ROB’S RECAPS - STATE LEAGUE D1 - WEEK 8

BASEBALL (November 30, 2024)

BILLY IS A HERO

By Robert Laidlaw [photos from Plympton by Paul Taeuber]

BILLY DAMON WAS THE HERO in Adelaide’s 3-2 come-from-behind victory over West Torrens in division one baseball at Plympton.

Many former players will remember the 1974 number one hit ‘Billy Don’t Be A Hero’, but Damon ignored that advice and smashed a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth dig, in the Angels’ come-back win.

Looking down the barrel going into the eighth, Adelaide mounted a charge, when Ty Forney reached on an error and Ben Ganley singled, but, with two outs the Angels needed something special. And Damon delivered with his bomb over the centrefield fence!

Earlier the Eagles scored the game’s first run at the top of the second frame, when Jacob Scott singled and Ryan Broome hit a RBI double.

Then in the fifth dig, a pair of errors around Austin Gallagher’s single saw the second run, with that 2-0 lead holding up through to the bottom of the eighth.

Masa Sawada was the major reason West Torrens was controlling proceedings, as he conceded just three hits for four strikeouts over the first six innings, before being relieved on the mound.

For Adelaide, Damon threw five frames for six hits and five K2s, with Tom Ganley’s three innings of work for a pair of hits and two K2s earning the win, which was saved by Nick Callaghan in the top of the ninth, as he retired all three batters he faced, two on strikeouts.

GLENELG HELD ON FOR AN exciting 4-3 victory over East Torrens at Glenelg, with a three-run bottom of the fourth the difference-maker.

The Redsox scored single runs in the first two innings, on Charlie Ashcroft’s RBI double and Jude Ard’s solo home run.

In the bottom of the second the Tigers cut the deficit in half when Elliott Ross singled, stole second base and came home on Tyson Arnold’s hit.

A wild bottom of the fourth opened the door for Glenelg’s win. Ross reached on an error, and after an out, Rion Sato walked and Jacob Eldridge was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Another out, then run-scoring walks to Tom Huttunen and Zane Judd followed by a wild pitch saw three runs in and a 4-2 lead.

Tensions rose as neither side could score in the next three frames, until at the top of the eighth, East Torrens mounted a challenge.

With one out, Carter Powell doubled, Dalton Probert hit a RBI single, Aidan Lucas hit a two-bagger and Ashcroft walked to load the bases. But a strikeout and pop-up kept the Tigers a run up, at 4-3, which remained the score the rest of the way.

Jayden Eldridge pitched seven innings for the win, conceding four hits for six K2s, while Carson Angeroth came onto the mound at the top of the ninth, and after walking the first batter, retired the Redsox on three consecutive strikeouts.

In leftfield Arnold had a busy game, taking six catches for the Tigers.

A VETERAN ARM AND A DINGER got Goodwood home 5-4 against Golden Grove Central Districts at Mortlock Park.

Trailing all game, the Indians levelled the contest with three runs in the eighth frame, then, leading off the bottom of the ninth, Griffin Weber smashed the ball over the rightfield fence to give Goodwood the win.

And from the mound veteran Darren Fidge threw the final three innings for one hit and four strikeouts to claim the victory.

The Dodgers were on top early, thanks to Daniel Youngblood, who walked in the first dig and came home on an error, and hit a home run at the top of the third, for a 2-0 lead.

Billy Sutton tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the third to keep the Indians close.

But hits by Blake Ung and Tyler Green helped the Dodgers to a run in the sixth, and in the seventh, Brandon Manzela tripled and came home on Josh Conry’s sac fly, to make it 4-1.

In the bottom of the eighth, Fidge and Josh Bradley picked walks, Sam Galpin hit a RBI double and Henry Wiese plated two with his single to tie up the ballgame 4-4, which led to Weber’s heroics.

John Inglis started on the mound for the Dodgers and threw 5.1 innings for three hits and 10 strikeouts before reaching his pitch limit. Goodwood centrefielder Billy Sutton took six catches.

PORT ADELAIDE ALSO RECORDED a comeback win, beating Woodville 8-6 at Findon after trailing 6-3 going into the seventh inning.

Taking advantage of three walks, two errors and Oliver Hayes’ single, the Senators scored three times in the bottom of the second frame.

