Rob's Wrap Up - Round 6

REDSOX THE REAL DEAL

By Robert Laidlaw

CELEBRATING ITS 100th YEAR, East Torrens looks a real division one baseball flag contender, after accounting for reigning premier West Torrens at Lockleys, 7-2.

The Redsox got away to a great start, after Dylan Lester walked, Jay Sanderson was hit by a pitch, a wild pitch and Mark Stewart’s two-run single, for a 2-0 opening inning lead.

Tyrone Hambley entered the game and walked in the fifth frame, went to second base on a groundout and came home on Sam McGarry’s single up the middle to put the Eagles on the scoreboard, 2-1.

But East Torrens responded with a pair of runs in the sixth, when Carter Powell singled and Sanderson smashed a home run, and another three tallies in the seventh, after hits to Aiden Lucas, Will Couzner and Powell, to go 7-1 up.

West Torrens had one more chance in the bottom of the ninth, after hits to Jacob Scott and Jasper Clark but only managed one run.

Lester pitched 4.1 innings in relief for the win, conceding three hits and five strikeouts, in support of Redsox starter Linsday Barbary, who gave up three hits for six K2s in 4.1 frames.

The Eagles starter Will Kortekaas pitched 5.2 digs for four hits and six strikeouts.

A BIG TWO-RUN HOME RUN by Sammy Steigert in the ninth inning paved the way for Port Adelaide’s 7-5 comeback victory over Kensington at Erindale.

Both sides scored a run in the third frame, after errors, with Steigert featuring with a RBI single for the Magpies.

Then it was the Cardinals who started to gain control, with a pair of runs in the fourth dig, after Jack Platten singled and Tyler Butterwick smashed a long two-run dinger, and another in the fifth, when Austin Gallagher doubled and scored on Nick Platten’s single, to go 4-1 up.

But Port had a big rally at the top of the sixth inning and scored four times, after Steigert walked and hits to Flynn McKee, Ethan Murphy, Will Paech and Tommy Bird, to go 5-4 up.

It was then Kensington’s turn to switch the momentum its way, when it tied up the ballgame in the bottom of the sixth at 5-5, when Butterwick singled, and took advantage of two wild pitches to score.

With two out at the top of the ninth, Nick Vasic ran out an infield single and was the lead-runner on Steigert’s home run. The Cardinals were not able to answer in the bottom of the ninth.

Steigert was also the winning pitcher, as he gave up one hit for four strikeouts in three innings. Port starter Tyson McKee threw six frames for five hits an 11 K2s.

ADELAIDE HELD ON FOR A CLOSE 5-4 victory over Goodwood at Plympton, with a three-run fourth inning the pivotal period.

Max Tracey singled, stole two bases and scored on Stefan Welch’s hit up the middle to give the Angels a 1-0 start in the opening frame.

The Indians then grabbed the lead at the top of the third dig, after hits to Brodie Heeps, Josh Cakebread and Jeremy Cresswell, and Hunter Cooper’s sac fly.

But the advantage was short-lived, as Adelaide tied up the ballgame in the bottom of the third, after hits to Ty Forney and Welch, and Billy Damon’s RBI grounder.

Then the bottom of the fourth set up the Angels win, with three runs. Brady Smith and Brodie Chapman hit singles, Nick Callaghan bunted, Tracey had a RBI infield hit and Forney plated two runners with his double, for Adelaide to go 5-2 up.

Cakebread hit a RBI double in the seventh, and in the ninth, Heeps, Cakebread and Cooper hit for one run, which forced a pitching change. Tracey struck out the first batter he faced for the second out, and the final play was a catch by Damon at second base.

Cakebread turned back the clock and was on fire for the Indians, batting 1000 with five hits.

ON THE BACK OF a superb pitching performance by Nick Hutchings, Southern Districts beat Golden Grove Central Districts 5-1 at Christies Beach.

It was tight early, with the Hawks breaking the 0-0 ballgame open with three runs in the bottom of the third frame, after hits to Hutchings, Luke Hansen and Ben Short (a two-run single).

Then in the fourth, Ben Jones smashed a home run to make it 4-0, while in the sixth, a pair of errors gifted another run, and a 5-0 lead.

Hutchings left the game after pitching a two-hitter over seven innings for 13 strikeouts.

The Dodgers managed to score a run in the ninth frame, after Brandon Manzella doubled, Tom Walsh singled and Jake Shotton hit a sac fly.

STURT ENDED UP BEING too good for Northern Districts in a 10-0 victory at Mitcham, but it was only 1-0 until the bottom of the fifth inning.

A Mitch Lightbody RBI double in the first dig opened the scoring but then it was tough going until a six-run fifth broke the drought.

Harry Knuckey doubled, Jackson Brebner-Russ had a RBI single, Zac Altamura hit a two-run double, as did Jonas Garcia, with two errors helping the Saints’ cause.

Terrell Joyce hit a dinger in the sixth and Mathew Macbeth had a RBI double to extend the advantage to 9-0, while in the seventh, Simon Adkins doubled and scored on Knuckey’s grounder to force the mercy rule.

From the mound, Josh Tindall continued his fine season form, pitching a one-hitter for six innings, while collecting five strikeouts.

