Rob's Wrap Up - Round 12

BASEBALL (January 13, 2024)

BOMBS AWAY FOR RAMS WIN

By Robert Laidlaw

TWO BIG HOME RUNS played a major part in Henley & Grange beating West Torrens 4-1 at Lockleys in division one baseball.

A 0-0 ballgame was broken open at the top of the fourth inning, when Landon Hernandez sent the ball flying over the leftfield fence for the Rams to take a 1-0 lead.

The Eagles fought back in the bottom of the fifth to level the game, after Nico Vanderlinden doubled, Ryan Broome bunted him to third base and Jude Barker hit a grounder to score the run.

That 1-1 scoreline held up until the top of the eighth inning, when Giovanni Garbella also deposited the ball over the leftfield fence, to give Henley a 2-1 advantage.

At the top of the ninth and final frame, Jet Clohessy singled, Luke Trevaskis bunted, Wilson Lee had a RBI hit, Garbella singled, and walks to Liam Bull and Hernandez saw the fourth and final Rams’ run.

Lee pitched the final four innings for the win, conceding one hit for four strikeouts, in relief of Jordy Grose, who gave up three hits in five frames for three K2s.

West Torrens starter Masakiyo Sawada pitched six digs for four hits and eight strikeouts.

STURT HAD A MAJOR SCARE before beating Gawler Rangers 11-10 in extra innings at Mitcham, on DJ Mitchell’s walk off RBI single.

It was all the Saints early, as they led 8-1 after four frames, with Jackson Brebner-Russ hitting a solo home run in the second dig and in a five-run third, Simon Adkins, Harry Knuckey, Terrell Joyce and Mitchell had hits.

After Mitch Lightbody tripled, followed by a Joyce double and Brebner-Russ’s RBI single, the game looked shot to pieces after just four innings.

But the Rangers have a reputation of fighting hard when they have their backs to the wall.

Single runs in the fifth and sixth frames was followed by a five-run sixth, which had Gawler just one run down at 9-8.

That Rangers’ rally featured a pair of walks, Boyd Worden’s single, two-run hits to Aidan Prokopec and Forrest Crawford, and a RBI single from Dylan Child.

Then at the top of the eighth Gawler levelled the ballgame, on back-to-back doubles to Seb Heintze-Unger and Worden.

Neither side scored in the ninth dig, which saw extra innings.

At the top of the 10th, Seb Heintze-Unger laid sown a bunt for the placed runner to advance to third base, with Prokopec putting the Rangers in front for the first time in the game with his RBI groundout.

But Sturt still had a chance to respond in the bottom of the 10th. And respond it did. The placed runner scored on Joyce’s fifth hit of the game, a double, which set up Mitchell’s heroics.

IT WAS MURPHY’S LAW AT Semaphore, where Port Adelaide beat East Torrens 10-0, with a six-run eighth inning finishing the game early.

The star of the game was Ethan Murphy, as he banged out five hits from five at bats, with three of those going over the fence.

In the bottom of the first frame, Nick Vasic and Brodie Arriola hit doubles, with Murphy collecting his first dinger of the game, for a 3-0 Magpies lead.

When Murphy next batted, in the third dig, he smashed another home run, to extend Port’s lead to 4-0, which remained the same until the Magpie’s six-run eighth inning rally.

That big rally started innocuously, with two runners on base via walks and two out, before Arriola singled to load the bases, and set up Sammy Steigert’s two-run single and Jack Stead’s two-run double, before Murphy made his final appearance of the day, and smashed his third home run to end the game.

Tyson McKee pitched 6.1 innings for the win, conceding three hits for six strikeouts – and also collected two hits with the bat.

How good has Murphy been in the new year? The previous week he collected four hits from five at bats, and had four RBIs, with his five for five and five RBIs on Saturday adding to his sensational 2024.

THERE WAS PLENTY OF BROTHERLY LOVE at Illyarrie Reserve, where two sets of siblings helped Kensington beat Golden Grove Central Districts 15-3.

Nick and Jack Platten both hit home runs, while Elijah Splatt entered the game as a pinch hitter late and singled, to join his brothers Lachlan and Jordan, who also collected hits, to complete a trifecta of sibling hitters.

After Nick Platten hit a lead-off dinger for Kensington at the top of the opening inning, the Dodgers piled on three runs in reply, after hits to Brandon Manzella and Isaac Pearce, a catcher’s interference, and a pair of walks.

But it was all the Cardinals the rest of the way, starting with a two-run third dig, after Jordan Spratt singled, an error, two walks and Jack Platten’s sac fly.

The momentum of the game was with Kensington and it exposed that advantage with five runs at the top of the fourth, on Riley Moore’s two-run double and Mike Bishop’s three-run home run.

