Rob's Wrap Up - Round 15

BASEBALL (February 3, 2024)

LANDON LEADS RAMS TO VICTORY

By Robert Laidlaw

NOT ONLY DID LANDON HERNANDEZ pitch a complete game shutout to lead Henley & Grange to victory over East Torrens in division one baseball at West Lakes, he belted a solo home run in the seventh inning, in a 1-0 win.

Hernandez threw 82 pitches over the nine frames, 68 for strikes, as he conceded three hits for seven strikeouts.

In such rare games, it usually means the opposition hurler was also pitching well, as was Redsox starter Charlie Ashcroft, who threw seven digs for four hits and four K2s.

IN ANOTHER TIGHT GAME, the power hitting of Tom Fiebig helped Goodwood over the line against Port Adelaide at Mortlock Park.

In the bottom of the ninth, with one out and the scores locked at 1-1, Jeremy Cresswell singled and Fiebig smashed a walk-off two-run home run.

But Fiebig’s big day started earlier, when he hit a solo dinger in the bottom of the fifth frame, to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.

That first home run of Fiebig’s looked like being the match-winner, until Port’s Flynn McKee got in on the long-ball action with a solo fence-buster at the top of the eighth dig, to tie the scores at 1-1.

Both starting pitchers were solid. Tyler Howarth conceded two hits for three strikeouts over five innings for Goodwood, while for the Magpies, Tyson McKee gave up five hits for seven K2s over seven frames.

AT LOCKLEYS, WEST TORRENS was able to absorb a first inning big hit by Adelaide before settling down to win 5-2.

After lead-off batter Max Tracey was hit by a pitch at the top of the first inning, Stefan Welch belted a two-run home run for the Angels to be flying.

But the Eagles came right back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the opening frame, after hits to Jasper Clark, Mason Clavell and Nico Vanderlinden.

Then in the bottom of the second, West Torrens took the lead, after a pair of walks and Tyrone Hambly’s RBI hit.

In the bottom of the fourth Clark and Jacob Scott walked, with Clavell hitting a sac fly and Hambly collecting another RBI single, for a 5-2 lead, which stood up the rest of the way.

Masa Sawada pitched five innings for the win, conceding four hits for five strikeouts.

GLENELG WAS TOO GOOD for Golden Grove Central Districts at Illyarrie Reserve, and won 12-3.

Most of the damage was done early, as the Tigers scored three runs in the first inning, on Jimmy Boyce’s home run, and three runs in the second, after hits to Rion Sato, Jaikob Mathews and Zane Judd.

After Glenelg made it 7-0 at the top of the third, the Dodgers finally got on the scoreboard with a run, after consecutive two-out hits to Tom Walsh, Kynan Skein, Jake Shotton in the bottom of the third.

But the Tigers just kept the scoring pressure up, with a run in the fourth on Sato’s hit, and two in the fifth, after RBI doubles by Judd and Boyce, then Tom Huttunen smashed a two-run dinger in the sixth, to make it 12-1.

The Dodgers managed to force the full nine innings after Brandon Manzella belted a two-run home run in the seventh.

Jayden Eldridge conceded six hits in five frames for six strikeouts to claim the win from the mound, while Manzella took eight outfield catches for the Dodgers.

A LATE RALLY GOT STURT home 5-3 over Kensington at Erindale, with the result up in the air until the end.

At the top of the opening frame, Harry Knuckey doubled and Mitch Lightbody smashed a two-run home run, to give the Saints a 2-0 start.

In the bottom of the first dig, Mike Bishop halved the deficit with a solo dinger, while in the bottom of the fourth, the Cardinals went 3-2 up, after RBI doubles by Riley Moore and Jack Platten.

Sturt soon levelled the game up when a couple of errors gifted the Saints a run at the top of the fifth, and the game was level-pegging at 3-3.

The decisive blow came at the top of the eighth frame, when Terrell Joyce hit a home run, which was followed by Dayton Mitchell’s double and Blake Farr’s RBI grounder, to complete the game’s scoring.

Both starting pitchers did a good job but neither figured in the result. Jackson Brebner-Russ threw five innings for four hits and six strikeouts for Sturt, while Kensington’s Ali Tanner conceded three hits for nine K2s in five frames.

AFTER AN EARLY SCARE, Woodville managed to catch and then pass Gawler Rangers for an 11-4 victory at Findon.

