Rob's Wrap Up - Round 13

BASEBALL (January 20, 2024)

DOWN TO THE WIRE

By Robert Laidlaw

AFTER EIGHT INNINGS the Southern Districts versus Port Adelaide division one baseball game at Christies Beach was scoreless, with the Hawks squeezing home 2-1 in an exciting ninth frame.

With both teams battling hard, scoring a run was like finding hen’s teeth, because for eight digs it was zero to zero.

Then at the top of the ninth it looked like the Magpies might steal the points. Sammy Steigert doubled, went to third base on a wild pitch and came scampering home on Ethan Murphy’s sacrifice fly to centrefield – 1-0 Port.

In reply South had two on and two out after Brett Hattersley and Ben Weekley had hit singles. The tension was high, especially after Tailen Hobson was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

The Hawks then introduced a pinch hitter in Nick Rees, who took a called strike before swinging at the second pitch. Then four consecutive balls forced in the tying run!

Back to the top of the line-up and the dangerous Jake Campbell had the chance to win the game. He swung at the first pitch and missed. Then managed to get bat on ball and ran out an infield hit to third base for a walk-off RBI, and a South victory, 2-1.

While that last inning heroic effort by both teams was a great ending, the story of the game was the magnificent starting pitching.

For the Hawks, Evan Soule threw six frames for two hits and nine strikeouts, while Port’s Tyson McKee was on fire from the mound, as he pitched a two-hitter over eight digs for 12 K2s.

IT’S BEEN A SENSATIONAL SEASON for the undefeated Henley & Grange team, and it continued at West Lakes, where the Rams had a come from behind 5-4 win over Woodville.

Henley took an early lead on Koki Yonezawa’s fourth inning home run, for a 1-0 advantage.

But the Senators took advantage of an error and Greg Bravo’s walk, when Drew Janssen smashed a three-run home run in the sixth frame, to give Woodville the lead, 3-1.

From the mound AJ Verastegui was a key to Woodville being in front, as he pitched a two-hitter over the first six innings, for six strikeouts. But after giving up a hit to Jay Couzner and walk to Patrick Inglis to start the seventh, was relieved. Liam Bull cashed in with a two-run single, and the game was tied, 3-3.

Then in the bottom of the eighth, Couzner reached on an error and Inglis smashed the ball over the fence, to give the Rams a 5-3 lead.

It wasn’t all over for the Senators just yet though, as hits to Mitch Fienemann and Wade Moore to start the top of the ninth reignited hopes.

Joel Chapman bunted the runners into scoring position, but only one scored, on Nick Kuhn’s groundout, with Henley hanging on for a meritorious 5-4 victory.

Wilson Lee went the distance for the Rams, conceding seven hits for 11 strikeouts in nine innings.

IN AN AMAZING REVERSAL, Gawler Rangers beat Kensington 13-1 at Karbeethan Reserve.

Early in the season the Cardinals spanked Gawler 14-0 at Erindale, in round three, making it a 26-run turnaround!

The writing was on the wall in the first inning, when the Rangers scored five runs – Aiden Prokopec reached on an error, Forrest Crawford walked, Dylan Child hit a RBI double, Zac Heintze-Unger walked, and Sam Bawden had a RBI single, with a wild pitch and error completing the opening.

In the second frame, Prokopec doubled and Child had a RBI single, with Kensington finally managing a run at the top of the fourth, to make it 6-1.

But in the bottom of the fourth Gawler sprinted away with four runs, with Crawford’s RBI double and Child’s two-run dinger the big hits.

Leading 10-1, the Rangers took advantage of three walks and a hit batsman in the bottom of the fifth, with Child banging out his fourth hit for his fourth RBI in the game, and Zac Heintze-Unger hitting a sac fly, to ensure the game would only go seven digs.

Seb Heintze-Unger went the distance from the mound, conceding five hits for four strikeouts in seven frames to claim the win.

THE STORY OF THE Adelaide versus Sturt clash at Mitcham was the home run, with the Angels triumphing 12-7.

At the top of the opening frame, Max Tracey led off with a double and scored on Stefan Welch’s single, for a 1-0 start for the Angels.