Bishop made a ‘curtain call’ in the sixth with another three-run dinger, while in the four-run eighth, Bryce Allen hit a lead-off homer and Jack Platten smashed a three-run fence-buster.

Moore pitched 7.2 innings for the win, conceding four hits for 13 strikeouts in a solid outing.

ADELAIDE KEPT JUST IN front of Southern Districts most of the way, which led to a 5-4 victory at Plympton.

Max Tracey walked, stole two bases, and came home on Stefan Welch’s hit up the middle to give the Angels a 1-0 lead at the bottom of the opening inning.

The Hawks levelled the ballgame at the top of the third, on Jake Campbell’s home run, but Adelaide responded straight away with a run in the bottom of the third, when Tracey singled and came home on Billy Damon’s hit.

South just would not go away, and at the top of the fifth dig again made it level-pegging, at 2-2, when Campbell doubled and scored on Luke Hansen’s sac fly.

But Adelaide proved too tenacious, as it answered straight away in the bottom of the fifth with two runs, after hits to Ty Forney and Damon, and a wild pitch.

A Henry Cann sacrifice fly in the seventh inning gave the Angels a 5-2 cushion, and it looked game, set and match.

The Hawks refused to surrender easily though, and scored a run in the eighth, on Nick Rees’ RBI single, and in the ninth threatened but only managed one more run, after an error, Brett Hattersley’s single and Byron Turner’s RBI groundout.

BREANDON TAHENY HIT A walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning to steer Woodville to an 8-7 victory over Goodwood at Findon.

In a game where scores were tied three times, it was always going to go down to someone putting their hand up to win the game, and it was Taheny who was up for the challenge.

Both sides scored a run in the first frame, both after multiple walks.

Goodwood went 2-1 up in the second dig, on a Matt Hutchings RBI hit, which was extended to 3-1 at the top of the fourth, when a run scored on Jeremy Cresswell’s hit up the middle.

That advantage was short-lived, as Troy Nicholson smashed a two-run dinger in the bottom of the fifth to make it 3-3.

But the Indians had come to play and responded with a pair of runs at the top of the sixth inning, after Hutchings homered and Jeremy Cresswell doubled and came home on an error.

The Senators scored a run in the bottom of the sixth on Ryan Muggleton’s sac fly, and went ahead in the seventh, after Troy Nicholson hit his second dinger of the game and Joel Chapman smashed a two-run home run, for Woodville to lead 7-5.

And again, it was Goodwood that fought back with a pair of runs at the top of the eighth, after hits to Grif Weber, Cakebread and Hunter Cooper, to see the scoreline again tied, at 7-7, with Taheny’s heroics putting an end to what was an enthralling contest.

ON THE BACK OF a six-run sixth-inning rally, Glenelg pulled away for a 13-3 victory over Northern Districts at Glenelg.

Dylan Bentley had a two-run single in the bottom of the opening inning to give the Tigers the early lead.

Both sides scored a run in the second frame, North via Nick Clifton’s RBI hit and Glenelg through three walks around Kris Nankivell’s infield hit.

Zane Tomaszek had a RBI single at the top of the fourth for the Reds, but Glenelg responded with a pair of runs on RBI hits to Zane Judd and Bentley, for a 5-2 lead.

When Tomaszek had a sac fly after Clifton’s double, North was just two runs down at the top of the sixth inning, with Glenelg powering to a commanding lead with six runs in the bottom of the sixth – Jimmy Boyce had a two-run single and Alex Steff hit a three-run bomb.

RBI hits to Bentley and Conner Hill in the bottom of the seventh saw the 10-run mercy rule come into play.

* * * * *

Division one baseball results:

Henley & Grange d West Torrens 4-1 (hits: H&G – Garbella 2 (hr), Hernandez 2 (hr), Lee, Bull, Yonezawa, Clohessy; WT – T. McGarry 2, Clavell, Ni. Vanderlinden. WP: W. Lee; LP: J. Snelgrove).

Sturt d Gawler Rangers 11-10 in 10 innings (hits: Sturt – Joyce 5, Brebner-Russ 3 (hr), Mitchell 2, Adkins 2, Knuckey, Lightbody, Garcia; Gawler – Worden 2, Prokopec 2, Z. Heintze-Unger 2, S. Heintze-Unger 2, Crawford, Child. WP: M. Williams; LP: T. Homma).

Glenelg d Northern Districts 13-3 (hits: Glenelg – Bentley 4, Reid 2, Huttunen 2, Judd, Hill, Boyce, Nankivell, Steff (hr); North – Kindo 3, Clifton 2, P. Whelan, Tomaszek, Marshall. WP: F. Luders; LP: N. Kondo).

Port Adelaide d East Torrens 10-0 (hits: Port – Murphy 5 (3 hr), Arriola 3, T. McKee 2, Vasic, Steigert, Stead, Paech, M. Schrapel; ET – Probert 3, Powell, Stewart. WP: T. McKee; LP: C. Ashcroft).

