The 2019/20 VSBL Division 4 season is well underway, with a handful of teams emerging as front-runners with 11 games left to go in the regular season. Melbourne remains undefeated in the East, while Footscray White in North West and Monash University and Cheltenham in the South also haven't lost.
Division 4 East
Monash University Farmers 7 v St Kilda Saints 15
The Saints have won back-to-back games after a strong performance at home v Monash Uni. This result puts the Saints in fourth place as the Farmers hang on to third place.
The game was a close one early on, with both sides scoring six in the first. The Saints went on to break the game open with two runs in the second and seven in the fourth, while Monash managed just one more in the third. Justin Ramirez led the charge for St Kilda.
St Kilda is now 3-4 while Monash is 3-3-2 ahead of respective matchups with Malvern and Waverley Black.
Fitzroy Lions Gold 21 v Malvern Braves 2
Fitzroy Gold tallied three home runs in a convincing win over Malvern, a much better result for the Lions than a 13-1 loss to Melbourne the week prior.
Malvern has now dropped back-to-back games as the Braves have given up the second-most runs in the competition with 110 across the first eight games.
Fitzroy opened this game with three runs before scoring seven apiece in the second and third. Malvern's lone runs came in the bottom of the fourth as Fitzroy answered with a final four runs.
A lineup with the likes of Henry Formosa-Doyle, Adrian Rooks and Ariel Caraballo got the job done, something they will look to do again in round nine as 3-3-1 Fitzroy takes on 1-7 Blackburn. Malvern sits at 3-5 ahead of Sunday's game at St Kilda.
Fitzroy Gold tallied three home runs in a convincing win over Malvern, a much better result for the Lions than a 13-1 loss to Melbourne the week prior.
Malvern has now dropped back-to-back games as the Braves have given up the second-most runs in the competition with 110 across the first eight games.
Fitzroy opened this game with three runs before scoring seven apiece in the second and third. Malvern's lone runs came in the bottom of the fourth as Fitzroy answered with a final four runs.
A lineup with the likes of Henry Formosa-Doyle, Adrian Rooks and Ariel Caraballo got the job done, something they will look to do again in round nine as 3-3-1 Fitzroy takes on 1-7 Blackburn. Malvern sits at 3-5 ahead of Sunday's game at St Kilda.
Waverley Wildcats Black 14 v Waverley Wildcats Red 9
In this friendly battle of the Wildcats, the Black side prevailed despite strong efforts from the Red team. This result keeps Waverley Wildcats Black in second place behind Melbourne with a 7-1 record, while Waverley Wildcats Red sit at 1-6-1.
Waverley Black plays Monash University this weekend and Waverley Red plays Melbourne.
Melbourne Demons 13 v Blackburn Orioles 4
The Demons proved once more why they are the team to beat in Division 4 East. Melbourne remains undefeated on the heels of another strong performance, as the team has scored 90 runs this season while allowing only 15. Blackburn sits at the other end of the ladder, having scored 49 runs and given up 111 runs in one win and seven losses.
Melbourne looks to keep it up v Waverley Red this weekend while Blackburn hosts Fitzroy Gold.
Division 4 North West
Mitchell Majors Black 1 v Footscray Bulldogs Blue 15
Mitchell Majors Black got one run in the opening frame but it didn't mean much as Footscray Blue put up four. The Bulldogs scored another seven in the third before four more across the final innings settled the score. Connor Allen, Shane Cole-Hayhow, Jeremy Fenton and Nicholas Jarvis helped the Bulldogs' cause as the team was strong up and down the lineup.
Mitchell Majors Black is 1-6 now while Footscray Blue is slowly climbing up the ladder with a 3-4 record now.
Essendon Jets 9 v North Coburg Rebels Gold 16
The Rebels return to their winning ways after a tough outing at Footscray Red last week. The Jets were thrilled to get their second win of the season last week but they couldn't quite make it back-to-back wins despite some great offensive production.
Essendon scored first with two runs to open the game, although North Coburg quickly responded with five runs. A seven-run second and four-run third quickly followed. Essendon put up a strong seven-spot in the fourth, but still fell short of a complete comeback.
The Jets are 2-5 and the Rebels Gold are 5-2 with upcoming games against Footscray Blue and Essendon Bombers respectively.
