05 August 2024
This is the running story of Australia at the 2024 Junior League World Series.
Australia are represented by New South Wales’ Cronulla Sharks, who won the qualifying event at the Australian Junior League Championships in May in Lismore.
The team is now in Taylor, Michigan ready to take on the best teams in the world at the U15 age-group.
01 August 2024
They say, “If you wan’t to be the best, you have to beat the best.”
Cronulla Black did exactly that in May at the Australian Junior League Championship.
They fended off a group of Brisbane North players who had won two straight national championships and represented Australia at consecutive World Series events.
Cronulla won a dramatic extra-innings Championship Game to claim the Australian title. In fact, by my measure, it was the best game of charter baseball I’ve seen.
Next stop? The world.
The kids from Cronulla will travel to Taylor, Michigan for the 2024 Junior League World Series, which starts August 4.
They’ll play in a double-elimination tournament vs national champions from their Under-15 age group from all across the globe. Cronulla becomes Australia. They represent us all.
Their first game is Sunday 4 August at 2:00PM local time, 4:00AM in Sydney on Monday, vs the winners of the Canadian Junior League Championships.
You can find the schedule here. You can watch the game on Watch ESPN with a Foxtel subscription. Or, follow this handy guide.
The team flies out the week of July 29.
Let’s meet the Australian representatives at this incredible event, find out how they got here, and learn more about each of the players.
State: New South Wales
Clubs: Arncliffe Scots, Giants Baseball, Cronulla Sharks, St. George Junior Baseball
Australian Senior League Championship Record: 5-1 (outscored opponents 67-15)
First, Cronulla Black had to qualify for the national championships via their state. Cronulla Black lost only the Gold Medal game at the 2024 New South Wales State Championships, while allowing just 14 runs in five games.
At nationals, Cronulla looked in fine early form. They won all three of their pool play games by a combined margin of 43-0.
In the reseed game, they fell 9-7 to the Southern Hills Warriors. They won a semi-final clash with the Adelaide Marlins, which they won 14-4.
It set up perhaps the best game of the entire Australian charter season. Cronulla Black vs Brisbane North, a formidable team who had won two straight national events. Honestly, you have to watch the highlights.
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.
Honestly, just watch the highlights or check out the full recap here. It was epic.
It feels like the right time to introduce to you this group of Australian champion baseballers.
Will Bonham (Arncliffe Scots) – Will provided one of the signature moments of the tournament season. In the first game of the tournament, Will struck out all eleven batters he faced in a perfect 3.2 inning start vs Southern Hills Warriors. In the semi-final, he tossed 4.0 innings of one-run ball. He had 19 strikeouts in 7.2 innings pitched. With the bat he went 4-for-14. This is Will’s second trip to America. He played in the 2022 Cal Ripken World Series.
Liam Carmody (Giants Baseball) – Carmody had a productive tournament. He went 4-for-10 with six walks and chipped in with nine runs to lead the team. He provided a big boost to the Sharks in the semi-final game by collecting two hits vs the Marlins.
Ben Croser (Giants Baseball) – Ben hasn’t been playing the game long. He moved to America for two years with his family as a 10-year-old and fell in love with the sport. Now, he’s representing his country. Ben chipped in with a very productive four hits throughout the tournament week. He also threw out a potential winning run for Brisbane North at home in the grand final.
Harry Fuz (Giants Baseball) – 13-year-old Cuz is one of the youngest players on the roster. He is a two way player. Fuz pitched 3.2 innings at nationals. He collected a hit and scored three runs with the bat. This is Harry’s first overseas experience.
Jacob Gallardo (Arncliffe Scots) – Five hits and three RBI with the bat. Two innings of shutout work on the mound. Jacob is a two-way player who can command a few different positions on the field.
Jesse Garnero (Arncliffe Scots) – Jesse plays the game hard and fast. He had four hits with the bat and pitched 1.2 of shutout baseball with a stolen base.
Tyce Hill (Cronulla Sharks) – Tyce is another two-way player Cronulla has in their arsenal. He pitched five innings, allowing just three runs at nationals. With the bat, Tyce was third on the team with seven hits.
