News

UPDATE (6:55AM): Due to rain overnight, and this morning (currently raining at time of post), there is a delay for the games at Chifley. Fields will require some work to be playable once the rain has stopped.We will send next update at approximately at 830AM.

Blacktown Field 1 will start as scheduled

UPDATE (8:45AM): There is a new schedule. All teams will play today. Decision on time and location of TBA games at 10:00AM and communicated shortly after.

 

Rain bombarded Sydney, with some areas of the city receiving over 100mm of rain.

Because of weather, most of Day 2 & 3 at the 2024 Australian Little League Championships were postponed due to rain, with just eight Division 1 games played. You can read our updates and statements on Day 3 here.

Here is the intended schedule of play for Day 4 on Saturday 8 June, which is subject to change. Day 5 schedule will be released on Saturday.

All fields will be assessed first thing in the morning.

Division 1

Four games are scheduled to be played at Blacktown International Sports Park.

Four games are scheduled to be played at Chifley Sports Reserve on Bunnerong Road, Chifley. It is home to the Eastern Suburbs Dolphins and Australia’s first Little League only field. Thank you, Dolphins!

Some notes:

• The intention is to complete pool play by Sunday 9 June. Sunday’s schedule will be released on Saturday.
• Semi-finals and the Gold Medal Game will be played on Monday 10 June, at times to be confirmed later.
• We will endeavour to schedule consolation games, where possible.
• Day 4 schedule is subject to change time and venue

For current standings and results, visit our Little League Division 1 Hub here.

Division 2 

At this stage, seven games are scheduled to be played at Chifley Sports Reserve on Bunnerong Road. It is home to the Eastern Suburbs Dolphins and Australia’s first Little League only field. Thank you, Dolphins!

One game is scheduled to be played at Blacktown International Sports Park.

Please note, this schedule could change due to potential alternate venue availability & field conditions which would allow for games to be played earlier, including at Blacktown.

The first three games at Chifley will not be changed.

Games after the first three scheduled Division II games at Chifley may be moved and relocated to facilitate earlier start times.

Those who could potentially move will not play before 10AM – we will consider notice period and travel time in our decision. Team EOs will be immediately updated, as well as news on Baseball.com.au.

For now, work off this schedule.

Some notes:

• All Division 2 games will be 90 minutes on Day 4
• The intention is to finish Pool Play by Monday afternoon. The Gold Medal Game will be played on Monday 10 June, at times to be confirmed later, between the first place finisher of Pool A and the first place finisher of Pool B.
• We will endeavour to schedule consolation games, where possible.

For current standings and results, visit our Little League Division 2 Hub here.

recaps by Eric Balnar, photos by Nick Bottaro

Only three Division 1 games are able to be played on Day 3 of the Australian Little League Championships.

Saturday 8 June schedule for Division 1 & 2 has been released, as of 5:30PM on Friday. View it here.

A mass amount of rain across all of metropolitan Sydney has made fields all around the city unplayable. So, we play three on Diamond 1 in Blacktown! And here are all your results…

For a full statement and updates on Day 3 Weather, click here. 

Head to the Division 1 Hub for previous results. Here is the Day 4 Schedule.

BROADCAST

You can watch all Diamond 1 games on Baseball+ live, free and around the world. Head to www.baseball.com.au/baseballplus for more information.

GAMECHANGER LINK FOR LIVE SCORING: CLICK HERE.

RESULTS

Adelaide Marlins 2 def Central Firebirds 0
Hills Red 9 def Melbourne Athletics 4
Eastern Phantoms 6 def Brisbane SouthWest 0

Recaps below.

STANDINGS (CURRENT)

(runs allowed in parenthesis, top two teams advance to semi-finals)

POOL A 

1. Hills Red: 2-0 (4)
2. Cronulla Black: 2-1 (12)
3. Melbourne Athletics: 2-1 (14)
4. Adelaide Marlins: 1-1 (10)
5. Central Firebirds: 1-2 (14)
6. Brisbane North: 0-3 (25)

Pool B

1. Ryde Red: 3-0 (10)
2. Eastern Phantoms: 3-0 (8)
3. Adelaide Rays: 2-1 (2)
4. Brisbane SouthWest: 0-2 (16)
5. Melbourne Mariners: 0-2 (41)
6. Canberra Rangers: 0-3 (29)

Below is tomorrow’s schedule. Please note it is subject to change – both times and venue.

