“From the Diamond” Round 3
WET AND WILD SATURDAY (October 25, 2025)
ONLY THREE GAMES OF division one baseball were completed on Saturday, as wet and wild conditions, including lightning and thunder, curtailed efforts to get a round of double-header baseball even half finished.
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS CAME FROM behind to beat Henley & Grange 4-3 at Christie Down, with an extra inning needed to separate the teams.
At the top of the opening frame, with two out, Cam Tilly walked and Jose Paula smashed a two-run dinger to give the Rams a 2-0 start.
After weather delayed the game, South managed to find a spark in the bottom of the fifth with two runs to level the scores, after Nick Hutchings reached on a safe bunt and Jake Campbell deposited the ball over the centrefield fence.
Neither side managed to score in the scheduled final two digs, which forced an eighth inning.
Henley grabbed the lead when the placed runner scored on Koki Yonezawa’s single to rightfield, which could have been more except for a magnificent throw from Drew Davies to peg the runner at third base.
Then in the bottom of the eighth Matt Hutchings laid down a safe bunt to advance the placed runner to third, but what followed was two hit batsmen and a wild pitch for two Hawks’ runs.
A highlight of the game was the pitching duel, with both going the distance. Gary Grosjean threw eight frames for seven hits and 13 strikeouts for the win, while Wilson Lee conceded seven hits for nine K2s in seven digs.
ANOTHER DELAYED GAME and another come-from-behind result saw West Torrens triumph 10-4 over Adelaide at Plympton.
At the top of the second frame Nat Vanderlinden walked and Nico Vanderlinden singled, with a double steal attempt resulting in the Eagles’ first run.
But in the bottom of the second, Ian Heck doubled and came home on Brayden Edwards’ hit to make it a 1-1 ballgame.
It looked like West Torrens may have created an edge at the top of the third dig, when Tom McGarry walked and Austin Gallagher belted a two-run home run to make it 3-1.
The Angels responded with three runs in the bottom the frame, after singles to Ty Forney and Rahmen Martinez, and Heck’s three-run dinger, for Adelaide to grab a 4-3 advantage.
After the weather delayed the game, the Eagles made their charge at the top of the sixth with three runs, after consecutive hits to Nat Vanderlinden, Jacob Scott, Nico Vanderlinden and Sam McGarry, and a Nick George sac fly.
Then in the seventh West Torrens exploded with another four runs, after hits to Mason Clavell, James McFarlane (RBI double), Nathan Vanderlinden (two-run, two-bagger) and Nico Vanderlinden (RBI single), to cap the scoring.
Reliever Cooper Morgan claimed the win for the Eagles, pitching four innings for one hit and four strikeouts. [photos from this game by Paul Taeuber]
THE FINAL GAME, BETWEEN Glenelg and Kensington at Erindale wasn’t decided until the final inning, when the Tigers scored four times to win 5-1.
Another Jack Platten lead-off home run gave the Cardinals the perfect start in the bottom of the opening inning, with a 1-0 advantage.
It took a while but Glenelg finally evened the ballgame at the top of the third frame, when Liam McCallum singled and came home on Dylan Bentley’s double, to make it 1-1.
Finally, the Tigers broke the deadlock at the top of the seventh and final inning with four runs, after Henry Martinella singled, Kyle Alexander walked, Oliver Alexander had a RBI hit and Alec Steff smashed a three-run dinger, for a 5-1 lead, which Kensington could not respond to in the bottom of the seventh.
Jayden Eldridge went the distance for Glenelg, conceding five hits for six strikeouts in seven frames from the mound.
IN OTHER GAMES THAT STARTED, Port Adelaide’s Jack Stead smashed a solo home run in the second inning at Semaphore to level the game 1-1 with Golden Grove Central Districts, after the Dodgers scored on an error in the opening frame.
Jack O’Loughlin started for the Magpies and was pitching well, with the game suspended after three innings. Gawler Rangers led 2-1 when weather interrupted that game at Ingle Farm in the third dig.
It is expected make-up games will be played over the following two Tuesdays.
Division one baseball results:
Southern Districts d Henley & Grange 4-3 (hits: South – Short 2, Campbell (hr), M. Hutchings, Hattersley, Turner, N. Hutchings; H&G – Paula 2 (hr), Partington, Lee, Yonezawa, Clohessy, Acosta. WP: G. Grosjean; LP: W. Lee).
West Torrens d Adelaide 10-4 (hits: WT: Nico Vanderlinden 3, Nat Vanderlinden 2, Clavell, Gallagher (hr), McFarlane, Scott, S. McGarry; Adelaide – Heck 2 (hr), Edwards 2, Forney, Martinez, Cann, Pace. WP: C. Morgan; LP: I. Heck).
Glenelg d Kensington 5-1 (hits: Glenelg – Steff 2 (hr), McCallum, Bentley, Hill, Luders, Martinella, O. Alexander; Kensington – J. Spratt 2, Bishop 2, J. Platten (hr). WP: Jay. Eldridge; LP: M. Bishop).
Premiership points:
Southern Districts 6, Woodville 4, East Torrens 4, Port Adelaide 4, West Torrens 4, Sturt 2, Adelaide 2, Henley & Grange 2, Gawler Rangers 2, GGCD 2, Glenelg 2, Goodwood 0, Kensington 0, Northern Districts 0.
Article by: Robert Laidlaw
📸 Photos: Paul Taeuber