Lachlan McGuckin Anderson (Giants Baseball) – 13-year-old Lachlan made the jump from Little League in 2023 to Junior League in 2024 and won a national championship despite being one of the younger players. He went 4-for-14 with the bat in a productive tournament at the plate.
Archie Samson (Arncliffe Scots) – Archie led the team in hits, going 9-for-19 in the tournament while pitching two innings of shutout ball. Samson had a crucial double in the Gold Medal game. He led the team with eight RBI.
Jake Shorey (Giants Baseball) – Jake posted eight hits and seven RBI in the tournament, good for second on the team in both categories. He also pitched more than anyone else, going 8.2 innings without allowing a run. Shorey was a pivotal pitcher in the Grand Final match vs Brisbane North.
Harrison Thomas-McLean (St. George) – One of the heroes of the Gold Medal Game. Harry pitched the final three innings of the championship game, allowing two hits and no runs. He had to dodge his way out of trouble, and on multiple occasions got out of jams with the winning run at third base. He was 4-for-12 with the bat with a pair of RBI. Harry pitched for Australia at the 2023 U12 World Cup.
Patrick Williams (Arncliffe Scots) – 14-year-old Patrick made the Cronulla Black squad after not playing representative baseball since he was 10. He was very productive in his return to the national stage. He went 5-for-14 with the bat and pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball.
31 May 2024
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.
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
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.
30 May 2024
recaps by Eric Balnar, photos by Dan Cohen
Semi-final day! A spot in the gold medal is on the line for four teams. As it happens, four different states are represented in the games…
The Adelaide Marlins (SA) and Cronulla Black (NSW) battle in the first of a double header, immediately followed by Southern Hills Warriors (WA) and Brisbane North (QLD). Action starts at 11:45AM.
There are also three consolation games happening today. Here you will find scores, results, recaps and standings. 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.
The Intermediate League event is running at same time. You can find details here.
VIDEOS FROM TOURNAMENT: Click here.
Central Firebirds 10 def Adelaide Rays 6 – Consolation
Melbourne Athletics 15 def Melbourne Rangers 6 – Consolation
Manly Maroon 9 def Melbourne Rangers 4 – Consolation
Semi Final 1 – Cronulla Black 14 def Adelaide Marlins 4
Semi Final 2 – Brisbane North 5 def Southern Hills 2
Cronulla Black 14 def Adelaide Marlins 4
A total team effort and an opportunistic offence helped power Cronulla to the Gold Medal game.
The Marlins scored first but it was all Cronulla from there. Adelaide’s Jack Wilton opened the scoring with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first to cash in the Marlins’ first run.
Cronulla responded in the second, care of walks and a wild pitch. They took the lead on a Patrick Wiliams ground-out RBI, and made it a 3-1 game on a Marlins’ fielding error.
Cronulla added to their lead in the third. Jake Shorey had an RBI-single, and Will Bonham followed up with a two RBI single on a line drive to plate two more. Jacob Gallardo then drove home another score. 7-1.
On the mound, Will Bonham may have walked six, but he struck out 8.0 and allowed just three hits and one unearned run in his 4.0 innings of work. Tyce Hill finished the final two innings.
Cronulla added two more runs in the fifth thanks to a sacrifice fly from Ben Croser, a double steal and a wild pitch.
The Marlins fended off a mercy rule loss by scoring three in the bottom of the fifth. Patrick Mews had a 2-RBI triple.
An RBI double to Jacob Shorey in the sixth pushed the game into run-rule territory.
Shorey, Archie Sampson, Carmody and Gallardo each had two hits in the full team approach. Bonham and Shorey led the team with two runs batted in.
Jack Wilton led Adelaide with two hits, including a triple.
Cronulla advance to Friday’s 5:00PM Gold Medal match vs the winner of Brisbane North and Southern Hills Warriors. The Marlins will play for Bronze.
Brisbane North 5 def Southern Hills Warriors 2
Clutch hitting and a dazzling pitching effort from Alonzo Zaire Griffin was the recipe for Brisbane North’s semi-final victory.
