The 2019/20 VSBL Division 2 season continued with fantastic round five games, as Moorabbin Panthers and Port Melbourne Mariners escaped with their undefeated records intact. Midweek games start next week on Thursday, 10 November as teams chase their Division 2 premiership glory.
Division 2 Firsts
Bonbeach Bluejays 2 v Malvern Braves 20
Rainy weather didn't stop Malvern from racking up the runs. A big win for the Braves which further cements their place within the top few spots on the ladder while Bonbeach remains winless through five rounds.
Ryan Othen collected his first hit in the top nine for Malvern as the Braves tallied four runs in the first and seven in the second to put the game out of reach. Seven more runs across the third and the fourth, with two in their final inning at the plate, sweetened the deal as the Braves finished the game with 17 hits in total.
Although Mitch Sheldon-Collins had three hits and Matthew Bucci and Dylan Brown had base hits, Bonbeach did not get on the scoreboard until the sixth, when they put one run on the board. Another run in the seventh wasn't enough to bring them close to closing the deficit, although the team was glad to avoid a shutout. Jim Crowe had two doubles and an RBI, while Adam Major knocked in a run and Tomomi Tokubo also had a base hit.
Bonbeach have struggled scoring-wise this season, but they scored double their season runs in round five. The Bluejays are slowly but surely finding ways to score which will see them improve and get stronger in coming weeks, especially with one more game against Malvern on Sunday and a series with Moorabbin waiting after that.
Photo: Bonbeach Bluejays Baseball Club - Facebook
St Kilda Saints 2 v Moorabbin Panthers 10
Moorabbin scored five runs in the fifth inning to break the game open, as in the early innings the game was much closer with the Panthers leading by the smallest of margins, 3-2.
Moorabbin kept the Saints scoreless after the second inning in a great display of defense and added another two runs of their own in the sixth.
Nick Veale picked up the win for the Panthers, giving up two runs but striking out seven in four innings.
Batting-wise for the Panthers, Veale was clinical, watching the ball with ease when in the box to draw three walks. He paired that with one hit and a result from all of his times on base was three runs to himself, taking his tally to 12 for the season.
Stewart Mathieson had three hits with one run. He also had four RBI’s, making that seven RBI’s in the last fortnight.
Zach Kamerman scored four runs from two hits with two RBI’s, 13 in total for the year so far. One of those hits was a home run, his third in two weeks! Nick Coy also hit a home run from one of his two hits, bringing in three runs.
Eduardo Escalona picked up a single for St Kilda, while Daniel Hogg had two hits and Paul Paskar recorded a double. Hogg and Mariano Favia knocked in runs while Robert Lewis and Antonio Torres also got on base.
The Panthers are 5-0 to start while the Saints haven’t had a win since Round two, something they will be eager to change this weekend.
Williamstown Wolves 1 v Port Melbourne Mariners 4
Port Melbourne emerged victorious against Williamstown in Round 5, but it was the Wolves who got the first run in the second inning when Aaron Green drew in a run.
In the bottom of the third inning, Port Melbourne tied things up when Jackson White hit a sacrifice fly that scored a run. The Mariners pulled away in the fifth scoring two runs.
Even though the Wolves recorded two more hits than the Mariners, they couldn’t capitalise on those baserunners. Chris Doyle was one of three Mariners to have multiple hits, going 4-4 at the plate.
Aaron Petri earned the victory on the mound for Port Melbourne allowing nine hits and one run with two strikeouts in seven full innings.
Kevin Desmedt took the loss for Williamstown, surrendering two runs on four hits over five innings, striking out two.
Werribee Giants 3 v Preston Pirates 13
Preston got the edge over Werribee in this clash, each team now sitting at 3-2 after Round 5. Werribee won the first game 16-1, but Preston redeemed themselves on Sunday with their best performance of the season.
Both teams scored one in the first and the game remained a tight competition through the fifth, when Werribee tacked on one run and Preston added three. The Pirates scored six in the seventh and three in the eighth to put them comfortably in front.
