There were plenty of exciting results over the weekend as VSBL Women's Division 1, 2 and 3 semi-finals got underway. Several teams have booked their spots in the Grand Finals, while others will take part in preliminary finals this upcoming weekend as the VSBL Women's competition continues.
Women’s Division 1
Footscray Bulldogs 2 v Essendon Bombers 5
Reigning premiers Essendon made sure to get the job done and get a spot in the prelims.
Footscray gave it a good shot, keeping the Bombers bats relatively under control but still Essendon managed to get ahead.
This result means that the Bulldogs are out for the season, while Essendon has that one more hurdle to jump through before the Grand Final. Essendon will play Doncaster on Saturday, with the winner playing Springvale for the flag on Women's Super Saturday.
The Bombers were 8-9-2 in the regular season while Doncaster was 12-4-3, with Doncaster 15-4 in their last meeting in round 19.
Doncaster Dragons 9 v Springvale Lions 15
Springvale will return to the Grand Final for yet another year after beating season-long opponents Doncaster.
The Lions will look forward to the Grand Final, having won six in a row from 2013-2018.
Springvale started the scoring early and by the sixth the Lions led 10-6. They went on to score five more while keeping Doncaster from coming back and tying it.
After a great season campaign that saw them finish 12-4-3, Doncaster will head into the prelim against Essendon, with the winner ready to play Springvale in the Grand Final. Springvale finished 14-3-2 at the top of the ladder.
Women’s Division 2
Springvale Lions 2 v Doncaster Dragons 12
Springvale was no match for Doncaster in this semi-final, with the Dragons quickly getting in front.
Doncaster continues to build on a fantastic 14-1 regular season, now looking forward to a spot in the Grand Final when the Dragons will pursue their first Women's Division 2 flag since the 2009/10 season.
The Lions will try not to be too deterred by this loss, instead turning their focus to a prelim at home v Footscray. Springvale finished the regular season with a 12-2 record, and the Lions won 21-5 over Footscray in round nine so they've proven they can overcome the Bulldogs before.
Footscray had a 6-8-1 record in the regular season.
Footscray Bulldogs 15 v Wheelers Hill Warriors 6
The Warriors had a slightly better record coming into this game, but that didn't faze the Bulldogs.
Wheelers Hill fell behind early and couldn't quite catch up to this fast-moving Footscray side. Faced with the prospect of elimination, Footscray laid it all on the line and put together a strong offensive performance to proceed to the prelim.
Footscray had a 6-0 lead after the top of the first, while Wheelers Hill scored one in the bottom frame. Two more Footscray runs came home in the top of the third, but the fourth saw seven Bulldogs score.
Five runs across the final two innings helped Wheelers Hill but the Warriors had too big of a deficit to overcome.
Footscray is booked to play Springvale this Saturday, with the winner moving on to face Doncaster in the Grand Final.
Women’s Division 3 East
Springvale Lions 7 v Doncaster Dragons 11
This was a big matchup between the third and fourth place teams, but the Dragons prevailed in a high-scoring affair.
The Dragons were leading 9-2 by the top of the third, and it was an 11-4 advantage by the time the fifth rolled around. The Lions did their best to stay in the game but they bowed out of the competition, while Doncaster earned a spot in the prelim.
Doncaster will play Moorabbin, a team that finished 10-3, on Saturday. After the combined Doncaster/Melbourne team won the Women's Division 3 premiership last season, the Dragons will be looking to achieve similar success.
Moorabbin Panthers 4 v Melbourne Demons 10
Both teams got off to a good start in this semi-final, Moorabbin and Melbourne locked at two-all after the first inning.
The Panthers got the lead back at the top of the third by scoring a run but it was all the Demons from then on, starting with a three-run third dig.
Melbourne added one more in the fourth before a huge five-run effort in the fifth saw them take a seven-run lead. The Demons were able to prevent their opponents from scoring, until giving up one last run at the top of the sixth.
Moorabbin will now host Doncaster for a second chance at a spot in the grand final where the winner of that will play Melbourne, as they go straight through.
Women’s Division 3 South
Cheltenham Rustlers 5 v Bonbeach Bluejays Blue 6
The Rustlers came close in an exciting game but ultimtely the Bluejays hung on to continue their amazing ride this season, having made finals for the first time since the 1990s.
