ROB’S RECAP - STATE LEAGUE DIVISION 1 - ROUND 6
A SEEING-EYE HIT WINS GAME
By Robert Laidlaw
AN INFIELD SINGLE ‘stole the show’ at Mitcham, where Adelaide beat the previously undefeated Sturt 8-7 in division one baseball.
Going into the top of the sixth and final inning (games were restricted to seven frames or two hours because of the heat), Adelaide trailed 7-5, but loaded the bases, and with two out Billy Damon stepped to the plate.
Damon had hit a two-run home run in the opening inning, and had a chance to cement himself as man of the match with a big hit. But he skied a ball between the outfielders and short stop, with the runners ‘on their bikes’.
Amazingly, the ball not only dropped safely it bounced off on a strange angle, and when the ball was picked up, three runners had crossed the plate and Damon was credited with a three-run infield single!
The Angels had led the game 5-0, after Damon’s dinger, Ty Forney’s RBI single in the second dig, and two runs at the top of the fourth, on Ty Forney’s run-scoring hit and Ben Ganley’s RBI groundout.
RBI hits to Simon Baumer and Zac Altamura saw the Saints close the gap with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth, then an inning later, scored five times, with Altamura three-run home run giving Sturt a 7-5 lead.
After Adelaide grabbed that unlikely lead at the top of the sixth, the Saints could not answer, although lead-off man Tyson Ottaway collected a hit.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ITS five hits, Southern Districts managed to hold off a gallant Glenelg, at Christies Beach for a 5-4 victory.
With the Eldridge brothers both doing the job for the Tigers, it looked like an upset was on the cards.
From the mound, Jayden Eldridge went the distance, conceding five hits for six strikeouts in six frames, and was unlucky to take the loss.
Jacob Eldridge hit his first home run in Glenelg’s four-run fourth dig – his first dinger, not only in division one, but in his career, including juniors.
Earlier at the top of the fourth, before Eldridge’s three-run bomb, Rion Sato walked, Elliott Ross singled and Tyson Arnold had a RBI hit, for the Tigers to go 4-0 up.
The Hawks came back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, after Matt Hutchings collected South’s first hit of the game, Brett Hattersley walked, Tomoya Kamakani hit a two-run double and came home on an error.
For the rest of the game the Hawks only had three more hits, all in the bottom of the sixth, with Luke Hansen and Matt Hutchings collecting singles, and coming home on Nick Hutchings’ hit, for a 5-4 lead, which they held on to.
Kamakani pitched five innings for five hits and six strikeouts, with Hattersley picking up the win in relief.
IN A GAME THAT WAS played on a knife’s edge, Gawler Rangers managed a late run to triumph 4-3 over East Torrens at Payneham.
With the scores locked 3-3 going into the sixth and final inning, Gawler made its charge. Tyler Renken walked and was bunted to second base by Noah Okeil, then reached third on a wild pitch before coming home on Boyd Worden’s pop-up double that fell between rightfield and second base.
Trailing 4-3, the Redsox had one last chance to respond. Relief pitcher Ethan Badcock struck out the first batter before walking Jude Ard. The next hitter popped up for the second out, which brought Dalton Probert to the plate.
Probert hit a long ball to rightfield, which was ruled a ground-rule double when it crossed the foul line, leaving East Torrens with the potential tying run on third base and the winning run on second.
Dangerous batter Aiden Lucas was the Redsox’s last hope, and he hit a high fly ball behind second base, with the tricky wind making it a tough job for Brad Przibilla, but he held on to ensure a Rangers’ victory.
Gawler scored twice in the first frame, after Zak Heintze-Unger walked, Aiden Prokopec hit a RBI double, Dylan Child singled and Sam Bawden hit a sac fly.
But the home side rallied for three runs in the bottom of the second to take a 3-2 lead – back-to-back doubles to Probert and Lucas, and a two-run dinger from Ard.
At the top of the fourth the Rangers knotted the scores at 3-3, when Zak Heintze-Unger walked and Worden hit a RBI double, which remained the scores until the final dig.
Luis Verastegui pitched two innings for the win, collecting four strikeouts for no hits, while Ard took the loss.
WHILE GOODWOOD’S DARREN FIDGE collected a big double off the wall against Henley & Grange’s import pitcher Scott Bellina in the third inning, that was about the Indians’ only highlight in a 11-1 Rams’ win at West Beach Parks.
Just four days after his 50th birthday, Fidge is in his fourth decade of division one baseball, with the double a milestone hit.