RECAPS

Adelaide Marlins 2 def Central Firebirds 0

The Marlins started this afternoon with a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second, after starting their game over 24 hours ago.

The strong pitching trend continued. Jack Bowden was throwing rockets for the Marlins. The Adelaide pitcher pitched four innings, allowing just one hit while striking out eight. His one hit came in the last inning.

Tyrone Cutler had a two-out RBI single in the third to push the lead to 2-0.

Archer Spratt pitched two innings yesterday for the Marlins. The Firebirds used four pitchers in the loss.

Hills 9 def Athletics 4 

Hills came-from-behind twice to improve to 2-0 and score a win between two teams near the top of the table of Group A. This game had more twists & turns than a bikram yoga class!

Melbourne seized an early 2-0 lead thanks to a Haydn Doganay two-out single in the first inning.

Hudson Dobb had a pair of RBI in the bottom of the first, as Hills responded with three scores to lead 3-2.

The Athletics grabbed the lead right back in the second, leading 4-3.

There was even an outrageous diving catch in the third inning, when the Athletics’ Leo Moulton stretched out to rob Hills of at least a pair of runs.

Then, the Hills took over.

Emma Gainsford put Hills in front in the top of the fourth. With two-outs, two-on, and her team down 4-3, Gainsford ripped a double to plate a pair.

They pulled away in the fifth inning, scoring three more runs to lead 9-4.

Fletcher Dobb starred on the mound, tossing 5.0 innings of shutout ball. He struck out five.

Ten different Hills players combined for twelve hits. Sayre Howick and Fletcher Dobb led the team with two hits. Hudson Dodd and Emma Gainsford led the team with two RBI.

Hudson Dodd finished the game with a fantastic diving stop.

Hills improve to 2-0 while the Athletics fall to 2-1.

Eastern Phantoms 6 def Brisbane SouthWest 0 

The Phantoms improved to 3-0 behind big-time pitching displays from Brody Warner and Bremer Renwick.

Warner allowed just one hit in 4.0 innings while striking out seven. Renwick allowed one hit with two strikeouts.

The Phantoms scored early. Lincoln Ellis doubled a run in the first to extend his big streak to start the tournament. Ryder Canny drove in two more in the second.

They pulled away in the middle innings.

Canny and Riley Malcolm each had two hits to lead the Phantoms, who improve to 3-0.

photos by Nick Bottaro, recap by Eric Balnar

4:30PM – The remainder of day two has been postponed due to rain.

UPDATE ON DAY 3 SCHEDULE: Click here.

Day 2 of the Australian Little League Championships sees a schedule change for Division 1 due to heavy rain overnight.

Here you will find recaps, results, standings and tournament information.

Please note, multiple games have been moved to Greenway Baseball Club.

Due to rain overnight, we have had to make a schedule change.

Diamonds 2, 3 & 4 are currently unplayable.

Here are running updates of game times for Day 3.

There has been heavy rain across metropolitan Sydney. There is a severe weather warning across many areas, including flood warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology. Some areas have seen over 100mm of rainfall.

It has caused disruption at Blacktown and numerous contingency fields.

The weather led to the suspension of Day II of the Australian Little League Championships, with only five of the sixteen scheduled games completed. This has an impact on scheduling for Day 3 of the tournament on June 7 2024, and games moving forward.

Welcome to Day 1 of the 2024 Australian Little League Division II Championships.

Here you will find recaps, results, standings and tournament information.

The event runs alongside the Little League Division 1. The event is supported proudly by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

The New South Wales Government welcomes YOU to this great event.

BROADCAST & LIVE SCORING

You can watch all Diamond 1 games on Baseball+ live, free and around the world. Head to www.baseball.com.au/baseballplus for more information.

GAMECHANGER LINK FOR LIVE SCORING: CLICK HERE.

DAY 1 SCHEDULE / RESULTS

For past results, and to head to the Little League Division 1 Hub, click here.

