It will be a Sunshine v Blackburn Grand Final in VSBL Division 1 Firsts after thrilling comebacks for both teams on Saturday. Both teams won the semi-final series 2-0 and will be gearing up to battle for premiership glory. Game one is on Tuesday, 10 March at 7pm at Melbourne Ballpark, followed by a 4pm game on Saturday and a 4pm game on Sunday if necessary in Altona.
Cheltenham Rustlers 4 v Blackburn Orioles 5
Cheltenham started off strong in this must-win game, but Blackburn came back in the end to get the job done.
The Rustlers battled hard, not only in this game but throughout the entire season. To do so well after being promoted from VSBL Division 2 was really something special and a testament to Cheltenham's dedication and determination, which was on full display in this game.
The first inning was quiet with neither side scoring, although Cheltenham's Andrew Gribbin led off with a big hit but was thrown out trying to steal second by Ryan Berg. Mack Turley made it to first on an infield single, and hits from Michael Leslie and Sam Michael loaded the bases with two outs. Blackburn starter Blake Hodgson kept it together, getting Lars Liguori to fly out to end the top of the first.
In the bottom of the first, back-to-back singles from Liam Hopkins and Ben Leslie made things exciting, but Cheltenham starer Jack Enciondo quickly retired the next three to end the inning. Hodgson settled in and had a 1-2-3 second inning with a popup, strikeout and ground ball.
Blackburn tacked on two in the second, thanks to Cooper Goodman's leadoff walk, Charlie Collins' HBP and Tom Kerr-Chapman's single. Those three at-bats loaded the bases with none out, and then Hopkins came up to bat to open the scoring with a hard-hit RBI single to left. With two outs Luke Hughes took a bases-loaded walk, but a key strikeout allowed Enciondo to end the inning with minimal damage.
Cheltenham had an answer, tying the game in the top of the third to stay firmly in the contest. Another base hit from Gribbin and a Conor Myles walk put Turley in good position for a beautiful sacrifice bunt, moving the runners over. Michael Leslie had an RBI groundout as the Rustlers hopped on the board, and Sam Michael's RBI single tied the game. Hodgson held steady, getting the final out on Liguori's pop-up.
Enciondo had a quick 1-2-3 inning to get the Rustlers back up to bat, but Hodgson was better than the inning before and retired the side before too long. In Blackburn's next turn up, Hopkins had his third hit of the game, this time a double down the right field line. Although Leslie got a walk afterwards, Enciondo was able to keep the runners from scoring and moved the game along.
Gribbin started the fifth inning with his third hit of the game, although three outs on three groundballs made it impossible for him to score. Goodman took a two-out walk in the bottom of the fifth, but that was all Blackburn could muster in that frame.
Cheltenham scored one in the sixth and one in the seventh to go ahead by two although Blackburn quickly tied it up in the bottom of the seventh. Sam Michael's lead-off single and Ben Fierenzi's solid connection on a sinking line drive allowed the Rustlers to score that run in the sixth. That's when Scott Mitchinson entered the game, shutting down the scoring and getting Blackburn back up-to-bat.
Tom Kerr-Chapman had a lead-off single, followed by a fielders choice and an error to load the bases, although with two outs Lars Liguori took the mound and struck out Jacob Evans to end the threat. In the top of the seventh, Turley and Leslie got on and one run scored on Michael's RBI single, although he was thrown out trying to get to third.
Ryan Berg led off Blackburn's next turn with a single, as Goodman had a base hit as well. Charlie Collins' groundout and David Dicker's sacrifice fly brought Blackburn back to within one, before Nick Rossell tied the game with an RBI single and a stolen base.
At the top of the eighth Liguori led off with a single to left field but Mitchinson struck out two and had a line out to complete the inning. Blackburn scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run homer from Luke Hughes and held on to keep Cheltenham at bay in the ninth. Despite Gribbin's hit up the middle, Mitchinson retired three on a sacrifice bunt, strikeout and fly out to end the game and book a spot in the grand final as the Orioles will pursue back-to-back premierships.
Blackburn tacked on two in the second, thanks to Cooper Goodman's leadoff walk, Charlie Collins' HBP and Tom Kerr-Chapman's single. Those three at-bats loaded the bases with none out, and then Hopkins came up to bat to open the scoring with a hard-hit RBI single to left. With two outs Luke Hughes took a bases-loaded walk, but a key strikeout allowed Enciondo to end the inning with minimal damage.
Cheltenham had an answer, tying the game in the top of the third to stay firmly in the contest. Another base hit from Gribbin and a Conor Myles walk put Turley in good position for a beautiful sacrifice bunt, moving the runners over. Michael Leslie had an RBI groundout as the Rustlers hopped on the board, and Sam Michael's RBI single tied the game. Hodgson held steady, getting the final out on Liguori's pop-up.
