The 2019/20 VSBL Division 1 season continued over the weekend with intense round five matchups, as Sunshine continued their dominance to secure a 5-0 start to the season. Melbourne leads the way in the reserves and fourths while Waverley is on top of the thirds. Midweek games for the firsts begin on Tuesday night as the summer competition heats up.
Division 1 Firsts
Newport Rams 6 v Sunshine Eagles 11
The Eagles have again proved they’re the team to beat with a comprehensive all-round team effort contributing to the win over Newport as they are now 5-0 to start the season.
This marked Sunshine's best offensive performance thus far, with Russell Letts hot at the plate, collecting three hits and a walk to keep his on-base percentage perfect. Designated hitter Daniel Wilkie and third baseman Nikau Pouaka-Grego picked up two hits apiece, with the latter knocking in 4 RBIs. This was a big game for Pouaka-Grego as he faced his former team Newport. He had a great weekend overall, also collecting two home runs, one of them a grand slam, in the U18 State League game.
Photo: Lee Dare - Sunshine Baseball Club/Facebook
Pitcher Scott Barr covered six solid innings for Sunshine, giving up two earned runs and one unearned on seven hits with six strikeouts.
For the Rams, Jarrod Berman scored two runs from three hits, all doubles to finish at 1.000 for the second time in three games. Keenan Spence got two runs from two hits bringing in four runs in total, a home run contributing greatly to those stats. Nathan Smith had a run from two hits, as did Jason Jarvis.
Throughout the later parts of the game, Jarvis pitched two innings to attempt to keep Newport in it, allowing one hit and zero runs as relief for David Asp and Smith.
Geelong Baycats 11 v Sandringham Royals 10
Sandringham almost pulled off a magnificent come-from-behind win over Geelong but fell just short of the required runs needed at the bottom of the ninth.
Geelong took an 8-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth, but the Royals rallied to collect four in that dig, giving themselves a chance. The Baycats lead was cut again after Sandringham scored two but a further three runs to Geelong in top eight saw them lead 11-7.
The Royals were able to hold Geelong to no runs in the ninth, the equation was that they needed five runs for the win. A three-run effort before Geelong pounced on the final out meant the Baycats had come away with the win in a close finish.
Kelli Zablan scored a run from two hits, a double and a home run, bringing in three. James Wood had two doubles whereas Jarryd Wood had three runs from two hits. Troy Snarey got two runs on one hit, the same for Joshua Davies and Rudy Jaramillo.
Jaramillo got the win for Geelong, letting five runs up in six innings with four strikeouts. The Royals Declan Crocker let three runs cross the plate but had four strikeouts in 3.1 innings.
Jack Wills had four hits for Sandringham, gathering two runs, Zac Skinner had three hits and a run with two RBI’s while Cody Anderson had two runs from two hits. Timothy Lane had three hits including a double.
Blackburn Orioles 2 v Berwick City Cougars 5
The reigning premiers dropped their second straight game as the Berwick improved to a 3-2 record. After an early opening run for the Orioles, the Cougars scored two in the third and one in the fourth to turn the game in their favour. Two more runs in the bottom of the eighth sealed the deal for Berwick.
Ben Leslie hit a double as one of his two hits, securing a run for Blackburn, while Liam Hopkins was the other Oriole to score a run from his two hits. Owen de Vries got his first hit in the Blackburn firsts late in the game.
Aiden Willis got two runs on a base hit for Berwick. Alex Clark had two hits and one run with an RBI. Bradley Kmet and Craig Barnett had two and three hits respectively. Barnett's pair of singles and a double helped his team secure the lead and stick with it.
Jordan Bradley got the win on the mound for Berwick. In five innings, Bradley allowed five hits but only one run with three strikeouts. Blake Cunningham recorded the save.
Essendon Bombers 6 v Fitzroy Lions 1
The bats came alive in the fifth inning for Essendon, scoring five off a mixture of patient at bats and timely hits. Cody Rodwell got things started early though, scoring a run in the first on a hit to right field that allowed him to speed from second base.
After Essendon scored five runs on four hits against pitcher Riley Hill, Fitzroy's Rusty Huber straightened things up with five innings, giving up one run but the damage was done beforehand. The Lions couldn't claw their way back into the game, leaving them with one win in the first five games, a record they will look to even up moving forward.