Adelaide d Southern Districts 5-4 (hits: Adelaide – Tracey 3, Damon 2, Forney, Welch, Cann, Edwards, Congdon; South – Campbell 2 (hr), Hanson 2, Hattersley, Rees. WP: B. Damon; LP: B. Hattersley).

Kensington d GGCD 15-3 (hits: Kensington – Moore 3, Bishop 3 (2 hr), Butterwick 3, N. Platten 2 (hr), J. Spratt 2, E. Spratt, J. Platten (hr), L. Spratt, Allen (hr); GGCD – Manzella, Pearce, Skein, Holt. WP: R. Moore; LP: J. Inglis).

Woodville d Goodwood 8-7 (hits: Woodville – T. Nicholson 2 (2 hr), J. Chapman 2 (hr), Janssen, Moore, Kuhn, Taheny; Goodwood – Hutchings 2 (hr), Cakebread 2, Weber, Cresswell, Cooper, Heeps. WP: D. Janssen; LP: H. Cooper).

Premiership points: Henley & Grange 25, Adelaide 18, Sturt 18, Woodville 18, West Torrens 16, Port Adelaide 16, Southern Districts 14, East Torrens 12, Goodwood 9, Glenelg 10, Kensington 6, GGCD 4, Gawler Rangers 2, Northern Districts 2.

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BASEBALL (January 16, 2024)

THREE PITCHES, THREE DINGERS!

By Robert Laidlaw

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS LOST 8-5 to Henley & Grange at West Lakes in Tuesday’s division one baseball, but hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches in the sixth inning.

Trailing 8-1 after the Rams had scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth frame, South made a stunning comeback in reply, after lead-off man Jake Campbell faced a ball before depositing the baseball over the leftfield fence.

The next batter, Ben Short, didn’t wait to replicate the feat, as he smashed the first pitch he saw over that same leftfield fence. And then the third hitter of the inning, Byron Turner did likewise, belted the first pitch he saw over the leftfield fence.

With Henley now leading 8-4, the next three Hawks were retired, but at the top of the seventh, Nick Hutchings hit South’s fourth dinger of the game – this time over the fence in centrefield.

As for the Rams, they scored twice in the first frame, on Landon Hernandez’s two-run blast, and after Short had a RBI single in the third dig for the Hawks, Henley had a huge six-run rally in the fifth, with Jay Couzner, Jack Partington and Wilson Lee all hitting two-run singles to rightfield.

GAWLER RANGERS WAS ABLE to convert its good hitting into a victory, with a 7-0 won over Northern Districts at Karbeethan Reserve.

In the bottom of the opening inning Boyd Worden doubled, went to third base on Aidan Prokopec safe bunt and scored on Forrest Crawford’s groundout, for a 1-0 Gawler lead.

Then in the third dig, Seb Heintze-Unger hit a two-bagger, stole third base and came home on Worden’s ground-out.

A big five-run fourth inning put the Rangers in the driver’s seat, after singles to Zak Heintze-Unger, Brad Przibilla and Nathan Schreier, and Worden’s three-run dinger, which bounced off the top of the centrefield fence!

Nicolas Antoine pitched six innings for the win, conceding four hits for seven strikeouts.

IN A SIMILAR SCORELINE, Adelaide also beat Port Adelaide 7-0, at Plympton, with a five-run second inning doing the major damage.

Max Tracey doubled, stole third base and came home on a wild throw to give the Angels a 1-0 lead in the first frame.

Then in the second dig, with two out, Nick Callaghan, Chris Congdon and Tracey loaded the bases on singles, with Ty Forney forcing a run home when he was hit by a pitch, which set up Stefan Welch’s grand slam home run, for a 6-0 lead.

Henry Cann had a RBI single in the fifth frame to cap the scoring, while Billy Damon pitched six innings for the win, conceding two hits for seven strikeouts.

KENSINGTON WILL RUE TWO ERRORS it made in the bottom of the sixth inning against Glenelg at Glenelg, which opened the door for the Tigers to score four runs and tie the game 7-7.

In the first frame Glenelg took an early 3-0 lead, on Connor Hill’s long three-run home run.

But the Cardinals then seemed to take control of the game, with a pair of runs in the third dig, on Bryce Allen’s RBI single and Jack Platten’s sac fly, and two in the fourth, on Nick Platten’s two-run dinger, and went 5-3 up in the fifth when Mike Bishop deposited the ball over the fence.

Then at the top of the sixth and final inning, Austin Hassani hit a solo home run and Bishop had a RBI double, to give Kensington what looked like an unassailable 7-3 advantage.