Bonbeach led 4-1 by the bottom of the second, but it was a tied 5-5 ballgame before the third inning was over. Bonbeach managed one more before time and game to secure the victory, thanks to a strong team performance. U14 Jess Brown made a terrific solo double play to end the top of the third. Her line drive catch to tag the player off the bag on third was impressive to say the least.
Brown joined Jess Walters, Olivia Richards, Jo Myers, Brooke Tolley and Abra Osborne with singles while Sarah Vincent handled pitching duties. Jo Myers was great on defense at second base while Liv Richards recorded some crucial outs at first and brought in the winning run.
Cheltenham took six walks to continuously get on base and keep pace with the Bluejays.
Bronwyn James says coaching the Bluejays and playing with them has been very memorable this year, especially with this fantastic win.
"I'm proud to be a Lady Jay, proud to be coach to these fantastic women and excited to get to the Grand Final," James said. "Ultimately the win was a great bonus, giving the girls confidence heading into the Grand Final and also giving us the added bonus of being the home team. It was something special to see the girls push through a tough innings with Cheltenham tying up the scores. The girls fought hard, made the plays and didn't give up."
Bronwyn and the Bluejays are all about basic, honest and quality baseball, which was evident on Saturday. "As has been our motto throughout - one base at a time, one game at a time," James added. "Heading into the Grand Final we plan to keep up the hard work in training. The girls have everything they need to win - quality baseball and determination. Now to bring it all together, harness the nerves and show everyone what the Lady Jays are made of!"
Bonbeach Blue is booked in for the Women's Division 3 South Grand Final while Cheltenham plays Berwick in the prelim.
Berwick City Cougars 9 v Sandringham Royals 6
The Cougars finished fourth in the regular season but they got the better of third place Sandringham to keep their season alive.
Berwick won seven games and lost six throughout the season, and now the Cougars will face the challenge of overcoming a Cheltenham side that finished 11-3. Cheltenham won 19-7 in round 12, something the Rustlers will look to do again.
Women’s Division 3 West
North Western Titans 16 v Geelong Baycats Blue 15
The Titans took their first finals appearance to new heights with a high-energy, high-scoring game in Geelong.
North Western led 7-5 after the first but the Baycats soon took a 12-8 lead. Geelong was holding on to a 13-11 advantage at the end of the third, but the Titans rallied in the final inning.
The Baycats had a runner on second, ready to score, but North Western shut it down and secured a spot in the prelim at Fitzroy.
Fitzroy narrowly won 10-9 in round 15, but the Titans won the round 10 meeting by a score of 12-9, so the prelim will be a good matchup.
Fitzroy Lions 4 v Sunshine Eagles 17
The Eagles are flying high and preparing for the grand final after a big win over Fitzroy.
Sunshine scored five in the first and four in the second with two more coming home in the third. Fitzroy scored one in the fourth and three in the fifth, but six more for Sunshine in the fourth really put the game out of reach.
The Eagles turned a triple play and Katherine Salkovic hit an inside the park home run.
Fitzroy's finals chances aren't over yet, as now the Lions host the prelim against the Titans on Saturday. If the Lions pull off a victory, they will face Sunshine once more on Women's Super Saturday.
Women’s Division 1
Footscray Bulldogs 2 v Essendon Bombers 5
Reigning premiers Essendon made sure to get the job done and get a spot in the prelims.
Footscray gave it a good shot, keeping the Bombers bats relatively under control but still Essendon managed to get ahead.
This result means that the Bulldogs are out for the season, while Essendon has that one more hurdle to jump through before the Grand Final. Essendon will play Doncaster on Saturday, with the winner playing Springvale for the flag on Women's Super Saturday.
The Bombers were 8-9-2 in the regular season while Doncaster was 12-4-3, with Doncaster 15-4 in their last meeting in round 19.
Reigning premiers Essendon made sure to get the job done and get a spot in the prelims.
Footscray gave it a good shot, keeping the Bombers bats relatively under control but still Essendon managed to get ahead.
This result means that the Bulldogs are out for the season, while Essendon has that one more hurdle to jump through before the Grand Final. Essendon will play Doncaster on Saturday, with the winner playing Springvale for the flag on Women's Super Saturday.
