The 2019/20 VSBL Division 1 season continued with lots of excitement in round eight, as Geelong finally got the best of Sunshine to put a halt to the Eagles undefeated season. Sandringham and Cheltenham enjoyed big wins too as teams look to finish the first half of the season strong.
Division One Firsts
Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers 0 v Berwick City Cougars 0
The game got underway but after 45 minutes, the teams were sent to the dugouts as the rain started to pour with the decision to abandon the match ultimately made 10 minutes later.
The two sides play again on Tuesday night at Berwick with both needing wins to continue their climb up the ladder.
Sunshine Eagles 5 v Geelong Baycats 6
It took until the bottom of the ninth for Geelong to bang home the winning run as they tied it up in the eighth.
Sunshine got a two-run lead in the third before Geelong squared things up in the fourth.
One run to the Eagles and two to the Baycats saw the home side take the lead after the fifth inning was completed but the Eagles took the lead back at the top of eight, unable to claim the lead once more in the ninth.
Geelong were helped along by two runs to Ryan Darcy and Kelli Zablan, the latter hitting a home run with James Wood getting home from a three-base hit. Joshua Davies was the Baycats other runscorer.
Pitching-wise for Geelong, it was Rudy Jaramillo who was on the mound for eight innings where even though he gave up four earned runs, Jaramillo performed 11 strikeouts and one base on balls.
Newport Rams 0 v Fitzroy Lions 1
A strict defence was presented on the diamond from both Newport and Fitzroy in this matchup that featured the two bottom sides.
Ultimately it was Lions that powered through to get the winning run at the bottom of the eighth, with the Lions once again shutting the Rams out.
Newport were hampered by leaving many runners on base, collecting seven hits throughout the nine innings. Two hits to Connor Schibeci and a double to Tyler Comben highlighted the offensive work for the Rams.
Newport’s Jason Jarvis was on the mound for eight innings and in that time, gave up the game-winning run.
There were only two hits in the game for the Lions, each coming in the eighth inning. Tyler Trevaskis got on base with a double before Jordan Walker hit a single that allowed Trevaskis to run home.
Rusty Huber took the mound for seven innings, giving up three hits while striking out eight in his first win of the season. Brock Pawley came in to finish off the game, drawing four hits and two strikeouts.
Newport and Fitzroy will play their midweek fixture at Melbourne Ballpark where the Rams will be hopeful of taking one back from their opponents and even up the series.
Essendon Bombers 7 v Sandringham Royals 15
Sandringham won their third game of the summer as their up-and-down season continues, but this defeat of Essendon was needed.
On the Bombers part, they’ve now lost two in a row and to lowly-ranked opposition too as it was a 2-0 defeat to Fitzroy last week who sit 11th, whereas the Royals are two spots above the Lions.
Essendon have since slipped to third place and while it’s not all doom and gloom, a midweek matchup against the Royals at Melbourne Ballpark will be a good setting to get back on track.
Melbourne Demons 1 v Waverley Wildcats 8
Waverley got off to a great start in this game at home, getting out to a six-run lead after two innings.
Melbourne got their one and only run in the fourth, until the Wildcats stormed home well, gathering another two runs in the sixth and holding on for the win.
For the Wildcats, Jordan Ley went four from four, crossing the plate twice while Andrew Russell and Jacob Sheldon-Collins each got two runs from two hits.
The long ball played a massive part in the game’s proceedings, with three home runs hit, credited to Russell, Damon Hill and Reece Longstaff.
Russell again got the start and the win from pitching seven innings, allowing just the one run on three hits, with a season-high 10 strikeouts. Mitch Thomas did the rest to disallow Melbourne to get a hold of him in the later stages of the game, throwing two innings of scoreless baseball with just one hit given up and three strikeouts. This marks his second shutout relief performance in Waverley's firsts this year.
Waverley are back on track winning the last two, however Melbourne are winless from their past five games after starting the season 3-0.
Cheltenham Rustlers 7 v Blackburn Orioles 3
Blackburn drew first blood in the first and were up 3-1 all the way until the seventh after a two-run effort in the fifth as Cheltenham drew things up in the third.
Three runs in each of the seventh and eighth innings allowed the Rustlers to overtake the Orioles for their third win of the season and will be aiming to make it two wins over Blackburn in their midweek fixture.
Blackburn collected nine hits on the day to Cheltenham’s 12, but for the Orioles, multiple hits to Jacob Evans, Cooper Goodman and Liam Hopkins tried to propel them past the Rustlers.
