The 2019/20 VSBL season wrapped up in thrilling fashion for VSBL Division 4 East, North West and South as Melbourne, Footscray White and Cheltenham secured premiership flags.
Congrats to the Demons, Bulldogs and Rustlers and well done to all VSBL Division 4 teams on a terrific season.
Division 4 East: Waverley Wildcats Black 4 v Melbourne Demons 10
The Demons extended their unbeaten run all the way through the home and away season and the postseason with a championship win over Waverley Black at Surrey Park.
The 18-0, first-placed Demons and 15-4 second-placed Waverley Black each had 10+ run wins in their semi-final matchups with Fitzroy Gold and Monash Uni respectively, so this game had all the makings of the two offensively-loaded teams squaring off in a big way.
However, last year’s champions Waverley Black were on the losing end of the grand final result this time around as Melbourne secured the win at home.
The Wildcats were the highest-scoring team of the season with 231 runs while the Demons were good defensively all season, giving up just 40 runs across 18 games. All season long under the watchful leadership of Coach Bruce Webb, Melbourne relied on the mentality of limiting opponents' scoring opportunities, and it worked wonders for them on Sunday as they won a highly-anticipated flag.
Division 4 North West: Footscray Bulldogs Red 1 v Footscray Bulldogs White 2
This was a close battle as many may have expected, the top two sides in the division making it tall the way to the grand final. The two Footscray sides went head-to-head and provided plenty of entertainment in a close game that saw White prevail by a single run.
Both teams scored in the first but offenses were kept quiet with pitchers prevailing although White scored one late in the game to confirm the win.
The Red Bulldogs were on the right end of a one-run result in last week’s semi-final against North Coburg Gold while it was a decisive 10-run victory to the would-be champions against Mitchell Majors Yellow.
It was Footscray White’s first grand final win in this division, however Footscray Red are no strangers to the big dance, having won it two seasons ago.
The two sides were very even in the runs against column throughout the season so it was always going to be a defense-lead battle, and the closeness of the scores reflected that.
Footscray White finished the regular season atop the ladder at 14-1-1 with Red just behind in second place at 15-2-1.
Division 4 South: Berwick City Cougars 0 v Cheltenham Rustlers 11
The Rustlers claimed their flag after shutting out last season’s champions Berwick, leading on from their huge margin in last week’s semi-final win against St Kilda too. Berwick beat Monash Uni last weekend by a single run but couldn’t match the Rustlers this time around.
The Rustlers were the frontrunners in this division through the season, ending it in first place with a 12-1-1 record while it took a good effort from Berwick to reach the grand final after finishing third with a 13-4 record.
Berwick was the second-highest runscoring team in the comp with 178 runs across 17 games, but the Cougars were completely stopped offensively by the Rustlers defense.
Cheltenham was thrilled to bring home the first flag for the fifths in nearly 20 years.
The Demons extended their unbeaten run all the way through the home and away season and the postseason with a championship win over Waverley Black at Surrey Park.
The 18-0, first-placed Demons and 15-4 second-placed Waverley Black each had 10+ run wins in their semi-final matchups with Fitzroy Gold and Monash Uni respectively, so this game had all the makings of the two offensively-loaded teams squaring off in a big way.
However, last year’s champions Waverley Black were on the losing end of the grand final result this time around as Melbourne secured the win at home.
The Wildcats were the highest-scoring team of the season with 231 runs while the Demons were good defensively all season, giving up just 40 runs across 18 games. All season long under the watchful leadership of Coach Bruce Webb, Melbourne relied on the mentality of limiting opponents' scoring opportunities, and it worked wonders for them on Sunday as they won a highly-anticipated flag.
Division 4 North West: Footscray Bulldogs Red 1 v Footscray Bulldogs White 2
This was a close battle as many may have expected, the top two sides in the division making it tall the way to the grand final. The two Footscray sides went head-to-head and provided plenty of entertainment in a close game that saw White prevail by a single run.
Both teams scored in the first but offenses were kept quiet with pitchers prevailing although White scored one late in the game to confirm the win.
The Red Bulldogs were on the right end of a one-run result in last week’s semi-final against North Coburg Gold while it was a decisive 10-run victory to the would-be champions against Mitchell Majors Yellow.
It was Footscray White’s first grand final win in this division, however Footscray Red are no strangers to the big dance, having won it two seasons ago.
The two sides were very even in the runs against column throughout the season so it was always going to be a defense-lead battle, and the closeness of the scores reflected that.
Footscray White finished the regular season atop the ladder at 14-1-1 with Red just behind in second place at 15-2-1.
Division 4 South: Berwick City Cougars 0 v Cheltenham Rustlers 11
The Rustlers claimed their flag after shutting out last season’s champions Berwick, leading on from their huge margin in last week’s semi-final win against St Kilda too. Berwick beat Monash Uni last weekend by a single run but couldn’t match the Rustlers this time around.
The Rustlers were the frontrunners in this division through the season, ending it in first place with a 12-1-1 record while it took a good effort from Berwick to reach the grand final after finishing third with a 13-4 record.
Berwick was the second-highest runscoring team in the comp with 178 runs across 17 games, but the Cougars were completely stopped offensively by the Rustlers defense.
Cheltenham was thrilled to bring home the first flag for the fifths in nearly 20 years.