The Bombers were 8-9-2 in the regular season while Doncaster was 12-4-3, with Doncaster 15-4 in their last meeting in round 19.
Doncaster Dragons 9 v Springvale Lions 15
Springvale will return to the Grand Final for yet another year after beating season-long opponents Doncaster.
The Lions will look forward to the Grand Final, having won six in a row from 2013-2018.
Springvale started the scoring early and by the sixth the Lions led 10-6. They went on to score five more while keeping Doncaster from coming back and tying it.
After a great season campaign that saw them finish 12-4-3, Doncaster will head into the prelim against Essendon, with the winner ready to play Springvale in the Grand Final. Springvale finished 14-3-2 at the top of the ladder.
Springvale will return to the Grand Final for yet another year after beating season-long opponents Doncaster.
The Lions will look forward to the Grand Final, having won six in a row from 2013-2018.
Springvale started the scoring early and by the sixth the Lions led 10-6. They went on to score five more while keeping Doncaster from coming back and tying it.
After a great season campaign that saw them finish 12-4-3, Doncaster will head into the prelim against Essendon, with the winner ready to play Springvale in the Grand Final. Springvale finished 14-3-2 at the top of the ladder.
Women’s Division 2
Springvale Lions 2 v Doncaster Dragons 12
Springvale was no match for Doncaster in this semi-final, with the Dragons quickly getting in front.
Doncaster continues to build on a fantastic 14-1 regular season, now looking forward to a spot in the Grand Final when the Dragons will pursue their first Women's Division 2 flag since the 2009/10 season.
The Lions will try not to be too deterred by this loss, instead turning their focus to a prelim at home v Footscray. Springvale finished the regular season with a 12-2 record, and the Lions won 21-5 over Footscray in round nine so they've proven they can overcome the Bulldogs before.
Footscray had a 6-8-1 record in the regular season.
Footscray Bulldogs 15 v Wheelers Hill Warriors 6
The Warriors had a slightly better record coming into this game, but that didn't faze the Bulldogs.
Wheelers Hill fell behind early and couldn't quite catch up to this fast-moving Footscray side. Faced with the prospect of elimination, Footscray laid it all on the line and put together a strong offensive performance to proceed to the prelim.
Footscray had a 6-0 lead after the top of the first, while Wheelers Hill scored one in the bottom frame. Two more Footscray runs came home in the top of the third, but the fourth saw seven Bulldogs score.
Five runs across the final two innings helped Wheelers Hill but the Warriors had too big of a deficit to overcome.
Footscray is booked to play Springvale this Saturday, with the winner moving on to face Doncaster in the Grand Final.
Women’s Division 3 East
Springvale Lions 7 v Doncaster Dragons 11
This was a big matchup between the third and fourth place teams, but the Dragons prevailed in a high-scoring affair.
The Dragons were leading 9-2 by the top of the third, and it was an 11-4 advantage by the time the fifth rolled around. The Lions did their best to stay in the game but they bowed out of the competition, while Doncaster earned a spot in the prelim.
Doncaster will play Moorabbin, a team that finished 10-3, on Saturday. After the combined Doncaster/Melbourne team won the Women's Division 3 premiership last season, the Dragons will be looking to achieve similar success.
This was a big matchup between the third and fourth place teams, but the Dragons prevailed in a high-scoring affair.
The Dragons were leading 9-2 by the top of the third, and it was an 11-4 advantage by the time the fifth rolled around. The Lions did their best to stay in the game but they bowed out of the competition, while Doncaster earned a spot in the prelim.
Doncaster will play Moorabbin, a team that finished 10-3, on Saturday. After the combined Doncaster/Melbourne team won the Women's Division 3 premiership last season, the Dragons will be looking to achieve similar success.
Moorabbin Panthers 4 v Melbourne Demons 10
Both teams got off to a good start in this semi-final, Moorabbin and Melbourne locked at two-all after the first inning.
The Panthers got the lead back at the top of the third by scoring a run but it was all the Demons from then on, starting with a three-run third dig.
