Eagles 14(1) bats fly down south
1st November 2009
The West Torrens Under 14(1) team travelled down south to play the Southern Districts Hawks in warm conditions on Sunday. The Eagles innings opened strongly as the Hawks pitcher struggled to find the strike zone. The first three batters—Mason Pickard, Lucas Hunter and Ethan Haylock—all advanced to first base on balls. Some strong base running saw the Eagles scoreboard start to tick over, as Pickard stole bases and then scored. Number 4 batter Brad Dedrick was swinging well, but unfortunately struck out. Sam McGarry came to the plate and was looking dangerous, but a line drive was fielded by the Hawks first baseman to get the second out, but not before Hunter crossed the plate for the Eagles second run. Mitch Duval showed some great determination at bat, advancing to first base on balls on the seventh pitch. Left hander Connor Foley then drove a ball past first base to get on base, and also bring Haylock home. A great hit to centre field by Nathan Byrnes brought Duval home. Jack Hambly then drove a ball past first base for a 2RBI single (Foley, Byrnes). Mason Pickard returned to the top of the order, and drove a single to get on first. Hunter then drove a two base hit that saw Hambly score for the seventh run, which ended the Eagles innings on the mercy rule.
The ball was given to Lucas Hunter to open the Eagles pitching, with Ethan Haylock behind the plate. Lucas started strongly, striking out the first Hawks batter with successive strikes. A narrow strike zone saw the Southern Districts #2 and #3 get to first on balls. Connor Foley, fielding at first base, then took a great fly ball catch in foul territory to get the second out. The Hawks #5 then drove a ball deep to right field, for an RBI double for the Hawks first run. The Hawks #6 then hit a high fly ball that Connor Foley also caught well into foul ball territory for the third out.
End of the first innings: West Torrens 7, Southern Districts 1.
Ethan Haylock came into bat at the top of the second. A great drive out to left field on the eighth pitch, saw Ethan get on to first. Brad Dedrick came into bat, and advanced to first on balls after the seventh pitch. Sam McGarry flied to third base for the first out. Duval was thrown four straight balls that brought about a pitching change for the Hawks. With bases loaded, Connor Foley was then advanced to first on balls, for the Eagles to score their first run of the innings. Another great line drive by Nathan Byrnes brought Dedrick home and Hambly’s base on balls saw Duval score. Mason Pickard then drove an RBI single (Foley). A patient Lucas Hunter then hit to centre field on the seventh pitch he faced for a RBI single. A great 3 base hit to right field by Ethan Haylock brought 3 players homes, but only 2 counted as the seven run mercy rule was again invoked.
Lucas Hunter returned to the mound for the Eagles, and struck out the Hawks first batter. Jack Hambly then caught the second batter with a solid catch at centre field. The Hawks number 9 batter was then walked, but was soon out caught stealing.
End of the second innings: West Torrens 14, Southern Districts 1.
Will Bouchier replaced Brad Dedrick in the batting lineup, and advanced to first on balls in a disciplined at bat. Sam McGarry then hit a head-high drive that was superbly caught at third base, and then quickly threw to first before Will had returned to the base for the double play. Mitch Duval drove a single to left field and then Connor Foley drove a ball that was well caught by the Hawk’s short stop.
Lucas was replaced on the mound by Mitch Duval, for his first pitch of the season. The first Hawks batter advanced on balls before Mitch struck back to have the next batter fielded out. The #3 batter then drove a single to get on base and advance the runner to second. Another base on balls saw the Hawks bases loaded, and another walk scored the Hawks second run of the match. Jack Hambly then caught another fine catch at centre field, and only just failed in stopping the Hawks player scoring at home. The Hawks #7 batter then drove past second base for a single, followed by Jack Hambly’s third catch of the match to end the Southern Districts innings.
End of the third innings: West Torrens 14, Southern Districts 3.
At the top of the fourth innings, Nathan Byrnes was adjudged just short of the base for the first out. Jack Hambly continued his fine batting display for a 2 base double. Mason Pickard then advanced on balls and Lucas Hunter drove to right field for a 2RBI single. The Eagles innings ended when Ethan Haylock drove a ball that was adjudged to have hit Lucas Hunter.
Connor Foley came to the mound to close the game. Mitch Duval took a great running “Inspector Gadget” catch at short stop to get the first out of the innings. Connor then struck out the Hawk’s #1 batter for the second out. The #2 then got to first base on a safe hit. Ethan Haylock then caught a pitch from Foley to the Hawks #3, turned and threw to Hunter at first, to find the Hawks batter still off the base in what can only be described as the “Play of the day”. This capped off an excellent catching performance by Ethan to finish the match.
End of the fourth innings: West Torrens 16, Southern Districts 3.
Summary: The West Torrens team displayed another excellent exhibition of baseball, with solid batting and pitching and some outstanding fielding. The batters were patient at the plate, waiting for the right ball to hit, then hitting strongly. The pitchers again threw strongly and kept the opposition batters struggling to hit. Special mention must be made of the errorless fielding display, with all the Eagles players fielding exceptionally well.
Hits: Haylock (3), Hunter (3), Byrnes (2), Hambly (2), Duval (1), Foley (1), Pickard (1).
Runs: Hambly (3), Byrnes (2), Duval (2), Foley (2), Haylock (2), Pickard (2), Dedrick (1), Hunter (1).