With five hits for the game, Brock Pawley found the Lions only run. Michael Formisano pitched well for Essendon to hold the Lions to that solitary run, covering five innings of one-run ball with four hits and five strikeouts, bringing his ERA to an impressive 1.06 on the season.
Cheltenham Rustlers 7 v Waverley Wildcats 4
Waverley got things started in the bottom half of the first inning, bringing in one run.
Cheltenham’s experience saw them bat in four runs in the third inning and maintain the advantage throughout the remainder of the game, even if Waverely mounted a minor comeback in the eighth with two runs. This marked Cheltenham's first win of the season, an exciting result for the team in their return to Division 1.
Andrew Russell picked up the loss for Waverely as he gave up five runs from nine hits across five complete innings. He struck out six batters. Cheltenham's Lars Ligouri threw seven fantastic innings, giving up just two runs on six hits. His teammates Dante Caruso, Mac Turley and Ben Fierenzi backed him up with two RBIs each. Conor Myles also had an RBI double.
On Waverley's side, Mitchell Wilhite had three RBI’s, courtesy of two hits – a double and a home run. Jacob Sheldon-Collins had one run from three hits, two being doubles, while. Reece Longstaff had two hits and one run.
Melbourne Demons v Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers - WASH OUT
Sunday's rainy weather washed out the matchup between Melbourne and Upwey Ferntree Gully, so these two teams will meet for Tuesday night's midweek at the Tigers home ground.
Division 1 Seconds
Newport Rams 5 v Sunshine Eagles 13
Newport is still without a win this season as Sunshine proved too strong and improved to a 2-3 record. The game was tied at five with Sunshine batting in the bottom of the fourth when Nathan Gatt doubled on a 3-1 count to score a run. The Eagles went on to score eight runs in the frame.
Photo: Lee Dare - Sunshine Baseball Club/Facebook
Jack Haxby had a 2-RBI triple for Sunshine, while Chad Galloway, Jaydon Murphy and Rupert Fischer contributed two hits each as the Eagles worked their way to 10 hits in total. Conor Young was the winning pitcher, throwing five innings with five runs on eight hits.
The Eagles will look to win against the Rams next week and continue to get a greater number of wins in that column as they’ve now won two in a row.
Geelong Baycats 7 v Sandringham Royals 7
A hard-fought seven-all draw was the result in this game between two even sides, Geelong leading early but having to fight back in the last inning to tie the game and prevent Sandringham from scoring.
Connor Hughes battled hard on the mound and reliever Lachlan Hockey was immense over 5.1 innings, allowing just two hits and one base on balls.
Harper Rickard picked up a hit in the lead-off spot, as did Jordan Baumann and Angus McNee. Dion Kirchner had a hit with two RBI’s. Blake Witham continued his terrific form with two hits and three RBI’s including the game-tying single.
Blackburn Orioles 8 v Berwick City Cougars 4
It was a cruisy start in defence for Blackburn, their pitchers delivering early despite some trouble in the second but the field were behind their pitchers all day which led to some great plays, especially by third-baseman Tim Holland.
Owen de Vries chimed in with a couple of knocks while Mitch Whiting hit his second home run of the season, this one bouncing off the top of the fence.
Melbourne Demons 5 v Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers 4
Melbourne and Upwey Ferntree Gully were each 4-0 heading into this past weekend, and this game certainly produced a great game as expected.
It was Demons who continued their hot start to the season, winning their fifth game in a row meaning the Tigers were handed their first loss. Despite the final score, the Tigers were pleased with two hits for Darryn Cassidy and Mitch John, as well as singles by Mark Jones and Simon Ratcliffe. John also threw three scoreless innings as his team came up just short of a big victory.
Cheltenham Rustlers 13 v Waverley Wildcats 1
A magnificent display of hitting throughout the third and fifth innings were all Cheltenham needed to secure a win.
Cheltenham's lineup scored 13 runs across four of the middle innings including five in the third and four in the fifth.
It was the Wildcats’ first loss of the season, while the Rustlers now sit at 4-1, along with three other teams.
Essendon Bombers 3 v Fitzroy Lions 3
Before this round of games, Essendon and Fitzroy were 0-4 and this draw keeps the two sides on level terms.