A pair of walks and Zak Heintze-Unger’s three-run dinger at the top of the first inning saw the Rangers out 3-0, which stood up until the bottom of the fourth frame.

The Senators managed to put a rally together in the fourth to score three times and level the ballgame, after hits to Cesar Perez, Drew Janssen, Mitch Fienemann and Troy Nicholson.

Then in the bottom of the fifth, Woodville took the lead with another three-run rally, after RBI hits to Perez and Joel Chapman, and Troy Nicholson’s sac fly.

Although leading 6-3 the Senators could not quite relax yet, but a five-run explosion in the bottom of the eighth sealed the deal, after RBI doubles to Wade Moore and Perez, and a two-run bomb by Janssen.

AJ Verastegui pitched six innings for the win, conceding four hits for nine strikeouts.

A HOME-RUN HAPPY Southern Districts beat Northern Districts 15-2 at Ingle Farm.

Carey McLeod hit a solo dinger in the first inning and a three-run shot in the second, as the Hawks went out to a 5-0 lead, although two unearned runs by North in the bottom of the frame closed the gap.

Brett Hattersley stole home in the third, and in the fourth Nic Paparella hit a solo fence-buster, as South extended its lead to 8-2.

Then a six-run fifth dig put the game out of reach, with Ben Short’s grand slam home run the highlight.

Michael Johnston pitched three no-hit innings for four strikeouts to claim the win.

* * * * *

Division one baseball results:

Glenelg d Golden Grove Central Districts 12-3 (hits: Glenelg – Judd 5, Bentley 3, Boyce 3 (hr), Sati 3, Mathews 2, Ross, Hill, Steff, Huttunen (hr); GGCD – Manzella 2 (hr), Conry 2, Walsh, Skein, Shotton, Green, Wallis. WP: J. Eldridge; LP: N. Holt).

Sturt d Kensington 5-3 (hits: Sturt – Knuckey, Lightbody (hr), Joyce (hr), Mitchell, Farr; Kensington – N. Platten, Gallagher, Bishop (hr), Moore, J. Platten. WP: M. Williams; LP: G. Mosel).

Goodwood d Port Adelaide 3-1 (hits: Goodwood – Cresswell 2, Fiebig 2 (2 hr), Cakebread, Cooper, Takahashi; Port – F. McKee 2 (hr), Vasic, Trebilcock. WP: K. Takahashi; LP: J. Stemberger).

Woodville d Gawler Rangers 11-4 (hits: Woodville – Perez 3, Janssen 2 (hr), Moore, Fienemann, T. Nicholson, J. Chapman; Gawler – Crawford, Z. Heintze-Inger (hr), Bawden, Przibilla, Grambau. WP: AJ Verastegui; LP: S. Heintze-Unger).

Southern Districts d Northern Districts 15-2 (hits: South – Jones 3, Campbell 2, McLeod 2 (2 hr), N. Paparella 2 (hr), Short 2 (gshr), Turner 2, Hobson 2, Hansen, Hattersley, Rees, Hutchings; North – Kondo, Robinson, Maguire. WP: M. Johnston; LP: T. Marshall).

Henley & Grange d East Torrens 1-0 (hits: H&G – Bull, Hernandez (hr), Yonezawa, Couzner; ET – Locas, Stewart, Cross. WP: L. Hernadez; LP: C. Ashcroft).

West Torrens d Adelaide 5-3 (hits: WT – Clark 3, Hambly 2, Barker 2, Scott, Clavell, Ni. Vanderlinden, Weber; Adelaide – Forney 2, Tracey, Welch (hr), Damon, Smith. WP: M. Sawada; LP: H. Batchelor).

Premiership points: Henley & Grange 37, Adelaide 26, Sturt 26, West Torrens 26, Woodville 24, Port Adelaide 22, Southern Districts 20, Glenelg 19, Goodwood 17, East Torrens 14, Kensington 11, Gawler Rangers 6, GGCD 4, Northern Districts 2

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BASEBALL (February 6, 2024)

ANGELS INFLICT FIRST LOSS ON HENLEY

[Adelaide v Henley photos by Paul Taeuber]

By Robert Laidlaw

IT TOOK AN EXTRA INNING but Adelaide has inflicted the first loss on Henley & Grange this season in division one baseball, with a 2-1 victory at West Lakes on Wednesday.

The Angels scored a run at the top of the third frame, on Ty Forney’s home run over the leftfield fence.