Goodman was responsible for batting in all of the Orioles runs – Hopkins, Ben Leslie and Nick Rossell each crossing the plate.
Cheltenham are finally finding some form, winning three of their last four games after taking some time to adjust to their promotion to Division One while Blackburn remain competitive across the division.
Division One Seconds
Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers 0 v Berwick City Cougars 0
The unstoppable downpour of rain saw this game abandoned.
Upwey Ferntree Gully still managed to move up the ladder following Cheltenham’s loss despite the call on the game, whereas Berwick are sixth with a 3-3 record.
Each team will be hoping the weather improves for this weekend when they come up against each other at the Tigers home ground.
Sunshine Eagles 2 v Geelong Baycats 17
Sunshine had the best start, getting two runs in the first dig of the game, but for them, from there, it was all downhill.
Geelong responded with three of their own at the bottom of the first and completely put their foot down in the third, amassing nine runs in a dominant inning.
A further five runs across the following three innings was all that was needed, as the Baycats defence did a good job to shut out the rest of the Eagles batters.
Each team have won two games for the season now, with Geelong having the edge over the Eagles due to a draw earlier in the season. The two sides play each other again this Saturday.
Cheltenham Rustlers 9 v Blackburn Orioles 10
A couple of innings that produced a hefty amount of runs for Cheltenham and Blackburn was the highlight of this game, the Orioles producing the game-winning run in the sixth, but it took a lot of work.
Blackburn got the first in the first but the Rustlers knew when the step up, gathering three in the second and another one in the third before the Orioles snatched two back at the bottom.
After a tight defence to Blackburn, they rallied together and collected six runs to take the lead at the end of the fourth.
A scoreless fifth inning to both sides would potentially have been a foreshadowing of the ending to the game. Cheltenham may have been down, but they certainly weren’t out as they tied the ballgame at nine-all, leaving Blackburn to knuckle down in the bottom of six.
Eventually, Blackburn were able to produce the crucial run they needed, the walk-off victory was courtesy of Jorey Hubble. Clutch hits from Julian Vance on multiple occasions highlighted the big occasion for the Orioles.
Sam Bucello got the start on the mound and was crusing before running into trouble as Cheltenham got a hold of him.
Newport Rams 1 v Fitzroy Lions 8
Newport gave up two runs to the Lions in the first innings, but for the following three innings, each team’s offence worked wonders with no further scores.
The Rams halved the deficit in the top of the fifth before Fitzroy decided they needed to increase their lead – and did so with five runs coming through.
Newport couldn’t add to their tally in the sixth, while the Lions added one to their score before the game was called.
Melbourne Demons 1 v Waverley Wildcats 5
The Demons dropped their first game of the season in Round 7, at the hands of Waverley who were on a two-game losing streak.
Waverley got out to a five-run lead within the first three innings, with strict defence on the other end.
Melbourne achieved their only run of the game in the fifth, which translated towards the final scoreline.
Essendon Bombers 6 v Sandringham Royals 5
With one run coming in the first four innings of this contest, it was Essendon who had the early lead.
Sandringham brought in three runs to take the lead at the bottom of the fifth before the Bombers went two better in the next dig and had the lead going into a stressful final minutes of the game.
The 6-4 lead to the Bombers looked good, but nerves were showing in the Bombers camp when the Royals got one, knowing their capabilities. It wasn’t anything to worry about in the end for the Bombers who got the result they were after, their second win of the season.
Division One Thirds
Sunshine Eagles 9 v Geelong Baycats 13
A strong first dig for Sunshine was bound to set the tone for the match, collecting six runs in a huge display of hitting, which Geelong managed one in reply at the bottom.
The Baycats improved on that one though in the second, amassing a whopping eight runs before the Eagles were able to put a stop to things.
The Eagles, not backing down, put up a further three which tied the game, the defence now under pressure. And under pressure they were as Geelong were seeing the ball well which translated into them getting four runs.
Both teams kept it tight for the remainder of the match, Geelong moving to a 4-2-1 record, while the Eagles have just one win on the board with five losses.
Waverley Wildcats 2 v Melbourne Demons 4
It was a top-four matchup this one, with the Demons prevailing over the Wildcats, the away side suffering their first loss of the season while Melbourne are hot on the tail of the rest of the teams in the upper sections of the ladder.
Fitzroy Lions 12 v Newport Rams 13
A very even contest right from the outset, but the five-run first dig to Fitzroy could’ve had people thinking otherwise until Newport scored the exact same amount of runs in the bottom of the first.
In the second, the Lions got one across the plate, but the Rams ended the innings with a one-run lead after scoring two.
