News

One of the best tournaments in Australian sport begins today in Blacktown. A trip to the Little League World Series is on the line.

Welcome to the Day 1 Recap, live from Blacktown. Here, we will update:

– Scores of the Day;
– Standings;
– Post select photos from Hugh Whittle;
– Post highlights from Baseball+;
– Bring you CARVE Performers of the Day;

If you’re looking for something, just keep scrolling.

Follow along the TV Broadcast for free, including Game Replays, on Baseball+.

TOURNAMENT HUB (Archived scores, standings, scores): www.baseball.com.au/littleleague

IMPORTANT: Please follow the Little League Hub (www.baseball.com.au/littleleague) for up-to-date tournament information, links & scores. 

A team of 12-year-olds is about to become one of Australia’s most watched teams.

The winner of June’s Australian Little League Championship earns a spot at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It’s one of the biggest sporting events on the planet.

Let’s compare to enhance this point.

Round 12 of the National Rugby League season (NRL) had an average viewership or 571,000 people per game. State of Origin had 3.755 million people tune in. The average NRL attendance this season is 20,922.

The average Little League World Series game viewership totals 917,000. Last year’s Championship game saw 5,496,000 viewers on ESPN. In 2024, 372,600 fans piled in the ballpark at Williamsport over 11 days – an average of of over 30,000 fans per day.

Yes, we understand that comparing the US sports market to the Australian sports market is unfair. But there’s still something cool about saying the starting pitcher of the Hills NSW Little League Charter (the 2024 champion) played in front of more people than Blues captain Isaah Yeo at the State of Origin.

Sunday night baseball on ESPN averages 1,719,000 viewer per game with the likes of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani taking centre stage. The pointy end of the Little League tournament exceeds that figure by four million.

One team from this tournament will represent Australia at this year’s event. That’s what’s on the line for the twelve Australian teams who have qualified locally for Australian Little League Championships in Blacktown this June.

Here’s what you need to know about this year’s tournament:

All fields in Lismore & Surfers Paradise have been deemed unplayable for Sunday 1 June after more rain fall overnight.

The final day of the 2025 Intermediate League and Junior League Championships has been called off.

What we know so far:

– Event officials have been inspecting the grounds since 6:00AM and have been trying to work on solutions;

– However, the fields have been ruled unsafe and will not be ready to complete any games today;

– Gold Coast was hit with 48mm of rain over the last 48 hours. Lismore has endured another 18mm of rain on Friday with more forecast today;

– We are working with Little League International on options, what this means going forward and how to crown a national champion;

– We will provide you with information as it comes to hand;

– Baseball Australia will conduct a full internal review of the tournament structure;

We appreciate patience as we work through a difficult situation.

We are gutted for the kids, coaches, families, and supporters who spend so much time preparing for an event and just want to play baseball games at a national championship. We thank you all for being the biggest cheerleaders and support for your kids and community.

There will be more updates to come over the coming days when we have more clarity.

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We would like to thank Far North Coast Baseball for your ongoing support in hosting national and state championships at your great facility. It’s one of the best in the country.

Their love of baseball shows in all the hard work they do and is even more evident by being the only association or club to put in to host these two events.

We would also like to thank the great people at Surfers Paradise Baseball Club for stepping up and hosting game on short notice so we could navigate some early weather, and Mudgeeraba for being on standby.

photo credit: Erin Honsa from 2024

TOURNAMENT HUBS

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Head the tournament hub for archived scores, recaps and highlights

JUNIOR LEAGUE: www.baseball.com.au/juniorleague

INTERMEDIATE LEAGUE: www.baseball.com.au/intermediateleague

UPDATE: Sunday 1 June has been cancelled due to rain and unsafe field conditions. 

Heavy rain has disrupted the schedule for the final day of the Junior and Intermediate League Championships.

Here is what you need to know:

– After a second day of showers, Surfers Paradise Baseball Club has been ruled out and deemed unplayable for Sunday 1 June.

– At present, the only playable field is Diamond 4 at Lismore. We are working on Diamond 2.

– Therefore, the only current scheduled games are the Intermediate League Preliminary Final, the Intermediate League Gold Medal Game, the conclusion of the Junior League Pool A (Mets vs Brisbane North) and the Junior League Gold Medal Game.

– The Junior League Gold Medal Game will be contested between the winner of Pool B (Cronulla Black) and the winner of Pool A (Melbourne Mets or Brisbane North).