At the top of the third dig the Magpies managed a pair of runs, on Flynn McKee’s RBI single and Dayton Mitchell’s run-scoring groundout.

But Woodville responded with three tallies in the bottom of the third, after two walks, RBI hits to Armando Ramirez and Alfredo Rodriguez, and Breandan Taheny’s sac fly to lead 6-2.

Port did score a run in the fourth, on an error, and in the seventh scored twice, after doubles by Nick Vasic and Brodie Arriola, and McKee’s sac fly, to close within one run.

Then at the top of the eighth, Sammy Steigert singled, and after two outs, Ryan Schrapel was hit by a pitch, Wil Paech and Vasic collected RBI singles, and an error scored a third run, for an 8-6 lead, which held up the rest of the way.

With Drew Janssen on top from the mound, the Senators were able to control proceedings early, as he conceded two hits in six innings for 13 strikeouts. But after he was relieved, Port took over.

IT WASN’T WITHOUT A FIGHT, but Gawler Rangers managed to avoid falling behind in beating Northern Districts at Ingle Farm 10-7.

Every time Gawler took the lead, the Reds would fight back to level the ballgame but could not manage to get their noses in front.

Aidan Prokopec smashed a home run in the opening inning to give the Rangers the early lead, but Joel Pauling put one out for North in the fourth to make it a 1-1 game.

At the top of the fifth dig Gawler again went ahead, after hits to Zak Heintze-Unger and Prokopec, and an error.

Again, the Reds managed to tie the scores with a run in the bottom of the sixth, after doubles to Kada Vivar and Tyson Lees.

It seemed the Rangers took control of the game in the top of the seventh frame with three runs, after hits to Prokopec, Dylan Child, Sam Bawden (RBI) and Brad Przibilla (two-run double), to go 5-2 up.

But North scored a run in the bottom of the seventh (after hits to Nick Clifton and Vivar, and a wild pitch), and two in the eighth (after a hit batsman, three walks and an error), to make it a 5-5 ballgame.

Well, what could Gawler do to shake the resilient Reds? Score five runs at the top of the ninth should do the trick, which featured two-run hits to Seb Heintze-Unger and Bawden.

Still, North would not lie down and managed two runs in the bottom of the ninth, after a wild pitch on a strikeout, three walks and Josh Whelan’s sac fly.

Taka Homma started on the mound for the Rangers and pitched a one-hitter (Pauling’s dinger) over five innings for five strikeouts and no walks.

A BIG SIX-RUN SIXTH-INNING was the difference-maker in Southern Districts 13-8 victory over Sturt at Mitcham.

It was an even game early, as the Saints scored first in the bottom of the opening frame, when Simon Adkins singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch, for a 1-0 start.

The Hawks levelled the scores in the second inning, on Tailen Hobson’s RBI single, but Sturt grabbed the lead back in the bottom of the dig, on Harry Knuckey’s run scoring hit up the middle.

At the top of the third South went ahead with three runs, on Tomoya Kamakani’s sac fly and Ben Short’s two-run double. But it was soon tied, when, in the bottom of the third, Simon Baumer smashed a two-run dinger, for a 4-4 ballgame.

Luke Hansen hit a solo home run in the fourth, while Short hit a RBI single in the sixth for the Hawks to go 6-4 up. Sturt managed a run in the bottom of the fifth, after Baumer doubled and came home in Blake Farr’s single.

But South pulled away with six runs at the top of the sixth inning, with Nic Paparella’s three-run dinger the highlight, to go 12-5 up.

In the seventh, Matt Hutchings tripled and came home on Brett Hattersley’s sac fly for the Hawks, while Sturt scored the last three runs of the game in the bottom of the seventh, on Zach Altamura’s three-run bomb.

IT WAS TIGHT BUT Henley & Grange managed to do enough to beat Kensington 5-1 at Erindale.

The first three innings were scoreless, with the Rams breaking the ice at the top of the fourth frame, when Wilson Lee singled and Adam Rowe smashed a two-run dinger. Jay Couzner also put one out the following dig for Henley to lead 3-0.

Hits by Jack Platten and Tyler Butterwick in the sixth inning saw the Cardinals score their first and only run of the game.

