Six fantastic VSBL Division 1 midweek games went on Tuesday night, with first-place Sunshine bouncing back after a tough loss on the weekend and Geelong and Waverley staying firmly in the race. There's just two games to go before the break as teams look to finish the year strong.
Division 1 Firsts
Sandringham Royals 3 v Sunshine Eagles 7
The Royals pulled off a close 3-2 victory over the weekend but they couldn't replicate that success in the midweek meeting as Sunshine scored three early runs and kept things rolling after that.
The second and third innings were quiet but Sunshine struck again in the fourth with one run while Sandringham put one on the board in the fifth and two in the sixth. The Eagles squashed their hopes of a bigger comeback though, scoring three more runs in the bottom of the seventh before shutting Sandringham out in the top of the eighth to end the game.
Sunshine collected eight hits on the night while Sandringham had six. Errors proved costly for the Royals as they made three mistakes in the field compared to just one for the Eagles.
Zak Skinner had two hits and an RBI for the Royals, while Cody Anderson and Harrison Wills knocked in the other two Sandringham's runs. Bryce Aldridge and Nikau Pouaka-Grego both had two hits for Sunshine while teammate Jeremy Young was great on the mound, earning the win with eight innings of solid work, including 19 first-pitch strikes and six strikeouts. Young gave up six hits and three runs - two of them earned - over the course of the night.
Declan Croker pitched six innings for Sandringham, allowing six hits and seven runs - five of them earned - while Brandon Stenhouse filled in for a scoreless inning with two hits given up.
Sunshine is holding steady at the top of the ladder, now with a 11-3 record, while Sandringham is 7-8 as the Royals try to keep climbing the ladder. Sunshine plays Waverley next while Sandringham has Upwey Ferntree Gully.
Cheltenham Rustlers 4 v Melbourne Demons 0
Melbourne's woes continue as the team has now dropped eight of the last ten games, with the last win coming in the first game of the series as the Demons prevailed 4-2.
Cheltenham was consistently in control throughout his midweek matchup, with Jack Enciondo doing his job on the mound. He threw seven innings of scoreless ball with just three hits and two walks given up.
Dante Caruso doubled and Ben Fierenzi knocked in a run for Cheltenham. Andrew Gribben had a base hit and Jackson Hunkin knocked in a run with his blazing double. Lars Ligouri had a single, a double and an RBI on the night.
This game marked the fifth time Melbourne has been shut out this season, something the 5-9 Demons will hope to avoid heading into a series with Essendon. Cheltenham sits at 7-8 before taking on Geelong.
Essendon Bombers 1 v Newport Rams 2
Newport avoided the sweep with a narrow victory over Essendon, thanks to a late scoring push at the end of the game.
It was scoreless through the fifth before the Bombers got one on the board, with the Rams rearing back in the bottom of the seventh to score two and win the game.
Jason Jarvis got the win on the mound, tossing the entire game with just four hits, a walk and one unearned run allowed. He struck out 14 batters in his dominant display.
Nathan Smith, Zac Seipolt and Connor Schibeci had base hits for Newport while Mason Wray singled twice and knocked in a run.
Essendon split up the pitching duties between Gareth Formisano, Luke Abels and Kyle Bedford. Formisano gave up two hits and two strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work, while Abels gave up a lone hit and struck out four in 2.2 innings on the mound. Bedford allowed two hits and two walks in the final frames as Newport scored one unearned run and one earned run off of him.
Ross Bament, Jack Giles, Scott McIntyre and Cody Rodwell were the four Essendon batters to get base hits off of Jarvis.
This result sees Newport improve to 4-10 while Essendon remains in the top four with a 9-6 record. Newport hosts Berwick and Essendon hosts Melbourne on the weekend.
Blackburn Orioles 5 v Upwey FTG Tigers 1
Blackburn put together a strong team performance, much to the Orioles delight after a string of disappointing losses.
With Andy Jones and Harrison Smith dominating on the mound, the Orioles were able to get the job done as every starter recorded a hit or an RBI.
Charlie Collins led off the game with a single before advancing on a bunt and scoring on a double from Jacob Evans.
With a 1-0 lead going into the top of the third, Blackburn kept things moving with Smith's first big hit for the club. His double set Evans up for a two-run homer, his fourth over the past four games, put the Orioles up 3-0.
Ryan Berg singled, Cooper Goodman doubled and Tom Kerr-Chapman hit a ground ball to keep the game moving in a positive direction for Blackburn.