Then in the bottom of the sixth the Rams managed to square things up, when Jack Partington singled, stole second base and came home on Wilson Lee’s hit.

And so, the ballgame remained at 1-1 after the regulation seven digs, as both starting pitchers were still on the mound.

At the top of the eighth, Forney was the placed runner at second base. Stefan Welch bunted him to third and a wild pitch scored the run. Henley could not reply!

Billy Damon pitched 7.1 innings for the win, conceding five hits for seven strikeouts, while Lee threw 7.1 frames for six hits and nine K2s.

Two throws from Rams’ rightfielder Patrick Inglis helped cut Adelaide runners down at the plate, in the fourth dig after a Lachlan Pace double and after a catch in the eighth.

A BIG HITTING Austin Gallagher helped Kensington beat Northern Districts 9-2 at Ingle Farm.

Gallagher hit a two-run home run in the first inning, after Nick Platten singled, and smashed a grand slam dinger in the second frame, after Lachlan Spratt hit, Bryce Allen walked and Nick Platten singled, to give the Cardinals a 6-0 start.

A Tyler Butterwick RBI single in the fourth made it 7-0, while the Reds managed a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth dig, after a walk, an error and hits by Tom Fraser and Phil Whelan.

In the sixth and final inning, Kensington scored twice more, after three walks, an error and Lachlan Spratt’s RBI infield single.

Austin Hassani pitched five frames for the win, conceding three hits for eight strikeouts.

TWO SENSATIONAL CATCHES by centrefielder Boyd Worden were the major highlights of Gawler Rangers’ 5-3 victory over Golden Grove Central Districts at Illyarrie Reserve.

Worden ran back and leaped into the air to catch a long blast by the Dodgers’ Jake Shotton in the opening inning, inches before the home run fence, then in the bottom of the sixth and final frame, with a runner on base, Worden made a diving catch on Noah Rodgers’ line drive up the middle.

Both teams scored a run in the first dig, the Rangers after Worden walked, stole second base and came home on Aiden Prokopec’s single, and the Dodgers after Brandon Manzella hit, stole second, went to third base on Tom Wash’s bunt and scored on Kynan Skein’s sac fly.

The ‘difference-maker’ in the game was Gawler’s top of the fourth inning, where it scored twice, after Seb Heintze-Unger singled, Worden had a RBI triple, and Forrest Crawford had a RBI hit up the middle, for a 3-1 lead.

Then at the top of the fifth, a pair of errors, Nathan Schreier’s walk and hits to Seb Heintze-Unger and Worden saw another pair of runs, and a 5-1 lead.

It looked like the Dodgers were right back in the game in the bottom of the fifth, after Rodgers led off with a single and consecutive RBI triples to Manzella and Walsh, with none out, but Walsh was left stranded as the next two batters were outs.

Neither side could score in the sixth and final inning, in large part because of Worden’s catch to end the game.

Nicolas Antione pitched five frames for the win, conceding seven hits for four strikeouts.

A TYSON McKEE HOME RUN in the bottom of the sixth inning broke open a 3-3 ballgame for Port Adelaide to beat West Torrens 4-3 at Semaphore.

It was tight throughout, as each team matched the other until McKee’s late heroics.

At the top of the opening frame, the Eagles scored twice, after Jasper Clark walked, Tom McGarry singled, and Mason Clavell and Tyrone Hambly had RBI hits.

But the Magpies were up to the challenge and scored twice in the bottom of the first, after hits to Nick Vasic, Brodie Arriola and Ethan Murphy.

West Torrens took the lead with a run at the top of the third, after hits to Sam McGarry, Jacob Scott and Hambly, but it was short lived, as Port levelled the ballgame in the bottom of the fourth, after Sammy Steigert doubled, Murphy singled and Jack Stead hit a sac fly.

After McKee’s dinger in the sixth dig, the Eagles failed to answer in the top of the seventh.

Steigert went the distance from the mound for the Magpies, conceding nine hits for five strikeouts in seven innings.

A WALK-OFF RBI SINGLE by Terrell Joyce in the bottom of the seventh inning got Sturt home 6-5 over Goodwood at Mitcham.

It was tight early, with neither side able to break through for a score over the first four frames.

Then at the top of the fifth the Indians pounced with a pair of runs, after Hunter Cooper and Peter Paech hit doubles, and Matt Hutchings hit a sac fly.

