The 2020/21 VSBL Division 2 season is in the home stretch with the playoff picture to be confirmed after the final regular season games this weekend.
Mulgrave Rebels 2 v Port Melbourne Mariners 9
Mulgrave came out of the second with a 1-0 lead but it didn't last long as Port Melbourne scored two in the third and four in the fourth. Mulgrave got one back in the seventh but it wasn't enough as the Mariners continued scoring, tacking on three in the eighth.
Matthew Parker threw all nine innings for Port Melbourne, giving up 13 hits but just two earned runs with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Mulgrave's Ryan Phillips threw five innings, giving up six hits, four walks, two HBP, and six runs - four of them unearned. He struck out five. Caleb Poole kept things scoreless during three innings despite giving up seven hits.
Port Melbourne had three RBIs on two home runs from Darryl George, plus a 3-RBI triple from Bailey Waterman. Tyson Cox-Davies had two singles and an RBI as Adam Baker singled and Christopher Doyle had two base hits. Matthew Morris doubled, Samuel Morris singled three times, and Kevin Ung singled once.
Mulgrave's Nicholas Coy homered as Nicholas Thompson doubled and singled. Jayson Arthur, Jason Cousins, Brayden Martin, Michael Morgan, Caleb Poole, Donnie Poole, and Paul Rutgers all collected hits too.
Port Melbourne has a 6-9-1 record on 67 runs for and 94 runs against. Mulgrave is in third place with nine wins, seven losses, 97 runs for, and 94 runs against.
Port Melbourne hosts Preston and Mulgrave visits Williamstown in round 18.
Newport Rams 17 v Werribee Giants 5
The Rams were dominant at the plate, turning a 5-3 deficit into a 10-run lead after putting up 12 wins in the fifth. Newport scored a further two runs in the seventh while keeping the Giants off the board.
Newport's David Asp pitched four innings, giving up eight hits and five runs - four of them earned. He walked one and struck out three. Tyler Comben threw three scoreless innings with three hits and two strikeouts.
Jonathon Lowe and Cameron Mcnish contributed on the mound for Werribee. Newport's hits came from Mason Wray, who singled and doubled for three RBIs, and Jared Berman, who collected two singles, two walks, and an RBI. Ryan Morrison singled twice and walked, David Asp had an RBI single, and Tyler Comben singled, walked twice, and plated two runs. Dean Malthouse had an RBI double and Connor Schibeci had two walks and two singles for an RBI.
Samuel Reale and Simon Riches doubled for Werribee while Anthony Moanaroa plated two on a pair of singles. Josh Lee and Andrew Christou singled as Ryan Balzer had two singles and an RBI. Andrew Leahy singled twice for an RBI too.
14-2 Newport has scored 157 and given up 56. Werribee has eight wins, seven losses, and a draw on 84 runs for and 88 against.
Fourth-place Werribee visits Doncaster and Newport hosts St Kilda for the final round of the regular season.
Preston Pirates 2 v Doncaster Dragons 5
One big inning for Doncaster sealed the deal on win number eight, despite Preston taking an early 2-0 lead in the second.
The Dragons scored four in the third and another in the sixth as the defense held off on a bases-loaded threat late in the game. Simon Fitzmaurice was solid during eight innings, giving up eight hits on two runs with one walk and one strikeout. Angus Stals walked two and hit one for loaded bases but two strikeouts kept Preston from scoring again. Billy Findlay stepped in to maintain the scoreless inning.
Nicholas Pascuzzi pitched six innings for Preston, giving up five hits and three walks with a HBP and five runs - three of them earned. Jaycob Pascuzzi handled two scoreless innings in relief with one hit, two walks, and a HBP.
Brian Chen had a big 2-RBI double for Doncaster as Fitzmaurice singled and walked twice. Jean Alvarado had an RBI double and Derek Medlin also had an extra-base hit. Dakota Gibson and Brendan McDonald singled.
Preston's Vinnie Sayegh had two singles, a walk, and an RBI. Darcy Byrne-Connell singled twice while Pascuzzi, Logan O'Brien, and Hebert Rodriguez had the team's other singles.
The Dragons sit sixth with an 8-8 record on 109 runs for and 110 against. Round 18 has Doncaster at home v Werribee and Preston on the road to Port Melbourne.
St Kilda Saints 0 v Moorabbin Panthers 10
The Panthers added late runs for a dominant shutout victory on Sunday. The first two innings were scoreless before Moorabbin took a 1-0 lead in the third.
The Panthers did the most damage in the sixth with six runs, followed by one more in the sixth and two final runs in the seventh.
Christopher Nielsen threw seven solid innings for Moorabbin, striking out 14 with just three hits and no walks. On St Kilda's side, Daniel Hogg threw 4.66 innings with eight hits, six walks, two HBP, seven earned runs, and a strikeout. Millar Kuhl gave up a hit, five walks, and a HBP for three runs in 1.66 innings.
Stewart Mathieson doubled and plated four of Moorabbin's runs while Neil Johnson had a single and a triple for 3 RBIs. Matt Hardie singled, doubled, walked twice, and plated a run while Adam Harris, Kieran Lewis, Nick Bertucci, Angelo Reale Rontos, and Andrei Smith had one hit each.
St Kilda's three singles of the day came off the bats of Mariano Favia, Joshua Smart, and Thomas Snowden.
Moorabbin is the top side with a 14-2 record on 120 runs for and only 35 against. St Kilda has a 2-13-1 record and plays Newport next while the Panthers host Ormond Glenhuntly.
Williamstown Wolves 4 v Ormond Glenhuntly 1
The Wolves got their eighth win of the year thanks to a strong start from Dennis Neal. He struck out 12 in nine innings with five hits, five walks, and one run.
Williamstown scored two in the first, one in the eighth and one in the ninth, while only giving up that one run to Ormond Glenhuntly in the fifth. The winning offense included Justin Gourlay's 2-RBI double and RBI hits from Daniel Chircop and Robert Higginson. Hiroshi Narasaki and Curtix Cox had singles. Aaron Green took two walks as Mitchell Collins and Jason McDonald took one.
8-8 Williamstown has scored 97 runs and given up 49 with the last game a home matchup v Mulgrave. Ormond Glenhuntly has a 7-8-1 record with 81 runs for and 89 runs against. The Hunters play Moorabbin on Saturday.