Williamstown is still on top with Werribee not far behind as the 2019/20 VSBL Division 2 season continues ahead of finals. The Wolves also hold first place in the reserves with Moorabbin a game away, while Malvern sits two games ahead of three teams with the same number of wins in the thirds. Despite the bye, Williamstown has still held onto first place in the fourths.
Division 2 Firsts - Round 21
Preston Pirates 0 v Doncaster Dragons 10
Doncaster got a shutout win over Preston in a surprising result that repeated itself from the midweek too when the Dragons recorded a 13-run win over the Pirates.
Ben Palensky got the win for the Dragons, going five innings for four hits, zero runs and three strikeouts. John Britton got the save as he pitched three innings for three hits and zero runs.
On the bats for the home team, Brendan McDonald was a star, managing two hits with a run and three RBIs. Palensky went three from five as he picked up two runs and an RBI. Brian Chen had four hits from five at bats, translating into three RBIs while Marcel D'Avoine scored three runs in total.
Ben Donnell was credited with the loss for Preston. He went seven innings and gave up 10 hits and four runs along with six strikeouts.
Offensively for the Pirates, they only tallied seven hits overall of which Cameron Deeble had three that included a triple. Jaycob Pascuzzi and Matt Fordham had two hits each.
The Dragons have won four of the past five games as they time their run at the right time and prepare to face Moorabbin while the Pirates hope to come back against Port Melbourne. Doncaster is 8-12 and Preston is 11-9.
Mulgrave Rebels 3 v Malvern Braves 6
It was an even 3-3 game going into the bottom of the eighth but that was when the Braves doubled their score and took that lead as the game concluded.
Mulgrave's Jayson Arthur took the loss after going three innings, allowing five hits, three runs and three base on balls.
Nick Thompson had two hits and one run for Mulgrave and Riley O'Shea had an RBI double but it was Arthur who was the standout with two hits from three at bats, converting each of them and getting an RBI in the process.
Tyler Dale picked up the win for Malvern with two hits and one run in three innings. Sean Cruz handled six innings as he gave up five hits and one earned run while striking out nine.
Offensively for the Braves, Mitchell Kennedy had two hits from two at bats with a run and an RBI, Jack Hanger had two hits from three at bats with one run and an RBI while Tyler Dale had three hits from five at bats on his way to a run and RBI. Lachlan Fuda had two hits and one run and Henry Hayman had two singles that both brought in runs.
The Braves have gone up a spot to third place on the ladder with a 12-7 record while the Rebels have gone down one spot to eighth with a 7-12 record. Malvern takes on St Kilda next up while Mulgrave will face Bonbeach.
St Kilda Saints 3 v Port Melbourne Mariners 4
Port Melbourne won a nailbiter against St Kilda to make it three in a row while the Saints fell to their sixth consecutive loss.
As the Mariners hosted their inaugural Pink Sports Day on Sunday in support of Breast Cancer Network Australia, the Saints took an early 1-0 lead and kept it going that way through the top of the sixth. Port Melbourne tied things up in the bottom frame and tacked on the other three in the seventh.
St Kilda scored two late runs but still fell just shy of tying things up and staying in it. Franco Caramia took the loss for St Kilda after allowing four runs from seven hits across seven innings.
St Kilda's Antonio Torres had one hit and two RBIs while Eduardo Escalona had two hits from three at bats with one run.
Port Melbourne's Head Coach Ben Burke says it was an entertaining game of baseball. "St Kilda really showed up to play, making some solid plays in the field," Burke said. "Aaron Petri got through another seven innings in a good showing, and promising for us with some crucial games to come. Billy Parsons got through the last two innings to get the save."
There were some other players that showed potential too. "It was very pleasing to see Kevin Ung come up and play in the firsts this week, and he was pivotal in sparking us in the sixth, and then coming up clutch in the seventh with an RBI single," Burke said. "Chris Doyle was solid again going 3-for-4, and Matt Morris 2-for-3, who also was a standout at first base in the field."
After a strong series Port Melbourne will need to do it all over again heading into a matchup with Preston. "Moving forward to this week provides another challenge for us, we were errorless through the St Kilda series, and this will be another big focus for us," Burke added. "Preston has been fairly consistent of late, with their import Ben Donnell doing a large chunk of throwing, and doing it well. Our approach at the plate has been good, and we look to keep that moving in the same direction."
There were some other players that showed potential too. "It was very pleasing to see Kevin Ung come up and play in the firsts this week, and he was pivotal in sparking us in the sixth, and then coming up clutch in the seventh with an RBI single," Burke said. "Chris Doyle was solid again going 3-for-4, and Matt Morris 2-for-3, who also was a standout at first base in the field."
