2019/20 VSBL Season: Division Two Rounds 26 and 27

With final playoff positions at stake, teams gave it their best shot in the last two regular season rounds for VSBL Division 2 Firsts. Werribee, Williamstown, Moorabbin and Malvern are through to the semi-finals, which begin on Thursday, 5 March as teams fight for a spot in the grand final.

Division 2 Firsts - Round 26 (Midweeks)

Preston Pirates 0 v Moorabbin Panthers 15

Hungry to stay in the finals picture, Moorabbin came out determined and made the most of scoring opportunities. Three runs came around in the first, and by the end of the third the Panthers were leading 6-0.

Preston was unable to make anything happen, coming up empty against a Moorabbin side that was clicking on all cylinders.

The home team scored nine in the fourth to stamp their authority, and their defensive efforts were on show too, shutting out the Pirates in five innings.

This result saw Moorabbin improve to a 16-8 record while Preston was 14-11.

Mulgrave Rebels 7 v Port Melbourne Mariners 8

For the second game in a row Port Melbourne just hung on to a huge win at home, Mulgrave pressing very much throughout the final two innings.

The Rebels evened up the score in the third when they scored three in reply to the Mariners' three across the first two innings.

The Mariners sensed the incoming challenge and sought to gain a big enough lead in the bottom of the third, and that they did by scoring five.

Mulgrave continued to charge but the defensive efforts of the Mariners proved too strong when it looked dicey, hanging on to win by one run.

Port Melbourne had seven hits while giving up six to Mulgrave. Anthony White had two hits and three RBIs for Mulgrave while Billy Parsons and Aaron Petri had two apiece for Port Melbourne. Jock Allen and Jackson White did a good job of getting on base for the Mariners, taking two walks each, while Parsons collected three RBIs and White had two.

Port Melbourne's coach Ben Burke says it's important to give players the chance to finish off the year on a high note. "We have managed to put up eight runs in our first two games against Mulgrave, and will be looking to continue that in the final game," Burke said. "We will also try and reward a few blokes who have been around from the 2nds, and get them into the game at some stage. We had Joe Parsons play his first senior game for the club on Thursday night, and play a good role in our win."

Burke credits the contributions of Billy Parsons and Chris Doyle, including his walk-off homer the round before, as instrumental in the club's success this season. "It is always good for the team as well having Darryl George back in the line-up from his other duties. Not only what he brings from a playing standpoint, but also his energy and another quality person around the club," Burke added. "Having Jock Allen for the back half of the season with his bat and knowledge of the game has been a real positive moving forward. Sam Morris is also a key component amongst the group, and has been great in driving the group for the whole season both on and off the field."

Mulgrave's Nick Thompson and Caleb Poole both had three quality at-bats in support of pitchers Zeke Howie and Donnie Poole. Petri pitched four innings with 13 first-pitch strikes and three strikeouts for Port Melbourne as the Mariners improved to a 15-10 record while Mulgrave slipped to 9-15.

Werribee Giants 5 v Bonbeach Bluejays 1

Bonbeach was always in the game, keeping Werribee under control although the Giants had a 2-1 lead after the end of the second.

In the third inning, the Giants found more than just one run, instead extending their lead by three as the Bluejays didn’t string together anymore runs for the game.

Wesley de Jong picked up the win for Werribee, pitching four innings and giving up one hit for zero runs with seven strikeouts.

Trent Pantalleresco, Oliver Box, John Curnow, Wade Balzer and de Jong all had two hits on the night, Ryan Balzer and Box scored a run while Pantalleresco scored three times with an RBI.

This win helped Werribee improve to a 19-6 record, staying in first place.

Williamstown Wolves 3 v Malvern Braves 0

Malvern won 9-3 in the first game, but the Wolves got revenge in the midweek meeting.

Williamstown got out of the blocks early, scoring three runs at the top of the first as no score was added to either side throughout the rest of the contest that went for four innings.

This win put Williamstown at 19-7 and Malvern at 16-8 for the season.

St Kilda Saints 5 v Doncaster Dragons 5

St Kilda and Doncaster played in a five-all draw in this midweek matchup, with neither side able to come up with the winning run in the final frame.

This result put Doncaster at a 9-15-1 record ahead of one final game for the season while St Kilda sits at 5-20-1 with one game to go.

Division 2 Firsts - Round 27 (Saturday Games)

Moorabbin Panthers 8 v Preston Pirates 7

All the runs in this contest came from the fifth inning onwards after the first four went scoreless.

Preston scored the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the fifth before each team scored that amount in the sixth.

The Pirates found themselves with a five-run lead after seven as Moorabbin kept coming at them, firstly by creeping forward and taking three runs at the top of the eighth and then the lead with another three runs at the top of the ninth.

