VSBL Division 4 East, North West and South continue to impress with strong team performances week in and week out. There's still a handful of teams holding onto undefeated records as the final round of 2019 rapidly approaches before the break.
Division 4 East
Melbourne Demons 8 v St Kilda Saints 1
Of the five innings played, Melbourne scored in four of them, collecting two hits in each besides the third. St Kilda though did score in the third inning, their one run coming across.
Adam Hayman, Liam Jackson and Luke Painter contributed to Melbourne's success on the day as the team remained undefeated through yet another round with an exceptional 127 runs scored on the season compared to just 19 runs allowed.
The Demons hold a handy 11-0 record going into the final round where they play Waverley Wildcats Black while the Saints are in fourth at 5-6, setting themselves up for a big clash with Fitzroy Lions Gold this weekend.
Waverley Wildcats Red 5 v Fitzroy Lions Gold 13
The first inning produced many runs for both sides, both Waverley Black and Fitzroy Gold scoring four runs each however the Lions added on a further seven in the second to take a sizeable lead.
One run to each team in the third was followed by another run to Fitzroy Gold in the fourth until the final two innings saw a defensive display from both the Wildcats and Lions.
Henry Formosa-Doyle, Sam Clancy and Carlos Ciccia supported Fitzroy at the plate.
It's the Wildcats' second loss in a row as they won't want that streak continuing into the new year as they prepare to take on Malvern. Fitzroy is comfortable in third but has an upcoming top-four clash with St Kilda.
Blackburn Orioles 0 v Waverley Wildcats Black 19
A big win to Waverley Black over Blackburn was started by a six-run first dig and followed by a seven-run effort in the third.
A Waverley Black lineup featuring the likes of Ethan Chiarotto, Vaughn Evans and Dean Ferris proved too much for Blackburn.
The shut-out win to Waverley Black was the Wildcats' 11th win of the year as next week's salivating matchup between Melbourne awaits. The Orioles however will hope to end the year with a second win over Monash Uni.
Monash University Farmers 12 v Malvern Braves 3
Both teams got a run in their first digs but it was the Farmers who took a nine-run lead over the next two innings, highlighted by six in the third.
The Braves took two runs back in the fourth, but that was cancelled out by Monash Uni in the fifth as the Farmers ended the game with a nine-run win.
Ashley Aylen, Paul Blakeney and Josh Duff helped the Farmers' cause as they take on Blackburn in the final round of the year while Malvern will travel to Waverley to play Wildcats Black.
Division Four North West
Fitzroy Lions Blue 2 v Mitchell Majors Yellow 21
Mitchell Majors Yellow scored five runs in the first and never held back, scoring another seven in the second and nine more across the third and fourth innings.
Nick Attard, Joel Burton and Coen Fitzgerald all had great games for Mitchell Majors as the reigning premiers left their mark on the Lions.
Fitzroy Blue managed to snare two runs in the fourth but were already far behind as Mitchell Majors Yellow won their eighth game of the season and fifth in a row.
The streak will hope to continue when they face Mitchell Majors Black in the last round. The Lions Blue will host North Coburg Gold.
North Coburg Rebels Maroon 3 v North Coburg Rebels Gold 22
In the battle of North Coburg, Gold prevailed to confirm their top-four standing while Maroon remains stranded on the bottom with one win.
Maroon got the first run of the game at the top of the first but two consecutive seven-run digs from Gold saw a lead start to mount and only get bigger as they piled on another eight runs across the next two innings, six in the fourth.
North Coburg Maroon found another two runs but couldn't put enough of a dent in the deficit. Rebels Maroon will hope that one win can turn to two after a matchup with Footscray Blue while Rebels Gold take on Fitzroy Blue.
Fitzroy Lions Maroon 12 v Essendon Bombers 8
Essendon had the early jump on Fitzroy Maroon, getting to a seven run lead after a dominating second dig however it was the third inning where the Lions started really pressing, gaining two runs.
