Baycats over Malvern: Sandy wins again
Kingsley Collins, Saturday, 30 January 2010 Fifth-placed Geelong stretched its break over Cheltenham after the Baycats led Malvern all day and the Rustlers came up short against an in-form Sandringham, while Essendon blanked Sunshine, Bonbeach upset Newport, Blackburn downed the Dragons and Waverley outgunned Upwey.....
It was another huge weekend of State League baseball, with the Sunday games played in oppressive, windy and quite unpleasant conditions.
While plenty of attention was on South Australia downing New South Wales in the Semi-Finals series in Adelaide, our Claxton Shield representatives had the opportunity to enjoy some club baseball and tune themselves up for the Grand Final at La Trobe University next weekend.
There were no major upsets in Division One, although Newport – at home – would have been reasonably expected to deal with Bonbeach, who pinched the result with three runs in the top of the tenth. Waverley continued to highball along at the top of the table, while Sandringham, Essendon and Blackburn all posted wins to maintain their positions in the leading four.
The Baycats have been travelling long very well since the break, Cheltenham could ill-afford to lose to the Royals in a spirited contest, Upwey dropped its third on the trot and its win at the graveyard gives Bonbeach a slight edge on Malvern and Sunshine as those three clubs appear destined to struggle to remain in Division One with the season two-thirds of the way through.
BLACKBURN 10 defeated DONCASTER 5
The Orioles did not have it their own way against Doncaster, but still managed to extend their winning record and strengthen their position in the leading group.
Blackburn came out swinging with six hits in the first - for four runs - and continued to extend the margin against a youthful Dragons outfit that played the game right out.
“They just smashed the ball early on,” said Dragons Manager Stephen Black. “We really had no answer to that, although our guys fought the game out and stretched it to nine innings when it could have turned pretty ugly.”
“I thought for a time that we might have had a chance.”
Hussey put up another quality starting stint, Scott Woolard was used in relief, followed by big guns in Greg Wiltshire and Adam Bright to ice the result. Doncaster shared duties between Rhys Aldenhoven, Josh Horan (one innings), Daniel McGrath (four innings for one run) and Lethborg finished the job.
On statistics, Doncaster deserved to be reasonably close, with the Orioles collecting eleven hits to nine and the Dragons conceding eight passes to five. But in baseball – as in life – timing is paramount.
“Blackburn just hit the ball at key times,” Black said. “They have some very experienced quality players and did what they needed to do.”
“Ben Utting was one of a number who was great for them with the bat and in defence.”
“We had some positives come out of the game again,” Black said. “Leigh Bertrand went two from three and Ben Kernick and Daniel McGrath can definitely hold their heads up.”
“We’re growing as a club,” he said, “but not as quickly as I would like.”
“The kids are getting a chance but we’ve been putting a lot of pressure on them this season. They keep fighting all the time at this level, but maybe we need to hold back a bit of their development and just let them enjoy themselves at the level at which they feel confident.”
“Realistically it’s very tough for us to make the finals,” he said. “But we’ll keep challenging.”
The Dragons have a Wednesday night return clash with Blackburn (Billabong Park, 6.00 PM start), followed by Saturday away to Bonbeach. Blackburn follows the Wednesday night game by hosting Sunshine on Saturday.
ESSENDON 10 defeated SUNSHINE 0
The Bombers wrapped it up in seven over the Eagles, who were competitive in the early innings despite being clearly undermanned.
Sparingly used, Essendon's three pitchers were well supported by an aggressive offence led by youngster Aaron Sayers, who collected three hits whilst playing some great defence at shortstop and then second base.
The Bombers started with Kyle Bedford, went to fireballer Shane Lindsay and finished the game with Ross Hipke.
“We used our pitchers sparingly,” said Essendon Assistant Coach Phil Allen. “They all did a good job.”
“Our hitters came out aggressive and did what they had to do. We moved the runners over and our hitters showed some excellent application in scoring situations.”
“Our defence was very impressive on the day,” Allen said. “Aaron Sayers was a stand-out, but we have a number of young players who are really starting to step up.”
“This win sets us up for the next few weeks.”