After a strong series Port Melbourne will need to do it all over again heading into a matchup with Preston. "Moving forward to this week provides another challenge for us, we were errorless through the St Kilda series, and this will be another big focus for us," Burke added. "Preston has been fairly consistent of late, with their import Ben Donnell doing a large chunk of throwing, and doing it well. Our approach at the plate has been good, and we look to keep that moving in the same direction."
The Mariners are fifth with a 12-8 record ahead of a match against Preston while St Kilda has slipped recently to 5-16 as the Saints prepare to play away to Malvern.
Moorabbin Panthers 2 v Werribee Giants 5
Although Moorabbin struck first in the first dig of the game, it was the Giants who had the greater dig as they scored three at the bottom.
The Panthers got one more added to their score in the fourth before single runs in the fifth and seventh to the Giants, as well as shutting out the Panthers, secured them the win.
Wesley de Jong got the win for the Giants as he pitched the whole game, giving up just six hits and two runs with eight strikeouts.
Justin Gil had a double for his one hit of the game as he recorded two runs. Wade Balzer had an RBI single that he converted into a run, the same for Oliver Box though he recorded three RBIs due to a home run. Evan McPherson had two hits as did Ryan Balzer who had a run as well.
Moorabbin tallied six hits on the day, with Stewart Mathieson, Nick Veale, Neil Johnston, Nick Bertucci, Travis Finney and Zach Kamerman all had hits on the day, with Johnston the only player to go for extra bases.
Mathieson covered three innings on the mound, giving up two hits and one earned run, while Nick Veale threw five with seven hits, four walks and four earned runs given up along with six strikeouts to bring his season total to 33.
The Giants have kept within the top two with a 15-5 record and on a five-game winning streak will want that to continue against Williamstown. Moorabbin is away to Doncaster as the Panthers want to cement a spot in the top four.
Williamstown Wolves 9 v Bonbeach Bluejays 2
While Bonbeach got the first run in the opening inning, the Wolves took a 4-1 lead at the middle of the fourth before the Bluejays got their next run.
Williamstown scored five more runs throughout the sixth to ninth innings as Bonbeach wasn't able to score any further runs.
Jayde Thorne recorded the win for the Wolves as he had one hit and zero earned runs with six strikeouts in six innings. Dennis Neal got he save after three innings with two hits, zero runs and eight strikeouts.
Hiroshi Narasaki had one hit but managed two runs, while Daniel Chircop had two hits that included a double along with two runs and an RBI.
The win to the Wolves keeps them on top slightly with a 16-4 record before taking on Werribee this weekend while Bonbeach will host Mulgrave as the Bluejays search for a second win of the season.
Division 2 Reserves - Round 16
Preston Pirates 8 v Doncaster Dragons 9
Doncaster won a tight one against Preston on the weekend , a win that allowed them to enter the top four on the back of an eight-game win streak.
Preston has lost the last two and sits eighth with a 5-10-1 record will want to see the season out with a few wins, starting with Port Melbourne this weekend.
The Dragons take on Moorabbin as they can keep going up the ladder and making an impact on this competition.
Moorabbin Panthers 4 v Werribee Giants 5
Werribee won in a walkoff in the sixth inning but it wasn't without an initial fightback from Moorabbin.
The Giants were out to a 4-0 lead after three innings but within the next two, the Panthers evened up the game.
Sitting in second place, Moorabbin has had an up-and-down past few games with a 12-4 record before facing Doncaster. Werribee's next game will be hosting Williamstown next as the Giants are 7-7-2 for the season.
Williamstown Wolves 17 v Bonbeach Bluejays 2
This was a huge win for Williamstown, helped by big scores in the third and fifth where they scored five and nine respectively with one run in between those in the fourth.
The Wolves scored their first two runs in the first, as did Bonbeach as the score remained even until the third inning.
The win keeps Williamstown in first place with a 13-3 record while Bonbeach is at the bottom of the ladder with one win for the season. The Wolves take on Werribee next up while the Bluejays will be searching for a win over Mulgrave.
Mulgrave Rebels 6 v Malvern Braves 3
The Rebels scored their six runs during their first two digs with four runs to start off the game, highlighting a good defensive shift from the Braves for the rest of the game.
Malvern scored single runs in the second, fourth and fifth but for the Rebels, it was just their sixth win of the season as they upset the Braves chances of making the top four after this round.
Malvern is fifth with a 9-6-1 record ahead of hosting St Kilda while Mulgrave will travel to Bonbeach in this upcoming round.