– There will be no semi-finals. Little League International have approved an adjusted format to the tournament due to inclement weather. Cronulla have clinched first place in Pool B.

– Please note, the below schedule has a serious proviso on it and is subject to change. Should Diamond 2 at Lismore become playable, games will move to this field earlier in the day.

– If Diamond 2 becomes available, it would not be until later in the morning, but all Finals could be completed by the early afternoon. Teams have been asked if they wish to play consolation games in this event.

– Point of Clarity: Diamond 2 is not an option for Junior League due to current field conditions. If it becomes available, Intermediate League games would be moved there. Junior League Games can only be played on Diamond 4 at this current time

The schedule for Sunday 1 June:

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– 9:00AM – Intermediate League Preliminary Final (PF): Central Firebirds vs Melbourne Athletics

– 11:15AM – Intermediate League Gold Medal Game: Hills vs winner of PF

– 20 minutes after – Junior League Pool A Resumed Game: Melbourne Mets (3-0) vs Brisbane North (3-0)

– 20 minutes after – Junior League Gold Medal Game: Winner of Pool A vs Cronulla Black

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All games will have a radio broadcast live & free on Baseball+ with ABL commentators Andrew Reynolds and CJ Barnes so we can bring you the sounds of the game, as well as a fixed single camera on GameChanger.

Thank you to the crew at Far North Coast Baseball for their work on a challenging day, battling the elements and a fantastic effort to get games in today. It’s amazing that despite these heavy rains we still played baseball.

Thank you to our community – players, coaches, families and all – for your patience and understanding as we battle the weather.

JUNIOR LEAGUE HUB: www.baseball.com.au/juniorleague 

INTERMEDIATE LEAGUE HUB: www.baseball.com.au/intermediateleague

DAY 4 FINALS RECAP, INTERMEDIATE LEAGUE: www.baseball.com.au/news/2025ilday4/

 

 

 

Recaps by Eric Balnar. Photos from Dan Cohen / Scott Powick. Have something interesting to share? Email me at eric.balnar@baseball.com.au.

WEATHER UPDATES – PLAY IMPACTED DUE TO HEAVY RAIN

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7:20PM Update – A schedule has been determined for tomorrow, Sunday 1 June.

2:50PM Update – No games for Junior League will be played on Saturday 31 May. We are currently working through options for Sunday and will advise as soon as we can.

12:45PM Update – No update on game start time. There has been more rain in Lismore. Communication below still stands.

9:45AM Update – Heavy rain has caused schedule changes.  Here is a consolidated update of the morning so far:

– Surfers Paradise Baseball Club is unplayable and closed for the remainder of May 31;

– All consolation games for Saturday 31 May are cancelled;

– Only one field is presently playable in Lismore but this is housing Intermediate League Finals games;

– We are working on a field for Junior League in Lismore;

– The first game will be the resumption of the Pool A game between Melbourne Mets & Brisbane North. This game is imperative to complete as it determined finishes first and second in Pool A.

– Teams will be given minimum three hours notice before first pitch;

– Once the game is completed, we can proceed to semi-finals. Schedule is still TBD.

Up-to-date information always found at the Hub at www.baseball.com.au/juniorleague.

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TOURNAMENT HUB: at www.baseball.com.au/juniorleague

CURRENT STANDINGS

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Top two advance to semi-finals on Saturday 31 May. Runs allowed in parenthesis.

*clinched spot in finals

In event of tie, the first breaker is head-to-head. In a three team tie on wins where head-to-head can not be separated, runs allowed divided by games played is used.

POOL A

Melbourne Mets 3-0*
Brisbane North 3-0*
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Hills Red 2-2
Southern Hills Warriors 0-3 (14 runs allowed)
NT Buffaloes 0-3 (53 runs allowed)

POOL B

Cronulla Black 3-0*
Melbourne Athletics 3-1*
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Eastern Phantoms 1-3 (7.25 runs allowed per game)
Canberra Rangers 1-2 (8.67 runs allowed per game)
Adelaide Rays 1-3 (8.75 runs allowed per game)

 

Recaps by Eric Balnar. Photos from Dan Cohen. Have something interesting to share? Email me at eric.balnar@baseball.com.au.

Significant rainfall in Gold Coast and scattered showers in Lismore played a significant role in today’s play.

In the morning, at the fresh hour of 7:15AM, we learned that Surfers Paradise Baseball Club would be closed for the day, that all consolation games for Saturday would be cancelled, and Finals would move to Lismore.