“Sunshine played the game right out,” Allen said. “They are undermanned but – to their credit – came out swinging and stayed in touch with us over the first few innings.”
Essendon is at home to Cheltenham on Saturday. Sunshine meets Waverley on Wednesday (Altona, early) before its away game to Blackburn on Saturday.
BONBEACH 9 defeated NEWPORT 6
With a distinctly favourable wind for both clubs at the graveyard, Bonbeach recorded its fourth won of the season - and potentially one of its most important as it remains in a three-way go at the bottom of the table.
It took until the tenth innings, though, with the Jays breaking a 6-6 deadlock with three in the top of that innings against a side making an characteristic series of errors over the course of the game.
“The wind was a factor,” said Newport Manager Darren Malthouse. “But it was fluky – howling out and then howling in. A difficult day for baseball, but it was a really competitive game and Bonbeach was probably just more desperate than us.”
“We lost three runners on base when it mattered most – that especially came back to hurt us when they scored three in the top of the tenth.”
Boasting one of the better percentages in the league, Newport has built much of its game around a solid defence – although it was not quite at full strength for this game.
“We made a lot of errors,” Malthouse said. “One error at shortstop cost us three runs and our outfield defence hasn’t been as good as it should be.”
Both sides picked up a surfeit of hits, with Troy Malthouse collecting four for the Rams and Ben Donald smacking a double that scored three runs for the Jays in the fourth.
“Bonbeach swung the bats very well,” Malthouse said. “They took better advantage of their opportunities and definitely made us pay for our mistakes.”
Griffin Weir went five solid innings for Newport and Stephen Pengelly finished out the game, while the Jays went with Matthew Prior (eight innings) and Mitch Sheldon-Collins at the end.
While is was a much-needed win for the Blue Jays, Newport is still strong in seventh placing despite one of its more disappointing outings of the season.
“Our problem is our consistency,” Malthouse said. “This is the most runs we’ve had scored against us in any game this year.”
The Rams’ next game is away to Geelong on Saturday, while Bonbeach is away to Malvern on Thursday (6.00 PM) before hosting Doncaster on Saturday.
WAVERLEY 14 defeated UPWEY 3
The Wildcats again flexed their offensive muscle with a comprehensive win over the neighbouring Tigers.
Waverley jumped on Upwey starter Adrian Rice early days while giving absolutely nothing away in defence as Brett Flemming, Adam Blackley and Donavon Hendricks shared pitching duties over the seven-innings contest.
Flemming went four for one earned run, Blackley tossed two in the middle for two earned runs and Hendricks finished the job.
For the Tigers, Adrian Rice was costly in conceding ten runs - eighth of them earned – over his three innings of work, while Lucas Unland and Sean Meldrum finished the job without being able to dominate the dangerous Wildcats offence.
Again on fire in collecting fifteen hits (to seven), Waverley’s hitters scored consistently, with three in the first, four in the second and another three in the third.
Upwey plated a run in the second, but were unable to cope with a Wildcats offence that collected fifteen hits on the day. Anthony Reinke homered and singled (for four RBIs), Andrew Russell collected three hits (with two doubles and four RBIs), while Beresford, Karlsen and Bonnadio all had a couple of knocks and Glen Mascoll stroked a double.
Brad Harman cleared the wall for Upwey, while Lucas Unland and Luke Farrelly both posted two hits for Upwey and Michael Oxworth a double.
Upwey is away to Cheltenham on Thursday (6.00 PM start) and away to Sandringham on Saturday. Waverley meets Sunshine on Wednesday (Altona, early) before josting Malvern on Saturday.
SANDRINGHAM 5 defeated CHELTENHAM 2
Second-placed Royals collected another important win over a quality opponent to make Cheltenham’s task of reaching the play-offs even tougher – keeping in mind that the Rustlers returned to Division One just this year and still have ten games to play.
Tom Buske went the distance against a potent Cheltenham offence, while the Royals' Brendan Horne - with four doubles - was outstanding with the bat.
“I was extremely proud of all our players today,” said Royals Manager Daniel McGrath.
“Tom Buske hurled nine, he changed speeds and really led our team well - despite a last innings surge by Cheltenham. He was able to get the ball down and minimise their arsenal of hitters.”