Both of these teams will be hoping they can get the edge over the other as they play each other once again at Essendon this upcoming weekend.
Division 1 Thirds
Berwick City Cougars 0 v Blackburn Orioles 4
Blackburn improve their summer record to 4-0 after a win over Berwick.
The Orioles sit second behind Waverely with a 4-0-1 record and will want to keep the momentum rolling when facing the last-placed Cougars next week.
Fitzroy Lions 4 v Essendon Bombers 6
Essendon got back to winning ways after dropping a game last week and coming close the two weeks prior to that.
The return game is at Fitzroy next weekend so the Lions will be hoping to bounce back at home for their second win of the season.
Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers 3 v Melbourne Demons 7
Melbourne are within distance of the top two with this win over a similar team from Upwey Ferntree Gully.
The Tigers lost their first of the season and after a strong result in their favour last week, couldn’t back it up but will still be remaining competitive. Harry Snoxell started and threw well, but with scattered hits and meager offensive production, the Tigers couldn't quite hold on to their unbeaten record.
Cheltenham Rustlers 2 v Waverely Wildcats 3
Waverley drew first blood at the bottom of the first but it was quickly cancelled out as Cheltenham got one the next dig.
The Wildcats dug in in their second dig to score two runs and take the lead by that many.
The Rustlers pegged one back in the fourth but weren't able to produce anymore as the Wildcats defence stood up.
Newport Rams 12 v Sunshine Eagles 10
Sunshine got off to a handy lead at the bottom of the first, two runs crossing the plate, but Newport responded instantly with two runs of their own in the second.
Newport got at least one run in each of the proceeding innings, a seven-run effort in the third taking the margin out to eight.
The Eagles, seeing the challenge put in front of them produced five runs in the bottom half of the inning, the scoreline reading 10-7.
A further one run in each of the fifth and sixth for Newport was less than Sunshine’s one and two in the same frames but the Eagles couldn’t get the job done.
Division 1 Fourths
Geelong Baycats 4 v Sandringham Royals 6
Geelong went down in this weather-affected contest, Sandringham putting up a fight to win as both teams found leads throughout the game.
The Baycats scored two of their four runs from one-run homers from James Lappin and Brody Stokoe. Jake Elderfield was strong in his seniors debut, managing a double.
Aggressive base-running was a plan of Geelong’s with four stolen bases as the Baycats aimed to overtake the Royals.
Lappin was the starter for Geelong and struck out six batters across three innings.
Fitzroy Lions 2 v Essendon Bombers 12
Fitzroy had two scorers in the first dig of the game, but unfortunately for them, that was all the runs they could produce as Essendon took a hold of things.
A combined 10 runs from the Bombers in the first two innings meant Essendon had a strong foundation and relied on good defence to stop the Lions from scoring again.
Essendon scored another two runs in the fourth to confirm the result as they improve to 4-1 after the loss last week.
Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers 0 v Melbourne Demons 13
The Demons kept their winning streak alive with their fifth win in a row over a Tigers side they kept scoreless.
The two teams play each other again next round with the Tigers hopeful of a win, or an effort to close to margin between the two teams.
Newport Rams 10 v Sunshine Eagles 11
Sunshine almost let this one go but ensured they didn’t record their second loss of the season as Newport get closer and closer to a win.
The Rams will take great belief that they can produce the result they want next week when they face the Eagles at home.
Berwick City Cougars 3 v Blackburn Orioles 2
Blackburn came close but fell short of closing the deal as batters accrued plenty of hits and walks, but left runners on.
Berwick held the 1-0 lead they got from the first inning well into the fifth when Blackburn secured their two runs to lead.
Berwick responded to take back the lead and the end result in the sixth before shutting out the Orioles, both teams now with three wins for the season.
Cheltenham Rustlers 11 v Waverley Wildcats 10
Waverley almost produced a win in this exciting match-up, holding Cheltenham up after giving away 11 runs in the first two innings.
The Wildcats saw seven of their own cross the plate in the first two innings, and strict defense allowed them to hold the Rustlers to zero in the proceeding three innings.
Waverley answered with two in the fourth and needed two for the win heading into the bottom of the fifth, but Cheltenham held strong to secure the victory.