NT Buffaloes 14 def Manly White 13
Manly Maroon 10 def Melbourne Rangers 0

MacArthur Colts 9 tied Southern Hills Warriors 9
Brisbane North Vikings 14 def Manly White 4

Gold Coast 11 def Central Firebirds 0
Manly Maroon 12 def Brisbane North Raiders 0

Melbourne Twins 5 def Brisbane North Vikings 0
Brisbane North Raiders 12 TIE Carine Cats 12

END OF DAY 1 STANDINGS

Top two teams advance to semi finals. Runs allowed in (parenthesis).

1. Melbourne Twins: 1-0 (0)
2. NT Buffaloes: 1-0 (13)
3. Brisbane North Vikings: 1-1 (9)
4. MacArthur Colts: 0-0-1 (9)
5. Southern Hills Warriors: 0-0-1 (9)
6. Manly White: 0-2 (27)

Pool B

1. Manly Maroon: 2-0 (0)
2. Gold Coast Cougars: 1-0 (0)
3. Carine Cats: 0-0-1 (12)
4. Brisbane North Raiders: 0-1-1 (24)
5. Central Firebirds: 0-1 (11)
6. Melbourne Rangers: 0-1 (10)

RECAPS

NT Buffaloes 14 def Manly White 13

The NT Buffaloes came back from six runs down to claim a famous walk-off win!

The Buffaloes were training 13-7 entering the bottom of the fifth and final inning. They stormed home to claim seven runs in the last for a walk-off win. Amazingly, all seven runs were scored with two outs on the board.

It was a total team effort. Every player reached base for Northern Territory. Lucas Porambo led NT with three hits. Lucas Nixon, Hannah Dior, and Jordan McVeigh all had two hits.

Porambo scored the winning run on a wild pitch. NT had two outs and nobody on before ripping off five singles, two walks and a hit-by-pitch.

“We practice so much for this. We all had energy. Once we had one run, it kept piling up and it gave energy to everyone else,” said Porambo. “Baseball is a growing sport and more people coming and there’s a lot of good potential to have a big future in [the NT].”

“It’s a great team, lots of encouragement and everyone was chipping in. Even if you get out, everyone is behind you and there’s lots of chat in the field,” added Lucas Nixon.

Josh Calacouras had two hits for Manly White. Noah Donnelly had two-RBI.

Manly Maroon 10 def Melbourne Rangers 0

Three Manly Maroon pitchers combined to one-hit the Rangers in a triumphant start to the tournament, while one player hit a homer.

Gus Phegan, Dominik Playle and Tyson Storey tossed five innings combined, giving up just one hit and no runs with eight strike outs.

Charlie Frankel hit the first homer of the tournament in the win for Manly Maroon.

Manly Maroon piled on six runs in the third inning to zoom ahead. Frankel and Playle each had two hits.

Brisbane North Vikings 14 def Manly White 4

Brisbane North Vikings scored ten unanswered runs to fly away from Manly White and claim their first win of the tournament.

Manly had just scored two runs in the fourth to tie the game up at four before the Vikings exploded.

The Vikings tallied nine hits as a team, Cam Holden and Xander Reid led the team with two hits. Easton Shuart had four runs batted in.

Chevy Rossello had two hits for Brisbane North.

Southern Hills Warriors 9 TIED MacArthur Colts 9

Southern Hills Warriors scored seven runs in the bottom of the last inning to comeback from 9-2 down to end the game in a draw.

The last four Warrior runs were all scored with two outs.

The Colts started fast. They scored six runs in the first inning. Benjamin Parker led the team with two hits.

Only three Warriors players had hits.

The Colts pitching pitching combination of Jack Ball, Jackson Burrows and Koa van Althuis Jones combined to strike out 13 batters in five innings.

Curtis Gay had five strikeouts to lead the Warriors.

Gold Coast Cougars 11 def Central Firebirds 0

Max Fraser twirled a gem on the mound for Gold Coast, striking out twelve batters in 4.0 shutout innings, as the Cougars piled on the runs in a big win.

Fraser also led the team with three runs scored, going 1-for-1 with two walks. Jack Railsback had and Ben Courts had two RBI each.

Gold Coast scored eleven off five hits.