HENLEY & GRANGE HAD A SCARE before a late rally saw the Rams score eight times in their last at bat to beat Gawler Rangers 9-3 at West Lakes.

With Landon Hernadez for the Rams and Gawler’s Nicolas Antoine doing the job from the mound, runs were like hen’s teeth.

Rangers coach Dylan Child smashed a home run in the second inning, while both sides scored a run in the fourth, first by Gawler, when Sam Bawden singled and eventually came home on Harry Grambau’s groundout, while Luke Trevaskis’ had RBI single for Henley.

That 2-1 lead for the Rangers kept looming bigger, as neither side could score, until the Rams exploded for eight runs at the top of the eighth frame.

Hernandez led off with a double to left field, and after the next batter was struck out, Jet Clohessy hit the ball up the middle to make it 2-2. Then after another strikeout, Tyson Arnold had a RBI single to help the Rams take the lead for the first time in the game.

Jay Couzner then walked, Phil Acosta singled and Koki Yonezawa forced in the fourth run with a walk. Wilson Lee then cleared the bases with a huge three-run double, followed by Hernandez’s two-run home run, to make it 9-2.

The Gawler players did not drop their heads, and battled on at the top of the ninth, when Bawden walked, Child singled and Brad Przibilla batted in the Rangers’ third run with an infield fielder’s choice.

Wilson Lee pitched the final two innings to claim the win, but Hernandez was the star from the mound, conceding four hits for seven strikeouts over seven frames. For Gawler, Antoine threw five digs for four hits and seven K2s.

GLENELG TOOK ADVANTAGE OF five hit batsmen to beat Woodville 8-7 at Findon.

The Senators had a good start with three runs in the bottom of the opening inning, after hits to Drew Janssen, Troy Nicholson, Mitch Fienemann and Ryan Muggleton, and an error.

But an unbelievable top of the second dig saw the Tigers score six times to set up their eventual victory.

While Dylan Bentley, Beau Kerns and Rion Sato (a two-run single), collected hits, Glenelg was helped by three walks and three hit batsmen, as well as two balks.

Just one inning later the Tigers scored another run, after Kerns was hit by a pitch, Elliott Ross and Sato had singles, with Kerns coming home on Tom Huttunen’s fielder’s choice grounder.

Woodville started climbing back into the contest with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, on Troy Nicholson’s two-run single, and scored again in the seventh, on Joel Chapman’s dinger, to close the gap to a single run, 7-6.

But another hit batsman proved costly for the Senators in the top of the eighth, when Huttunen was hit by a pitch, went to second base on Jaikob Mathews’ bunt and scampered home on Zane Judd’s hit up the middle to make it 8-6.

Janssen doubled and scored on Troy Nicholson’s third hit of the ballgame in the bottom of the eighth, but could not push further and went down by the odd run.

* * * * *

Division one baseball results:

East Torrens d West Torrens 7-2 (hits: ET – Lester 2, Powell 2, Sanderson (hr), Stewart, Lucas, Couzner; WT – S. McGarry 2, Scott 2, Clark, Allen. WP: D. Lester; LP: W. Kortekaas).

Port Adelaide d Kensington 7-5 (hits: Port – Vasic 2, Steigert 2 (hr), F. McKee 2, Paech 2, Murphy, Bird; Kensington – Butterwick 2 (hr), Moore, Gallagher, N. Platten, J. Platten. WP: S. Steinert; LP: G. Mosel).

Adelaide d Goodwood 5-4 (hits: Adelaide – Tracey 2, Forney 2, Welch 2, Damon 2, Smith, Chapman; Goodwood – Cakebread 5, Heeps 2, Cresswell, Cooper, Hutchings, Takatiashi, Paech. WP: B. Damon; LP: T. Fitzgerald).

Southern Districts d Golden Grove Central Districts 5-1 (hits: South – Hansen, Short, Turner, Jones (hr), Hutchings; GGCD – Walsh 2, Manzella, Conry. WP: N. Hutchings; LP: N. Holt).

Sturt d Northern Districts 10-0 (hits: Sturt – Knuckey 3, Brebner-Russ 2, Altamura 2, Adkins 2, Lightbody, Joyce (hr), Macbeth, Garcia; North – J. Whelan. WP: J. Tindall; LP: T. Marshall).

Henley & Grange d Gawler Rangers 9-3 (hits: H&G – Acosta 3, Hernandez 2 (hr), Lee, Clohessy, Trevaskis, Arnold, Couzner; Gawler – Child 2 (hr), S. Heintze-Unger, Bawden, Schreier. WP: W. Lee; LP: S. Heintze-Unger).

Glenelg d Woodville 8-7 (hits: Glenelg – Sato 2, Mathews, Judd, Bentley, Kerns, Ross; Woodville – T. Nicholson 3, J. Chapman 3 (hr), Janssen 2, Moore, Fienemann, Muggleton, Bravo. WP: T. Day; LP: AJ Verastegui).

Premiership points: Sturt 12, Henley & Grange 11, East Torrens 10, Adelaide 8, West Torrens 8, Goodwood 7, Woodville 6, Glenelg 6, Southern Districts 6, Port Adelaide 4, Gawler Rangers 2, GGCD 2, Kensington 2, Northern Districts 0.