The 2019/20 VSBL Women's Division 1 teams had their first midweek games on Wednesday, 27 November, and the season continued with round 10 on Saturday. VSBL Women's Division 2 and 3 kept up the pace in some exciting games over the weekend as well.
Women's Division 1 - Round Nine (Midweeks)
Springvale Lions 6 v Essendon Bombers 8
Essendon got a much-needed win thanks to a solid night offensively, with six runs coming in the second inning alone.
Springvale led 2-1 after the first, but Essendon kept the Lions quiet in the next inning before that big burst of offense to shake things up. Springvale put one on in the third and three in the final frame but it wasn't enough to catch up to Essendon.
Sinead Flanigan started for Springvale before handing things over to Ayumi Ikeyama, who kept the Lions in the game with just three hits and one earned run allowed in 3.2 innings. Flanigan had an RBI single in one of her at-bats. Jade Hough brought two runners in on a blazing double, while Ikeyama's two singles, a double and a walk certainly made a difference. She came around to score twice.
Simone Wearne recorded an RBI, Kelly Manzie had a pair of base hits and a walk as well, Aspen McGovern knocked in a run on her hit and Emily Devine singled. While Springvale's offense was obviously doing well, the Lions were not quite as strong as Essendon at the plate.
Allie Bebbere earned the win for Essendon with four hits and three unearned runs allowed across three innings. Jasmine Bentley gave up five hits and three earned runs. Offensively, Kayla Adams had two walks and an RBI, while Bebbere's solid night carried on at the plate with a double and two RBIs. Bentley chimed in with two base hits while Claire Costa singled and Emma Davenport knocked a run in.
Offensive contributions also came from Sam Deeble and Courtney Foura with an RBI double. Abbey Kelley had a triple and a single for an RBI.
With this important victory, Essendon improves to 3-4-2 while remaining in third place. Springvale and Doncaster flip-flop in first and second as the Lions are now 6-2-1.
Doncaster Dragons 14 v Footscray Bulldogs 1
Footscray's woes continued with a dismal outing on Wednesday night. Doncaster wasted no time getting on the board, racking up the runs to secure win number six on the season.
Doncaster's lineup tallied 13 hits, three of which went to Amy McCann with her double and two singles for two RBIs. Erin Collins had two base hits while Bronwyn Gell knocked in two runs on a triple and a double. Jessica Johnston doubled and singled as Doncaster's fiery lineup showed no signs of slowing down.
Jamie Bastian, Ursula Howard, Vanessa Clifford and Belinda Cannington also had big hits for Doncaster. Cannington contributed a scoreless inning of relief work on the mound after Johnston got the job done, giving up just five hits and one unearned run with four strikeouts in four innings.
Footscray, now at 0-8-1, will try once again for that elusive first victory in upcoming games at Springvale (round 10) and Essendon (round 11). Doncaster swapped with Springvale for first place, with the Dragons at 6-1-2 on the season.
Women's Division 1 - Round 10 (Saturday Games)
Footscray Bulldogs 0 v Springvale Lions 20
The Lions bounced back from a tough midweek loss with a dominant display over Footscray. With this game, Springvale records win number seven while improving to a total of 97 runs scored for on the season. The Lions have given up 51, the fewest runs in the competition thus far.
Footscray is still searching for a win, now sitting at a 0-9-1 record ahead of round 11 v Essendon and round 12 v Doncaster.
Doncaster Dragons 14 v Essendon Bombers 7
Essendon had a win in midweeks but the Bombers couldn't quite secure back-to-back victories. The Dragons got the job done with their bats to take a 7-1-2 record into round 11.
Essendon is 3-5-2 going into the last few weeks of the season before the break. Next up for Doncaster is a home game v Springvale while Essendon hits the road to take on Footscray.
Women's Division 2 - Round Nine
Essendon Bombers 1 v Doncaster Dragons 16
Doncaster scored upwards of 15 runs for the fourth straight game to stay undefeated with an 8-0 record. Essendon has yet to win a game, something the Bombers will be eager to change moving forward into round 10 v Fitzroy and beyond.
The Dragons have scored 111 runs this season while allowing only 16, while the Bombers have reversed numbers with 16 runs scored and 116 given up.
Doncaster hosts close competitor Springvale for a big game on Saturday.
Footscray Bulldogs 5 v Springvale Lions 21
The Lions once again displayed why they are undefeated in this competition, racking up the runs like no tomorrow after a much quieter Footscray side.
The Bulldogs struggled to contain Springvale's offense as the Lions cruised to another big win, their second highest run tally of the season other than a 27-2 win over Essendon in round three.
Footscray is now 3-5 before this weekend's clash with Wheelers Hill, while Springvale is at risk of losing an undefeated record as they face the only other unbeaten team in Doncaster.