There was certainly a lot happening for everyone in a tournament where the winner advances to represent Australia at the Intermediate League World Series.

In this story you will find a summary of results and the recaps of the two games we played with some great photos from Dan Cohen.

SATURDAY RESULTS / SCHEDULE

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Follow the games live on GameChanger. Click here or search ‘Australian Junior League National Championships 2025’.

Finals – Lismore, Diamond 4 

– Qualifying Final: Hills 19 def Melbourne Athletics 3
– Elimination Final: Central Firebirds 10 def Cronulla 5
– Preliminary Final: Postponed until Sunday

Winner of Qualifying Final advances to Gold Medal Game, loser to Preliminary Final. Winner of Elimination Final advances to Preliminary Final

Consolation Games

– Saturday Cancellation Games cancelled due to rain

SUNDAY 1 JUNE SCHEDULE

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Update 7:30PM – A schedule has been determined for the final day of play.

Finals – Lismore 

– 9:00AM – Preliminary Final: Melbourne Athletics vs Central Firebirds

– 11:15AM – Gold Medal Game: Hills vs Winner of Preliminary Final

Listen to a radio call on Baseball+ / Follow on GameChanger

Consolation Games

– TBD, depending on Diamond 2 availability.

Tournament Hub and Archived Scores: www.baseball.com.au/intermediateleague

RECAPS

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QUALIFYING FINAL: HILLS 19 def MELBOURNE ATHLETICS 3: Hills pour on the runs in the pouring rain to advance to Intermediate League Gold Medal Game

It was raining runs for Hills in the Intermediate League Qualifying Final. They’re off to Sundays’ Gold Medal game for a chance to represent Australia at the World Series.

The game started 90 minutes later than schedule due to heavy overnight rain. Teams endured a two hour rain-delay mid-game.

But rain couldn’t…erm…rain…on the Hills’ hitting parade.

The offensive numbers are quite astounding.

Hills combined for 30 base runners in six innings. All twelve players reached base. Eleven players reached base two times or more. Ten players had hits.

We listed the players performance below.

Sayre Howick led the team with a 4-for-4 performance.

Emma Gainsford (below) hit a home run.

Justin Jang and Anton Jacovides each had three-hit games. Hudson Dobb and Talen Lachmund-Davis (below) cashed in three runs each.

Total. Team. Effort.

Hills scored four in the first inning. The Gainsford home run pushed the lead out to 8-0 in the fourth.

The Athletics did fight back.

A solo homer by Nixon Dikranis and a two-RBI single from Haydn Dogonay put three on the board for the Athletics in the fifth, cutting the deficit to 8-3.

Justin Jang helped cash in another run in the fifth, leaving us at 9-3 as the tarps are pulled.

After the rain delay, the bats went crazy for Hills. They scored three in the fifth and eight in the sixth to runaway to victory.

Sayre Howick  (below) also threw 2.1 innings, allowing one hit, no walks & no runs with one strikeout.

Anton Jacovides threw 1.0 innings, giving up two hits and three runs. Hudson Dobb and Lachmund-Davis closed the game out.

The Athletics tournament is not over. They will now play in the Preliminary Final against the winner of Central Firebirds & Cronulla. The winner of the Preliminary Final will meet Hills in the Gold Medal Game.

Hills Stats

Hits: Anton Jacovides (3), Harry Hobbs, Justin Jang (3), Sayre Howick (4), Hudson Dobb (2), Spencer Dobb, Fletcher Dobb, Ethan Cross, Talen Lachmund-Davis (2), Emma Gainsford (2)

HR: Emma Gainsford

RBI: H. Dobb (3), Lachmund-Davis Howick (2), Jang (2), Jacovides, Hobbs, Gainsford, F. Dobb

Athletics Stats

Hits (5): Jackson Berg, Haydn Dogonay, Leo Moulton, Alex Knell, Nixon Dikranis
RBI: Dikranis, Dogonay (2)

ELIMINATION FINAL: Big third inning propels Central Firebirds to Preliminary Final

An eight run third inning proved to be the difference for the Central Firebirds.

The Western Australian outfit built up a 9-0 lead after three and withstood a furious Cronulla comeback attempt.

The Firebirds advance to play the Melbourne Athletics on Sunday in the Preliminary Final at a time to be determined. The winner of that game moves on to play Hills for Gold and a place in the Intermediate League World Series.