That 3-1 scoreline remained until the top of the ninth and final frame, when the Rams’ scored twice, after hits to Jet Clohessy, Locky Burrows and Phil Acosta, and Koki Yonezawa’s sac fly.

Jordy Grose pitched seven innings for the win, conceding three hits for 12 strikeouts. Jordan Hodges threw two hit-less frames for three K2s. 

For Kensington, starter Kensuke Miura gave up six hits for seven strikeouts over six frames, while in relief, Deakin Filko pitched two shutout innings for one K2.

* * * * *

Division one baseball results:

Port Adelaide d Woodville 8-6 (hits: Port – Vasic 2, Arriola 2, Paech 2, F. McKee, Steigert; Woodville – Hayes 2, Rodriguez 2, Park, Perez, Carroll, Ramirez, Taheny. WP: J. Stead; LP: C. Perez).

Henley & Grange d Kensington 5-1 (hits: H&G – Rowe 2 (hr), Couzner 2 (hr), Yonezawa, Lee, Clohessy, Burrows, Acosta; Kensington – Platten, T. Butterwick, J. Spratt. WP: J. Grose; LP: K. Miura).

Glenelg d East Torrens 4-3 (hits: Glenelg – Mathews 3, Bentley, Ross, Arnold, Jac. Eldridge; ET – Lucas 2, Powell, Probert, Ashcroft, Ard (hr), King. WP: Jay. Eldridge; LP: J. Ard).

Southern Districts d Sturt 13-8 (hits: South – Short 3, Paparella 2 (hr), Campbell, Hansen (hr), M. Hutchings, Hattersley, Kamakani, Hobson; Sturt – Baumer 2 (hr), Brebner-Russ 2, Farr 2, Knuckey, Adkins, Altamura (hr), MacBeth. WP: T. Kamakani; LP: A. McClure).

Gawler Rangers d Northern Districts 10-7 (hits: Gawler – Prokopec 4 (hr), Bawden 4, Child 2, Okeil 2, S. Heintze-Unger 2, Z. Heintze-Unger, Przibilla; North – Vivar 2, Lees, Pauling (hr), Clifton. WP: E. Badcock; LP: Z. Tomaszek).

Adelaide d West Torrens 3-2 (hits: Adelaide – B. Ganley 2, Welch, Damon (hr), Cann, Pace; WT – Scott 2, Broome 2, McFarlane, Gallagher, T. McGarry, Weber. WP: T. Ganley; LP: B. Marsh).

Goodwood d GGCD 5-4 (hits: Goodwood – Weber 2 (hr), Galpin 2, Sutton, Wiese, Pratt; GGCD – Youngblood 2 (hr), Manzella 2, Shotton, Ung, Green. WP: D. Fidge; LP: C. O’Reilly).

Premiership points: Sturt 16, Woodville 16, Southern Districts 16, Henley & Grange 16, Adelaide 14, Port Adelaide 14, Gawler Rangers 12, West Torrens 12, East Torrens 6, GGCD 6, Glenelg 6, Goodwood 4, Kensington 2, Northern Districts 0.

TWILIGHTS

BASEBALL (December 3, 2024)

EXTRA INNING THRILLER

By Robert Laidlaw [photos from Paul Taeuber]

GAWLER RANGERS PULLED OFF the shock of the division one baseball round with a mid-week extra inning 2-1 victory over Port Adelaide at Semaphore.

Aidan Prokopec gave the Rangers the early lead with a home run at the top of the third frame, but Port came back to tie up the ballgame in the fourth, when Dayton Mitchell walked and scored on Sammy Steigert’s double.

And that was it after the competition of the regulation seven digs, which forced extra innings.

At the top of the eighth, Gawler’s placed runner at second base was bunted to third by Sam Bawden and came home on Tyler Renken’s infield single, to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.

Then in the bottom of the eighth, Ethan Badcock came onto the mound in relief, and with a placed runner on second base, struck out the first two batters he faced. But then walked the next two to load the bases before striking out the final hitter of the game.

Seb Heintze-Unger started for Gawler and pitched five innings for five hits and three strikeouts before being relieved by Taka Homma, who earned the win with two frames, for one hit and one K2.

