A beautiful weekend in Melbourne set the stage for fantastic matchups across VSBL Women's Division 1, 2 and 3. A battle between the two top Women's Division 1 teams went in favour of Springvale, while the Lions remain undefeated in Women's Division 2. Women's Division 3 is led by Melbourne in the East, Cheltenham in the South and Sunshine in the West.
Women's Division 1
Footscray Bulldogs 4 v Essendon Bombers 6
The Bulldogs battled hard but ultimately fell short as they lost their seventh game this season. This result marks Essendon's second victory of the season, with their first coming in round two with the same scoreline against Footscray. These two sides also had a 5-5 draw in round five.
Essendon will hope to replicate these winning efforts in round nine on Wednesday night when they host Springvale. Footscray hosts Doncaster as the season approaches the halfway point.
Doncaster Dragons 1 v Springvale Lions 17
Doncaster has been on fire in the first half of the season, winning five in a row before coming up short in this big matchup.
Springvale brought their big bats, with Gabby Bevan, Hanami Campitelli, Lili Cavanagh, Emily Devine and Kelly Manzie making a big difference. The Lions were surprised by a 20-4 loss against the Dragons in round five, but they bounced back in this dominant performance.
Springvale is now 6-1-1 atop the ladder while Doncaster is in second place with a 5-1-2 record. These two teams meet again in round 11, but before that Doncaster plays Footscray and Springvale plays Essendon on Wednesday night.
Women's Division 2
Footscray Bulldogs - FORFEIT v Fitzroy Lions
Essendon Bombers - FORFEIT v Springvale Lions
Doncaster Dragons 16 v Wheelers Hill Warriors 3
The Dragons show no signs of slowing down in Women's Division 2, capturing another huge victory with the help of Vanessa Clifford, Maddy Davis, Brooklyn Hutton, Becky Petty, Hannah Sowden and the rest of the Doncaster lineup.
This terrific team effort allowed Doncaster to improve to 7-0, keeping pace with Springvale at the top of the ladder. Doncaster has scored 95 runs while allowing only 15 to lead the division. Wheelers Hill is 3-4 along with Footscray ahead of a round nine matchup v Fitzroy, while Doncaster looks to remain undefeated while hosting Essendon.
Women's Division 3 East
Doncaster Dragons 8 v Melbourne Demons 7
The Demons fought hard against some familiar Doncaster faces, but ultimately the Dragons snuck past for their third win of the season.
Melbourne went into this game undefeated and remain at the top of the ladder with a 5-1 record, while Moorabbin is 4-2 and Doncaster and Springvale are both 3-3. The Demons will look to return to their winning ways this weekend as they host Mulgrave while Doncaster takes on Springvale.
Photo: Melbourne Baseball Club - Facebook
Moorabbin Panthers 11 v Springvale Lions 16
This was a see-saw battle between two strong sides as Moorabbin put an early run on the board before Springvale answered with three in the bottom frame.
It was game on, with Moorabbin adding another four in the second and Springvale tacking on seven. The Lions worked their way to a 14-5 lead by the end of the third, although the Panthers weren't fully down and out. Moorabbin scored six in the fourth but Springvale responded with two to reach the final scoreline.
Mandi Avent, Rachael Bouker, Debbie Bryant and Cassandra Shelverton supported Springvale's efforts as the Lions even things up to a 3-3 record. Moorabbin hangs on to second place ahead of a bye this weekend.
Mulgrave Rebels - BYE
Women's Division 3 South
Cheltenham Rustlers 12 v Sandringham Royals 6
The Rustlers had the upper hand in this one, working the game in their favour to keep the undefeated streak going with a 6-0 record. Sandringham slips to 3-3 along with Pakenham White and Berwick.
Sandringham hosts Bonbeach Blue for round nine while Cheltenham looks to maintain a stellar first half of the season on the road at Pakenham Black.
Berwick City Cougars 10 v Bonbeach Bluejays Blue 12
The Bluejays put up seven runs in the first to counter an early three-spot from the Cougars. Two more runs followed for Bonbeach in the bottom of the second.
Berwick battled back with five in the third and two in the fourth, but Bonbeach came in clutch at the end with three more runs to take the necessary lead. This was a great competitive game on both sides and now Berwick is 3-3 while Bonbeach Blue is in second place with a 4-1 record.
Bronwyn James, Nicole Muller, Kim Payne and the rest of the Bluejays will play Sandringham this weekend while Berwick faces Bonbeach White.
Pakenham Pumas Black 7 v Pakenham Pumas White 13
Pakenham White won 20-16 over Pakenham Black in the opening round of the season, and the White team picked up where they left off in Sunday's big friendly win. Black scored two to start the game but White quickly put six on the board. Black added three but White was there to score seven in the second.
An additional two runs in the top of the third gave Black a bit of a boost, but it wasn't quite enough. Pakenham White is 3-3 ahead of the bye and Pakenham Black is still looking for win number one with an upcoming game v Cheltenham.
Bonbeach Bluejays White - BYE
Women's Division 3 West
Geelong Baycats White 5 v Fitzroy Lions 13
This was a big game for the Lions as Fitzroy took an early lead and didn't look back. Seven runs in the first and six in the second secured Fitzroy's victory, although the Baycats did battle back and put five runs on the board in the third. Michelle Anderson, Christine Busby and Lesley Hutchinson helped Fitzroy's cause.
Fitzroy is now 3-2 while Geelong White is 0-6-1. Round nine sees Geelong White have a bye while Fitzroy hosts Sunshine.
Geelong Baycats Blue 5 v Sunshine Eagles 23
Sunshine won 26-9 the first time these sides met, and the Eagles continued to rack up the runs in this matchup. Up and down the lineup the Eagles hit well on their way to win number five of the season. Geelong Blue still isn't far behind with a 5-2 record while Sunshine is 5-1.
Sunshine hits the road to visit Fitzroy this upcoming weekend while Geelong Blue hosts North Western.
North Western Titans - BYE