Baycats shake Rams: Braves down Waverley
Kingsley Collins, Monday, 8 February 2010 Geelong took until the bottom of the ninth to finally put away a gutsy Newport in State League, Doncaster out-slugged Bonbeach in a game played in unusually blustery conditions, Essendon thumped Cheltenham and Malvern belied its ladder position by dispensing with league-leading Waverley Wildcats.....
MIDWEEK GAMES LINK
While there was plenty of interest in what was going on out at La Trobe University – as Victoria Aces stitched up the Claxton Shield title in two games – there was plenty of attention focused on a rescheduled weekend of club matches that saw only Division One firsts, Divisions Two firsts, women’s and Sunday morning junior competitions going ahead.
A number of players on Claxton Shield duties were missing from Division One clubs, where the competition was intense – regardless - and produced some surprise results.
While the Wildcats won’t be losing too much sleep over it at this stage, they were beaten fair and square by Malvern, who are in eleventh place – with four wins - but are committed to doing enough for them to remain in the premier league.
Sandringham lowered its colours to Upwey in a spirited contest that went extra innings and produced its share of late controversy. While the Tigers cannot make the play-offs, they will certainly have a role in shaping them – as will Newport, who were courageous in a last-gasp loss to Geelong Baycats.
There is a battle between three clubs at the bottom of the table and there is a dead-set mountain of interest in what might happen for the placings second to fifth, remembering that the revamped finals structure will see first playing fourth and second playing third in the best of three Semi-Finals. Around the traps, there is talk of second and third being the preferred final placings to avoid facing the Waverley juggernaut in the first week of finals. But – for the side that finishes fourth - there is the opportunity for knocking the Wildcats out of the equation, with no second chance applying.
Interesting times indeed over the next five weeks.
GEELONG 10 defeated NEWPORT 9
After the Baycats held a 7-1 lead in the second, the Rams turned this into an entertaining contest that was deadlocked at 9-9 into the bottom of the last.
Chris Bramwell went the distance in a gutsy display for Newport, who matched the Baycats with sixteen hits as several players starred with the bat for both sides.
Geelong was out of the blocks early with Ben Knuth clearing the wall with a two-run shot in the first. The big man followed this up with another run-scoring single in the second, one that turned into a productive dig – for five runs – on the back of a couple of base hits, a sacrifice fly and singles to Ryan and Poulter.
But the never-say-die Rams outfit put it to Baycats starter Lindsay Webb (pictured) to strike back with five of their own in the top of the third on a string of hits to Scot Malthouse, Kyle Moore, Vicary-Lovegrove, Jordan Young and Grundy, the fifth scoring on a sacrifice fly off Stuart Barnes.
With only one run in it after four, Barnes – relieving Webb - and Bramwell kept the clamps on through the middle innings until Scot Malthouse doubled off Baycats closer Ben Knuth in the top of eight to tie it up at 8-8. Matt Ryan doubled and Ross Wilson drove him in for the Baycats to edge ahead in the equaliser. Not to be denied, the Rams loaded the bases - with none out - in the top of nine but left them out there with just one run crossing the plate.
It had been a see-sawing contest and a great spectacle for supporters, who were treated to a grandstand finish as Geelong catcher Cameron Lyons singled in the last and scored on a Mitch Miller double to pinch the game at the death.
With four hits, Miller was a stand-out with the bat for the Baycats, but he was well-supported by Knuth (three, including the home run), Matt Ryan (three hits) and Manager Nathan Holmes – who went to the plate five times for four passes and a HPB. Catcher Kyle Moore (four hits) had another terrific game for the Rams and Liam Vicary-Lovegrove played great defence while collecting three knocks.
Playing shortstop for Newport in the latter innings, teenager Jordan Young made the defensive play of the day in covering space to glove a grounder in the hole and throw out the runner at first.
While Newport continues to play a competitive and uncompromising brand of baseball, Geelong will be relieved to get away with the points at this critical point in the season.
Geelong’s next game is away to Doncaster on Saturday while Newport has a Wednesday game at Malvern (6.00 PM start) followed by an away clash at Waverley on Sunday.
