The 2020/21 VSBL Division 1 season all comes down to Waverley and Essendon in the grand final. Essendon took the first game with the next two set for Saturday 27 March and Sunday 28 March.
Waverley Wildcats 4 v Essendon Bombers 6
Waverley fell behind early and couldn't quite bounce back, despite out-hitting Essendon nine to eight.
Essendon scored on a 2-RBI single by Michael Formisano in the first inning and a groundout by Scott McIntyre in the second inning.
Essendon Bombers scored three runs in the third inning with RBIs from Cody Rodwell and Shoma Ikehata.
Sam Street led Essendon with a strong pitching performance, throwing six and two-thirds innings. He allowed four runs on nine hits with eight strikeouts. Formisano threw two and a third innings in relief out of the bullpen, recording the last seven outs to get the save.
Luke Papanicolaou took the loss for Waverley after allowing five hits and six runs over three innings, striking out one.
Ben Aslett, Jordan Ley, and Damon Hill had two hits apiece for Waverley. The team didn't commit an error as Oscar Hargreaves took the most fielding chances with 11.
Jared Cruz went 2-for-4 at the plate to lead Essendon in hits.
Watch the game replay on Facebook and tune in for game two at 4:30 pm on Saturday 27 March.
For the full VSBL Finals livestreaming schedule with My Sport Live, click HERE.