Then in the second frame, Welch smashed a grand slam home run – his second of the week – as Adelaide went 6-0 up after a five-run rally.

Brady Smith hit a two-run dinger in the fifth and at the top of the seventh, Tracey did likewise, as the Angels went to a 12-0 lead.

Then Sturt broke out the bats and piled on seven runs in the bottom of the seventh, with Terrell Joyce hitting a lead-off home run, Blake Farr smashing a two-run dinger and Jack Dawson collecting a two-run single, to reduce the margin to 12-7, with neither side adding to the scoreline in the final two digs.

Hugh Batchelor started on the mound for Adelaide and threw five scoreless innings, for three hits and three strikeouts.

IN A TIGHT GAME, Glenelg triumphed 8-5 over Goodwood at home, with a four-run third inning the key rally for the Tigers.

Hits to Jeremy Cresswell and Peter Paech, combined with two Glenelg errors, saw the Indians take a 2-0 lead at the top of the second frame.

The Tigers responded with four runs in the bottom of the third, with Dylan Bentley’s two-run home run the highlight, to go 4-2 up.

Tom Fiebig doubled and came home on Hunter Cooper’s hit up the middle in the fourth, to reduce the margin to one, but Glenelg answered in the bottom of the frame to keep two-runs ahead, after Rion Sato doubled and scored on Jaikob Mathews’ single.

With two runs at the top of the fifth frame, after Brodie Heeps doubled, Grif Weber hit a RBI single and Fiebig had a sac fly, the ballgame was tied at 5-5.

But again Glenelg answered, with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth, when Bentley and Connor Hill collected hits and scored on Jimmy Boyce’s single.

Tom Huttunen doubled and came home on Mathews’ single in the eighth for the final run of the game.

Beau Kerns came onto the mound in the fifth frame and pitched 4.2 innings for the win, conceding two hits for five strikeouts.

IT WAS HARD GOING EARLY but West Torrens triumphed 13-5 against Golden Grove Central Districts at Illyarrie Reserve.

The Dodgers took an early lead with three runs in the bottom of the second inning, after hits to Josh Conry and Noah Rogers, a hit batsman and an error.

But the Eagles scored twice in the third, after consecutive two-out hits to Tom McGarry, Sam McGarry, Mason Clavell and Jacob Scott, and then took the lead for good in the fourth with a pair of runs, on Oscar Weber’s RBI single and an error.

Clavell singled, stole second base and came home on a wild pitch in the fifth dig to make it 5-3, but Adrian Chenoweth smashed a long ball over the fence to keep the Dodgers hopes alive, at 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth.

West Torrens sprinted away with four-run rallies in the seventh and eighth frames, with Scott’s two-run double in the earlier push, and Jude Barker’s grand slam dinger in the eighth the game’s highlight.

Masa Sawada pitched five innings for the Eagles to claim the win, conceding six hits for three strikeouts.

WHILE EAST TORRENS WON 19-6 against Northern Districts at Ingle Farm, the unusual feat of grand slam home runs for each team in the same inning was the highlight.

Hits to Carter Powell, Aiden Lucas, Dylan Lester, Mark Stewart and Charlie Ashcroft saw three runs cross the plate in the opening frame for the Redsox to lead 3-0, which was doubled in the second dig, on Stewart’s three-run dinger.

Both teams scored a pair of runs in the third inning, with Cam Dziego and Naoya Kondo collecting hits for the Reds.

Taking advantage of four walks, the Redsox scored three runs in the fourth, and then went 17-2 up at the top of the fifth with six runs, Dalton Probert smashing a grand slam home run.

Then in the bottom of the sixth dig, Phil Whelan stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered a big blow, to give North its first grand slam of the season.

East Torrens scored the final two runs of the game at the top of the seventh to pad out its 19-6 victory.

Connor Yeatman started on the hill for the Redsox and threw four frames, for five hits and six strikeouts.

* * * * *

Division one baseball results:

Adelaide d Sturt 12-7 (hits: Adelaide – Forney 3, Tracey 2 (hr), Welch 2 (gshr), Damon, Smith (hr), Edwards, Congdon, Roe, Pace; Sturt – Knuckey 2, Lightbody 2, Altamura 2, Joyce (hr), Mitchell, Dawson, Farr (hr). WP: H. Batchelor; LP: J. Brebner-Russ).