DONCASTER 15 defeated BONBEACH 9
Although starters Matt Prior and Daniel McGrath held sway in the early innings, the game turned into a slug-fest in absurdly windy conditions at Bonbeach.
At 0-0 after four and at one apiece after five, the scoreline blew out in dramatic fashion, with twenty-four runs scored in the last five innings and the Dragons taking greater advantage of their scoring opportunities.
In the context of the playing conditions, starters Matt Prior (Bonbeach) and Daniel McGrath (Doncaster) did a grand job for their clubs, although the Dragons caught up with Prior and posted a handful of runs off reliever Dayle Selleck.
“The wind was blowing out at a rate of knots,” said Doncaster Manager Stephen Black.
“It was one of the worst days you can possibly imagine for pitchers and in the end the game came down to which side was being favoured by the baseball gods.”
“It was the sort of day where sides had to grab their opportunities.”
“Daniel McGrath didn’t get the win for us, but it was 1-1 when he came out,” Black said of a youngster still on a pitch count. “He only gave up four hits and struck out eight, so we were very happy with his work.”
In relief for Doncaster, Rhys Hopper was dealt with severely in conceding six runs on five hits – for no outs – and Rhys Aldenhoven was credited with the win.
“We scored five in the top of the fifth to make it 6-1,” Black said, “but they scored seven in the sixth. After that we posted another four, then one, then another four.”
“Bonbeach threatened us throughout the game and it was only in the later innings that we were able to get away. We had a slice of good fortune but we did the basic stuff pretty well.”
“Twenty hits to fifteen tells the story of the sort of game it was. Incredibly, though, there were no home runs in the conditions,” he said.
Having a great run with the bat, Stuart Chinn went four from five for the Dragons, while a number of players chipped in for both clubs.
“Carr and Squire both had three or four hits for us,” Black said. “Mark Jones had at least three for Bonbeach. I was very impressed with Brearley – he was a tough number nine and hit really well.”
Now at eleven and sixteen, the Dragons play host to Geelong on Saturday, while Bonbeach is at home to Blackburn on Sunday.
ESSENDON 13 defeated CHELTENHAM 2
Fielding what amounted almost to its seconds side, Essendon demonstrated great club depth by trouncing the Rustlers - who admittedly were also missing a couple of their best for the clash.
Cheltenham's Blake Cunningham was dealt with severely by the Essendon offence, while Bomber import David Whigham put up an outstanding six innings of work that augurs well for the club as the play-offs approach.
There was pre-match concern in Bomberland that the club might struggle – even more so that Cheltenham – with seven or eight of its key players missing either on Claxton Shield duties or otherwise not available. But those concerns proved unfounded as Essendon scored at will and wrapped the game up with six runs in the bottom of the sixth.
The Bombers put it to quality Cheltenham starter Blake Cunningham, who picked up four strike outs over five innings of work but conceded twelve hits to a rampant Bomber offence led by Scott McIntyre (three hits), Jarryd Rogers (three hits), Adrian Kelly (two doubles), Tim Sullivan (two doubles), Sayers, Moon and Bedford.
With Dingle and Weichard missing from their lineup, Cheltenham could muster just two hits and made a string of costly errors that resulted in three unearned runs in the first innings alone. Observers noted that the Rustlers appeared disinterested in the contest, which may be understandable given the dominance of Essendon starter David Whigham (above right).
Always in total control, the United States import threw six innings of quality work for two hits and twelve strikeouts, much of that due to his slider working to perfection and to his capacity to get ahead of the Cheltenham hitters.
Cameo outings by Gareth Formisano and Casey Jones stitched the game up in the seventh for what is another crucial win for the Essendon club and a setback for Cheltenham, who are almost certainly out of finals contention.
Essendon – seventeen and fine, with two draws - is at home to Upwey on Sunday while Cheltenham hosts Waverley on Wednesday (6.00 PM start) and is at home to Sunshine on Sunday.
MALVERN 5 defeated WAVERLEY 2
Even with a number of the Waverley players missing on Claxton Shield duties, it was still an upset of some proportions as the lowly Braves downed the league leader.