Melbourne added one more in the fourth before a huge five-run effort in the fifth saw them take a seven-run lead. The Demons were able to prevent their opponents from scoring, until giving up one last run at the top of the sixth.
Moorabbin will now host Doncaster for a second chance at a spot in the grand final where the winner of that will play Melbourne, as they go straight through.
Both teams got off to a good start in this semi-final, Moorabbin and Melbourne locked at two-all after the first inning.
The Panthers got the lead back at the top of the third by scoring a run but it was all the Demons from then on, starting with a three-run third dig.
Melbourne added one more in the fourth before a huge five-run effort in the fifth saw them take a seven-run lead. The Demons were able to prevent their opponents from scoring, until giving up one last run at the top of the sixth.
Moorabbin will now host Doncaster for a second chance at a spot in the grand final where the winner of that will play Melbourne, as they go straight through.
Women’s Division 3 South
Cheltenham Rustlers 5 v Bonbeach Bluejays Blue 6
The Rustlers came close in an exciting game but ultimtely the Bluejays hung on to continue their amazing ride this season, having made finals for the first time since the 1990s.
Bonbeach led 4-1 by the bottom of the second, but it was a tied 5-5 ballgame before the third inning was over. Bonbeach managed one more before time and game to secure the victory, thanks to a strong team performance. U14 Jess Brown made a terrific solo double play to end the top of the third. Her line drive catch to tag the player off the bag on third was impressive to say the least.
Brown joined Jess Walters, Olivia Richards, Jo Myers, Brooke Tolley and Abra Osborne with singles while Sarah Vincent handled pitching duties. Jo Myers was great on defense at second base while Liv Richards recorded some crucial outs at first and brought in the winning run.
Cheltenham took six walks to continuously get on base and keep pace with the Bluejays.
Bronwyn James says coaching the Bluejays and playing with them has been very memorable this year, especially with this fantastic win.
"I'm proud to be a Lady Jay, proud to be coach to these fantastic women and excited to get to the Grand Final," James said. "Ultimately the win was a great bonus, giving the girls confidence heading into the Grand Final and also giving us the added bonus of being the home team. It was something special to see the girls push through a tough innings with Cheltenham tying up the scores. The girls fought hard, made the plays and didn't give up."
Bronwyn and the Bluejays are all about basic, honest and quality baseball, which was evident on Saturday. "As has been our motto throughout - one base at a time, one game at a time," James added. "Heading into the Grand Final we plan to keep up the hard work in training. The girls have everything they need to win - quality baseball and determination. Now to bring it all together, harness the nerves and show everyone what the Lady Jays are made of!"
Bonbeach Blue is booked in for the Women's Division 3 South Grand Final while Cheltenham plays Berwick in the prelim.
Berwick City Cougars 9 v Sandringham Royals 6
The Cougars finished fourth in the regular season but they got the better of third place Sandringham to keep their season alive.
Berwick won seven games and lost six throughout the season, and now the Cougars will face the challenge of overcoming a Cheltenham side that finished 11-3. Cheltenham won 19-7 in round 12, something the Rustlers will look to do again.
Women’s Division 3 West
North Western Titans 16 v Geelong Baycats Blue 15
The Titans took their first finals appearance to new heights with a high-energy, high-scoring game in Geelong.
North Western led 7-5 after the first but the Baycats soon took a 12-8 lead. Geelong was holding on to a 13-11 advantage at the end of the third, but the Titans rallied in the final inning.
The Baycats had a runner on second, ready to score, but North Western shut it down and secured a spot in the prelim at Fitzroy.
Fitzroy narrowly won 10-9 in round 15, but the Titans won the round 10 meeting by a score of 12-9, so the prelim will be a good matchup.
Fitzroy Lions 4 v Sunshine Eagles 17
The Eagles are flying high and preparing for the grand final after a big win over Fitzroy.
Sunshine scored five in the first and four in the second with two more coming home in the third. Fitzroy scored one in the fourth and three in the fifth, but six more for Sunshine in the fourth really put the game out of reach.
The Eagles turned a triple play and Katherine Salkovic hit an inside the park home run.
Fitzroy's finals chances aren't over yet, as now the Lions host the prelim against the Titans on Saturday. If the Lions pull off a victory, they will face Sunshine once more on Women's Super Saturday.