Starting on the mound for the Magpies, Steigert went seven digs, conceding five hits for seven strikeouts.

IT WAS ALMOST A TWO-MAN SHOW at West Lakes, where Henley & Grange beat East Torrens 4-2.

Jack Partington and Wilson Lee batted number one and two in the lineup and delivered with the bat, and shared pitching duties to get the Rams home.

At the top of the first inning the Redsox started well with two runs, after hits to Mark Stewart, Dalton Probert, Aiden Lucas and Carter Powell.

But then the two-man show started in the bottom of the opening inning, when Partington and Lee hit back-to-back dingers to tie up the ballgame at 2-2.

Then in the bottom of the third, Partington doubled and Lee batted him in with a single to put Henley in front 3-2.

And in the bottom of the fifth dig Lee singled, went to second base on Koki Yonezawa’s bunt and scored on Patrick Inglis’ single for the final run of the game, 4-2 Rams.

From the mound Lee pitched five innings for five hits and seven strikeouts, with Partington throwing two frames in relief for one hit and three K2s.

WOODVILLE KEPT PACE AT THE head of the table with a 3-1 victory over Sturt at Mitcham.

A two-out rally saw the Senators take a 1-0 lead in the opening inning, when Drew Janssen doubled and came home on Callum Park’s single.

Then at the top of the third, Cesar Perez and Janssen hit singles and were bunted over into scoring position by Park, with Troy Nicholson batting a run in with a single and Alfredo Rodriguez scoring another with a sac fly, to make it 3-0 Woodville.

In reply the Saints mounted a rally in the bottom of the third but only managed one run. Harry Knuckey and Rixon Wingrove hit singles, Mitch Lightbody walked to load the bases and Simon Baumer also walked to force in a run, but that was it.

Neither side could break through over the final four innings of the game, leaving the Senators victorious.

AJ Verastegui pitched 5.2 innings for the win, conceding seven hits for nine strikeouts. Damon Arnold went the distance for Sturt, giving up six hits for four K2s.

ADELAIDE SURVIVED A SCARE before triumphing 7-4 over a tenacious Goodwood at Mortlock Park.

A Stefan Welch solo home run at the top of the first inning was a great start for the Angels, but Goodwood had the answer in the bottom of the frame, when Billy Sutton singled, stole two bases and came home on Brodie Heeps’ sac fly.

Then at the top of the third dig, Ty Forney doubled and scored on Billy Damon’s single to put Adelaide 2-1 up.

The Indians response was swift, with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, after Henry Wiese singled, Dylan Howarth laid down a bunt, Sutton batted a run in with a hit and Heeps had a RBI double, for Goodwood to grab a 3-2 lead.

With a little luck on its side, Adelaide won the game with a three-run fourth frame. Rahmen Martinez singled, Chris Congdon reached on an error, Lachlan Pace loaded the bases when his grounder failed to result in an out.

After the next two batters were retired, Welch forced in a run with a walk, and Damon hit a two-run single.

Another bout of luck assisted the Angels score two more runs at the top of the sixth. Forney walked, Liam Spence singled, an error scored Forney, and Welch had a RBI groundout.

In the bottom of the seventh frame, Sutton batted a run in for Goodwood with his third hit of the game.

Riley Yeatman pitched six innings for the win, conceding four hits for five strikeouts, while veteran Indian John Challinor threw four relief digs for five hits and five K2s.

BEHIND SOLID PITCHING and timely hitting, Glenelg triumphed 6-1 over Golden Grove Central Districts at Glenelg.

Carson Angeroth was superb on the mound for the Tigers, as he pitched a one-hitter over five innings for 10 strikeouts to restrict the Dodgers’ scoring opportunities.

Glenelg set up its win with two runs in the bottom of the first frame, when Tom Huttunen walked, Zane Judd singled and Dylan Bentley had a two-run hit.

Then in the third, a four-run rally put the result to bed. Bentley and Elliott Ross hit singles, Deiken Burnside laid down a bunt that was thrown away for a run. Rion Sato then hit a two-run double and Tyson Arnold had a RBI single, to make it 6-0.

At the top of the fourth the Dodgers scored their only run of the game. Noah Rodgers reached on an error, stole second base, went to third on a wild pitch and came home on Jake Shotton’s groundout.