Sturt then mounted a rally, which started with a Jonas Garcia single and Blake Farr’s two-run dinger, which tied the game.

But there was more! Zach Altamura singled, Harry Knuckey walked, Joyce hit a RBI double and Dayton Mitchell batted two runs in with his hit, to make it 5-2 the Saints.

At the top of the seventh and final inning Goodwood fought back. Paech and Hutchings hit two-baggers and Griff Weber put one over the fence, to make it 5-5.

Unfortunately for the Indians, two walks in the bottom of the seventh set up Joyce’s heroics.

EAST TORRENS AND WOODVILLE could not be separated after an extra inning at Payneham, resulting in a 4-4 tie.

A Wade Moore double and Drew Janssen’s sacrifice fly saw the Senators 1-0 up in the top of the first frame, then in the third, hits by Moore, Cesar Perez, Janssen and Mitch Fienemann (two RBIs), saw the lead out to 3-0.

But the Redsox tied the ballgame at 3-3 in the bottom of the third, after Travis Underhill walked, infield hits to Zac Stroud and Carter Powell, an error, and Aiden Lucas’ RBI hit up the middle.

And after seven innings it was still 3-3! At the top of the eighth, four two-out walks gifted Woodville a run, while in the bottom of the frame, Powell walked, stole second base and came home on an error – 4-4.

Both starters pitched well. Connor Yeatman threw six innings for five hits and six strikeouts for East Torrens, while the Senators’ Janssen conceded four hits over seven frames for 10 K2s.

A BIG THREE-RUN HOME RUN by Tailen Hobson and a complete game shut-out by Nick Hutchings paved the way for Southern Districts 5-0 victory over Glenelg at Christies Beach.

Hutchings conceded five hits for six strikeouts over the seven innings to claim the victory.

In the first inning, Jake Campbell singled, stole second base and came home on Nic Paparella’s double, to make it 1-0.

Then in the second dig, Ben Short hit a two-bagger, Hutchings was hit by a pitch and Hobson smashed his three-run dinger, to make it 4-0.

Campbell doubled in the bottom of the fifth and came home on Luke Hanson’s sac fly to pad out the scoreline.

* * * * *

Division one baseball results:

Port Adelaide d West Torrens 4-3 (hits: Port – Arriola 2, Murphy 2, Vasic, Steigert, T. McKee (hr); WT – Scott 2, Hambly 2, Clark, T. McGarry, S. McGarry, Clavell, Barker. WP: S. Steigert; LP: C. Roe).

Adelaide d Henley & Grange 2-1 (hits: Adelaide – Forney 2 (hr), Cann 2, Pace, Condon; H&G – Lee 2, Partington, Hernandez, Couzner. WP: B. Damon; LP: W. Lee).

Southern Districts d Glenelg 5-0 (hits: South – Campbell 2, N. Paparella, Hattersley, Short, Hobson (hr); Glenelg – Hill 2, Judd, Steff, Huttunen. WP: N. Hutchings; LP: J. Boyce).

Woodville tied East Torrens 4-4 (hits: ET – Powell, Lucas, Ashcroft, Stroud; Woodville – Moore 2, Perez, Janssen, Fienemann).

Sturt d Goodwood 6-5 (hits: Sturt – Joyce 3, Mitchell, Garcia, Farr (hr), Altamura; Goodwood – Cakebread 2, Paech 2, Hutchings, Weber (hr), Cresswell, Cooper. WP: M. Williams; LP: K. Takahashi).

Kensington d Northern Districts 9-2 (hits: Kensington – N. Platten 2, Gallagher 2 (2 hr), L. Spratt 2, Bishop, J. Platten, T. Butterwick, J. Spratt, Allen; North – Fraser, P. Whelan, Clifton. WP: A. Hassani; LP: N. Kondo).

Gawler Rangers d Golden Grove Central Districts 5-3 (hits: Gawler – Worden 2, Prokopec 2, Z. Heintze-Unger 2, S. Heintze-Unger 2, Crawford, Przibilla; GGCD – Manzella 2, Rodgers 2, Walsh, Conry, Pearce. WP: N. Antione; LP: J. Inglis).

Premiership points: Henley & Grange 37, Adelaide 28, Sturt 28, West Torrens 26, Woodville 25, Port Adelaide 24, Southern Districts 22, Glenelg 19, Goodwood 17, East Torrens 15, Kensington 13, Gawler Rangers 8, GGCD 4, Northern Districts 2.