While Waverley was missing several key players, the club has enormous depth – evidenced by the pitching trio of Brett Flemming, Cody Hams and Lee Hogan that was still available.
The loss will cause barely a ripple in Wildcat ranks – given the club’s position on the ladder and the quality of the players missing – but it was a fully-deserved win by a Braves club that has been in the cellar all of the season.
“It was a very important win for us,” said Malvern Manager Marc McKenner.
“We want to stay in Division One and we’ll be making that our focus over the next several weeks,” he said.
With Brad Whitford back in harness, Malvern was delivered some outstanding performances – by both their older and less experienced players. Scoring three in the first, they put it right to the Wildcats, who in the end were totally mesmerized by a classic complete–game outing by Brendan Ratcliffe.
“He moved the ball around really well and kept their hitters off balance all day,” McKenner said. “It was windy and it was hard to hit the ball for clean shots.”
“Brendan drew a lot of flyballs and that’s where our outfielders really came into play. They cover good ground and played great defence – especially Chris Godfrey and Ryan Evans.”
While the Wildcats struggled for offensive production, the Braves were aggressive against Flemming (who went five on the comeback trail), Hams and wily Lee Hogan at the end.
“Nathan Ford hit another home run and was terrific again with a couple of hits,” McKenner said. “Chris Godfrey had three hits, Evans two hits and a couple of walks.”
“We took our opportunities against some quality pitching,” he said.
“But we did the little things for the team and just backed Brendan up all day.”
Malvern hosts Newport on Wednesday (6.00 PM start) and is at home to Sandringham on Sunday. In search of its twenty-fourth win, Waverley travels to Farm Road on Wednesday (6.00 PM) and is away to Newport on Sunday.
BLACKBURN 12 defeated SUNSHINE 2
The Eagles found it tough going against Blackburn, who go to clear second placing and extend their post-Christmas winning record to six straight.
Both sides struggled to get much going early on and the game was 3-2 in Blackburn’s favour heading into the seventh. But in the absence of Manager Jason Benson – sidelined through injury – Sunshine did not have the depth or the full-game application to stay with a league powerhouse that got away in the later innings.
Starting for Sunshine, Adam Irons did a great job in containing the Blackburn hitters, while tall eighteen year-old Ryan Phillips started for the Orioles and was relieved by Scott Woolard.
“Irons was really good for them,” said Blackburn manager Dominick Ruggiero. “He changed his speeds and had our hitters struggling.”
“I thought Phillips was awesome for us. He’s been playing in the lower grades – mainly the seconds – and when we asked him to step up today he’s really done the job.”
“Ryan has been working with Adam Bright and today was his first game in the ones,” Ruggiero said. “He’s still on a pitch count, but it was great to see him make the transition for us today.”
While Sunshine struggled for offensive production, Blackburn had solid contributors in Andrew Tierney (three hits), Ryan Booth (two) and several others sharing it around for a team total of fourteen hits and doing what they had to do in scoring a flurry of late runs that wrapped it up in the eighth.
“We were good in the field,” Ruggiero said.
“The game just got away from them,” he said, “and you have to put a lot of that down to experience.”
“There were a number of times that we had two out and runners on, when they made errors and we scored when maybe we shouldn’t have. But good sides will always make their opponents pay for their mistakes.”
In all, the Eagles errored ten times – a number that will cause problems at any level of baseball.
“Sunshine was pretty good early, but the errors – and a few walks – hurt them towards the end,” Ruggiero said.
Blackburn is away to Sandringham on Thursday (6.00 PM start) and treks to Bonbeach on Sunday, while the Eagles – looking to improve on their three and twenty-one record - are away to Cheltenham on Sunday.
UPWEY 10 defeated SANDRINGHAM 6
After a run of outs, Upwey is again showing the form that gave it an impressive winning record in the first half season.
It was an exciting game for supporters of both clubs, with the contest going to extra innings and the Tigers coming out ahead after a tumultuous last innings.