“He challenged, went at them and as a result did well to keep Cheltenham’s big boys quiet,” McGrath said.
“They threatened a few times, especially in the middle innings when Cheltenham had bases loaded – with none out. But we were able to get out of the innings with only one run given up – again because of Buske’s pitching.”
While the Rustler offence was well held, Sandringham had a number of contributors with the bat.
“Brendan Horne threatened with four doubles,” McGrath said. “Several others had big hits and it felt like were could get a run a dig. We had plenty of opportunities and did well to make the most of each situation.”
“Buske and Horne were the stand-outs, but we had plenty of contributors. Williams called a great game behind the dish. Blackmore, Anthony and Adam were very good. It was truly a team effort and we are developing a very strong mindset.”
With four senior games being held at Cheltenham, there was a terrific turn-out of spectators who became involved in a what turned into a spirited clash.
“Things became a little heated late in the game,” McGrath said. “But we were all able to shake hands and enjoy the contest for what it was – a very competitive game played hard but within the spirit of how it should be.”
While Cheltenham has the task ahead in making a bid for post-season play, the Royals continue to provide great heart for their supporters.
“We have to keep taking advantage of our opportunities, but we are very much on key for the rest of the season,” McGrath said.
Sandringham is at home to Upwey on Saturday while Cheltenham hosts Upwey on Thursday (6.00 PM start) before its away game to Essendon on Saturday.
 Cheltenham/Sandringham images by John Punshon
GEELONG 9 defeated MALVERN 6
Malvern landed runners on base later in the game but were never really in the contest after the Baycats scored five off starter Chris Wall – on three hits and three passes.
Lindsay Webb tossed six digs of solid work (two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts) before Dean Barker and Elliot Biddle finished out for the Baycats.
“Our pitching was very good,” said Baycats Manager Nathan Holmes.
“Lindsay is giving us some quality starts,” he said. “He’s doing the basic things right and getting ahead. He didn’t give Malvern much at all today.”
“Barker seems to be fine after an injury scare at Claxton Shield. He only threw about twenty but had good velocity and had his breaking stuff going.”
“Elliot is a real competitor and helps our line-up out a lot. Apart from his pitching, I really believe he is one of the most consistently good hitters in the league against any one. He makes the adjustments whoever he is hitting against.”
Biddle (three doubles, with four RBIs), Matt Ryan (three hits) and Stuart Forbes (two) did the offensive damage for Geelong, who held a lead throughout the game despite the Braves hitting back with a few runners getting on in the late innings.
“”Matty might have had a few freebies today,” Holmes said, “but that makes up for other times that he has smashed line drives and has missed out.”
After Wall landed himself in early strife, Brendan Ratcliffe put up several solid innings of work complemented by three safe hits for a Braves offence that was also sell-served by catcher Nathan Ford (two doubles and a triple) and Kyle Rogers (double).
“Ratcliffe did a pretty good job for Malvern,” Holmes said. “He came on in a difficult situation – with bags loaded – and he kept some our guys off-balance with his offspeed. Ben Knuth has been outstanding with the bat for us, but he struggled to make the adjustments today.”
“We’ve won three or four in a row now. We expected to give it a real run after Christmas and we’re happy with how things are going.”
Geelong’s next game is at home to Newport on Saturday, while Malvern hosts Bonbeach on Thursday (6.00 PM start) and is away to Waverley on Saturday.
DIVISION TWO
With plenty of midweekers still to come, clubs have between seven and ten games to play – enough to make a difference to what is already a wide-open race for play-off honours. At least eleven clubs have chances ranging from “very good” through to “pretty rough” and all fourteen are capable of having a say in the shaping of the final four.
Sunday’s DIVISION TWO match-of-the day resulted in a hard fought win by Werribee over Fitzroy, with the Bees taking full toll of a series of free passes (report below). Springvale shook off St Kilda and Port Melbourne struck some resistance from winless Footscray. All other games developed into one-sided contests as Moorabbin blanked Ormond, Mulgrave thumped the Waverley youngsters, Melbourne showed its best form over Preston and Williamstown won by ten over Berwick
WERRIBEE 8 FITZROY 4
The top of the table clash had everything you could expect from a Melbourne baseball game. Starting late because of excessive heat, stopping because of lighting and finishing in pouring rain. Ten hits and one error each, but Fitzroy allowing eight walks made the difference in the only tally that counts - runs scored.