Unfortunately, the game was all but over in the first frame, when Henley scored five times, after hits to Jack Partington, Liam Bull, Wilson Lee, Koki Yonezawa, Pat Inglis and Luke Trevaskis.
Goodwood scored its lone run at the top of the second dig, after Sam Galpin walked and hits to Josh Bradley and Dylan Howarth.
For the Rams, it was a slow burn, with single runs in the third and fourth innings, before a big four-run bottom of the fifth finished the game – after three walks, two errors and Bull’s two-run single.
Scott Bellina pitched three frames for three hits and five strikeouts, while reliever Jordan Hodges collected the win, conceding one hit for two K2s in two digs.
PORT ADELAIDE CAME OUT of the blocks hard and did enough to hang on and win 8-5 against Northern Districts at Ingle Farm.
A pair of walks, Flynn McKee’s RBI two-bagger and Dayton Mitchell’s two-run double gave the Magpies a 3-0 start in the opening frame.
Hits to Nick Vasic and Brodie Arriola saw another run in the second, but North fought back with a pair in the bottom of the inning, after an error, a walk, Steven Matulic’s hit and two wild pitches.
Both teams scored twice in the third frame, Port via Mitchell’s dinger and Tommy Bird’s RBI single, and the Reds on RBI hits to Albert Dominguez and Cameron Dziego, for the Magpies to lead 6-4.
Three walks, Mitchell’s sac fly and Ethan Murphy’s RBI double saw Port out to an 8-4 lead in the fourth, with North pulling one back in the fifth, on an error.
Tommy Bird pitched four innings for three hits and five strikeouts for the win.
WEST TORRENS SURVIVED A SCARE, coming back from 0-3 down to win 7-3 at Erindale against Kensington.
An error and hits to Lachlan Spratt, Jordan Spratt, Nick Collins and Daniel Weisbender saw the Cardinals 3-0 up in the bottom of the opening inning.
Jude Barker hit a solo home run in the second dig to put the Eagles on the board, then in the third, James McFarlane doubled, stole third base and came home on a passed ball to reduce the deficit to one run.
Tension was mounting as Kensington still led 3-2 going into the top of the sixth inning, with time running out.
But Joel Chapman singled and Nick George hit a two-run dinger to put West Torrens 4-3 up in the sixth.
Then in the seventh frame the Eagles made the game safe with four runs, which featured a Mason Clavell home run and doubles to Nico Vanderlinden and Oscar Weber.
Masa Sawada went the distance from the mound for the win, conceding six hits for 10 strikeouts in seven innings.
WOODVILLE ALWAYS SEEMED IN CONTROL against Golden Grove Central Districts at Illyarrie Reserve, but needed a late five-run rally to make the game safe, and win 7-0.
Jose Castellano singled, stole second and scored on Drew Janssen’s sac fly to give the Senators a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Then in the second frame, Troy Nicholson and Hayden Carroll hit singles, and Breandan Taheny waked to load the bases, but only one run scored, when Castellano also walked, to make it 2-0.
That 2-0 lead seemed safe with Janssen on top from the mound – restricting the Dodgers to two hits for 10 strikeouts over six innings – but a big rally was needed and Woodville got untracked at the top of the sixth with five runs.
Oliver Hayes doubled and scored on Taheny’s single, Castellano hit, Cesar Perez loaded the bases with a walk, which set up Wade Moore’s two-out two-run double and Nicholson’s two-run single.
* * * * *
Division one baseball results:
Henley & Grange d Goodwood 11-1 (hits: H&G – Bull 2, Yonezawa 2, Inglis 2, Partington, Lee, Trevaskis; Goodwood – Sutton, Fidge, Bradly, D. Howarth. WP: J. Hodges; LP: T. Howarth).
Gawler Rangers d East Torrens 4-3 (hits: Gawler – Child 3, Worden 2, Z. Heintze-Unger, Prokopec, Renken; ET – Stewart 2, Probert 2, Lucas, Ard (hr). WP: L. Verastegui; LP: J. Ard).
Southern Districts d Glenelg 5-4 (hits: South – M. Hutchings 2, Hansen, Kamakani, N. Hutchings; Glenelg – Mathews, Huttunen, Ross, Arnold, Jac. Eldridge (hr), Edgar. WP: B. Hattersley; LP: J. Eldridge).