Eagerly needing a win to secure a finals birth, Moorabbin prevented the home team from scoring and taking the game away.

After a hot start to the season Moorabbin cooled down slightly in the middle stretch, ultimately finishing third at 17-8 ahead of 16-9 Malvern. Moorabbin plays Williamstown in the semi-finals, which will be an interesting matchup after the Wolves turned the heat up in the last two months of the season.

Williamstown won 5-1 over Moorabbin in round 10 but the Panthers took game two 6-1 before Williamstown won the series in game three with a final score of 10-4.

Preston had a shot at finals but a few missed opportunities in February sealed the Pirates' fate, finishing sixth at 14-12.

Moorabbin Panthers 8 v Preston Pirates 7

All the runs in this contest came from the fifth inning onwards after the first four went scoreless.

Preston scored the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the fifth before each team scored that amount in the sixth.

Eagerly needing a win to secure a finals birth, Moorabbin prevented the home team from scoring and taking the game away.

Williamstown won 5-1 over Moorabbin in round 10 but the Panthers took game two 6-1 before Williamstown won the series in game three with a final score of 10-4.

Preston had a shot at finals but a few missed opportunities in February sealed the Pirates' fate, finishing sixth at 14-12.

Port Melbourne Mariners 12 v Mulgrave Rebels 2

A few big innings from Port Melbourne allowed them to shoot ahead of Mulgrave in the final hitout for the season.

The Mariners got the first four runs of the game at the top of the third as the Rebels scored one in the bottom.

The next four runs also belonged to the Mariners that included three runs in the eighth, the Rebels again finding one run in their eighth dig.

The Mariners weren’t done just yet, scoring four at the top of the ninth to seal the deal and make it impossible for Mulgrave to come back.

Darryl George had three hits and four RBIs to lead the Mariners to victory, as Port Melbourne collected 13 hits while giving up only four to Mulgrave. Chris Doyle and Billy Parsons also had three hits for Port Melbourne, with Jock Allen and Andrei Cortez getting on base with two walks apiece. Parsons had three RBIs and Doyle had two to support the Mariner's high-scoring efforts.

Caleb Poole took two walks for Mulgrave but Port Melbourne dominated in the quality at-bats department with four apiece for Allen, George and Parsons.

In a fantastic complete game start, Parsons threw 24 first-pitch strikes and struck out 12 batters on his way to a 1.22 WHIP. Liam Richardson struck out four in his time on the mound for Mulgrave with 14 first-pitch strikes and four strikeouts. Richardson covered 4.2 innings and Jayson Arthur handled three for Mulgrave with 10 first pitches called for strikes.

Port Melbourne finished just shy of finals at 16-10 in fifth place while Mulgrave ended in eighth place at 9-16.

Bonbeach Bluejays 1 v Werribee Giants 3

The Bluejays did their best to keep the Giants at bay, and although Werribee had a 2-0 after the first and a 3-0 lead after the six, Bonbeach remained competitive.

The Bluejays got on the board at the top of the seventh, just scoring one as they weren’t able to add anymore in the later stages of the game.

With this win, Werribee clinched a highly-anticipated promotion to VSBL Division 1 thanks to a 20-6 record at the top of the ladder. Other highlights in the game included Trent Pantalleresco's great pitching performance across seven innings with just one run allowed. John Curnow pitched in relief, allowing standout starters Wes De Jong and Josh Lee to stay fresh for finals.

Reece Haywood sent a double sailing into right field to knock in Werribee's third and final run of the game.

Bonbeach Bluejays 1 v Werribee Giants 3

The Bluejays did their best to keep the Giants at bay, and although Werribee had a 2-0 after the first and a 3-0 lead after the six, Bonbeach remained competitive.

The Bluejays got on the board at the top of the seventh, just scoring one as they weren’t able to add anymore in the later stages of the game.

Reece Haywood sent a double sailing into right field to knock in Werribee's third and final run of the game.

Williamstown Wolves 5 v Malvern Braves 4

Malvern needed to come back from a two-run deficit in the last three innings but could just manage one in the bottom of the eighth.

The Braves did lead by two runs after the first inning, the Wolves drawing level after their third dig.

Malvern and Williamstown’s next runs were just single additions, in the third and fifth respectively, before Williamstown added a couple more in the seventh.

Dennis Neal started on the mound for Williamstown, keeping the Wolves in high spirits as they secured a 2-1 series win to wrap up the regular season.

Aaron Green got two hits off of Malvern's starter Jon Kennedy, who covered five innings before turning to the bullpen.

Williamstown and Malvern may see one another again in the Grand Final, depending on how they go in semi-finals series. After finishing in second place at 19-7, Williamstown plays fourth place Moorabbin while 16-8 Malvern face the challenge of the top seed Werribee Giants.