Eagles the Kings of Baseball

By Robert Laidlaw

WEST TORRENS PROVED too strong for Goodwood in winning the 2021-22 division one baseball premiership, with an 11-1 victory in the deciding game three on Sunday.

The Eagles won Friday’s first contest 11-1, while Goodwood evened the series with a 7-3 victory on Saturday night.

Mitch Neunborn was the winning pitcher in game one, and in the decider blasted one of the longest home runs seen at West Beach, with the ball headed for the airport on last sighting – to win grand final MVP honours.

Tyrone Hambly started the ball rolling for West Torrens with a RBI single in the second inning, then in the third, Tom McGarry had a RBI double and scored on brother Sam McGarry’s sharp single, to make it 3-0.

A sacrifice fly by Tom McGarry in the fourth dig was answered by the Indians at the top of the fifth, on Jack Bushell’s RBI infield hit.

Off the bat, Neunborn’s big blast in the bottom of the fifth only left the Goodwood defense as spectators, as that ball wasn’t going to come down anytime soon – and was last seen flying high above the mound behind the leftfield fence, lucky no planes were taking off at the time!

It just kept getting worse for the Indians. Jasper Clark had a RBI hit, also in the fifth, then in the sixth, Max Stagg had a RBI double and Nico Vanderlinden picked a bases loaded walk.

Onto the seventh with an 8-1 lead and the Eagles finished the job there and then, with three runs, after hits to Jacob Scott, Tom McGarry and Stagg.

All of the Eagles’ batters got in on the action in the decider, with Stagg leading the way with four hits.

Nathan Vanderlinden went the distance from the mound to record the win. He conceded four hits for six strikeouts in seven innings.

It was West Torrens’ 23rd A grade flag and first since 2017, with the Indians’ 21 premierships second on the most successful list.

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GRAND FINAL RESULTS

GAME ONE: West Torrens d Goodwood 11-1 (hits: WT – S. McGarry 2, Ni. Vanderlinden 2, Clark 2, Scott, Stagg, Neunborn; Goodwood – Hutchings 2, Bushell, Child, Hughes. WP: M. Neunborn; LP: T. Fitzgerald).

GAME TWO: Goodwood d West Torrens 7-3 (hits: Goodwood – Moore 3, Bushell 2, Fiebig 2, Paech 2, Welch, Child; WT – Hambley 2, T. McGarry (hr), S. McGarry, Neunborn, Ni. Vanderlinden, Clark. WP: M. Gahan; LP: W. Kortekaas).

GAME THREE:

West Torrens d Goodwood 11-1 (hits: WT – Stagg 4, T. McGarry 3, Scott 2, Neunborn 2 (hr), Hambly 2, Clark 2, George, S. McGarry, Ni. Vanderlinden; Goodwood – Cakebread, Bushell, Welch, Paech. WP: Na. Vanderlinden; LP: J. Challinor).