They advance to Friday’s Gold Medal Game vs Cronulla Black. For this group of kids, it represents an opportunity to go to the USA to a World Series for a third straight year after doing it in Little League (U13) in 2022 and Intermediate League (2023).
All five of Brisbane North’s runs were scored with two outs.
The clutch display was backed by Griffin on the mound. Griffin took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He surrendered just two hits and one earned run over 6.2 innings, striking out twelve batters.
Tyler White broke a scoreless deadlock with a clutch two-out RBI to score the first run of the game in the second inning.
They plated three more runs in the fourth off two outs, but this time off a couple errors in the field and a wild pitch.
Oliver Lyall doubled in another run in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 5-0. You guessed it – there were two outs on the board.
Sam Simmons put forward a great effort on the mound for the Warriors. Just two of his five runs allowed were earned. He struck out seven batters over five innings.
Jordan Trainer had a late RBI for Southern Hills, going 1-for-2 at the plate and driving in a run.
Brisbane will look for a ‘Triple Crown’ tomorrow at 5:00PM vs Cronulla Black. The game will be broadcast on Baseball+.
Central Firebirds 10 def Adelaide Rays 6
Chayce Humble had three hits, as the Firebirds won their fourth game of the tournament.
Humble had a big day, driving in runs in the first and third innings to help the Firebirds race out to a 7-0 lead.
They were backed by a strong pitching effort from Jon Leon, who went 5.1 innings with 8 strikeouts.
Archie Moffat also had two hits.
The Rays made a late charge in the game. Six different players had one hit apiece but they were led by Will Stock who went 1-for-2 with three runs batted in.
Both teams will play a final consolation game tomorrow. The schedule will be posted at the bottom of this story at the end of the day.
Melbourne Athletics 15 def Melbourne Rangers 6
The Athletics exploded for ten runs in the fifth inning to come from behind to defeat the Rangers in the battle of Melbourne on the consolation side of the draw.
The Athletics were trailing 6-2 before they piled on ten runs in the fifth to pick up their first win. Singles from Ned Richards, Oliver Von Tank, Harvey Devlin and Oliver Baillargeon started the ball rolling. Hamish Willemsen filled up with an RBI-double, Minsung Shin had an RBI single, and Darcy Squire and Alessia Petruzzielo each cashed in a score in the big inning.
It was a full team effort, as 11 different Athletics had hits, and all twelve were on base.
Jackson Burton, Jiah Cosgrave and Spencer Tyers each had two hits for the Rangers. Tyers led the team with 3-RBI.
Both teams will play a final consolation game tomorrow. The schedule will be posted at the bottom of this story at the end of the day.
Manly Maroon 9 def Melbourne Rangers 4
Kai Harris struck out ten batters as Manly Maroon picked up their second win of the tournament on the consolation side of the draw.
Austin Murdoch and Kai Riddle both had three hits in the win.
The Rangers actually had a 3-1 lead after the first, thanks to back-to-back doubles from Cliff Neilson and Jackson Burton.
Trailing 4-3 in the fourth, singles to Hamish Mallam and Alexander Clarke helped Manly score three runs to take the lead for good. They scored another three runs in the seventh to pull completely away.
Overall, Manly tallied 14 hits as a team. Alex Clarke and Will Davies had two hits.
Park, Burton, Neilson and Sam Stafilis each had two hits for Melbourne Rangers.
Both teams will play a final consolation game tomorrow. The schedule will be posted at the bottom of this story at the end of the day.
29 May 2024
recaps by Eric Balnar, photos by Dan Cohen
It’s the final day of the group stage of the 2024 Australian Junior League Championships. By the end of today’s games, we will know who your four semi-final teams are and who they are playing.
Remember, the winner of this tournament goes to the USA to represent Australia at the Junior League World Series.
Here you will find scores, results, recaps and standings. If you’re looking for something, 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.
The Intermediate League event is running at same time. You can find details here.
LIVE SCORING & GAME CHANGER: Click Here.
*top two from each group advance to semi finals (runs allowed in parenthesis)
Adelaide Marlins and Brisbane North advance on three-team tiebreaker of runs allowed.
Note: Southern Hills defeated Cronulla Black in a 1 vs 2 reseed game, after the group stage for Pool B was completed on Tuesday. Southern Hills advances as 1B.
