Division 1 Firsts midweek games showcased some fantastic team performances as Sunshine bounced back from a surprise loss over the weekend and Geelong secured a three-game win streak heading into this weekend. There's four games to go before the break as the competition continues to heat up.
Sunshine Eagles 10 v Sandringham Royals 1
The Eagles were stunned by the Orioles over the weekend as Blackburn hit multiple home runs for a 15-3 win, but Sunshine bounced back in style on Tuesday night in the first game against Sandringham.
The scores were level at one after the first inning, but Sunshine kept up with the scoring. One run in the second, three in the third and two in the fourth helped the Eagles put the game out of reach. Two more Sunshine runners came around to score in the top of the seventh as the team racked up a massive 17 hits, while giving up only six to Sandringham throughout the game.
With things covered on the mound, Sunshine could focus on hitting, and that's exactly what the lineup did. Rory Meddick had four hits on the day while Allan de Dan Miguel had three hits including a home run and two RBIs. Nikau Pouaka-Grego also had three hits and an RBI.
Declan Croker and Riley Trad pitched for Sandringham, trying their best to keep Sunshine under control but falling short. The Royals made one error on the day as they took a 6-7 record while Sunshine improves to 10-2 to stay firmly in first place.
Sandringham hosts this weekend's meeting before the midweek game heads to Sunshine.
Newport Rams 1 v Essendon Bombers 5
The Bombers are looking good after winning their last three games. The game was tied at one before Essendon broke it open in the final few innings, securing win number eight of the season.
Newport is lagging behind at 3-9, despite a strong effort for much of the midweek game. Stephen Pengelly, Connor Shibeci and Trenell Hutchins picked up Newport's three hits on the night, all singles.
David Asp threw three scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. Nathan Smith handled 2.1 innings, giving up four hits, one walk and three earned runs with two strikeouts. Tyler Comben also contributed on the mound.
Essendon's highlight of the night came from Charlie Sutherland as he picked up his first safe hit in Division 1 top nine with a 2-RBI shot to propel the Bombers to victory.
Essendon is now 8-5 in second place along with Geelong and Waverley.
The Bombers are looking good after winning their last three games. The game was tied at one before Essendon broke it open in the final few innings, securing win number eight of the season.
Newport is lagging behind at 3-9, despite a strong effort for much of the midweek game. Stephen Pengelly, Connor Shibeci and Trenell Hutchins picked up Newport's three hits on the night, all singles.
David Asp threw three scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. Nathan Smith handled 2.1 innings, giving up four hits, one walk and three earned runs with two strikeouts. Tyler Comben also contributed on the mound.
Essendon's highlight of the night came from Charlie Sutherland as he picked up his first safe hit in Division 1 top nine with a 2-RBI shot to propel the Bombers to victory.
Essendon is now 8-5 in second place along with Geelong and Waverley.
Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers 2 v Blackburn Orioles 0
This was a tight game as both sides relied heavily on their pitchers, but the Tigers got the job done. Upwey Ferntree Gully scored one run in the second and one in the seventh.
Upwey Ferntree Gully had six hits, with Peter Schroders and Justin Swanton knocking in the runs. Jarrod Turner pitched the whole game for the shutout, throwing 17 first-pitch strikes with four strikeouts.
Upwey Ferntree Gully had six hits, with Peter Schroders and Justin Swanton knocking in the runs. Jarrod Turner pitched the whole game for the shutout, throwing 17 first-pitch strikes with four strikeouts.
Blackburn collected just five hits on the night, two of those singles to Ryan Berg. Liam Hopkins and Thomas Kerr-Chapman both doubled, while Tim Holland singled.
Harrison Smith threw two innings, giving up two hits, two walks and a run along with two strikeouts. Andrew Jones covered three innings of scoreless ball, allowing just one hit and one walk.
The Tigers are just ahead of the Orioles on the ladder with a 5-4-1 record, compared to a 6-7 record for Blackburn. The Orioles host on the weekend before next week's midweek at Upwey Ferntree Gully.
Melbourne Demons 4 v Cheltenham Rustlers 2
Melbourne finally got a win on the board after a rough few weeks. The Demons lost the last three games and had only one win since round four, so the team was thrilled to secure the victory last night.
Cheltenham has now lost back-to-back games, although the Rustlers pitching was still pretty good on Tuesday night with just five hits allowed. Melbourne's Mitchell Ellis picked up a pair of base hits and Tim Sullivan, Jarryd Rogers and Harvey Mitchelhill also got on base with singles. Mitchelhill knocked in two of Melbourne's runs.
Cheltenham is just slightly below Melbourne on the ladder with a 5-8 record while the Demons are 5-7.
Berwick City Cougars 0 v Waverley Wildcats 1
The game was scoreless through the first few innings, before the Wildcats finally got on board with one in the fifth.
The Cougars were quiet all throughout the game, and as it turned out that one run they gave up proved to be the decider.
Jordan Ley collected two of Waverley's seven hits while Mitchell Wilhite doubled and Andrew Russell, Mohi Kahui, Reece Longstaff and Mitchell Homfray got involved with base hits of their own.
Jamie Papanicoloau threw seven scoreless innings with just two hits and four walks allowed along with four strikeouts.
Matthew Beattie contributed one inning of scoreless pitching with two strikeouts. Adam Bright also pitched a solid inning in relief.
This was a quick midweek game that went nine innings as Waverley kept pace with the other second-place teams, now holding onto a 8-5 record.
After a decent start the Cougars have slipped in recent weeks, with their last win coming in round six.
Geelong Baycats 13 v Fitzroy Lions 1
The Baycats took care of business in this midweek meeting, racking up 16 hits while only giving up four to the Lions.
Jarryd Wood and James Wood made a big difference in this win, as did Ryan Darcy and Rudy Jaramillo with two hits each. Jordan Baumann did a good job getting on base, taking two walks while Wood knocked in three runs and Lewis Weldon brought in two. Tyler Luther-Wilson also had an RBI on the night.
Jaramillo was fantastic on the mound, throwing seven innings with just one run allowed and 15 first-pitch strikes. He also struck out seven.
Ryan Mitchell covered five innings on the mound for Fitzroy and Carl Wilson handled three.
Geelong has an 8-5 record and Fitzroy is 5-7 heading into this weekend.