We're halfway through the opening round of the 2019 Australian Youth Championship presented by Beastwear, and day three threw up multiple extra innings ballgames! Read about each ballgame here.
U16: New South Wales 10-0 Queensland | BOX SCORE
New South Wales continued their quest for back-to-back U16 championships with a dominant win over Queensland on Diamond 3.
NSW scored a run in each of the first three innings, before a five-spot put the game beyond reach.
Jaxon Forbes put in one of the pitching performances of the tournament so far, striking out five and not allowing a base hit in 3 2/3 innings of work.
Forbes was backed up beautifully by his offence, as leadoff man Solomon Maguire went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and two RBI.
Cleanup hitter Clayton Campbell also thrived with bat in hand, driving in two with a double and a triple.
Cain McClelland picked up Queensland’s lone hit.
New South Wales put their undefeated record on the line against WA and SA tomorrow, while Queensland match up with SA and Vic White for their doubleheader.
U16: Victoria Blue 12-9 New South Wales Country | BOX SCORE
Despite surrendering a lead in the fifth inning, Victoria Blue steadied to hold off a determined NSW Country side on Diamond 1.
NSW Country plated seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a lead, but Vic Blue kept their cool, scoring seven of the last nine runs to claim a narrow win.
Nikau Pouaka-Grego equaled the 2019 championship record of six RBI, as the shortstop went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a triple.
Leadoff man Charlie Collins was a triple away from a cycle, while Bronson Neave and Mitchell Thomas also chimed in with three hits apiece.
James Lynch struck out six in 4 2/3 of solid baseball for Vic Blue.
Mathew Clements recorded a team-high three RBI for NSW Country, as Harrison Dobb picked up two hits and two RBI.
Vic Blue take on the ACT and Vic White in their doubleheader tomorrow, while NSW Country face off with the ACT and WA.
U16: South Australia 19-7 Australia Capital Territory | BOX SCORE
The ACT plated five runs in the bottom of the second to make things interesting, but South Australia pulled away late to claim a 12-run win on Diamond 3.
SA plated seven runs in the top of the first, but ACT kept it close, trailing by one after two innings.
Third baseman Jordan Hodges lead SA with three hits, while Max Stagg went 2-for-2 with a team-high three RBI.
Brodie Heeps kept the ACT bats quiet after their early flurry, tossing 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Lochlainn Varian and Tom Shakespeare picked up two RBI apiece for the ACT.
Nine unanswered runs in the middle innings proved the difference as South Australia claimed their second win of the championship.
SA take on Queensland and New South Wales tomorrow, while the ACT go head-to-head with the NSW Country and Victoria Blue.
U16: Western Australia 13-2 Victoria White | BOX SCORE
Victoria White stuck with Western Australia through three innings, but nine unanswered runs saw WA storm to their third win of the tournament.
Maddux Stivey kicked things off for WA in the first with a two-RBI single, and finished with a team-high four RBI on the day.
Max Chipper was an impossible out for Vic White in the leadoff spot, as the WA centerfielder walked and scored three times.
Nick Bertucci and Alex Ryan each drove in a run for Victoria White.
Andrew Hurrelbrink and Jay Reynolds kept Vic White’s bats quiet in the late inning, as the pair tossed a combined 2 2/3 of scoreless relief.
Vic White face Queensland and Victoria Blue as part of their doubleheader tomorrow, while WA take on NSW and NSW Country.
U18: New South Wales Country 8-7 South Australia (f/11) | BOX SCORE
It took eleven epic innings to separate SA and NSW Country, but in the end it was Country who prevailed by one run.
The teams played out a back-and-forth encounter, with both bullpens holding their nerve to force extras. Both teams scored a run in the tenth, but Country prevailed in dramatic fashion.
Hayden Daniels was immense for Country, tossing 4 2/3 innings of relief, only allowing one hit and striking out five.
Country’s Tristan Watts picked up a double and two-RBI in the two-hole, while first baseman Jack Day finished with two hits.
Connor Mcleod and Jack Higginbotham both tossed 3 2/3 inning of relief for South Australia, but it wasn’t enough as Country claimed their first win of the tournament.
Country take on Victoria White tomorrow night, while SA match up with NSW at midday on Diamond 3.
U18: Queensland 11-2 Victoria White | BOX SCORE
Jack Waters anchored Queensland’s first win at #AYC2019 with a stellar pitching performance.
Waters struck out five and only allowed one earned run, as his offence got going late to topple Victoria White.
A four-run fifth inning started it for Queensland, and a six-run eighth finished it as the reigning silver medallists claimed win number one of their 2019 campaign.
Franco Natale drove in a team-high three RBI for Queensland, while Josh Marriott worked three solid innings with the pressure on.
U18: Western Australia 11-1 Australian Capital Territory | BOX SCORE
Western Australia finally got their offence going against a dogged ACT outfit, walking away 10 run winners on Diamond 2.
WA’s pitching staff were exceptional, as Caiden Deal, Calvin Eissens and Kieren Hall each worked efficiently. ACT struck out 12 times and WA only surrendered one walk in seven innings.
Ben Drew continued his red-hot start to the tournament, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI, while third baseman Dylan Walsh drove in two runs of his own.
Nathan Lynch picked up two singles for the ACT, while leadoff man Cooper Morgan recorded a double.
U18: Victoria Blue 15-12 New South Wales (f/10) | BOX SCORE
In a comeback for the ages, Victoria Blue came back from the brink to defeat New South Wales in 10 innings on Diamond 3.
Down by two runs and with only one out remaining, Vic Blue plated two runs to tie the ballgame, before dominating extra innings. That win is Victoria Blue’s third in as many days, and their second extra innings win of the tournament.
Caleb Shepherd cleared the bases in the fifth with a double to give NSW a seven run lead, but from there it was all Victoria.
Ben Fierenzi claimed two massive RBI and Conor Myles tossed three high-pressure innings in regulation to give Victoria Blue a chance.
NSW take on SA tomorrow at midday, while Victoria Blue take on ACT at 7pm on Diamond 1.
We would like to formally apologise for the absence of live scoring throughout the extra innings. We experienced unique and unforeseen technical difficulties which is proving near impossible to rectify.