West Torrens d GGCD 13-5 (hits: WT – Clavell 4, Scott 3, Broome 2, Barker 2 (gshr), Clark, T. McGarry, S. McGarry, Ni. Vanderlinden, Weber; GGCD – Rodgers 3, Pearce 2, Walsh, Shotton, Conry, A. Chenoweth (hr). WP: M. Sawada; LP: J. Inglis).

Southern Districts d Port Adelaide 2-1 (hits: South – Hansen 2, Campbell, Hattersley, Weekley; Port – Arriola, F. McKee, Steigert, Stead. WP: M. Johnston; LP: J. Stemberger).

Henley & Grange d Woodville 5-4 (hits: H&G – Lee, Bull, Yonezawa (hr), Couzner, Inglis (hr); Woodville – Janssen 2 (hr), Park, T. Nicholson, Fienemann, Moore, Kuhn. WP: W. Lee; LP: C. Perez).

Gawler Rangers d Kensington 13-1 (hits: Gawler – Child 4 (hr), Worden, Prokopec, Crawford, Bawden; Kensington – Gallagher, T. Butterwick, L. Spratt, L. Spratt, Allen. WP: S. Heintze-Unger; LP: K. Butterwick).

East Torren d Northern Districts 19-6 (hits: ET – Powell 2, Probert 2 (gshr), Lucas 2, Lester 2, Stewart 2 (hr), Ashcroft 2, Sanderson 2, Cross 2, King; North – Kondo 2, P. Whelan 2 (gshr), J. Whelan, Robinson, Clifton, Dziego, Maguire. WP: C. Yeatman; LP: N. Kondo).

Glenelg d Goodwood 8-5 (hits: Glenelg – Boyce 3, Mathews 2, Bentley 2 (hr), Hill 2, Sato 2, Reid, Huttunen; Goodwood – Weber 2, Cresswell 2, Cooper 2, Heeps, Fiebig, Paech, Bradley. WP: B. Kerns; LP: K. Takahashi).

Premiership points: Henley & Grange 29, Adelaide 22, Sturt 20, West Torrens 20, Woodville 18, Port Adelaide 16, Southern Districts 16, East Torrens 14, Glenelg 13, Goodwood 11, Kensington 7, Gawler Rangers 6, GGCD 4, Northern Districts 2.

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BASEBALL (January 23, 2024)

LAST GASP VICTORY

By Robert Laidlaw

IN AN AMAZING LAST INNING rally, Glenelg overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat West Torrens 9-3 at Lockleys in Tuesday night’s division one baseball clash.

The Tigers were unlucky to trail 3-0 in the fourth inning, when Tyrone Hambly hit a three-run home run for West Torrens, which was the Eagles’ only hit of the game.

Jimmy Boyce did a good job on the mound, conceding just that one hit for 11 strikeouts in five frames, but left the game with the Tigers trailing, and would have had the loss hung on him if not for Glenelg’s fightback.

That fightback started in the sixth frame, when the Tigers scored their first run, on Dylan Bentley’s RBI single.

Then the final dig, at the top of the seventh, saw the first 10 Tigers reach base, which included three errors and hits to Rion Sato, Jaikob Mathews, Kai Reid, Briley Knight, Bentley and Zane Judd.

Mason Clavell started on the hill for the Eagles and shut his old team out for five innings, conceding three hits for three strikeouts.

IT WAS ‘PARTY’ TIME at Illyarrie Reserve, as Jack Partington had a blinder in helping Henley & Grange beat Golden Grove Central Districts 6-5.

Partington batted four times for three hits and was hit by a pitch, and scored four times, to be the catalyst in the batters’ box for the Rams.

In the first inning Partington doubled and scored on Liam Bull’s sacrifice fly. Then in the third dig, Jet Clohessy singled, Partington was hit by a pitch, Wilson Lee had a RBI single and Giovani Garbella had a sac fly – 3-0 Henley.

