Rob Laidlaw

GAWLER Rangers led all game against Sturt in division two baseball on Sunday, until conceding five runs in the final inning to go down 7-10 at Mitcham.
Over the first six frames Sturt only managed three safe hits, but exploded with five extra-base hits in its final at bat to steal the game.
Nathan Schreier had a sacrifice fly and Liam Holland collected a RBI hit in the first inning to stake the Rangers to a 2-0 lead, with Sturt responding with a single tally in the bottom of the dig.
In the second frame, Rhys Argent hit a RBI triple to extend the advantage to 3-1, with another three runs scoring in the fourth after Noah Okeil’s bunt took advantage of a couple Sturt errors to make it a 6-1 lead.
However, things started to turn when the usually-steady Josh Lands lost control on the mound in the bottom of the fourth, walking five batters, as Sturt closed the gap to one by scoring four times.
Gawler managed a single run in the seventh when Argent was hit by a pitch, stole second base and scored on Nathan Schreier’s single.
The bottom of the seventh was disastrous for Gawler, as the Sturt hitters changed the momentum of the game with its big hitting, and the Rangers went from a likely win to a frustrating loss.
For his part, Lands pitched five innings for two hits and seven strikeouts but left the game with Gawler leading 6-5.
The Rangers’ division three team also played well, but suffered a similar fate after going down 6-7 in a nail-biter against Sturt.
Trailing 2-4, Gawler scored four runs in the fourth inning to go ahead after two walks, singles to Jake Halliday and Tyler Strong, capped off by Rhys Argent’s three-run triple – but Sturt answered with three tallies to squeeze home.
In the juniors, the Northern Rangers, which is a combined team between Gawler and Northern Districts, came from behind to win a high-scoring game against Glenelg 18-16.
Going into the final inning, the Rangers were two runs behind, but scored seven times after extra base hits to Caden Ford, Austin Camileri, Daniel Dobie and William Griffins.
Glenelg still had to bat in the bottom of the frame, scoring three runs without an out, before Rangers’ pitcher Amelia Downes collected a strikeout and took two catches to end the threat.

Results:
Division two: Gawler Rangers | Sturt 7-10 (hits: Nathan Schreier 2, Ben Strong, Rhys Argent, Liam Holland, Blaze Hurst, Noah Okeil).
Division three: Gawler Rangers | Sturt 6-7 (hits: Nathan Schreier 2, Tyler Strong 2, Michael O’Connor, Tim Strong, Rhys Argent, Travis Schreier, Damian Thompson, Jake Halliday).
Division seven: Gawler Rangers | Southern Districts 0-17 (hits: James Mustard, Nigel Agars, Craig Alexander, Mitch Eiffe, Ben Lee).
Women’s division two: Gawler Rangers | GGCD 5-14 (hits: Madison Carter 2, Laura Helbig, Ashlee Filko).
Junior League: Gawler Rangers | Adelaide 3-12 (hits: Joash Cedamon, Murray Billings).
Intermediate League: Northern Rangers d Glenelg 18-16 (hits: Daniel Dobie 3, Lochlyn Freer 2, Austin Camileri, William Griffins, Amelia Downes, Caden Ford, Brodie Gallon).
Little League: Gawler Rangers | Adelaide 2-7.
Minor League: Gawler Rangers | Adelaide4-9.