Bring yourself up to date with everything from the National Championships in our Daily Wrap.

Summary: Under 18 Women

Queensland and South Australia both won their early games, setting up a top-of-the-table clash in the morning, and it didn’t disappoint. The croweaters marched out to a 4-0 lead with two innings to play, but a close call on third base in the 6^th inning swung the momentum in favour of Queensland, who batted in 5 runners over the last two innings to claim a 5-4 win.

Led by the batting of Syren Letizia and Chantelle Finlay, the Queenslanders rounded out the day with a win over Western Australia, and head into the last day of the tournament undefeated.

New South Wales also took care of business in their early games, with comfortable wins over Western Australia (7-1) and the ACT (11-3). Abbie Morris has hit a vein of form for NSW, scoring a brace in both games, while she was well supported by Sienna Burgess and Amelia Cousins who also performed well with the bat. NSW batters also dominated late on Day 3 in their 13-5 win over South Australia, with the line-up recording 13 hits, nine RBI’s, and just two strike outs.

Aside from the loss to NSW, the ACT came agonisingly close to notching up two wins on the day. Against South Australia scores were tied going into the bottom of the 7^th, only for the ACT to give up a walk-off single. Then an extra inning was needed to decide the game against Victoria, but the ACT couldn’t match the one run scored by the Big V in the 8^th. Victoria finished the day off with back-to-back wins, coming out on top 6-4 over WA late on Day 3.

Day 3 Results:

QLD 7 def VIC 1

SA 3 def ACT 2

NSW 7 def WA 1

QLD 5 def SA 4

NSW 11 def ACT 3

QLD 7 def WA 0

VIC 5 def ACT 4

VIC 6 def WA 4

SA 5 def by NSW 13

For completed game reports, please click here.

For complete standings, please click here.

For the complete schedule, please click here.

Games start at 9:00am AEDT with a 15-minute break between each game

Day 4 What to Watch For: Under 18 Women

Queensland show all the signs of a Championship favourite. They are exceptionally well coached, and able to win despite being behind late in games, suggesting they are in exceptional form. Their unbeaten record may also possibly give them a psychological edge over their opponents. However, they now carry the favourite’s burden going into the final day.

NSW and South Australia look to be their closest challengers. Both teams have pushed the Queenslanders, but will need to hold it together for 7 innings if they want to hold the Elinor McKenzie Shield aloft tomorrow night.

With a few lucky breaks, this could have been a completely different tournament for Victoria, WA, and the ACT. They each have a game remaining tomorrow against the top three teams, and would love to finish their 2022 campaign on a high against their more fancied opponents.

Finals start from 2pm tomorrow, with the grand final scheduled for 7pm.

Summary: Under 18 Men

New South Wales took a step towards claiming top spot before finals with a 5-2 win over Queensland in the early game. The victory was set up with three runs in the first innings, including a two run RBI on a Ky Hurst double to centre field. However, Queensland bounced back later in the day with comfortable wins over Victoria (16-5) and WA (11-6).

Despite giving up two runs in the 5^th inning, Victoria was rarely troubled by the ACT in their early game. Seven runs by the Big V in the opening three innings setting up the 9-2 win.

Eight runs by Western Australia in their 2^nd innings proved to be the difference in their 16-10 win over the ACT. Kayne Richmann recorded four hits for the Sandgropers, while Liam Meharry had an equally impressive five RBI’s.

NSW looked comfortable against Western Australia, ahead 4-0 with two innings remaining, before WA scored two runs late to give the hosts a fright, only to come up short 4-2.

The Blue Bloods then played out another classic against Victoria late on Day 3. NSW scored in the 6^th and 7^th innings to tie scores up and extend the game, before a fielding error by Victoria handed the NSW the win.

Day 3 Results:

VIC 9 def ACT 2

NSW 5 def QLD 2

WA 16 def ACT 10

QLD 16 def VIC 5

NSW 4 def WA 2

QLD 11 def WA 6

NSW 5 def VIC 4

For completed game reports, please click here.

For complete standings, please click here.

For the complete schedule, please click here.

Games start at 9:00am AEDT with a 15-minute break between each game

Day 4 What to Watch For: Under 18 Men

Like Queensland in the women, New South Wales are undefeated going into the final day of competition. They have conceded fewest runs in the competition, and look to be the team most likely to hoist the Nox Bailey Shield in 2022.

But Victoria could have beaten NSW twice, and Queensland’s offence has been the best in the tournament, with 79 runs after round 2. The result is anything but a foregone conclusion heading into Sunday.

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