Upwey scored two in the first and scooted to a 4-0 lead, but the Royals were able to come back to level the game at 4-4 and then 5-5 as it developed into an arm wrestle that went to extra innings. Eleven innings, in fact, with the visiting Tigers exploding in the top of the last with four runs – three of them with two out as both clubs became engaged in the heat of battle.
The Tigers shared the pitching around, with Adrian Rice throwing five, Bryce Taylor a couple, Lucas Unland two and Sean Meldrum the last two.
“I thought Adrian was particularly tidy,” said Tigers Manager Mitch Ayres. “He kept their bats pretty quiet early on.
The Royals went with Matthew Holmes, who was solid on the hill before Upwey took to reliever Masa Endo with a late flurry comprising a couple of walks, steals and three hits that yielded the four in the eleventh.
“We saw ome really good hitting today,” Ayres said. “Kieran Lewis was outstanding with four from six, Nick Unland had three hits, Peter Schroeders three, Oxworth three and Leon Rice and Justin Swanton chipped in with a couple each.”
“It was an exciting game and there was never much in at all,” Ayres. “They’re a good side and just kept coming back.”
The win was Upwey’s second in a few days after a struggling start to the second half.
“It’s great to see the boys playing good baseball again,” Ayres said. “Our season has been well above expectations and we’ll be aiming to finish as high as we can.”
For the Royals – now seventeen and seven (with a draw) – the result was a disappointment.
“Upwey beat us at our game,” said Sandringham manager Daniel McGrath. “They out-hustled us at crucial points to just keep in front. We were able to peg it back and play extras, but - to Upwey’s credit – they produced great hitting when they needed it most.”
“There was a bit of controversy during the game, and that has its effects,” he said. “The teams shared thirty-seven hits but leaving sixteen men on base is what hurt us the most.”
Upwey is away to Essendon on Sunday while Sandringham has a home clash with Blackburn on Thursday (6.00 start) followed by an away clash with the Braves on Sunday. For the Royals, especially, there is much riding on the next seven days.
“We’re loking forward to the Blackburn game,” McGrath said. “We’ll be able to pitch Tom Buske – which gives us a presence on the mound. With the Claxton Shield over, Matt Blackmore is a great addition to our staff, giving us a pretty good two starter list with big games to come against some tough competition.”
“Our boys look forward to bouncing back midweek.”
DIVISION TWO
It was an odd round of baseball in Division Two, with three games developing into absolute nail-biters and the other four producing blowouts. Although six or seven games are still to be played by all clubs, Werribee remains well clear of Fitzroy, Melbourne and Williamstown - the other clubs most likely to reach the play-offs. With some scores still needed to be added from last week's midweek games, St Kilda is snapping at their heels, while Mulgrave, Waverley, Springvale, Moorabbin and Port Melbourne are all tightly bunched, but any of those would need to win all – or most – and to have other results fall in a favourable way.
Werribee downed Springvale 1-0 in a ten innings thriller, with Rob Hogan winding back the clock to go the distance for the Lions and Bees tyro Darryl George singling to score the only run as the hitters struggled for distance into a howling gale. Port Melbourne edged out Ormond 2-1 and Ronnie’s Panthers snuck home 5-4 over Waverley. Manager Stuart Cox hit a solo bomb as St Kilda thumped Preston, Melbourne scored freely against a gallant Bulldogs, Fitzroy smashed lowly Berwick (report below) and Williamstown blanked Mulgrave in what had loomed as a danger game for the Wolves.
FITZROY 23 BERWICK 3
The Lions made the long trip out to Berwick and came away with an emphatic twenty-run win. The wind was howling from the right field line towards third base and made for some interesting and difficult playing conditions.
The young Berwick side showed promise early on - loading the bases in the first but managing to bring only one home.
Brock Pawley saw his longest stint on the mound since November for the Lions and kept the Cougars’ offence to a handful of hits and just one run over five innings of work.
Fitzroy posted runs in every innings - scoring 2,2,1,2,2 during the first five innings on some aggressive base running and situational hitting. In the sixth the Lions roared loudest - scoring twelve - and at one stage had thirteen straight hits with out conceding an out.
Dave Nolten took over for Pawley and closed out the game in collecting five strike outs in two innings with his side-arm delivery.
