Hills off to flying start in Little League World Series baseball
THE Hills Baseball Association team representing Australia got off to a flying start in the 2016 Little League World Series, defeating Europe-Africa 3-1 at Williamsport, Pennsylvania on the opening day last Friday.
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THE Hills Baseball Association team are doing us proud, going boldly where no other Australian team has gone in the Little League World Series at South Williamsport, Pennsylvania
After their impressive opening 3-1 win over the Italian team representing Europe-Africa, the Hills players suffered a setback losing their second game against the powerful Aguadulce Cabezera Little League from Panama, losing 3-2 after a walk-off base on balls in the bottom of the 6th.
However, the Hills team, the reigning Australian Little League champions have come back from the brink of elimination by defeating the Caribbean representatives, Curaco 2-1 on Tuesday.
They will take on Mexico’s San Nicolas tomorrow, with the winners then facing either Asia-Pacific or Latin American representatives on Thursday.
The Hills Baseball Association’s Jeff Catt, who is attending the championships, said it was a historic victory.
“This is a Star Trek moment with Hills going where no other Australian team has gone in this Little League tournament,” Catt said.
Hits to Stephen Courtney, Matthew Clements, Harrison Wheeldon and Clayton Campbell. Campbell also pitched a masterclass in the Hills victory.
Campbell started on the mound for Hills, and put up the most dominant performance by an Australian at the Little League World Series, striking out an incredible 14 hitters and in turn, breaking Blake Cavill’s Australian record of 10 at the 2015 tournament.
Campbell said that he wasn’t feeling 100 per cent pre-game.
“To be honest I felt pretty shaky in the bullpen during the warm-up,” Campbell said.
“But once I got out there, the crowd cheering me on really helped me focus.”
Hills took an early lead in the first inning, when catcher Matthew Clements scored Harry Wheeldon on an RBI single to left field.
Pinch-hitting in the nine hole, Stephen Courtney came up with the biggest hit of his life in the fifth. A solo home run increased Australia’s lead to two, and made the lead near insurmountable with three outs left for The Caribbean.
A feature of this Hills team at the 2016 Little League World Series has been their composure under pressure, and Head Coach Les Stockdale has been overwhelmed by his team’s performances.
“The distractions here are like nothing we’ve ever come across,” Stockdale said.
“It’s very easy to become overwhelmed by signing autographs and being the stars of the show, but our boys have handled themselves to perfection.”
Hills started to show some rare nerves in the final inning, when a wild throw from catcher Matthew Clements enabled a run to score, but Campbell did what Campbell does, and finished the game with his 14th strikeout to seal an unforgettable victory for Hills Little League.
In the opening game, Clayton Campbell went 5 scoreless innings to set the scene for a historic first game win and seeing of the challenge by Emilia, who represent Europe-Africa.
In their second game, the Hills, lost narrowly to the powerful Aguadulce Cabezera Little League from Panama, losing 3-2 after a walk-off base on balls in the bottom of the 6th.
After struggling with Aguadulce Cabzera’s starting pitcher all day, Brent Iredale brought the house down in the top of the 6th after a two-run blast to right field tied the ballgame.
Campbell only ended up throwing two innings and also claimed a pair of singles, the only Australian to claim multiple hits on the day.
Will Edwards came on in relief and threw strongly, mixing his pitches well and keeping the Latin American side off balance.
Hills’ head coach Les Stockdale said he was very proud of his team, who are making their debut in the World Series.
“You can’t be disappointed with a performance like that,” Stockdale told Baseball Australia.
“We didn’t give up all day and really showed a lot of heart. We took it to one of the tournament’s best teams and we’re looking forward to taking on the Caribbean tomorrow.”
Entering the final inning, Australia trailed 2-0, but after Clayton Campbell led off with a single, Brent Iredale had his moment of greatness, blasting a two-run shot that tied the ballgame up and sent Australian fans into raptures.
According to a report by Narrative Science and GameChanger Media, Europe-Africa couldn’t get anything going as long as Campbell was pitching.
Campbell held them hitless over five innings, allowed no earned runs, walked none and struck out seven.
The Hills team qualified for the World Series by winning the 2016 Australian championships on a the back of an unbeaten run.
The World Series, which has been affected by washed out games on Sunday, features eight international teams and eight squads from the US and ends on August 28.
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