sixth the Eagles scored two more, while Tommy Bird pulled one back with his home run in the bottom of the dig.

Then the devastating nine-run seventh, where Clavell belted a three-run dinger, and Tom McGarry had two singles and three RBIs.

* * * * *

Division one baseball results:

Sturt d Gawler Rangers 21-0 (hits: Sturt – Knuckey 4 (hr), McArdle 4 (2 hr), Lightbody 2, Ottaway 2, Altamara, Brebner-Russ, Beaumont, Adkins; Gawler – Z. Heintze-Unger, Child, Worden. WP: K. Hampton; LP: S. Heintze-Unger).

Henley & Gange d GGCD 6-1 (hits: H&G – Partington 2 (hr), Bull (hr), Rowe, Inglis, Clohessy, B. Hodges; GGCD – Manzella, Shotton, A. Chenoweth, Conrey, Wallis. WP: S. Bellina; LP: C. O’Reilly).

Adelaide d Glenelg 7-3 in 12 innings (hits: Adelaide – Ganley 2, Callaghan 2, Pace 2, Forney, Damon, Yeatman, Martinez; Glenelg – Judd 3, Huttunen 2, Mathew 2, Sato, Burnside. WP: R. Yeatman; LP: F. Luders).

Southern Districts d Woodville 10-0 (hits: South – Hattersley 3, Campbell 2, Davies 2 (hr), M. Hutchings (hr), Kamakani; Woodville – Janssen 2. WP: T. Kamakani; LP: AJ Verastegui).

East Torrens d Kensington 19-2 (hits: ET – Probert 3, T. Chandler 3 (hr), Ashcroft 2 (hr), Lucas 2 (hr), King 2, Powell, Ard; Kensington – J. Platten 2, L. Spratt, Filko, T. Butterwick, South. WP: C. Yeatman; LP: D. Filko).

Goodwood d Northern Districts 4-1 (hits: Goodwood – Weber 2, Howarth 2, Sutton, Fidge, Wiese, Galpin; North – Dominguez 2, Lees, Dziego. WP: T. Howarth; LP: T. Marshall).

West Torrens d Port Adelaide 19-3 (hits: WT – Gallagher 4, Clavell 4 (3 hr), T. McGarry 3, Barker 2, McFarlane (hr), Scott, Ni. Vanderlinden, Na. Vanderlinden, George; Port – Vasic 2, F. McKee 2, Steigert, Mitchell, Murphy, Arriola (hr), R. Schrapel, Bird (hr). WP: M. Sawada; LP: S. Steigert).

Premiership points: Sturt 8, Woodville 6, East Torrens 6, Henley & Grange 6, West Torrens 6, Adelaide 4, Gawler Rangers 4, Southern Districts 4, Port Adelaide 4, Glenelg 2, GGCD 2, Kensington 2, Goodwood 2, Northern Districts 0.