Wheelers Hill Warriors 16 v Fitzroy Lions 7
The Warriors put two tough losses behind them with a convincing win over Fitzroy. Wheelers Hill scored six in the first while keeping Fitzroy to just one before a third-run second inning. Six more runs in the third brought the score to a comfortable 15-3.
The Warriors tacked on one more run in the top of the fourth while Fitzroy added four more, but the Lions were unable to bounce back from such a large deficit. Wheelers Hill has now won both of the meetings between these teams so far this season, with the Warriors in the top three with a 4-4 record. Fitzroy is 2-7 and eager to improve in the second half of the season.
Melissa Batty, Eva Gottschling, Lori Lygris and the rest of the Wheelers Hill lineup will take on Footscray in round 10 while Fitzroy plays Essendon.
Women's Division 3 East - Round Nine
Springvale Lions 5 v Doncaster Dragons 14
The Lions are 3-4 after losing just one out of their last three games. Springvale had won 19-2 and 16-11 in the past two rounds, but the offense lost its momentum against this Doncaster side.
Katherine Colclough, Keeley Harrison and Amelia Richardson helped lead the Dragons to victory. After this game the Dragons are 4-3 and the Lions are 3-4. Doncaster plays Mulgrave this weekend and Springvale has a bye.
Mulgrave Rebels 2 v Melbourne Demons 22
Melbourne continues to dominate the competition with another double-digit victory. This marked the third game in which the Demons have scored 20 runs or more.
Melbourne scored five in the first, six in the second and four in the third before giving up two lone runs to Mulgrave. The Demons scored seven more to end the game on a high note.
The Demons are 6-1 and the Rebels are 1-4 before this weekend's games at Moorabbin and Doncaster respectively.
Moorabbin Panthers - BYE
Women's Division 3 South - Round Nine
Bonbeach Bluejays White 7 v Berwick City Cougars 20
The Cougars ran away with this one, scoring seven runs in both the first and the second as they dominated at the plate early on. The Bluejays weren't completely defeated, coming back to score seven in the third.
Berwick responded with six more runs to finish the game on a strong note.
Emma Arnett, Tanya Bryant and Alyssa Jones contributed to the big win as the lineup was busy getting on base. Berwick has won two of the past three for a 4-3 record, while Bonbeach White is 1-5 thus far this season. The Cougars play Pakenham Black next while Bluejays go to Pakenham White.
Cheltenham Rustlers 13 v Pakenham Pumas Black 4
A late burst by Cheltenham put the game well and truly out of reach. The Rustlers took an early 4-1 lead after the first, and by the end of two the score was 6-3.
Seven runners came home in the third for Cheltenham while Pakenham managed only one in the final frame.
Carolyn Allen, Pia Dunkley, Sue Leslie and the rest of the Rustlers had a great game collectively with their bats, winning their seventh straight game to stay undefeated.
The Pumas are still looking for a win and will be hoping for a favourable outcome when they play Berwick this upcoming weekend, while Cheltenham heads to Bonbeach Blue.
Bonbeach Bluejays Blue 12 v Sandringham Royals 4
Bonbeach Blue holds on to second place after another strong outing. The Bluejays are feeling good with a 5-1 record, as their only loss came against Cheltenham in round three.
Sandringham heads into a bye with a 3-4 record in fifth place, while Bonbeach Blue gears up to play Cheltenham once more in round 10.
Pakenham Pumas White - BYE
Women's Division 3 West - Round Nine
Sunshine Eagles 11 v Fitzroy Lions 8
This was a fierce competition but ultimately Sunshine pulled away for the win. Some terrific defensive plays in the field helped the Eagles stay in front for a good chunk of the game after bouncing back from a 6-3 deficit after the first.
Sunshine scored four in the second and four in the fourth while Fitzroy managed just one run in both the third and the fourth. That final burst of offense did the trick for the Eagles as they went on to win their sixth game of the season to protect their first place position. Fitzroy is in third place at 3-3, with the next round taking the Lions to North Western while Sunshine has a home game v Geelong Baycats White.
North Western Titans 21 v Geelong Baycats Blue 7
The Titans turned the tables on the Baycats after Geelong won the first meeting in round four by a final score of 16-13.
Seven proved to be a lucky number for the Titans as that's how many runs they put up in each of the three innings. The Baycats were competitive to start with six runs in the first, but they dropped off from there with just one lone run coming around in the final frame.
The Titans haven't lost since round six and will be looking to keep up with their winning ways against Fitzroy to improve on a 2-3-1 record, while Geelong Blue carries a 5-3 record into the bye week.
Geelong Baycats White - BYE