Ben Donnell pitched well in his third appearance for Preston, covering seven innings and giving up just five hits and two runs - one unearned - while striking out 10. Preston's pitching was backed up by a formidable offense. Cam Deeble collected a pair of RBIs with a single and a double, while Darcy Brynne-Connell recorded an RBI as well. Matt Fordham had two walks and an RBI, while Glenn Farrell hit two singles to also bring in a run.
Mitch Legge was patient at the plate, taking three walks and getting on base with a single too. Jaycob Pascuzz, Taisuke Sakaguchi and Luke Williams all pitched in with singles, while Nick Pascuzzi threw a solid inning in relief
Wade Balzer and Andrew Christou had hits for Werribee, while pitcher Josh Lee gave up four earned runs in 4.2 innings of work with three hits, five walks and six strikeouts.
Trent Pantalleresco didn't have his best outing, giving up six earned runs across two innings after a scoreless performance the week before.
The two sides play each other again this weekend, this time back in Werribee where the Giants will want to come out with a win as the battle for ladder positions tightens.
Mulgrave Rebels 10 v Doncaster Dragons 8
The Dragons produced their closest result of the season despite going down to Mulgrave. Doncaster is sitting at the bottom of the ladder alongside Bonbeach with 0-5 records, although the Dragons showed some promising potential in this most recent game.
Mulgrave still managed to overpower Doncaster for back-to-back wins. Zeke Howie came in in the fourth inning for Liam Richardson and despite giving up four runs like his predecessor, only one was an earned run. Howie also had five strikeouts.
Anthony White hit a double and came home, Nick Thompson had three hits for one run and Grant Miller hit a triple, scoring two to his name. Riley O’Shea got two runs from three hits while drawing in three. Donnie Poole and Joel Stubbs had one hit for one run each.
Doncaster's John Britton had an RBI single and 5.2 decent innings on the mound, giving up seven hits but only allowing two runs to score with five strikeouts. Dakota Gibson had a pair of singles while Nic Unland had two singles and a double for two RBIs. Jimin Lee, Callum Lethborg, Adam Marshall, Brendan McDonald and Marc Sandy all collected hits for Doncaster. The Dragons will hope to keep up this offensive momentum as they prepare for Sunday's round six matchup.
Division 2 Seconds
Bonbeach Bluejays 3 v Malvern Braves 18
Malvern is still without a loss this season after a strong win over Bonbeach, a team that hasn't won since Round 2.
The Bluejays have found it difficult to score in recent weeks and come up against Malvern again next week in another tough encounter.
St Kilda Saints 3 v Moorabbin Panthers 4
This game was a tough grind right to the end for Moorabbin, as the Panthers got the first score of the game in the bottom of the first.
St Kilda snatched the lead in the top of the third, scoring two runs, before Moorabbin came back and scored three to lead 4-2.
Both teams’ defensive efforts didn’t go unnoticed as they kept the other to zero in the fourth.
Moorabbin let one run slip through in the fifth but still held the lead and from there, it was a tough assignment for both teams looking for a way through for a win.
The close call for the Panthers threatened to halt their unbeaten start, however they remain on top 5-0. The win would’ve moved St Kilda up the ladder however they sit fifth with a 2-3 record.
Mulgrave Rebels 9 v Doncaster Dragons 0
The Rebels won their second game of the season after holding the Dragons to zero runs in their clash on the weekend.
Doncaster has struggled to get off the bottom of the ladder while Mulgrave has won two in a row and look on a mission to keep that streak alive when facing Doncaster yet again in Round 6.
Williamstown Wolves 16 v Port Melbourne Mariners 6
The Wolves are one win behind first place after this crucial victory over Port Melbourne, helping distance themselves from the middle of the order.
Williamstown scored 10 unanswered runs before the Mariners finally got one back in the bottom of the third. A five-run effort in the final inning was exciting for Port Melbourne, but not enough to overcome the deficit.