Manly Maroon 12 def Brisbane North Raiders 0

It was a big day for Manly Maroon, who won their second game in big-time fashion. Manly defeated the Melbourne Rangers 10-0 earlier in the day.

A big six-run inning was the getaway frame for Maroon.

Aidan Clarke, Gus Phegan and Jeffery Martin led the Manly offence with two hits each. Phegan and Martin each had RBI. All twelve Manly players reached base.

Brisbane North Raiders managed four hits.

Melbourne Twins 5 def Brisbane North Vikings 0

The Twins scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back to pick up their first win.

Billy Hooker cashed in a pair in the first in the big swing of the inning. Jaxon Waters led the Twins with three hits.

Hooker also started on the mound, tossing 2.0 innings and while striking out five. Jason Waters pitched 2.1 innings in relief, not conceding a hit and striking out six.

The Vikings had three hits on the day.

Carine Cats 12 TIE Brisbane North Raiders 12

A wild one to end Day 1.

The Cats were down 6-2 early after the Raiders scored six in the first. Oliver Bigmore had the biggest blow, cashing in two with an RBI single.

Carine flipped the game upside down, taking a 7-6 lead in the fourth in a five-run inning. Oscar Ling had a two-RBI single.

The Raiders reclaimed the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 9-7 lead.

Back came the Cats with five in the top of the fifth, taking advantage of some errors.

Brisbane North then tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the fifth before the game was called for time.

Bigmore and Cohen Taylor led the Raiders with two hits. Five different players combined for the Cats five hits.

photos by Nick Bottaro, recap by Eric Balnar

Welcome to Day 1 of the 2024 Australian Little League Championships.

Here you will find recaps, results, standings and tournament information.

The event runs alongside the Little League Division 2. The event is supported proudly by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

The New South Wales Government welcomes YOU to this great event.

The champion of this tournament advances to the famous 2024 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

BROADCAST & LIVE SCORING

You can watch all Diamond 1 games on Baseball+ live, free and around the world. Head to www.baseball.com.au/baseballplus for more information.

GAMECHANGER LINK FOR LIVE SCORING: CLICK HERE.

DAY 1 SCHEDULE / RESULTS

For past results, and to head to the Little League Division 1 Hub, click here.

Cronulla Black 3 def Brisbane North 2
Melbourne Athletics 10 def Adelaide Marlins 2

Adelaide Rays 10 def Brisbane SouthWest 0
Central Firebirds 17 def Brisbane North 2

Ryde Red 11 def Canberra 9 (extra innings)
Hills Red 1 def Cronulla Black 0

Eastern Phantoms 20 def Melbourne Mariners 6
Ryde Red 2 def Adelaide Rays 1

END OF DAY 1 StANDINGS

POOL A (runs allowed in parenthesis)

1. Melbourne Athletics: 1-0 (2)
2. Central Firebirds: 1-0 (2)
3. Hills Red: 1-0 (0)
4. Cronulla Black: 1-1 (3)
5. Adelaide Marlins: 0-1 (10)
6. Brisbane North: 0-2 (20)

Pool B

1. Ryde Red: 2-0 (10)
2. Eastern Phantoms: 1-0 (6)
3. Adelaide Rays: 1-1 (2)
4. Canberra Rangers: 0-1 (11)
5. Brisbane SouthWest: 0-1 (10)
6. Melbourne Mariners: 0-1 (20)

*top two advance to semi-finals

RECAPS

Cronulla Black 3 def Brisbane North 2

Some great defense and pitching helped Cronulla Black win a great opening game of the 2024 Little League Championships.

Kai Shibata drove in a pair of runs in the top of the third to break a 1-1 tie and put Cronulla up for good.

Brisbane North pressured throughout, tallying nine hits throughout the game. But some great Cronulla defense and pitching kept the attack in check.

The Cronulla pitching combination of Mason Hayes-Conway and Zeke Coughlin allowed just one walk.

The tying run was nearly at third base in the penultimate inning, but a great block & throw from catcher Chris Blyton took the runner away.

Seven different players had hits for Cronulla. Brisbane North’s Patrick Fogg led all hitters in the game with two.

Melbourne Athletics 10 def Adelaide Marlins 2

The Athletics used three big innings to power to an opening day win. They scored three in the first, three in the third and fourth in the fifth.