With the possibility of elimination on the table, Kyan Taifui delivered a performance for the ages for the Adelaide Marlins against a group of players with two national titles to their name.Taifui chucked 6.1 innings of shutout ball, striking out 13 batters and allowing just two hits. He did it against a previously undefeated Brisbane North team, who had scored 42 runs in their previous three games. This age group is also trying to win their third
Importantly, Adelaide secured a win that moves them into first place in Group A. They have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Brisbane North and have allowed less runs (9 vs 11). Nothing on this page is official.
The offence did its job for the Marlins, too. Adelaide scored in five of their six innings they had an at-bat. They scored three in the third, and one in the others.
Patrick Mews had an RBI triple in the fourth that put a punctuation mark on the game. Harlan King led the way, going 2-for-3 with three runs batted in.
They also benefited from nice defense.
Adelaide Marlins (9 runs allowed) finish with a 3-1 record. Brisbane North finish with the same (11 runs allowed).
The standings cannot be confirmed until the Central Firebirds play their two games today. The Firebirds are 1-1 and have two games to force a three-team tiebreaker.
The Melbourne Rangers used a five-run third inning to secure third spot in Group B.Down 1-0 entering the bottom of the third, the Rangers made their move. Ryder Ochoa had a two-RBI single, Jackson Burton followed with a two-RBI double, and Chase Potts drove in the last run.
Adelaide brought the score within two but, another Burton RBI helped push the scoreline back out to 7-3 in the sixth.
Hugo Costa, who led the Rays with two hits, helped make it 7-5 in the last inning, but the comeback fell just short.
Alice Brown had seven strikeouts in her 5.0 inning start for the Rays.
Burton and Joathon Park had two hits to lead the Rangers. Burton led the way with 3 runs batted in
Central Firebirds 2 def Manly Maroon 1
The Firebirds held on for a narrow win to improve to 2-1.
They needed some timely pitching and excellent defense to do it. Manly stranded eight base runners on the day.
Alexander Clarke pitched a complete game, allowing nine hits, two walks and just one run in the win.
Manly even had the bases loaded in the sixth inning with a chance to take the lead. But some big time defense helped Central Firebirds hold firm.
Central Firebirds scored one in the third and another in the fourth before Manly responded with one in the sixth.
Manly also benefitted from some nice defense, including a great diving catch and double play.
The Firebirds have one game left in the tournament. They’ll need to win it to improve to 3-1 to force a three-way tiebreak in Group A.
Southern Hills Warriors 9 def Cronulla Black 7
The Warriors finish as 1B after a 9-7 win over Cronulla Black in a back-and-forth affair.
Cronulla had the go-ahead run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh before Jet Dipane induced a groundout to seal it for the Warriors.
Cronulla were leading 2-0, thanks to a Will Bonham homer, but a seven run fifth inning from the Warriors proved large.
The biggest blow of the inning was a Rhys Wharton bases-clearing double which plated three.
Cronulla responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to close the gap to one.
The Warriors pushed it back out to a 9-6 advantage thanks to RBI hits from Jaxon Tander and Jason Valenti.
Cronulla threatened late, but couldn’t score. The Warriors have won three in a row to finish as 1B. They’ll play the runners up of Group B in Thursday’s semi-final. Cronulla will play the winners of Group B.
Central Firebirds 4 def Melbourne Athletics 0
Chayce Humble took a perfect game into the fifth inning as the Firebirds won their third straight game to finish Group A with a 3-1 record.
Humble pitched a complete game. His final stat line reads: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB and 8 strikeouts.
Archie Moffat, Aiden Cooper and Alex Clark collected the three hits for the Firebirds, who scored one in the second, two in the fifth and one in the sixth.
They also made some nice defensive plays.
The Firebirds forced a three-team tiebreaker at 3-1 with Brisbane North and Adelaide Marlins. Because no team could be separated on head-to-head, the tiebreaker goes to runs allowed.
Adelaide finishes first with nine conceded, followed by Brisbane North with 11. Unfortunately, this means the Firebirds move on to the consolation bracket.