St Kilda Saints 15 v Port Melbourne Mariners 0
St Kilda managed a shutout victory that also saw them end up with 15 runs in a truly dominating game by the Saints.
St Kilda is third with a 10-6 record, ahead of Doncaster on runs for which this result certainly helps.
Port Melbourne is languishing in ninth with a 5-11 record but will feel confident against Preston as the Saints travel to Malvern.
Division 2 Thirds - Round 16
Port Melbourne Mariners 4 v St Kilda Saints 13
St Kilda won easily over the Mariners to keep just outside of the top four while the away team is 3-13 and sitting ninth.
Port Melbourne scored two early runs but St Kilda answered with four before working things out to a 7-2 lead going into the third. By the time that inning wrapped up the Saints were ahead 10-4, eventually piling on three more in the fifth.
Port Melbourne will hope to stop an eight-game skid against Preston while St Kilda are looking forward to hosting Malvern.
Werribee Giants 3 v Moorabbin Panthers 12
The scores were tied at three apiece after the first innings and stayed that way until the bottom of the fourth when Moorabbin scored seven to enter double figures in the runs tally.
The Panthers managed another two runs in the sixth as the Giants couldn't score anymore.
Moorabbin is one of three teams on 11 wins but the Panthers are sitting second as they now look ahead to Doncaster while Werribee is 5-11 and plays Williamstown this week.
Malvern Braves 4 v Mulgrave Rebels 10
Two big innings from Mulgrave was plenty for the Rebels to hold a good win - four in the third and five in the fifth.
Malvern was the team to score first as the Braves hit two runs in in the third with singles in the fourth and sixth for their extra runs.
The loss for the Braves was just their third for the season, their one before coming last week against Mulgrave as they dropped the past two after being 13-0. Mulgrave will feel confident of keeping the wins coming when faced with a game against Bonbeach. Malvern will look for a better result on the road at St Kilda.
Bonbeach Bluejays 2 v Williamstown Wolves 14
Williamstown dominated in this game against Bonbeach. The Wolves were aided by a cracking catch on the fly at centrefield by Ryan Popinksi and an in-the-park homerun by Aiden Sadler.
The Wolves sit fourth with an 11-5 record but won't want to remain too calm when they face Werribee while Bonbeach will take on Mulgrave as the Bluejays search for win number two for the season.
Doncaster Dragons 10 v Preston Pirates 5
Doncaster beat Preston in this battle that improves the Dragons' record to 11-4-1 as they're sitting in third place while Preston is seventh with a 6-9-1 record.
The Dragons will travel to Moorabbin this weekend on an eight-game win streak while the Pirates will prepare to host Port Melbourne.
Division 2 Fourths - Round 16
Werribee Giants 6 v Moorabbin Panthers 21
Moorabbin comprehensively beat the Giants in a big matchup as the Panthers hang onto fourth place with a 7-5-2 record but for the Giants, it's a 3-11-1 record.
Next up for these teams, Werribee will travel to Williamstown while the Panthers are at home to Doncaster.
Malvern Braves 12 v Mulgrave Rebels 3
The scores were relatively even after four innings with the Braves leading 4-3 after starting the game off with two runs in the first.
It wasn't until the fifth inning when the Braves scored the majority of their runs, eight runs crossing home plate.
The Braves sit second with an 13-2 record ahead of a match against St Kilda this weekend while the Rebels sit ninth and have the bye.
Doncaster Dragons 8 v Preston Pirates 5
In this face-off between two mid-table teams, the Dragons brought themselves further away from the Pirates with this win, their second in a row.
The Dragons face Moorabbin next up while Preston hosts Geelong in the next round.
Geelong Baycats 11 v St Kilda Saints 8
Geelong caused an upset over St Kilda as they look to keep in touch with the top four with a 8-8-1 record.
The first inning was messy on both sides as the Baycats scored nine and the Saints scored six. St Kilda came within one run in the third but the Baycats buffed up their lead with an additional two runs.
Daniel Dobbie pitched for the Baycats, while Jordan Sinnamon was great defensively and Jennifer Mason handled things at first base. Nick Allen, Harry Sim and Steve Kelly made some big catches to put Geelong in prime position for a big victory ahead of finals.
For the Saints though, the loss sees them lose touch with the top two, now three wins behind Malvern although the Saints won't want to drop anymore games, starting with a fixture over that particular team, the Braves. The Baycats take on Preston next time around.
Williamstown Wolves v BYE
Williamstown has a bye as the Wolves keep in second place with a 12-1-1 record before being back to play against Werribee this weekend.