Then in the fifth the Rams went 4-0 up, after Partington singled, stole second base, and after Garbella picked a walk, the pair pulled off a double steal, which saw Partington score.

While Henley was cruising behind Jordy Grose on the mound, the Dodgers upset the applecart in the bottom of the fifth, after Josh Conry doubled, Noah Rodgers had a RBI single, and after Brandon Manzella had a two out hit, an outfield dropped catch saw two unearned runs score, and it was a one-run ballgame.

Before the Rams could compose themselves, they were under the pump when, in the bottom of the sixth, hits to Adrian Chenoweth, Conry and Kynan Skein saw the Dodgers draw level at 4-4.

It was Henley coach Lee to the rescue when he smashed a two-run home run at the top of the seventh, after Partington had singled.

But the Dodgers still had to bat in the bottom of that final inning. Manzella was hit by a pitch and stole two bases, before coming home on Isaac Pearce’s ground-out, which was the final score of the game, giving Henley another one-run victory – its sixth of the season.

Grose pitched six innings for seven hits and nine strikeouts to claim the victory.

ALTHOUGH OUT-HIT 12-8, Port Adelaide made better use of its chances to beat Sturt 5-3 at Mitcham.

The Magpies opened the scoring with a run in the first frame, after Nick Vasic walked, stole second base, went to third on Flynn McKee’s single and came home on an error.

It was a similar story at the top of the second, as Wil Paech hit, Michael Schrapel walked, Vasic had an infield hit and Paech came home on an error – 2-0 Port.

When Tyson McKee hit a two-run home run in the third, after Sammy Steigert reached on an infield hit, the Magpies looked in control at 4-0.

The Saints finally broke through in the bottom of the third with a run, after hits to Harry Knuckey, Blake Farr and Dayton Mitchell.

But two hit batsmen and a RBI fielder’s choice by Jake Stead restored Port’s four-run advantage at the top of the fourth.

In the bottom of the sixth frame Sturt rallied, with Matt Macbeth hitting a double, Dylan Ridding picking a walk, and RBI hits to Simon Adkins and Knuckey, to close the gap to 5-3, with neither side scoring in the final inning.

THE UNPREDICTABLE KENSINGTON triumphed 11-4 over East Torrens at Erindale.

It’s been a topsy-turvy season for the Cardinals, as they have had some big wins and big losses, often in the same week!

As for the Redsox, they made full use of seven hits, as all were doubles and all contributed to their scoring.

At the top of the opening frame, Carter Powell doubled and came home on Jay Sanderson’s two-bagger for a 1-0 East Torrens lead.

Kensington made it a tied ballgame in the bottom of the second on Tyler Butterwick’s dinger.

But the Redsox regained the lead at the top of the third dig, when Powell hit another two-bagger and scored on Dylan Lester’s double, for a 2-1 advantage.

A two-run Austin Gallagher home run in the bottom of the third put the Cardinals into the lead for the first time in the game.

Then a huge seven-run bottom of the fourth inning proved the major difference, with back-to-back two-run doubles by Mike Bishop and Jack Platten the highlight.

East Torrens scored twice at the top of the fifth, after consecutive doubles to Dalton Probert, Aiden Lucas and Lester, while the Cardinals scored a run in the bottom of the dig to finish the scoring.

GOODWOOD BROKE OPEN THE GAME late to beat Gawler Rangers 9-3 at Karbeethan Reserve.

Matt Hutchings led off the game when he was hit by a pitch, and after a stolen base and Josh Cakebread’s infield hit, scored on Jeremy Cresswell’s groundout.

In response Gawler ‘manufactured’ two runs. Boyd Worden reached on an error and stole two bases. Aidan Prokopec walked, and after Worden came home on Forrest Crawford’s ground-out, Prokopec scored from a wild pitch, for a 2-1 Rangers lead.

The Indians tied the scores at the top of the second, after Brodie Heeps had an infield hit, got to second base on a wild pitch and scored on Koki Takahashi’s hit up the middle.

It was tense over the next two innings, with neither side able to break through, until at the top of the fifth Goodwood set up its win with four runs, after hits to Peter Paech, Hutchings, Griff Weber, Cresswell and Takahashi. It could have been more except for a sensational throw from leftfielder Seb Heintze-Unger to cut a runner down at the plate.