Jackson Berg led the offence for the Athletics, going 2-for-3 with 3 RBI. He had a 2-RBI double in the third and added another run batted in during the last.

The Marlins used five pitchers and combined for 12 strikeouts as a team. Hunter Peterson and Jiro McKibbon had two hits for Adelaide.

Adelaide Rays 10 def BrisbaneSouthwest 0

Cooper Povey (above) hit an inside-the-park home run and chucked three excellent innings, as the Rays ran away to a 10-0 run rule win.

Povey’s inside-the-parker was part of a four-run third which pushed the game to an 8-0 stranglehold in favour of the Rays.

He also pitched 3.0 innings, allowing 1 hit, no runs and struck out seven.

Every player on the Rays had at least one walk or one hit each in the impressive display. They scored in all four innings as momentum continued to build.

Central Firebirds 17 def Brisbane North 2

Eight runs in both the third and fourth innings vaulted Central Firebirds to a huge win.

It was just 1-0 entered the third before they exploded. Every player reached the base paths twice for Central Firebirds.

Alex Vlasic and Summer Hiscock led the charge with two hits each for Central Firebirds. Sebastian Buckley had three RBI. It was a barrage of singles. Of the Firebirds’ twelve hits, only one was for extra bases.

Aaron Bell had two hits for Brisbane North.

Hills Red 1 def Cronulla Black 0

There aren’t many better things in sport than a good old fashioned pitcher’s duel.

Lincoln Potter was fantastic for Cronulla Black in his start, going 3.2 innings with five strikeouts, allowing three hits, one run, one walk.

Sayre Howick (below) was even better. He tossed a complete game shutout, going 6.0 innings. He stuck out nine batters while allowing just one walk and three hits.

Hills scored their lone run in the fourth off an error.

Ryde 11 def Canberra Rangers 9 (extras)

It took extra innings, but Ryde slid by a pesky Canberra side in extra innings. It’s an early contender for game of the tournament, with a wildly passionate and engaged crowd hanging on every pitch.

Canberra’s Lincoln Barrett lifted the roof off Blacktown International Sports Park, when he launched a game-tying, two-out triple to tie the game at seven in the bottom of the last.

It was the fourth run of the bottom part of the frame for Canberra, who stormed all the way back. Before that, Lucas Tanouye had an RBI single and Eric Cochrane had an RBI triple of his own.

In extra innings, Ryde were able to capitalise off patient batting, moving runners across with walks and a couple errors.

The intensity didn’t waver for Canberra. They loaded the bases with two out. Iorwerth Evans then cashed in two runs on a double. 11-9.

Eventually, Aleksander Puleo struck out the final Canberra batter to end the game.

Teams were jockeying for position early in the game. Ryde led 2-1 after one, but Canberra tied it at three by the end of the second.

It felt like Ryde were home clear when Will Connors blasted a pull-away double in the top of the sixth. Ryde scored two that inning to push the score to 7-3, before Canberra mounted the last inning comeback in the sixth, scoring four runs.

Damien Mendham and Aleksander Puleo had two hits each for Ryde.

Ryde 2 def Adelaide Rays 1

Ryde won a 2-1 thriller, capping off a second win of the day after defeating Canberra in extra innings just a couple hours earlier.

The Rays actually outhit Ryde 5-2, with Jordan Brown and Charlotte Whinnett collecting two hits each.

But Ryde struck first. Hayden Love broke a scoreless tie in the third inning with an RBI single. Marcus Morrison also cashed in a run on a ground out.

Harrison Backhouse struck-out eight batters in his 4.0 innings start, allowing just three hits.

Lucas Povey and Archie Wallis combined to allow just two hits in 5.0 innings, striking out nine.

Walks were the boo-bug of the Rays. They walked six.

Eastern Phantoms 20 def Melbourne Mariners 6

The Phantoms piled on 16 hits and plated 20 runs in a dominating defensive display.

Right from ‘play ball’, the bats were firing. Lincoln Ellis starred, going 3-for-4 with 4RBI, a single, double and a triple. He even had a ‘Little League Home Run’ in the first inning.

Riley Malcolm, Jake Hayden, Harry Mann and Josh Watts all collected two hits. Every player in the Phantoms line-up reached base at least once.

