TOM HAYES
BASEBALL
By TOM HAYES BASEBALL action hit the clubs of the Latrobe Valley recently, as the Latrobe Valley Baseball Association hosted the 2023 Baseball Victoria Under 16s State Winter Tournament. Nine teams from across the state were split into two pools; City West, Dandenong, Diamond Valley, Geelong and Ringwood made up Pool 1, while Bendigo, Diamond Valley 2, North Eastern and, of course, Latrobe Valley made up Pool 2. More than 20 games of baseball took place in Traralgon and Morwell across the weekend of July 29 and 30. Latrobe Valley began their campaign with an encounter against Diamond Valley 2 in Morwell. The home team started strong, with a run in the first inning, holding onto that lead until the third, when Diamond Valley 2 two struck twice to take the lead. But at the top of the fourth inning, Latrobe Valley managed four runs to take a three-run lead, 5-2. Yet, Diamond Valley 2’s fourth inning was just as good, scoring five times to take the win, 7-5. Latrobe Valley were back in action later that day to face Bendigo, again at Morwell, but this time it was a much different story. The local side started strongly and put any doubt on the backburner with a convincing performance against the travelling side. Latrobe Valley took a 4-0 lead after the first inning, extending to a 9-1 lead following the conclusion of the second inning. By the time the third inning completed the game was as good as done, with the score reading 14-1. Bendigo only managed one run in their fourth inning before the game was deemed over, giving the home side a record of one-win, one-loss after two games. In their final game on the Saturday, Latrobe Valley put together another dominating performance, taking care of North Eastern with ease. The score read 5-2 after the first inning, then 8-5 after second. All that was needed was a convincing third inning and the game would be over, and that was exactly how it panned out, with Latrobe extending their lead to seven runs, to claim their second win of the tournament. After finishing second in Pool 2, Latrobe Valley would then have to face third-placed Bendigo for a spot in the final. It was a slow start to the encounter scoring wise, as Bendigo led 1-0 after the first two innings, but then the floodgates opened up in the Latrobe Valley’s favour. Two 5-0 innings’ in the third and fourth for Latrobe Valley blew the game wide open, giving them a 10-1 lead heading into the fifth inning. Bendigo would once again succumb to Latrobe Valley, only managing two runs in the fifth inning, before the game was deemed over, with Latrobe Valley winning 10-3. With a final ahead of them, Diamond Valley 2 were deemed the winners over North Eastern, defeating them 7-3, setting up an all-Valley final. Finally it was here, Diamond Valley 2 and Latrobe Valley facing off in Traralgon for the Pool 2 Grand Final. Diamond Valley 2 started steadily, beginning with a run in each of the first two innings, taking an early 2-0 lead. But just like they had showed previously, the Latrobe Valley weren’t done with yet, scoring five runs to nothing in the third inning to take the lead, 5-2, before a dominant fourth inning all but confirm their success, extending the lead to 8-2. Once Diamond Valley 2 finished their fourth inning, scoring nothing, that was it, Latrobe Valley claimed Pool 2. All wasn’t lost for Diamond Valley, as their team in Pool 1 managed to take out their Grand Final, defeating Geelong 4-2. Thus, allowing them to take out the tournament, with a perfect 5-0 record across the two days of play.