The Bombers saw another run score in the bottom, with the Lions again improving, this time celebrating four runners stepping on home plate, the Bombers lead cut to two runs.
In a powerful display, Fitzroy Maroon were able to hold the Bombers to no further runs as they themselves scored six to take themselves to victory. Aidan Cresser, Morgan Evans and Kevin Hendler helped Fitzroy achieve a crucial victory in this close game.
A testament to the hardwork of Fitzroy Maroon after going down narrowly last week, they now sit fifth ahead of a matchup with Footscray Red. Essendon would have liked to have gone into the new year with three wins however, the Bombers are 2-9 and have the bye this weekend so they will be refreshed for the second half of the season.
Footscray Bulldogs Red 11 v Footscray Bulldogs Blue 5
In the battle for bragging rights at Footscray, Red prevailed over Blue but it wasn't always going in Red's favour.
Blue received the first three runs of the game in the first and had a 5-1 lead after two complete innings. Red tied the scores shortly after with a four-run burst at the top of the third.
Red were able to restrict Blue from using the bats too much more in the following three digs as they added six to their total to take the game.
It's Footscray Blue's third loss in a row but haven't moved from their sixth position in that time either but with wanting to take no chances, will want to perform well over North Coburg Maroon this weekend. Footscray Red are 9-1-1 and play Fitzroy Maroon.
Mitchell Majors Black v Footscray Bulldogs White - FORFEIT
Essendon Jets v BYE
Essendon had the bye in Round 12 but will come back for Round 13 to take on Footscray White.
The Jets have had two of their three wins in the last six weeks as well as a draw to sit eighth whereas Footscray White are enjoying a good season, not yet receiving a loss at 9-0-1.
Division Four South
Pakenham Pumas 4 v Melbourne Demons 10
Melbourne was on a two-game losing streak but a few displays of offensive helped power the Demons to victory over Pakenham in this matchup.
The Demons started their offense with three runs and added another three in the second in response to the Pumas one.
Pakenham cut the lead again in the third but just by two and Melbourne pressed again to score four throughout the third and fourth innings.
The result not beyond them, the Pumas couldn't muster enough runners on base in the final hitout of their offensive innings, managing one run.
Scott Briggs, Josh Chrisholm and Lachlan Clayton got the job done for Melbourne on Sunday. The Demons have evened their record to sit fifth at 4-4 before ending the year with a game against St Kilda while the Pumas have the one win from 12 games ahead of Ormond Glenhuntly.
St Kilda Saints 14 v Cheltenham Rustlers 9
It was a real hitting game in this one as many players found their way on base.
St Kilda put up three runs in the top of the first where Cheltenham responded with two of their own, sensing this could be a close game between two top-four sides.
However, what happened next was what the Rustlers wouldn't have wanted which was the Saints finding 10 runs over the second and third digs.
In the third however, Cheltenham went one better and ran in seven runs as they stayed in the mix and in the fourth, only saw one St Kilda runner come home, the ability to steal defeat in the bottom.
The Rustlers though weren't able to produce the magic they did in the inning prior as they failed to drive in any runs, losing their first game of the season.
The Rustlers are now 6-1-1 and second ahead of a clash with Monash Uni while St Kilda is on a four-game win streak and takes on Melbourne in a top-four clash.
Berwick City Cougars 11 v Monash University Farmers 3
Monash Uni suffered their first loss of the season as they just couldn't find the bats when they needed to as Berwick utilised every chance they could to record a win.
Starting with two runs in the first and another in the second, the Cougars were out to a 3-1 lead as the Farmers hit one in at the bottom of the first.
The damage came in the third though when Berwick scored five and another two in the fourth, all the while keeping Monash Uni's hitters accountable.
The Farmers did however find two runs in the fifth, and the Cougars one in the sixth as the game ended with each team not letting up another score.
The Farmers won't let this game and the loss defy them as they'll bounce back against Chetlenham. Berwick will take great confidence into the new year after providing the Farmers with their first loss as they're 8-3 and have an extended break.
Ormond Glenhuntly v BYE