Adelaide d Sturt 8-7 (hits: Adelaide – Forney 2, Ganley 2, Damon 2 (hr), Martinez, Congdon, Pace; Sturt – Knuckey 2, Baumer 2, Altamura 2 (hr), Brebner-Russ, Ottaway, Beaumont. WP: N. Callaghan; LP: M. Lightbody).
Port Adelaide d Northern Districts 8-5 (hits: Port – Mitchell 2 (hr), Murphy 2, Vasic, Arriola, F. McKee, Bird; North – Dominguez, Dziego, Matulic. WP: T. Bird; LP: T. Marshall).
Woodville d GGCD 7-0 (hits: Woodville – Castellano 2, Moore 2, T. Nicholson 2, Janssen, Carroll, Hayes, Taheny; GGCD – Youngblood, A. Chenoweth. WP: D. Janssen; LP: C. O’Reilly).
West Torrens d Kensington 7-3 (hits: WT – Chapman 2, George (hr), McFarlane, Scott, Clavell (hr), Ni. Vanderlinden, Weber, Barker (hr); Kensington – L. Spratt, W. Tanner, T. Butterwick, J. Spratt, Collins, Weisbender. WP: M. Sawada; LP: K. Miura).
Premiership points: Sturt 10, Woodville 10, West Torrens 10, Gawler Rangers 8, Southern Districts 8, Port Adelaide 8, Henley & Grange 8, Adelaide 6, East Torrens 6, GGCD 4, Glenelg 2, Kensington 2, Goodwood 2, Northern Districts 0.
BASEBALL (November 20, 2024)
SENATORS LOOK STRONG
By Robert Laidlaw
WITH AN IMPRESSIVE 6-1 VICTORY over West Torrens at Lockleys in mid-week division one baseball, Woodville has stamped itself as a team to watch this season.
The Senators have won six of their first seven games and have a share of top spot with reigning premier Sturt.
A four-run opening inning set the foundation of Woodville’s win, after a walk, hits to Drew Janssen, Cesar Perez and Troy Nicholson, and an error.
That 4-0 lead was still in place up to the bottom of the fifth frame, when the Eagles broke through for a run, on Nick George’s RBI single, with Woodville responding with a pair of tallies in the sixth, on Jose Castellano’s two-run hit.
AJ Verastegui pitched six innings for the victory, conceding four hits for nine strikeouts.
HENLEY & GRANGE BEAT Northern District at West Lakes, as expected, although the 3-2 scoreline was a surprise.
It was a close battle throughout, with the Rams opening the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, when Jack Partington singled, stole two bases and came home on Wilson Lee’s hit up the middle.
The Reds tied up the ball game at the top of the second, when Nick Clifton walked, stole second base and scored on Tom Regnier’s double.
But Henely took the lead back in the bottom of the third dig, when Patrick Inglis walked, went to second on a balk and scored on Adam Rowe’s hit up the middle.
And then North again squared the ledger, at the top of the fourth, when Cameron Dziego doubled and came home on an error – 2-2!
The Rams won the game with the final run of the contest in the bottom of the fourth frame, as Partington walked, Liam Bull singled and Inglis batted the winning run home on a groundout.
Neither side were able to break through in the final three innings, as Henley managed to squeeze out a close win.
Partington shut North out from the mound over those final three frames, conceding one hit for four strikeouts, while North starter Tom Frazer conceded four hits for four K2s in four digs.
GOLDEN GROVE CENTRAL DISTRICTS held on for a 3-1 victory over East Torrens at Payneham.
The Dodgers scored twice at the top of the opening inning, after Daniel Youngblood was hit by a pitch, Brandon Manzella hit a RBI triple and scored on a wild pitch.
East Torrens managed a single run in the bottom of the fourth frame, on Kason King’s sacrifice fly, with Youngblood accounting for the final run of the game with a dinger at the top of the seventh for the Dodgers.
John Inglis pitched four innings for the victory, conceding four hits for three strikeouts.
BEHIND A GOOD OUTING ON the mound by Nick Hutchings, Southern Districts accounted for Gawler Rangers 6-2 at Christie Downs.
Hutchings pitched five innings for two hits and eight strikeouts to set up the Hawks’ victory.
South scored twice in the bottom of the first frame, when Matt Hutchings was hit by a pitch and hits to Drew Davies and Nic Paparella.
Then a two-run home run by Jake Campbell in the three-run fifth dig saw the Hawks out to a 5-0 lead.
A change of pitcher helped the Rangers, as they scored two runs at the top of the sixth, with Zak Heintze-Unger’s home run the highlight.
