World Series Junior League - Game 3 v Czech Republic

Under bright sunny skies, the crowd today had broken out the sunscreen and were in the full tempo of summer for a late morning start at 11.00am against the South Czech Republic team from Brno.

Beautiful barmy conditions which were not too hot prevailed. It was comfortably summery. Of course in tournament play like this, any loss would end our campaign, but the legal firm of coaches - Stockdale, Wright and Riddell - have been composed, forthright and fearless to date. Today was no different. Our starting lineup was Brock Tonna (C), Alex Ranieri (Pitcher), Ryan Franks (1B), Riley Watson (2B), Brent Iredale (3B), Nick Chappell (LF), Liam McCallum (CF), Sam McGoldrick ((RF) who all ran out with vigour, confidence and respect.

The Czech team bounced out of the blocks swinging their bats hard, surprising us a little with their solid hitting early. Not negotiable. They were even chanting an elegant nursery rhyme or two with their remarkable clipped tongue. With loaded bases, a crisp double play to Clayton Campbell at short stop ended their first innings. The gusty winds which swept across the field may also have helped blow off a few early cobwebs. 0-0. It was tense early. Quiet as a BETA video shop.

Our aggression was commendable. Les Stockdale has a remarkable strength in this area as coach. We attacked them with great belief and put immense pressure on their pitcher and field. Riley Watson (donning the 'Charlie Brown' nickname) secured a walk as lead off, propelling us in the right direction. Brent Iredale then punched a nice infield single to a sprawling third baseman.

With two runners on, Liam McCallum then belted one through second base to right field to score two and after Ryan Franks massacred one to centrefield, Liam was in a scoring position, hurtling around the bases and setting sail for home. When a catcher is standing on the line at home plate, there are unfortunately only two options to avoid getting out: run into him or run over him. Liam chose the latter. Westbrook and Swans readies you for these moments. Liam scored for 3-0 and their catcher was regretably replaced, sick and sore in the dugout. Checkmate.

A Sam McGoldrick double then to centre right was a sparkling moment as warm applause rippled across the stands, but ultimately it was sadly left unrewarded on the scoreboard. Sam's intelligent play and quiet confidence has been a team strength. Reliable as spam mail and just as diverse.

All the while Alex Ranieri was pitching with measured gusto, the true 'Panda Express'. He was strong under pressure as he was as catcher yesterday and as he has been with the bat in hand in all games. Positive and steely eyed. Strength when it mattered saw us secure three quick second innings outs. It remained 4-0 up after two innings.

However, the lot of a pitcher is tough. No place to hide. The game is in your hands. Their third innings was a struggle for us. A couple of walks and suddenly loaded bases were capitalised upon. This time their hitting reduced our lead to 4-1 up. A bunt then scored two with a throwing error to first. A diving catch to right field by Sam McGoldrick stopped the rot. 4-3 up.


Soon after, a Liam McCallum hit to right field was followed by a rifled single to centre field by Alex Ranieri. Sadly neither runner scored before Jack Grey entered the game as our new pitcher. 'All the way with Jackie Grey'....four tough innings to pitch us to victory. Yet another right field catch to McGoldrick into the swirling breeze delighted the crowd. But it was to get better for Sam McGoldrick despite the narrow scoreline. Narrower than a McDonald's drive thru in Sydney.

As expected to some degree, our batting became a little more inconsistent as the game progressed and of course cannot be stunning across all seven innings of a game. However, Brock Tonna hit a clever hit to right field, before strike outs and fly outs wasted a few other opportunities. Suddenly a cracking home run to Brent Iredale awoke the crowd as it sailed brilliantly over the dead centrefield fence for a 313 feet home run. Brent is a whippet with a lion heart. Outstanding in the moment of the game too. A beautiful strike which took us to 6-3. The ghost of "fire up Hills ...ready to go", echoed around Heritage Park.

At the top of the fifth, we needed precision. The Czech team had other thoughts. The outfield surface was cruel...apparently a local legal case centres around the condition of it after earlier drainage works went awry. Ask Sam McGoldrick, who unfortunately couldn't field a leg break despite his best efforts, cruelly resulting in a double. It was suddenly 6-5. None out. A poor throw by us then saw it reach 6-6. A strikeout and a great throw from Sam McGoldrick from right field kept it there. Sam stunned the Czech team with his bullet arm skidding across the infield on the second bounce for an excellent tag at home plate. We were still under pressure but upbeat and positive even if it was 6-6.

Our fifth innings saw Alex Ranieri lead off with a walk. Liana Davidson was hit by pitch and was tough in taking an awkward blow to the body and two runners were suddenly on base. A pitching change by the Czech was our chance to pounce. They knew it too. Nick Chappell scored a runner for 7-6. Nick backed this up with one of two runs on a Czech catcher's surprising botched throw to first base, striding out impressively Bolt-like... Liana too scurried home busily and at pace. 9-6 up and a lottery ticket in the pocket.

Jack Grey continued in the sixth. Jack, a quiet, unassuming young lad with impeccable manners from the Blacktown baseball club, today rose to another level under the microscope of international baseball.

He persevered, he stammered, he shone, but he never lost focus and a sense of purpose, striking out a few and leading the way with a controlled nerve. Six outs till the end. Victory was in sight. A strikeout, a ground out then another strikeout left it at 9-6 at the top of the sixth - with an innings to play.

The last innings saw Jack Grey reap the rewards of his four innings outing. Another neat low catch to McGoldrick who had ventured over to centrefield was superb. The final out was hard earned, but the fly ball to McGoldrick (who else?) punctuated a 10-6 victory for our second win. Rapturous applause circled the ground with many appreciative locals marvelling at the tenacious, spirited play exhibited by this Australian team.  More popular than an electric light at a wind farm.

We have now reached a pointy end of the International side of the draw with two wins. Our next game is to try and qualify for the International final. Either against Chinese Taipei again - or Venezuala, more than likely. The coaches will be plotting and scheming with the same resolve that has underlined our campaigns to date, making Hills an even more well recognised baseball brand worldwide. We are set to impress further, but know it gets no easier now. We are in good hands.