Taj Humble (below) played a key role in today’s Firebirds victory.  He threw 6.1 innings with three strikeouts, allowing six hits, four earned runs, two walks.

He also went 2-for-3 with the bat, driving in three runs including a bases clearing double in the second.

Phoenix Morgan (below) was important, too. His three-run homer was the cherry in the eight-spot planted in the famous third.

Summer Hiscock went 2-for-2 with two RBI. She had an RBI in the third, too.

Cronulla started their chargeback in the fourth inning when Franklin Pyke catupulted a three-run homer over the fence.

Hudson Shorey added another homer for Cronulla in the fifth to cut the deficit to 9-4.

It’s as close as Cronulla would come.

Teams traded late runs.

Unfortunately, Cronulla’s tournament comes to a close. It was a great run for the group, who went through Pool Play undefeated.

Stay tuned for schedule updates.

STATS

Central Firebirds

Hits (9): Haruki Yamamoto, Taj Humble (2), Summer Hiscock (2), Sebastian Buckley, Phoenix Morgan, Jaxon Gloriod, Oliver Tackenberg

HR: Phoenix Morgan

RBI: Humble (3), Morgan (3), Hiscock (2), Jackson Howarth (1)

Cronulla

Hits (6): Leo Vigil, Franklin Pyke, Hudson Shorey (2), Zack Fordyce, Fenic Cutajar
HR: Pyke, Shorey
RBI: Pyke (3), Shorey (1)

 

Recaps by Eric Balnar. Photos from Dan Cohen / Scott Powick. Have something interesting to share? Email me at eric.balnar@baseball.com.au.

The first finals are done and the elimination bracket is set at Intermediate League.

Find out how the day progressed below.

Tournament Hub and Archived Scores: www.baseball.com.au/intermediateleague

Things you will find in this story:
– Scores
– Standings
– Recaps
– Highlights
– Stats
– YouTube Highlights can be found here. 

You can watch replays of games from Surfers Paradise on Baseball+.

For GameChanger, click here or search ‘Australian Junior League National Championships 2025’.

The winner of the tournament advances to the Senior League World Series.

Scroll down for consolation standings.

Recaps by Eric Balnar. Photos from Dan Cohen / Scott Powick. Have something interesting to share? Email me at eric.balnar@baseball.com.au.

Scroll down for recaps to begin.

UPDATE (5:45PM AEST): WE ARE CURRENTLY IN RAIN DELAY.

FINAL UPDATE (8:00PM AEST): GAMES CALLED OFF

Heavy rain in Lismore and Gold Coast has postponed play for the remainder of May 30.

The originally scheduled pool play games between Northern Territory vs Southern Hills Warriors (Pool A) game and Cronulla Black vs Canberra (Pool B) will not be completed.

However, the Brisbane North vs Melbourne Mets game (currently under delay and in extra innings) must be completed to determine who is the top of Pool A.

Therefore, the schedule has been adjusted to the following for Saturday 31 May:

SURFERS PARADISE

9:00AM – Resumption of Pool A Game, Brisbane North vs Melbourne Mets @ Surfers Paradise

9:45AM – Semi-Final 1: Cronulla Black vs 2A

12:00PM – Semi-Final 2: Melbourne Athletics vs 1A

LISMORE – CONSOLATION GAMES

9:00AM – Northern Territory (5A) vs Adelaide Rays (5B)

11:15AM – C2: Hills Red (3A) vs Canberra Rangers (4B)

1:30PM – C1: Eastern Phantoms (3B) vs Southern Hills Warriors (4A)

Please note: This schedule is subject to change.

If there are any changes they will be communicated to Teams via the EO Chat and on www.baseball.com.au/juniorleague.

Field inspections will begin at 5:30AM on Saturday morning. All teams scheduled for the first game will get a phone call from a tournament official.

Thank you for your understanding.

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– Continuation of Recap Story –

Spots in the semi-finals are on the line as Pool Play concludes at the Junior League Championships today.

Tournament Hub & Archive Scores at www.baseball.com.au/juniorleague

Things you will find in this story:
– Scores
– Standings
– Recaps
– Highlights
– Stats
– YouTube Highlights can be found here. 

You can watch replays of games from Surfers Paradise on Baseball+.

For GameChanger, click here or search ‘Australian Junior League National Championships 2025’.

The winner of the tournament advances to the Senior League World Series.