Bad fielding at the start of Glenelg’s final at bat opened the door for the Tigers, as the first two batters reached base on errors. Hill had a RBI single, with two hit batsmen and a walk setting up Kai Reid’s game-tying RBI infield single, before the final out was made.

IT WAS TIGHT EARLY BEFORE Sturt managed to do enough to beat East Torrens 7-3 at Payneham.

After three innings neither side had scored, and it looked like the game would go down to the wire.

But the Saints scored four runs at the top of the fourth inning to take control of the game, with consecutive RBI doubles to Harry Knuckey, Mitch Lightbody and Terrell Joyce the highlight.

Then at the top of the fifth and final dig, Sturt scored another three runs, with Joyce hitting a RBI double and Dayton Mitchell blasting a two-run homer, for a 7-0 advantage.

With two out in the Redsox’s final batting inning, it looked curtains, but an error and a walk to Carter Powell kept the door ajar, with Dalton Probert smashing a three-run dinger to breath some life into the game, but that was all she wrote.

GOODWOOD HELD ON FOR an exciting 2-1 win against Golden Grove Central Districts at Mortlock Park.

It was a pitching duel throughout, as both hurlers went the distance. For the Indians, Tom Fitzgerald conceded five hits for seven strikeouts in seven frames for the win, while Nathan Holt took the loss, giving up six hits for four K2s in six digs.

In the bottom of the third inning, Goodwood scored twice. With two out, Matt Hutchings ran out an infield hit, stole second base and came home on Grif Weber' RBI double, and after Jeremy Cresswell was hit by a pitch, Hunter Cooper had a RBI infield single.

The Dodgers scored a run at the top of the fourth, after Jake Shotton was hit by a pitch, Isaac Pearce singled and a wild pitch.

While neither side scored the rest of the way, the Dodgers had chances when their lead-off batters in the sixth (Tom Walsh) and seventh (Adrian Chenoweth) reached on hits, but nothing came of either challenge.

THERE WAS ANOTHER close game at Lockleys, where West Torrens beat Woodville 3-0, with pitching the story of the game.

The Eagles scored twice in the opening inning, after Jasper Clark walked, Tom McGarry hit a RBI double, Sam McGarry singled and Jacob Scott had a RBI groundout. Then two errors gifted West Torrens a run in the bottom of the fifth.

From the mound, Jarod Large (four innings, three hits, four K2s), Brad Marsh (two, none, two) and Jacob Scott (one, none, none) combined for a shutout, while Drew Janssen took the loss, after pitching six frames for three hits and eight K2s.

* * * * *

Division one baseball results:

Gawler Rangers d Northern Districts 7-0 (hits: Gawler – Worden 2 (hr), S. Heintze-Unger 2, Prokopec, Z. Heintze-Unger, Przibilla, Schreier; North – Kondo, J. Whelan, Robinson, Maguire, Hee. WP: N. Antoine; LP: T. Marshall).

Adelaide d Port Adelaide 7-0 (hits: Adelaide – Tracey 2, Forney, Welch (gshr), Damon, Cann, Edwards, Callaghan, Congdon; Port – Vasic, Steigert, Trebilcock. WP: B. Damon; LP: S. Steigert).

Kensington tied Glenelg 7-7 (hits: Kensington – N. Platten 3 (hr), Bishop 3 (hr), Allen 2, Hassani (hr), J. Spratt; Glenelg – Reid 2, Hill 2 (hr), Mathews, Bentley).

Henley & Grange d Southern Districts 8-6 (hits: H&G – Partington 2, Yonezawa 2, Couzner 2, Lee, Hernandez (hr), Inglis; South – Campbell 2 (hr), Short 2 (hr), Hutchings 2 (hr), Turner (hr), Davies. WP: L. Hernandez; LP: N. Hutchings).

Sturt d East Torrens 7-3 (hits: Sturt – Knuckey 3, Joyce 2, Lightbody, Mitchell (hr), Macbeth; ET – Probert 2 (hr), Lester 2, Stewart, Stroud. (WP: M. Williams; LP: D. Lester).

Goodwood d Golden Grove Central Districts 2-1 (hits: Goodwood – Takahashi 2, Hutchings, Weber, Cresswell, Cooper; GGCD – Manzella, Walsh, Shotton, Pearce, Chenoweth. WP: T. Fitzgerald; LP: N. Holt).

West Torrens d Woodville 3-0 (hits: WT – Clark, T. McGarry, S. McGarry; Woodville – Woodville – Fienemann 2, Perez. WP: B. Marsh; LP: D. Janssen).

Premiership points: Henley & Grange 27, Adelaide 20, Sturt 20, Woodville 18, West Torrens 18, Port Adelaide 16, Southern Districts 14, East Torrens 12, Goodwood 11, Glenelg 11, Kensington 7, GGCD 4, Gawler Rangers 4, Northern Districts 2.