A tight affair in the following three innings, each team able to put another one onto their scores in the fourth but it was Newport who finally broke through when they scored three at the bottom of the sixth.
Sensing the challenge, the Lions were determined not to go down, and fought well to get a one-run lead heading into the later part of the game, thanks to five runs in the seventh.
Fitzroy were to be at their absolute best to prevent the Rams from claiming victory but it wasn’t to be as the walk-off win was all the Rams’ to celebrate.
The past four of Fitzroy’s fixtures have all resulted in losses by two runs or less as they sit on the bottom of the ladder.
Cheltenham Rustlers 6 v Blackburn Orioles 4
Cheltenham certainly have found their confidence off the back of the 18-run win in Round 4, beating or drawing with the teams that appear towards the top of the division and this week was no different.
The Rustlers beat the Orioles after a four-run third innings, despite being down 2-1 at the time.
The Orioles were never able to produce an innings to replicate Cheltenham’s and the Rustlers defence stood tall to prevent that result from happening.
The loss was Blackburn’s first of the season, Mitchell Upton a shining light getting three hits.
Essendon Bombers 6 v Sandringham Royals 2
Essendon got out to a six-run lead before the Royals pegged two back in the fourth.
Both teams were desperate for a win as they sit mid-table, although Essendon is now on a three-game winning streak.
Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers 0 v Berwick City Cougars 0
Cyril Molyneux Reserve was deemed unplayable, meaning the Tigers and Cougars didn’t take the field last weekend.
Due to Blackburn and Waverley’s losses, Upwey Ferntree Gully is still trailing slightly behind those two on the ladder, the Tigers’ position not taking a hit because of the washout.
Division One Fourths
Sunshine Eagles 5 v Geelong Baycats 16
The Baycats may have gotten out to a 7-2 lead after the second inning but any thought of slowing down was vanished as they controlled the rest of the game with nine in the fourth.
Sunshine, after their two runs across the first two innings, responded with three in the fifth but the result ended that way.
It was a blow to the Eagles who slipped to fourth against a team that was before this round, on the bottom without a win.
Cheltenham Rustlers 11 v Blackburn Orioles 12
Blackburn were always looking to take the lead and did so on three separate occasions after Cheltenham steadied early.
It was a 5-0 Rustlers lead heading into the bottom of the second, with the Orioles able to put six on the board themselves in a dominant dig.
The third produced nothing on either end, until in the fourth, the Rustlers evened the score. But it was Blackburn who then put themselves up with two runners crossing the plate.
Cheltenham needed their bats to fire and that’s exactly what happened when they saw five runs come back in. Taking an 11-8 lead, it was time for their defence to shine.
The opposite happened, as it was the Blackburn offence that won out, Aaron Wawra hitting the go-ahead three-run shot. Jamie Della had a great game all around, going three from three.
Waverley Wildcats 5 v Melbourne Demons 8
Melbourne left their run late, but it paid off as the Demons continued their unbeaten run, sitting pretty at the top at 7-0.
Waverley stunned the Demons by getting two runs in the first inning and another one in the third while going strict in their defence.
The Wildcats lead grew to five, but that was when the away team started to fall. Three-run efforts in both of the fourth and fifth innings saw the Wildcats lead cut quickly to just one.
The Demons powered on, firstly by not letting any Wildcats runs to score, but rallied together to get the walk-off win, scoring two at the bottom of the sixth.
Essendon Bombers 7 v Sandringham Royals 3
Essendon started things off well with three runs in the top of the first and added a further four while whittling away at the Royals batters.
Sandringham got on the board with two runs in the fifth and were holding onto some hope when the Bombers failed to get a run at the top of the sixth.
However, Sandringham were only able to produce one more run to their tally as they’re now 3-3, while Essendon are second at 6-1.
Fitzroy Lions 9 v Newport Rams 9
Newport came agonisingly close to recording their first win of the season, instead drawing to Fitzroy.
Trailing for most of the match, but still getting runs on the board, Newport got ahead by one run as the fourth inning ended.
A 6-4 first inning lead to Fitzroy set the standard of the game as both teams produced special moments in offence and defence throughout the entirety of the match.
The Lions got a lead that was double the Rams score during the third but Newport came back with one, and then three in the fourth as the scores became level, a crucial innings approaching.
Neither team managed to break away in the decisive fifth inning, seeing one run cross the plate in each dig, contributing to the first draw of the Division One Fourths season.
Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers 0 v Berwick City Cougars 0
The rain played a part in the result of this game as the match was abandoned without a ball pitched.