Matt Kemp started for the Lions and after striking out the leadoff on three straight pitches a mis-read fly ball led to a triple which was followed by a sac fly to get the Giants out to a 1-0 start. A couple of walks and a pass ball let in the second run for Werribee.
Fitzroy responded with a run of their own due to some hard hitting off starter Darryl George.
The game continued to be tight contest when scores were tied 4-4 in the sixth on the back of a Tony King double.
In the seventh, Werribee took advantage of two walks and some well-placed balls over the second baseman’s head to go out to a 8-4 lead. This is where the scores would stay. Werribee will be pleased with the win against their number one rival, while Fitzroy will be rueing lost chances after hitting into four double plays and leaving eight runners on base.
“Werribee are playing good solid baseball,” said Lions Head Coach John Edwards. “They throw strikes, they make the plays and they give hard at bats. Right now they are a better team than us, but championships are won in March, not January.”
“I think our problems are more to do with mental approach than physical ability,” Edwards said. “We need to become more aggressive and confident, and not allow ourselves to be over-awed by the situation.”
“The real difference today was the walks. We allowed eight free passes while they only gave up three. Matt (Kemp) did not have his best day. He was having trouble with a blister on his finger and in hindsight shouldn’t have started. But he is a gamer and he wanted to pitch. He battled hard through seven innings. He has hardly walked a batter all year so I’m confident in saying today’s performance was an aberration.”
“Joel Arnott smashed the ball and so did Pinkster, Turlea and Huryn,” Edwards said. “I am also very pleased with how Pawley pitched. He has thrown seven innings against Werribee in the two games and only given up two hits.”
“The club had wins through all the other levels, so it now confirms that all five of our teams will be playing finals. This is a great accomplishment for the club.”
WOMEN’S BASEBALL
Doncaster and Springvale/Berwick played out one of the games of the season in DIVISION ONE (report below), with the Dragons doing enough to improve on their impressive wining record atop the table. Port Melbourne upset the more fancied Malvern outfit while Werribee shoed some of its better form in dispending with Waverley. A couple of big results in DIVISION TWO, where fourth-placed Malvern inflicted some pain on winless Port Melbourne, Doncaster strengthened its hold on top placing with a huge result over Berwick Springvale and Werribee shook off Sandringham.
DIVISION ONE: Doncaster 7 defeated Berwick-Springvale 5
Doncaster Baseball Club
With finals just around the corner, the Doncaster First IX continued to gain momentum with a 7-5 win over Berwick-Springvale at Deep Creek on Saturday.
Facing international star Risa Nakashima, the Dragons piled on eight hits and seven runs in the first two innings, including a back to back to back triple-double-triple combination from Amy McCann and sisters Erin and Amy Collins in the second inning.
Although the Dragons would have numerous scoring opportunities late in the game, they were not able to add to their seven runs.
With the bat, McCann was the stand out picking up three hits, 2RBIs and 2 runs, whilst the Collins' sisters collected four hits, three runs and three RBIs between them. Hits also to Vibeke Pedersen and Samantha Hamilton, the latter also nabbing two stolen bases.
On the mound, an injury scare saw Ailsa Davidson replace Kathy Welsh in the second inning, and despite limited game time so far this season, Davidson produced some sensational pitching to hold the Dodgers to just two runs to the seventh inning.
And despite the Dodgers adding three late runs to the scoreboard in the last, the result was never in doubt with the Dragons solid 7-5 victors.
"The way the team hit in those first two innings was just great to watch," said Head Coach Hamilton.
"They have been working so hard all season and to come up against such a great pitcher and step up like they did, it will just give them even more confidence going into finals."