The Fitzroy squad ended the day with twenty knocks and host of multiple hit players.
Fitzroy face recent rivals Mulgrave on Saturday at home on what is the club's sponsors’ day, while Berwick have another tough outing when they face Werribee at Altona during the week.
"Berwick have a very young side,” said Fitzroy Head Coach John Edwards. “They have the potential and the makings of a very strong club.They are still probably two or three years away from really making an impact, but I believe with the quality and the number of juniors they have that they will be a Division One club at some stage in the near the future.”
“I don’t think that’s a secret to anyone,” he said.
"My boys were great today. Forget about the sixth inning where we went insane. I’m more pleased about the preceding five innings. We played situational ball, the exact type of baseball we need to play if we want to be a force in the finals."
"Pawley throw the ball decent in his first extended outing in quite some time,” Edwards said. “It is good to get him out there and back throwing again and Nolten is really coming along with his pitching under Kemp’s guidance."
"Nolten has just secured a contract with a German team for the upcoming Bundesliga season. He will play for Dortmund in the 1st Division Bundesliga North as a pitcher and utility."
"We only have games left,” said Edwards. “We will use the remaining games to hone our set plays and improve our situational awareness. We will also manage our pitching staff so we are at full strength in March to really give ourselves every chance of being successful and winning the championship."
WOMEN’S BASEBALL
With only one round to play, finalists are settled in all grades, although finishing order might still be an issue.
Second-placed Springvale downed league-leading Doncaster – in DIVISION ONE - as the finale for the triple-header at Deep Creek, Malvern trounced Werribee by ten and Springvale/Berwick fought off a tenacious Port Melbourne in a tight one.
Doncaster is assured of top placing in DIVISION TWO after dispensing with second-placed Springvale, while Malvern’s win over Werribee will ensure that the two meet in the First Semi-Final in a fortnight.
Bundoora nailed a finals berth by beating Doncaster in DIVISION THREE, Sandringham downed St Kilda in a high-scoring encounter, undefeated Melbourne was too strong for Waverley and second-placed Foostcray collected seventeen hits to two in its big win over Ormond.
“The Dragons went down to the Springvale Lions 10-7 on Saturday at Deep Creek, in what was a huge day for the club. Club stalwart and Head Coach Samantha Hamilton became the first female Doncaster player to reach 200 games and the day also included a function with past and present players to recognise the 10th anniversary of the women’s program.” Read the full report on the Doncaster Baseball Club website.Victoria is Claxton Shield champion for 2009/10 after downing South Australia in two Grand Final games at La Trobe University (Melbourne) over the weekend.
Match reports are provided elsewhere on these pages. Grand Final images are posted on the Victoria Aces website (“Gallery” link in main menu). Richard “SOD” Mason did his customarily outstanding job of capturing the Claxton Shield action over the summer.
Baseball Victoria extends its warm congratulations to the Aces organisation, to the players and all who helped out in delivering the Claxton Shield during this challenging, “interim” season of the fledgling Australian Baseball League.
To bring further credit on Victorian baseball for its successful season, Sandringham's Matthew Blackmore was named Claxton Shield Finals Series MVP and Pitcher of the Year. A justifiably very proud Sandringham Baseball Club reports on its website. MORE.....
The sport of baseball extends its sincere appreciation to the Baycats Baseball Club and its supporters for hosting the vast majority of home games at the Geelong Baseball Centre. With three of the games at La Trobe University – including the two finals – the Preston Baseball Club, La Trobe University winter club and the institution itself all did a fantastic job in hosting Claxton Shield fixtures in Melbourne.
Well done to all.
The ABL “Name Your Team” competition closed last week. While more detail will be forthcoming from the Australian Baseball League, it is expected that names and colours - and of course a winner of the competition - will be announced in the near future when a strategy will be announced for promotion and launch of the fully-operational new league whose season is expected to start at the end of October.
With negotiations continuing regarding venues in the various states, the composition of squads, projected media coverage and the structure of the season for the first year, we can expect some exciting announcements to be made over coming months.
- 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 on 20 February.
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.
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.
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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