But still, tremendous fight and defensive prowess from the players today.
The schedule for tomorrow is below:
27 May 2024
recaps by Eric Balnar, photos by Dan Cohen
A trip to the Junior League World Series in the USA is on the line in addition to the title of ‘National Champion’, as the 2024 Australian Junior League Championships launched this morning in Lismore.
Nine teams from across the country are divided into two groups. Over the first three days of the tournament, each team will play each other once in the group, with the top 2 advancing to Thursday’s semi finals.
Here you will find scores, results, recaps and standings. Scroll down to bottom for the recaps and stat leaders after Day 1 is completed.
You can join CJ Barnes or all Diamond 1 Broadcasts through Baseball+ at www.baseball.com.au/baseballplus.
We will be logging all results and information at the Junior League Hub.
For Intermediate League results, also running at same time in Lismore, click here.
LIVE SCORING & GAME CHANGER: Click Here.
Top 2 teams in each group at end of round robin advance to Thursday’s semi-finals.
Brisbane North 22 def Manly Maroon 4
Tirrell Waiwai drove in five runs as Brisbane North as last year’s Intermediate League Champions piled on 22 runs off 10 hits in their opening day win.
Mason Clem and Archie Baert each recorded two hits and Tom White led the team with three. Alonzo Griffin was great in his start on the mound, tallying four strikeouts and allowing no hits and just one run in his 2.1 innings of work.
The game blew open when Waiwai cleared the bases on a 3-RBI double in the third to pull them away.
Brisbane’s biggest inning came in the sixth, when they tacked on 11 runs to extend what was an 11-2 game.
Adelaide Marlins 12 def Melbourne Athletics 3
Kyan Taifui struck out five batters in his 2.0 inning start, and the Marlins held the Athletics scoreless to pick up their first win over the tournament.
Harlan King and Jack Wilton both had booming RBI doubles. Tyson Soraghan had a two-RBI single in the third to push the score to 7-0.
Adelaide scored three in the second and four in the third inning, while shutting out the Athletics for all seven innings.
The Athletics pushed back before Adelaide tagged another five runs late in an impressive full squad display.
Cronulla Black 10 def Southern Hills 0
Will Bonham gave an epic performance in Cronulla’s shutout win. The young starter struck out all eleven batters he faced.
His final stat line is as perfect as it can be: 3.2 innings, 11 strikeouts, no walks, no hits, no runs.
While he was pitching, the Cronulla offence was capitalising. Eight different players had hits, and nobody had more than one, in a total team approach.
Jacob Gallardo and Archie Sampson each had two RBI.
Patrick Williams pitched the final 2.1 innings for Cronulla, allowing two hits and no runs. He also ended the game when he pushed the margin to ten runs in the fifth inning with an RBI to the right fielder.
Cronulla pulled away with six runs in the fifth inning to seal the run-rule victory.
Adelaide Marlins 3 def Manly Maroon 0
What a day for the Marlins, who win both games in their double-header without conceding a run.
They scored early. Patrick Mews had an RBI single, and the rest of the team capitalised off a Manly error.
Owen Hughes opened the game for the Marlins, allowing just two hits over four innings and walking just one. Will Wildman, Patrick Mews and Liam Trembath closed the game out without walking a single batter or conceding a hit.
Five different Marlins had hits. Adelaide scored their third run in the fourth inning to extend their lead.
Adelaide sits at 2-0 at the end of Day 1, with Manly at 0-2.
Brisbane North 10 def Central Firebirds 0
Brisbane North look good. Really good. It’s no wonder this group of players are coming off a 2022 Little League title and 2023 Junior League championship.
Brisbane allowed just one hit in the five-inning shutout performance. Their pitchers? Impressive.
Lachlan Richards started the game and gave up just one hit and no runs in his 3.1 innings pitched. Thomas White followed on with 1.1 innings of no-hit, no-walk, no-run ball, while striking out four. Archer Peterson recorded the final out.
Brisbane’s bats worked well as a unit, too. Seven players combined for eight hits, led by Archer Peterson who had two. Alonzo Griffin had two-RBI. Mason Clem, Peterson, White, Logan Lokeni and Kauri Hunter each had one RBI apiece.
