Baseball NSW congratulates our own New South Wales players who qualified for the Team Australia U15 roster and played at the 2025 U15 WBSC Oceania Championships!
These players are:
Benjamin Baitch
Jet Creamer
Jakob Cruz
Aaron Hsieh
Hugh Kelly
Beau Stockdale
Harrison Thomas-McLean
The squad has won two games so far in their U15 Oceania Championships campaign, which pits them against Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in a triple-round robin. Each team plays one another three times.
This tournament runs from 28 November to 1 December, with the winner declared U15 Oceania Champions and will go on to qualify for the U15 World Cup in Italy in 2026.
In Game 1, Team Australia dominated Northern Mariana Islands 15-0 to open the three-nation tournament. The Aussies blew the game open after they scored four runs in each of the first three frames, and they refused to let go of the rope throughout.
Team Australia then went on another flurry of three runs in the fifth innings, sealed the win and their impressive performance on the mound and on the plate.
The team recorded 13 hits in all, with Aaron Hsieh leading the club with three hits and three RBI while fellow NSW players Benjamin Baitch and Jet Creamer had two hits, while Beau Stockdale had a hit and two RBI.
Next game, Australia then rolled Guam 9-0 to take early control of the tournament in the hopes of qualifying for the 2026 U15 World Cup.
The Australians jumped to a 2-0 lead and eventually broke the game open in the fourth thanks to a monumental swing from Archer Petersen.
Petersen dinged an inside-the-park three-run homer with two on and two out, stretching the lead to 5-0 and giving his team some comfortable breathing room.
As Guam made errors and threw wild pitches, Team Australia plated three more runs in the sixth that put the game out of reach. Similar to Game 1, the Australians recorded 12 hits and held Guam to only one.
Harrison Thomas-McLean and Jet Creamer’s pitching efforts allowed only one baserunner from Guam all game, setting the tone defensively.
Thomas McLean pitched for 3.0 innings and gave up only one hit while striking out 7, while Creamer threw for 4.0 perfect innings, striking out 5 and retiring all 12 batters they put in front of him.
In their first two games, Team Australia were on point on both sides of the ball, outscoring their opponents 24-1 thanks to their pitching depth and offensive pressure.
The Australians will play two games on 29 November, and their campaign will finish on 1 December against Guam.
Baseball Australia wishes the U15 squad all the best as they play for a spot in the 2026 World Cup!