The Mariners have dropped the last two games after winning the first three and will be hoping not to slip up again heading into the next lot of games.
Werribee Giants 13 v Preston Pirates 1
Werribee finally got a much-needed win, coming in the form of a 12-run win over Preston.
Werribee's win actually sees them overtake the Pirates on the ladder, due to the Giants two draws.
Werribee is feeling good after this win and will look to continue with these strong efforts moving forward.
Division 2 Thirds
Moorabbin Panthers 4 v St Kilda Saints 7
In a big upset, the previously unbeaten Panthers were outdone by the Saints outfit, handing the Panthers their first loss of the season.
The Saints had won one game heading into Round 5, and knew that after coming close last week against Moorabbin there was the potential to cause a bit of concern in the Panthers camp. St Kilda struck first with three runs in the bottom of the first, while Moorabbin tied it up in the second. Both teams added one run to make it 4-4- before St Kilda pulled away with two in the third and one in the fourth.
The final meeting between these two teams this weekend will be a good one, as Moorabbin hosts and looks to avoid two straight losses.
Preston Pirates 5 v Werribee Giants 9
Scores were level in this game heading into the middle of the fourth after each team had multiple innings of three and two runs.
The Giants were the ones to score two runs at the bottom of the fourth before keeping the Pirates quiet in the next dig.
Werribee confirmed the result with two more runs crossing the plate in the fifth, giving the Giants the joy of their first win of the year while handing the Pirates just their second loss.
Port Melbourne Mariners 0 v Williamstown Wolves 12
Each of these clubs were 2-2 to start the round so it was a little surprising that Williamstown ran out winners by a hefty margin.
It started with three runs in the first, followed by six in the second. The Wolves added another three in the last dig of the game, with exceptional defence contributing greatly to the result.
Malvern Braves 14 v Bonbeach St Chads 5
The Braves were scoring with ease in each inning of the game as they cruised to victory.
Both sides had three runners come home in the first. Malvern added five in the second and four in the third to take a 12-3 lead.
The Braves weren’t slowing down as they scored another two in the top of the fourth, but those runs were taken back by Bonbeach with two crossing the plate in the bottom frame.
The win to Malvern and the loss to Moorabbin puts the Braves clear on top with a 5-0 record while Bonbeach succumbed to a third consecutive loss.
Doncaster Dragons 8 v Mulgrave Rebels 8
Marking the Division 2 Thirds first draw of the season, Mulgrave enjoyed a taste of success by ending a four-game losing streak.
It was a heavy blow for the Dragons though who are still in touch with the top two but have fallen behind leaders Malvern and Moorabbin.
The Rebels will be taking this result as a sign that they can match it with the teams in this division and will have high hopes heading into Round 6.
Division 2 Fourths
Preston Pirates 5 v Werribee Giants 24
The Pirates were pleased about grabbing two runs in the very first dig of the game, until the Giants responded with a plethora of runs themselves in the next two innings.
The first dig produced nine runs, but that wasn’t the worst of it as they piled on 15 in the next dig.
Preston managed to get some runs on the board in the third and fourth innings, but three runs certainly wasn’t enough to cover the large margin that the game ended with.
The win was only the Giants second of the season, as they now hold the same 2-3 record as Preston.
Geelong Baycats 10 v Williamstown Wolves 14
The reigning premiers were challenged by Geelong but remain unbeaten at the end of Round 5. The next game at Geelong could be another high-scoring one as both sides battle hard for victory.
Doncaster Dragons 14 v Mulgrave Rebels 3
Doncaster produced a win for the first time this season, beating fellow lowly-placed team Mulgrave by enough runs to become 1-4.
Moorabbin Panthers 5 v St Kilda Saints 3
St Kilda was 2-2 before this round, and the team was close to swinging that record in their favour. The Panthers stood their ground just as they have all season long, hanging in there to lead the division with a 5-0 record.