Brisbane’s biggest inning came in the third, when they compounded their 2-0 lead by scoring five. The first eight batters in the third all reached by some way, shape or form.
Archer Peterson capped off a three-run fifth with an RBI single to centrefield to move the game into run-rule territory.
Melbourne Rangers 10 def Adelaide Rays 5
The Rays scored first, but the Rangers scored a lot more, in a big Melbourne win where eleven different players reached base.
Spencer Tyers and Blake Pickard tallied RBI hits in the second inning to put Melbourne up 2-1 and give the Rangers the lead for good.
Sam Stafilis extended the lead to 5-2 in the three-run third with a 2-RBI single. The Rangers padded their lead with three more in the fourth before adding two insurance runs in the seventh.
The Rays scored three in the bottom of the last in a mini comeback.
Tyers and Stafilis each had two hits. The Rangers combined for nine hits as a team, and drew 10 walks.
Jonathan Park, Ryder Ochoa and Cliff Nielson only allowed one hit combined in the first six innings.
Ben Smith, Alice Brown, Frankie O’Reilly, and Chace Wallis had RBIs for Adelaide.
Southern Hills Warriors 11 vs Adelaide Rays 4
It was close until Sam Simmons stepped up to the plate.
The Adelaide Rays had just scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut a three run deficit to just one.
Simmons came to the plate with two runners on in a 5-4 ballgame and blasted a two-RBI triple to put the Warriors up 7-4. They scored five in the inning to pull away late.
Simmons starred for the Warriors, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. Aden Lynn also had two hits while leading the team with 4RBI.
Both teams scored twice in the first inning before the Warriors pulled ahead. But the Rays kept clawing back.
Jordan Turvey and Will Stock both had two hits in the loss.
The Warriors were tough from 1-to-12 in the lineup. All players reached at least once.
The Warriors keep their hopes of advancing the semi-finals with a win.
Cronulla Black 18 def Melbourne Rangers 0
Cronulla scored ten runs in the top of the first and added eight more in the third during their runaway victory.
A double to Ben Croser, a single to Patrick Williams, and a hit to Jesse Garnero all helped Cronulla’s cause in the busy inning.
They tallied another six hits in the top of the third, plating eight runs.
All twelve Cronulla players reached base during the game. Garnero, Williams, Archie Sampson and Lachlan McGuckin all had two-hit performance.
Starting pitcher Jake Shorey had a bases clearing triple on his 3RBI day. He also struck out seven in 2.2 innings on the mound.
Tyce Hill also had a big strikeout day on the mound, sitting down three in 1.1 innings.
26 May 2024
All eyes are on Lismore, NSW from May 27-31 for the 2024 Junior League (U15) and Intermediate League (U14) Championships.
Two tournaments at once is a lot to follow. This page will link you to the right place in terms of event hubs, broadcast and Game Changer scoring links.
You can also visit the respective event pages for a running list of stories.
Visit these pages for up-to-date scores, standings, and links to daily recaps
Intermediate League: Click here for Hub. | Click here for Event Page | Schedule
Junior League: Click here for Hub. | Click here for Event Page | Schedule
Intermediate League
1. Gold – Hills (NSW)
2. Silver – Melbourne Athletics (VIC)
3. Bronze – Ryde Hawks (NSW)
Junior League
1. Gold – Cronulla Black (NSW)
2. Silver – Brisbane North (QLD)
3. Bronze – Southern Hills Warriors (WA)
Intermediate League: Click here.
Junior League: Click here.
Download Baseball+ for select game broadcasts. The app is free and available around the world. More info at www.baseball.com.au/baseballplus.
We will be posting updates on Baseball.com.au. Follow on Instagram and Facebook for highlights, photos, stories and more.
Photo links will be made available to each EO and coach. Please contact them for imagery.
26 May 2024
The 2024 Junior League Championship (U15) is here.
From May 27-31 in Lismore, NSW, nine teams from across Australia fought for the title of national champion. Congrats to our 2024 winner – Cronulla!
Here you will find the schedule, results, standings important links and information on each of the teams.
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