The Phantoms scored seven in the third and eight in the fourth to push the game into run rule territory.

Quinn Matthews had two RBI to lead the Mariners.

Welcome to Western Sydney for the Little League Baseball Championships, supported proudly by the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. 

The Little League Baseball Championships is an important pipeline for our nation’s baseball stars of tomorrow, providing participants with a wonderful opportunity to play baseball in a competitive environment at the Blacktown International Sports Park, one of the state’s best sporting facilities.

Blacktown is a vibrant community in the heart of Western Sydney, with a diverse arts scene, picturesque parklands and a trove of visitor experiences, from the thrills of Sydney’s largest water park and motorsport megaplexes, to enchanting zoos and the city’s only drive-in cinema.

The Little League Baseball Championships also makes a vital social and economic contribution to Western Sydney by attracting hundreds of participants with their families and friends who stay in the region’s hotels, dine at restaurants and cafés, and visit local attractions.

With a vibrant sport and cultural events calendar, a range of outdoor adventure activities and numerous fine dining precincts all within proximity to the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains and an easy train ride to Sydney’s CBD, Western Sydney is fast developing a reputation as one of the nation’s must-visit destinations.

Best of luck to all participants, enjoy the event and take some time to explore the exciting and diverse visitor experiences on offer throughout Western Sydney waiting to be discovered at sydney.com.

by Eric Balnar / photos from Dan Cohen

Cronulla Black won an all-time great Gold Medal Game, defeating Brisbane North in a high-drama extra innings game by a score of 3-2.

They advance to the Junior League World Series. You have to read about this game. 

There were also four consolation games including a bronze medal match. You can find the schedule below.

Here you will find scores, results, recaps, standings and full highlights of the gold medal game. If you’re looking for one of those  just keep scrolling – it will be there!

We will be logging all results and information at the Junior League Hub. Click here for Day 1 Recap. Here is the Day 2 results story. Day three? It’s right here.  Day four, the semi-final day, is found here.

The Intermediate League event is running at same time. You can find details here.

VIDEOS FROM TOURNAMENT: Click here.

DAILY RESULTS – FRIDAY 31 MAY

Cronulla Black 3 def Brisbane North 2 (extras)

Bronze Medal – Southern Hills Warriors 5 def Adelaide Marlins 4

Consolation – Manly Maroon 18 def Adelaide Rays 0
Consolation – Central Firebirds 6 def Melbourne Rangers 2 (extra innings)
Consolation – Central Firebirds 7 def Melbourne Athletics 5

RECAPS

Gold Medal – Cronulla Black 3 def Brisbane North 2 (extras)

Cronulla Black won one of the greatest Gold Medal games you’ll ever see in a second extra inning.

They had to come back from two runs down in the final inning just to force the tiebreaker. They scored the tying run while down to the final strike. They even threw out what would have been the Championship-winning run at the plate.

Archie Sampson’s RBI double in the top of the ninth proved to be the winner, and some stone cold pitching from Harrison Thomas-McLean closed it out as Cronulla toppled Brisbane to win a championship and advance to the World Series.

They nearly didn’t get there. They were down to a final strike. You’ll read about that here. But the highlights are well worth a watch…

This game had everything. Great pitching. Insane defensive plays. A late comeback. A couple runs thrown out at the plate. High-drama. And of course, a championship.

We’re a bit lost on how to summarise this one for you, so this story with some highlights will have to do.

It was tense from pitch number one. Brisbane’s starting pitcher Lachlan Richards was superb. He tossed 4.2 shutout innings with six strikeouts.

He left the game with a 2-0 lead. Brisbane manufactured the first runs of the game in the third. Mason Clem worked a bases loaded walk to bring the first score across the board. Alonzo Zaire Griffin’s sacrifice fly to deep centre pushed the Brisbane North lead to 2-0.

That score held all the way to the seventh inning large in part to great pitching from Cronulla starter Jake Shorey.

His final stat line: 6.0 innings, five hits, two runs and 10 strikeouts.

It allowed Cronulla to strike late.

The drama was taken to another stratosphere in the seventh and final regulation inning.