A two-run home run by Jeremy Cresswell was the highlight of Goodwood’s three-run sixth, with Gawler only able to add one more run in the bottom of the frame, on Brad Przibilla’s sac fly.

UNTIL A FOUR-RUN final at bat sealed the deal in Woodville’s 6-0 victory over Southern Districts at Findon, Cesar Perez was looming as the game’s big hero, with solo home runs in the first and third innings.

But in the bottom of the sixth the tension of a close contest was broken, as the Senators put the game away with a four-run rally – Joel Chapman had a two-run hit, Nathan Nicholson had a RBI single and Drew Janssen hit a sac fly.

Janssen was also the winning pitcher, as he threw 5.1 innings for four hits and eight strikeouts.

A PLUCKY EFFORT BY Northern Districts wasn’t enough to upset Adelaide at Plympton, as the Angels won 9-6.

In the bottom of the second inning, hits by Henry Cann, Brady Smith, Ben Ganley (a two-run double) and Lachlan Pace, scored three runs for an early 3-0 lead.

Dan Maguire and Phil Whelan combined hits for the Reds to score their first run at the top of the third, but then a four-run rally in the fourth dig, highlighted by Naya Kondo’s three-run double, saw North 5-3 up.

A shell-shocked Adelaide was able to draw level in the bottom of the fourth, after back-to-back home runs by Stef Welch and Billy Damon

Then in the bottom of the fifth the Angels pulled away with four runs – two scoring on an error and two on Welch’s double.

Phil Whelan smashed a solo home run in the top of the seventh and final inning, to reduce the final margin.

* * * * *

Division one baseball results:

Goodwood d Gawler Rangers 9-3 (hits: Goodwood – Takahashi 3, Cresswell 2 (hr), Paech 2, Hutchings, Weber, Cakebread, Heeps; Gawler – Prokopec, S. Heintz-Unger, Przibilla, Okeil. WP: T. Fitzgerald; LP: N. Antoine).

Adelaide d Northern Districts 9-6 (hits: Adelaide – Welch 2 (hr), Cann 2, Ganley 2, Forney, Damon (hr), Smith, Pace; North – P. Whelan 2 (hr), Maguire 2, Kondo, Fraser, Robinson, Tomaszek. WP: C. Congdon; LP: C. Robinson).

Glenelg d West Torrens 9-3 (hits: Glenelg – Bentley 3, Mathews 2, Reid 2, Knight 2, Judd, Sato; WT – Hambly (hr). WP: B. Kearns; LP: J. Scott).

Woodville d Southern Districts 6-0 (hits: Woodville – Perez 2 (2 hr), Fienemann, J. Chapman, N. Nicholson; South – N. Paparella 2, Short, Hansen. WP: D. Janssen; LP: N. Hutchings).

Port Adelaide d Sturt 5-3 (hits: Port – T. McKee 2 (hr), Paech 2, Vasic, F. McKee, Steigert, Murphy; Sturt – Knuckey 4, Macbeth 3, D. Mitchell 2, Farr, Lightbody, Adkins. WP: S. Steigert; LP: H. Mitchell).

Henely & Grange d Golden Grove Central Districts 6-5 (hits: H&G – Partington 3, Lee 2 (hr), Bull, Clohessy; GGCD: Conry 2, Manzella, Walsh, A. Chenoweth, Skein, Rodgers. WP: J. Grose; LP: N. Holt).

Kensington d East Torrens 11-4 (hits: Kensington – Gallagher 3 (hr), Bishop 2, N. Platten, J. Platten, T. Butterwick (hr), Hassani, L. Spratt, Allen; ET – Powell 2, Lester 2, Probert, Lucas, Sanderson. WP: A. Hassani; LP: D. Lester).

Premiership points: Henley & Grange 31, Adelaide 24, Sturt 20, West Torrens 20, Woodville 20, Port Adelaide 18, Southern Districts 16, Glenelg 15, East Torrens 14, Goodwood 13, Kensington 9, Gawler Rangers 6, GGCD 4, Northern Districts 2.