Each team also had good relief pitching. For the Tigers, Alec Steff struck out four for two hits in two digs, while the Dodgers’ Zac Tibbitts threw three frames for two hits and two K2s.

AN 11-RUN FIRST INNING sealed the deal for Southern Districts in a 17-4 victory over Kensington at Erindale.

That initial rally at the top of the first included two-run hits by Tamoya Kawakami, Jake Campbell, Brett Hattersley and Kawakami again.

In the bottom of the first, hits to Michael Bishop, Josh Ledgard and Jordan Spratt saw the Cardinals score twice.

A two-run home run by Matt Hutchings and Drew Davies solo shot saw another three Hawks’ runs at the top of the third, while in the bottom of the dig, Jack Platten and Ledgard hit back-to-back dingers.

At the top of the fifth and final frame, Hattersley hit a solo homer and Ben Short smashed a two-run dinger to pad out the scoreline.

Michael Johnston pitched five innings for the win, conceding eight hits for six strikeouts.

ANOTHER BIG FIRST INNING paved the way for West Torrens’ 12-2 victory over Northern Districts at Lockleys.

The Eagles scored six times in the bottom of the opening frame.

James McFarlane and Tom McGarry hit singles and Mason Clavell was hit by a pitch to set up Austin Gallagher’s grand slam home run.

Then Sam McGarry singled, two walks, Jude Barker hit a sac fly and McFarlane had a RBI hit.

North scored twice at the top of the third, after two walks and Joel Paulino’s single to cut the deficit to four runs.

But then West Torrens answered with five runs in the bottom of the frame, which included Gallagher’s RBI double and Jacob Scott’s two-run two bagger.

Mason Clavell pitched five innings for the win, conceding three hits for five strikeouts.

* * * * *

Division one baseball results:

Gawler Rangers d Port Adelaide 2-1 (hits: Gawler – Prokopec 2 (hr), Renken 2, Bawden, Przibilla, Okeil; Port – F. McKee 2, Murphy 2, Arriola, Steigert. WP: T. Homma; LP: J. Stead).

Southern Districts d Kensington 17-4 (hits: South – Hattersley 3 (hr), Campbell 2, M. Hutchings 2 (hr), Kawakami 2, Hobson 2, Davies (hr), Short (hr); Kensington – Bishop 2, Platten 2 (hr), Legard 2 (hr), J. Spratt, T. Butterwick. WP: M. Johnston; LP: M. Bishop).

Henley & Grange d East Torrens 4-2 (hits: H&G – Lee 3 (hr), Partington 2 (hr), Yonezawa, Inglis, Hodges, Clohessy; ET – Powell 2, Stewart, Probert, Lucas, Ashcroft, Ashworth. WP: W. Lee; LP: C. Ashcroft).

Woodville d Sturt 3-1 (hits: Woodville – Janssen 2, Perez, Park, T. Nicholson, Bravo; Sturt – Knuckey 3, Wingrove, Farr, Ottaway. WP: AJ Verastegui; LP: D. Arnold).

West Torrens d Northern Districts 12-2 (hits: WT – McFarlane 4, Gallagher 4 (gshr), S. McGarry 2, Scott 2, Thomas 2, T. McGarry; North – Dominguez, Paulino, Dziego. WP: M. Clavell; LP: J. Paulino).

Adelaide d Goodwood 7-4 (hits: Adelaide – Damon 3, Forney, Spence, Welch (hr), B. Ganley, Martinez, Congdon; Goodwood – Sutton 3, Heeps, Wiese. WP: R. Yeatman; LP: J. Challinor).

Glenelg d Golden Grove Central Districts 6-1 (hits: Glenelg – Judd 2, Bentley 2, Ross 2, Arnold, Huttunen, Burnside, Sato, Steff; GGCD – Rodgers, Shotton, Walsh. WP: C. Angeroth; LP: C. O’Reilly).

Premiership points: Woodville 18, Southern Districts 18, Henley & Grange 18, Adelaide 16, Sturt 16, Gawler Rangers 14, Port Adelaide 14, West Torrens 14, Glenelg 8, East Torrens 6, GGCD 6, Goodwood 4, Kensington 2, Northern Districts 0.