Down 2-0, Cronulla made their move. Archie Sampson led off with a double. Will Bonham cashed him in two batters later. Heads up base running from Samson on a ground-out moved him to third.

Then, with two strikes and two outs on the board, a wild pitch scored Bonham. Bedlam. Tie-ball game.

They had a couple runners on base and a chance to take the lead, but Hayden Radloff made an impressive leaping grab on a line drive that surely would have scored a Cronulla go-ahead run.

Brisbane had a chance to walk it-off in the bottom of the seventh. Tirrell Waiwai smashed a double and was in scoring position.

But, Ben Croser later threw him out at home, saving the Championship winning run from crossing the plate.

Brisbane later loaded the bases but somehow Cronulla pitcher Harrison Thomas-McLean worked out of the jam to force extra-innings.

The drama didn’t stop in the tie-breaking inning. After making quick work of the Cronulla offence in the top of the eighth, Tyler White crushed a double to the left field wall and later advanced to third.

Runner on third. No outs.

But Thomas-McLean induced a fly ball in shallow fly territory and Will Bonham took a tremendous catch. Thomas-McLean then worked back-to-back strikeouts to force a ninth inning.

It allowed Cronulla to seize the lead in the ninth. Archie Sampson’s one-out double drove in the go-ahead run.

Harrison Thomas-McLean closed the door with two strike-outs and a ground out to secure the championship.

Thomas-McLean (below) ended with just two hits conceded with five strike-outs and importantly no runs.

Archie Sampson (Cronulla) and Tirrell Waiwai were the only players who recorded multiple hits.

Cronulla advance to the 2024 Junior League World Series.

Bronze Medal – Southern Hills Warriors 5 def Adelaide Marlins 4

The Warriors scored a seventh inning run to break a 4-4 tie to claim a bronze medal at the Junior League titles.

Rhys Warton scored on a wild-pitch with two outs in the top of the seventh to move Southern Hills ahead.

They also benefitted from some tidy defense. Shortstop Sam Simmons anchored a pretty double-play to end the game with the tying run aboard.

Nine different Marlins had hits as the Warriors dodged their way out of high basepath traffic all afternoon.

It was a tense affair. Patrick Mews drove in two runs for Adelaide in the bottom of the sixth to tie a game that Southern Hills had been leading the whole way.

Simmons put Hills up by two with an RBI in the first. They added two more in the sixth to lead 4-1 before the Marlins mounted a comeback.

The Marlins outhit the Warriors 9-5.

Consolation – Central Firebirds 6 def Melbourne Rangers 2

The Firebirds won a thriller in extra innings, scoring four in the eighth to defeat the Melbourne Rangers in an epic pitcher’s dual.

Starting pitcher Archie Moffatt tossed all 8.0 innings for the Firebirds, striking out 10 batters.

He also had the winning runs driven in. Moffat cashed in the go-ahead run in extra innings to put the Firebirds up 3-2, before three more runs scored on wild pitches.

The game was forced to extras when Melbourne’s Jackson Burton’s RBI-single tied the game at two late.

Jackson Burton also started on the mound for Melbourne, going 7.0 innings with two hits and 15 strikeouts.

Consolation – Central Firebirds 7 def Melbourne Athletics 5

Two games, two thrilling wins that went down to the wire for the Firebirds.

The Firebirds came from behind by scoring three runs in the top of the seventh, to wrangle a 5-4 lead away from the Athletics. Walks, errors, and a wild pitch proved costly for Melbourne.

Moments earlier, Hamish Willemson broke a 4-4 deadlock for the Athletics with an RBI double in the top of the sixth.

Teams traded shots earlier. Melbourne scored a single run in the first but the Firebirds answered with four unanswered to lead 4-1. The Athletics scored three in the third to tie it.

Consolation – Manly Maroon 18 def Adelaide Rays 0

Manly scored in every inning, including nine in the fifth, in a runaway victory to finish consolation round play.

Ten different Manly batters had hits, as the team combined for 16 on the afternoon. Austin Murdoch, Jesse Hanrahan, Jude Trevitt, Tennyson Bragg, Cooper Williams and William Davies all had two hits.

Kai Riddle and Will Davies led the team with 3-RBI.

Murdoch also pitched, allowing just one hit in 4.0 innings with five strikeouts.