A huge Saturday for the club will see another women’s triple header from 11am, club stalwart and Head Coach Samantha Hamilton become the first female Doncaster player to reach 200 games and a function to recognise the 10th anniversary of the womens program.
www.doncaster.baseball.com.au
Victoria finished on top of the 2010 Claxton Shield ladder, moving the Aces straight through to the three-game home Grand Final series that will be held at La Trobe University (Preston Baseball Club) over the weekend of 5-7 February.
The Aces will meet South Australia, who took two games from New South Wales in their Semi-Final clash in Adelaide over the weekend.
GAME ONE will start at 7.35 on Friday 5 February
GAME TWO will start at 7.35 on Saturday 6 February
GAME THREE (if required) will start at 1.35 on Sunday 7 February
The Grand Final series is the culmination of an “interim” year as the Claxton Shield develops from being a competition being conducted by the ABF and the state governing bodies to a fully professional league underwritten by Major League Baseball and the Australian Baseball Federation.
There have been some challenges during the season. There has been plenty of conjecture and even a touch of controversy. But one thing is for sure – when the Victoria Aces sides goes out to play, it will have the full and unequivocal support of the Victorian baseball community.
Please get along to the games if you at all can. If that is not possible – for whatever reason – you will be able to tune in on radio or online as frita and skinny call the action live on 3 SER (see link below).
A SERIES PREVIEW will be posted on these pages during Wednesday.
CALL 9645 8000 FOR TICKETS OR PURCHASE ONLINE, with a range of incentives being provided.
- NAME THE MELBOURNE ABL TEAM
Time is running out to enter the competition to name Melbourne’s team in the new Australian Baseball League and to be in the running for an all-expenses trip for two to the All-Star game in Los Angeles later this year.
- CLUB GAMES OVER CLAXTON WEEKEND
A reminder to all club players that the State League fixtures have been rescheduled for next week to encourage people as possible to support the Victoria Aces in the Claxton Shield Grand Final series.
In summary, the reschedule works like this:
FRIDAY: no junior centre and league matches
SATURDAY: Division One and Two First (only) have been moved back from Sunday to play. This has caused some changes to grounds for women’s games (which will go ahead as scheduled). For groung changes, check the link below.
SUNDAY: All State metro junior matches will be played. There will be no senior games. Divisions other than Division One and Two Firsts have been re-scheduled to Sunday 28 February (putting finals back a week).
After a lengthy break over the summer months, Baseball Radio National is poised to return – bigger and better than before. The boys will be providing live coverage of the Claxton Shield Grand Final series and revert back to the Friday night time slot (6.30 – 8.00 on 3 SER) until the end of March.
Waverley’s Scott Wearne has recently taken up a professional contract in the independent Canadian-American Association by signing with the Brockton Rocks, a club based around a half an hour out of Boston.
Wearne joins compatriots Daniel Berg and Wayne Lundgren, who will also suit up for the Rocks.
Already enjoying a terrific career in the United States, Travis Blackley is believed to have signed a Minor League contract with the New York Mets organisation.
Baseball supporters continue to follow the progress of our players overseas with great interest.
- AUSTRALIAN PROVINCIAL AND WOMEN’S TRIALS
Trials for the Victorian side to contest the Australian Provincial Championships started on Saturday 30 January. Players interested in playing in the Championships – which will be held at the Geelong Baseball Centre from 3-10 April 2010 – should express their interest as soon as possible. More information.
Trials for the Victorian Women’s State Team are currently in progress and will continue on Monday 25 January, Saturday 30 January and Monday 1 February. More information.
Victoria has entered a side in the Under 23 Invitational Tournament that will be held at Blacktown Olympic Park from 2-5 April. Trials will commence shortly.
With extreme recent temperatures and the likelihood of more of the same to come, club officials, umpires and players are asked to re-familiarise themselves with the Baseball Victoria Heat Policy and its application to senior and junior baseball.
The annual Victorian Masters Baseball Carnival is scheduled to be held in Geelong over the three days 9, 10 and 11 April. Team entries are now invited. Follow the links below.
Does your club have a story that it would like covered? Is there a club or a personal milestone coming up or is there some news, achievement or insight that you would like to share with the Victorian baseball community? If so, please do not hesitate to contact us (kcollins@iprimus.com.au, telephone 03 53329202 or 0488 735297)
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