Ben Short finished the game’s scoring with a RBI single in the bottom of the sixth and final frame.
A BIG FOUR-RUN THIRD inning set up Sturt’s 7-1 victory over Goodwood at Mitcham.
With the game scoreless, the Saints exploded with a rally in the bottom of the third frame, highlighted by Blake Farr’s three-run home run.
Both sides scored a run in the fifth frame, the Indians after consecutive two-out hits to Griffin Weber, Tom Fiebig and Darren Fidge, and Sturt on Zach Altamura’s sac fly.
A Mitch Lightbody two-run double in the bottom of the sixth dig made it a 7-1 ballgame.
From the mound, Damon Arnold pitched six innings for the win, conceding six hits for eight strikeouts.
ADELAIDE PULLED AWAY LATE against a tenacious Kensington at Erindale, for an 8-2 victory.
After loading the bases with none out at the top of the second dig, the Angels looked set to explode but only managed one run, on Ty Forney’s sac fly, with a double play ending the threat.
An inning later Stefan Welch walked and Billy Damon blasted a long home run to make it 3-0 Adelaide.
The Cardinals then got back into the game with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to close the gap to a single run, after hits to Will Tanner, Lachie South and Elijah Spratt (two RBIs).
Under pressure, the Angels clawed one run back in the sixth, on Lachlan Pace’s sac fly, and then put the result to bed with a four-run seventh, after an error, a walk and RBI hits to Rahmen Martinez and Forney
From the mound Riley Yeatman pitched six innings for four hits and 11 strikeouts for the win.
PORT ADELAIDE HAD TOO MUCH firepower for Glenelg and triumphed 7-1 at Glenelg.
A pair of walks and Dayton Mitchell’s big two-run double started the Magpies off on the right foot at the top of the opening inning.
Then at the top of the third, Mitchell had a RBI triple and scored on Ethan Murphy’s hit up the middle to make it 4-0.
The Tigers pulled one back in the bottom of the fourth, on Rion Sato’s RBI single, but Port pulled away with a three-run sixth frame, after a couple of free passes, an error and hits to McKee and Murphy,
Sammy Steigert went the distance from the hill, giving up five hits for six strikeouts in six innings.
* * * * *
Division one baseball results:
Southern Districts d Gawler Rangers 6-2 (hits: South – Campbell (hr), Davies, Hattersley, Paparella, Kawakami, Short, Turner; Gawler – Z. Heintze-Unger 2 (hr), Bawden 2. WP: N. Hutchings; LP: S. Heintze-Unger).
Sturt d Goodwood 7-1 (hits: Sturt – Farr 3 (hr), Lightbody 2, Adkins, Brebner-Russ, Altamura; Goodwood – Heeps 2, Weber, Fiebig, Fidge, D. Howarth, Bradley. WP: D. Arnold; LP: K. Kurikka).
Henley & Gange d Northern Districts 3-2 (hits: H&G – Partington, Bull, Lee, Inglis, Yonezawa, Rowe, Trevaskis; North – Regnier 2, Dziego. WP: J. Partington; LP: T. Fraser).
Golden Grove Central Districts d East Torrens 3-1 (hits: GGCD – Manzella 2, Skein 2, Walsh 2, Youngblood (hr), Shotton, A. Chenoweth, Green; ET – Probert, Lucas, Sanderson, Ard. WP: J. Inglis; LP: C. Yeatman).
Woodville d West Torrens 6-1 (hits: Woodville – Castellano 2, Perez 2, T. Nicholson 2, Janssen, Papps; WT – George, S. McGarry, Clavell, McFarlane, Barker. WP: AJ Verastegui; LP: M. Clavell).
Port Adelaide d Glenelg 7-1 (hits: Port – Mitchell 2, Murphy 2, F. McKee, Steigert, Bird, R. Schrapel; Glenelg – Huttunen, Burnside, Sato, Judd, Jac. Eldridge. WP: S. Steigert; LP: C. Angeroth).
Adelaide d Kensington 8-2 (hits: Adelaide – Forney, Damon (hr), Martinez, Yeatman, Congdon, Pace; Kensington – Filko, W. Tanner, South, E. Spratt. WP: R. Yeatman; LP: K. Miura).
Premiership points: Sturt 12, Woodville 12, West Torrens 10, Southern Districts 10, Port Adelaide 10, Henley & Grange 10, Gawler Rangers 8, Adelaide 8, East Torrens 6, GGCD 6, Glenelg 2, Kensington 2, Goodwood 2, Northern Districts 0.