Enciondo had a quick 1-2-3 inning to get the Rustlers back up to bat, but Hodgson was better than the inning before and retired the side before too long. In Blackburn's next turn up, Hopkins had his third hit of the game, this time a double down the right field line. Although Leslie got a walk afterwards, Enciondo was able to keep the runners from scoring and moved the game along.
Gribbin started the fifth inning with his third hit of the game, although three outs on three groundballs made it impossible for him to score. Goodman took a two-out walk in the bottom of the fifth, but that was all Blackburn could muster in that frame.
Cheltenham scored one in the sixth and one in the seventh to go ahead by two although Blackburn quickly tied it up in the bottom of the seventh. Sam Michael's lead-off single and Ben Fierenzi's solid connection on a sinking line drive allowed the Rustlers to score that run in the sixth. That's when Scott Mitchinson entered the game, shutting down the scoring and getting Blackburn back up-to-bat.
Tom Kerr-Chapman had a lead-off single, followed by a fielders choice and an error to load the bases, although with two outs Lars Liguori took the mound and struck out Jacob Evans to end the threat. In the top of the seventh, Turley and Leslie got on and one run scored on Michael's RBI single, although he was thrown out trying to get to third.
Ryan Berg led off Blackburn's next turn with a single, as Goodman had a base hit as well. Charlie Collins' groundout and David Dicker's sacrifice fly brought Blackburn back to within one, before Nick Rossell tied the game with an RBI single and a stolen base.
At the top of the eighth Liguori led off with a single to left field but Mitchinson struck out two and had a line out to complete the inning. Blackburn scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run homer from Luke Hughes and held on to keep Cheltenham at bay in the ninth. Despite Gribbin's hit up the middle, Mitchinson retired three on a sacrifice bunt, strikeout and fly out to end the game and book a spot in the grand final as the Orioles will pursue back-to-back premierships.
Both sides made two errors on the day as Blackburn collected 10 hits and Cheltenham had 13. Gribbin and Sam Michael both had four hits apiece for Cheltenham, while Liam Hopkins led the way for Blackburn with three. Cooper Goodman took two walks for Blackburn and Ben Leslie had one while Conor Myles got on base via a walk for Cheltenham. Hopkins had four quality-at-bats to lead his team while Cheltenham's Myles and Dante Caruso both had three.
Sam Michael had two RBIs for Cheltenham, Luke Hughes had two for Blackburn and Michael Leslie knocked in one of Cheltenham's runs as well.
Blake Hodgson pitched 5.2 innings for the Orioles, before handing the ball over to Scott Mitchinson. In his time on the mound Hodgson threw 21 first-pitch strikes with a 1.76 WHIP. Jack Enciondo pitched 5.1 innings for Cheltenham, throwing 17 first-pitch strikes and striking out nine with a 1.88 WHIP.
Once Mitchinson came on he struck out four with 12 first-pitch strikes and a 1.20 WHIP. In his 3.1 innings he gave up four hits and one run.
Geelong Baycats 1 v Sunshine Eagles 2
After Sunshine won the first game 2-0, this one looked to be going in favour of Geelong until the last inning.
It was a pitcher's duel to say the least, with Sunshine determined to make it past the semi-finals after losing in the first round of finals last year.
This quick, fast-paced game was dominated by fantastic pitching on both sides. The first three innings were short and sweet before Geelong scored one in the fourth. The Baycats held that narrow lead through to the bottom of the ninth, when Sunshine scored two to take out the win and secure that highly-anticipated spot in the VSBL Division 1 Grand Final, for the first time in 32 years.
Both teams had six hits and Sunshine made three errors on the day, something the Eagles will want to get control of against Blackburn.
Lewis Weldon had two hits for Geelong while Kobe Greenhalgh had one. Sunshine's Allister Lovelock had two hits and one RBI as Rory Meddick knocked in the other run Jand ason Tutt had three quality at-bats for Sunshine.
Ryan Darcy and Jordan Young both had two quality at-bats for Geelong as well.
Sunshine's ace Jeremy Young pitchd a terrific nine inning game, hurling 31 first-pitch strikes with four strikeouts and a 0.67 WHIP.
Rudy Jaramillo was impressive as well, covering 8.2 innings for Geelong with 25 first-pitch strikes, seven strikeouts and a 0.69 WHIP.
This comeback win is yet another highlight in a fabulous season for Sunshine, in which the Eagles finished on top the ladder with an 18-7-1 record. The Eagles will go up against last year's winners, a team that finished 16-8-2 this season, in what promises to be an amazing VSBL Division 1 Grand Final.