Mitchell Majors Yellow 20 v Essendon Bombers 5
The team that won last year's premiership had its best game of the season, putting up the highest run tally to date. Mitchell Majors Yellow has now scored 72 runs while allowing 43 with a 5-3 record, while Essendon Bombers remain near the bottom with a 1-6 record.
Next up for Mitchell Majors Yellow is a bye, while Essendon Bombers take on North Coburg Rebels Gold.
Fitzroy Lions Maroon 12 v North Coburg Rebels Maroon 8
These two Maroon sides battled it out with lots of runs, although Fitzroy pulled away in the later stages to secure win number six of the season.
The Lions scored three early runs but still fell behind with the Rebels putting up five in the first. A quiet second inning gave way to a tumultuous third, as Fitzroy added three and North Coburg tacked on two. With the score 7-6 to the Rebels, the Lions picked up the pace and put on four in the fourth and two in the fifth.
An extra run for North Coburg in the fourth wasn't enough as the Rebels narrowly missed out on their second win of the season. North Coburg Maroon is 1-7 at the bottom of the ladder while Fitzroy Maroon is in third place with a 6-1 record. Round nine has North Coburg Maroon at Fitzroy Blue and Fitzroy Maroon at Footscray White.
Fitzroy Lions Blue 2 v Footscray Bulldogs Red 22
The Lions were kept quiet by this formidable Footscray side that just wouldn't stop scoring. The Bulldogs started the game with a quick five runs before three more in the second. Fitzroy Blue put two on in the third but Footscray Red didn't waste any time, scoring another seven in the third and seven in the fourth to reach the final score.
Jake Arnott, Nathan Axiaq, Adrian Bigmore and Shane Kinlough made a difference for Footscray in this game as the Bulldogs improve to 7-1 just behind Footscray White. Fitzroy Blue is 2-5 going into round nine.
Division 4 South
Melbourne Demons 1 v Berwick City Cougars 14
The Demons were defeated by a hard-hitting, fast-moving Berwick side that refused to slow down.
The Cougars put up six in the first, one in both the second and the third and four more in the fourth. Two final runs came in the sixth while Melbourne only scored one in the second.
Berwick relied on solid efforts from Cameron Hawkins, Christopher Hyde, Mitchell Porter and Bill Yuan throughout the game. Now the Cougars are 6-1 while the Demons are 2-2 before round nine takes them to St Kilda and Ormond Glenhuntly respectively.
Monash University Farmers 11 v Moorabbin Panthers 10
This was a close one as both teams battled it out into the final moments. The Farmers got three on the board early but Moorabbin wasn't deterred, putting up two in the bottom frame. Both sides scored two apiece in the second while Moorabbin scored another pair in the third for a narrow 6-5 lead.
The fourth inning was uneventful before both sides brought their big bats out in the fifth. The Farmers batted in six runs while Moorabbin got four as Monash secured that crucial one-run victory to stay undefeated.
With six wins and a draw, the Farmers are feeling good ahead of next Sunday's matchup with Pakenham, while 3-4 Moorabbin has some ground to cover against Cheltenham.
St Kilda Baseball Club 15 v Pakenham Pumas 6
The Saints were pleased to get their first win on the board after this solid team effort, with contributions from Omar Gomez, Michael Khan, Jonathon Momsen and Lucas Taylor certainly helping the cause.
St Kilda scored two in the first while Pakenham answered with one.
A six-run second inning and seventh-run third sealed the deal and put the game out of reach for Pakenham. The Pumas managed one in the second and a pair of runs in the third and fourth but it wasn't enough as they have now lost eight straight.
Round nine has St Kilda hosting Berwick and Pakenham hosting Monash University.
Ormond Glenhuntly 3 v Cheltenham Rustlers 17
The game was tied at 1-1 after the first before the Hunters very briefly held a 2-1 advantage. Cheltenham took back control in the bottom of the second, scoring five runners to make quite the statement.
Four more came around in the third and seven in the fourth as Cheltenham cruised to back-to-back victories. The Hunters got one at the end of the game but that was all.
The Rustlers are 3-0-1 and the Hunters are 2-5 with this weekend featuring home games against Moorabbin and Melbourne respectively.