The Orioles scored another run on back-to-back triples by Luke Cartwright and Charlie Collins in the top of the sixth as the Tigers got one back in the final frame but couldn't put anything else together.
Jones covered scoreless 4.1 innings with just three hits and two walks allowed along with 13 first-pitch strikes. Smith handled 1.2 innings for Blackburn on the mound, giving up one run on two hits.
Upwey Ferntree Gully's Jarrod Turner pitched six innings, giving up five earned runs on 10 hits with six strikeouts peppered throughout.
Josh Hendricks had two hits to lead the Tigers offense as Upwey Ferntree Gully remains in the top five with a 6-5-1 record. Blackburn sits in sixth place at 7-8 before a series with Fitzroy, while Upwey Ferntree Gully's next opponent is Sandringham.
Blackburn put together a strong team performance, much to the Orioles delight after a string of disappointing losses.
With Andy Jones and Harrison Smith dominating on the mound, the Orioles were able to get the job done as every starter recorded a hit or an RBI.
Charlie Collins led off the game with a single before advancing on a bunt and scoring on a double from Jacob Evans.
With a 1-0 lead going into the top of the third, Blackburn kept things moving with Smith's first big hit for the club. His double set Evans up for a two-run homer, his fourth over the past four games, put the Orioles up 3-0.
Ryan Berg singled, Cooper Goodman doubled and Tom Kerr-Chapman hit a ground ball to keep the game moving in a positive direction for Blackburn.
The Orioles scored another run on back-to-back triples by Luke Cartwright and Charlie Collins in the top of the sixth as the Tigers got one back in the final frame but couldn't put anything else together.
Jones covered scoreless 4.1 innings with just three hits and two walks allowed along with 13 first-pitch strikes. Smith handled 1.2 innings for Blackburn on the mound, giving up one run on two hits.
Upwey Ferntree Gully's Jarrod Turner pitched six innings, giving up five earned runs on 10 hits with six strikeouts peppered throughout.
Josh Hendricks had two hits to lead the Tigers offense as Upwey Ferntree Gully remains in the top five with a 6-5-1 record. Blackburn sits in sixth place at 7-8 before a series with Fitzroy, while Upwey Ferntree Gully's next opponent is Sandringham.
Waverley Wildcats 4 v Berwick City Cougars 2
The Wildcats scored all their runs in the third inning while keeping Berwick at bay. The Cougars did get one runner home in both the third and the fourth, but it just wasn't enough to avoid the sweep.
Jamie Papanicoloau threw three innings for Waverley, earning the win while Darcy Longstaff kept things under control on the mound too.
Reece Longstaff, Jordan Ley, Mohi Kahui and Ben Aslett all singled while both Mitchell Homfray and Damon Hill collected two singles and an RBI.
Craig Barnett pitched four innings for Berwick, giving up four runs - two of them unearned - along with seven hits and three strikeouts. Cameron Gibbens filled in for two quiet innings in relief, giving up just one hit and two walks with four strikeouts.
It was a relatively quiet outing for Berwick offensively as Barnett singled along with Cain Bumpstead, Aiden Willis and Mark Surtees. Aaron Ouwehand recorded an RBI and Willis did too.
Waverley is 10-5 in the top three ahead of a huge series at Sunshine, while Berwick is 4-9-1 heading into a series at Newport.
Fitzroy Lions 1 v Geelong Baycats 5
The Baycats completed the sweep of the Lions with a commanding midweek performance, led by great pitching from Geelong-Korea development player Lachlan Hockey and Cameron Forbes.
Hockey gave up five hits, four walks and one run across five innings while Forbes gave up just a lone hit with three strikeouts in two innings. 13 of Hockey's first pitches counted for strikes.
Geelong's Jordan Baumann continued to impress, with two singles and an RBI to compliment his solid defense in left field. Rudy Jaramillo had two base hits, bringing his total to 14 on the season, while Ryan Darcy singled and Josh Davies had an RBI hit.
Lewis Weldon also had an RBI single while Jarryd Wood tripled and James Wood singled. Geelong managed to put up 22 runs throughout the series, with James Wood leading the way with nine quality at-bats over the three games.
Fitzroy's Tom Wilson had three quality at-bats including a hit for the Lions, while Riley Hill and James Little covered things on the mound.
Geelong carries a 10-5 record into the next series v Cheltenham while Fitzroy is 5-9 before playing Blackburn.