As the 2020/21 VSBL Division 2 season heads into the break, Moorabbin and Doncaster are leading the way with 4-1 records. The first games back are set for Sunday, 17 January 2021 as teams look to pick back up where they left off.
Division 2 Firsts - Midweek Games (Thursday, 17 December 2020)
Doncaster Dragons 1 v Newport Rams 6
The Rams got their second win on the board with a solid performance over Doncaster. Four runs in the first inning certainly helped, followed by two in the second.
Doncaster's only run came in the top of the second as the last four innings of the game remained scoreless. The Dragons had four hits overall while giving up seven to Newport, with Doncaster recording two errors and Newport making one.
Tyler Comben threw three scoreless innings for Newport, giving up one hit and one walk with two strikeouts. Aaron Robson contributed two innings on the mound, giving up one two hits, five walks and one run to Doncaster. Nathan Smith was also pitching for one inning, with a hit, walk and strikeout.
Angus Stals started the game for the Dragons, covering 2.66 innings with three hits, four walks and six runs allowed with a strikeout. Simon Fitzmaurice pitched 3.3 innings for Doncaster, giving up three hits and a HBP with three strikeouts and no runs scored.
Jared Berman knocked in half of Newport's runs with a huge single, while Bronwyn Gell had a pair of singles. Scot Malthouse also had two base hits and two RBIs. Nathan Smith and Keenan Spence singled too.
Brian Chen had two hits and an RBI for Doncaster as Derek Medlin singled as well. Marc Sandy took two walks as did Billy Findlay. Doncaster left eight on base in total while Newport had five stranded baserunners.
Preston Pirates 6 v Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 2
The Pirates got their first win on the board with a late burst of runs, scoring five in the final inning.
Ormond Glenhuntly scored one in the bottom of the first and Preston responded in the second, tying the game. The middle innings were quiet before the Pirates put together a rally in the top of the sixth, scoring five while holding the Hunters to just one in the final frame.
Gabriel Valderrama had a quality five inning start with one run allowed on just one hit and five walks with a strikeout. Glenn Farrell pitched an inning too. The team's five hits included Valderrama's double and singles from Farrell, Adrian Fittock, Mitch Legge and Hebert Rodriguez.
Brad Dolan threw five innings for Ormond Glenhuntly, giving up five hits, two walks and five runs - three of them unearned - with five strikeouts. Geoff MacDonald threw an inning where another unearned run scored, although he gave up no hits and just one walk with a strikeout. Sam Robertson doubled and walked with an RBI while Jason Maxwell single and walked. Dolan and Rhy Dyball had RBIs and Changho Choi singled for Ormond Glenhuntly too.
Moorabbin Panthers 9 v Port Melbourne Mariners 5
The offence was strong from the get-go, with Moorabbin scoring five to start. Port Melbourne got one back in the bottom frame, but the Panthers added another three in the top of the second.
The third was scoreless but the Panthers added one more in the fourth. The Mariners put together a four-run rally but couldn't add anymore. Michael McGillivray pitched well for Moorabbin, giving up seven hits, two walks and one HBP for four runs with three strikeouts. Kevin Ung gave up nine hits, one HBP and no walks during his time on the mound for Port Melbourne, with eight earned runs and one unearned run scoring.
Tyson Cox-Davies, Adam Baker, Matthew Morris and Jock Allen had RBIs for Port Melbourne as Sam Morris had a pair of singles. Bailey Waterman singled and doubled while Ung had an RBI single and Thomas Zeylemaker had a base hit as well.
Moorabbin's undefeated offence was led by Mitch Barr with four RBIs on a single and a home run. Matt Hardie was HBP and singled for an RBI, while Neil Johnson had a pair of singles and an RBI. Kieran Lewis had an RBI single and Stewart Mathieson singled and doubled for an RBI.
St Kilda Saints 4 v Williamstown Wolves 3
The Saints narrowly bested the Wolves thanks to a four-run second inning. Williamstown scored one in the second and another in the fourth before coming within one in the fifth. St Kilda hung on for a scoreless sixth to get the win.
Adam Schoppe threw six strong innings for St Kilda, giving up six hits, three walks and one HBP for three runs with eight strikeouts. Williamstown had Daniel Chircop on the mound for four innings, with four hits, two walks and four runs. He also struck out four. Mitchell Collins, Tyler Gwin and Scott Meager had RBIs.
Alan Ortiz, Marcel McFall, Daniel Hogg and Deilyn Guzman singled for the Saints with Ortiz knocking in two runs and Mariano Favia recording an RBI too.
Werribee Giants 1 v Mulgrave Rebels 2
It was a close contest but Mulgrave came out on top after scoring the winning run in the final frame. Both sides scored one in the second as three scoreless innings followed.
Liam Richardson threw five innings for Mulgrave with three hits, two walks, one HBP and five strikeouts. Jayson Arthur contributed two scoreless innings with two hits and two strikeouts. Trent Pantalleresco pitched 5.33 innings for Werribee, giving up two runs on four hits and six walks with three strikeouts. John Curnow recorded two outs on the mound.
Nicholas Coy had a single, double and RBI for Mulgrave while Ryan Phillips knocked in the other run on a single. Nick Thompson singled too. Oliver Box doubled for Werribee while Leigh Ashmore had a pair of singles. Samuel Reale and Tyler Huisman had singles for Werribee too.
Division 2 Firsts - Weekend Games (Saturday 19 - Sunday 20 December 2020)
Werribee Giants 2 v Port Melbourne Mariners 10
The first two innings were scoreless but the Mariners opened their account with two in the third followed by another two in the fifth. The Giants scored their two in the sixth.
Port Melbourne continued to score with another two in the sixth and four in the eighth for their second victory of the year.
Matthew Parker threw nine innings, giving up four hits, two walks and one HBP with 14 strikeouts. He gave up two runs - one unearned. Josh Lee threw five innings for Werribee with five hits, two walks, two earned runs and two unearned runs. He struck out seven. Cameron Mcnish was on the mound for two innings, giing up one hit, one walk and one HBP with four strikeouts and two unearned runs scored. Four unearned runs scored during Wilmer Castillo's inning on the mound.
Port Melbourne's Jock Allen had an RBI single with Adam Baker and Edmond Pagano also knocked in runs. Parker singled twice, Jack White had two singles and a double for four RBIs and Kevin Ung had a base hit.
Castillo and Simon Hibbert doubled for Werribee as Tyler Huisman and Trent Pantalleresco singled.
Port Melbourne is now 2-2-1 in sixth place while Werribee shares the same record but is just behind in runs scored. Port Melbourne opens 2021 at Moorabbin as Werribee hosts Mulgrave.
St Kilda Saints 6 v Doncaster Dragons 8
The Dragons bounced back from a 6-1 loss to Newport in round four with a two-run win over St Kilda.
Three pitchers took the mound for Doncaster, with each one throwing three innings. Angus Stals gave up one run on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Simon Fitzmaurice allowed four hits, three walks and five runs with two strikeouts. Brian Chen struck out four and gave up no hits or walks with just a HBP during his scoreless outing.
Thomas Snowden pitched 4.66 innings for St Kilda, allowing five hits, four walks and two runs - one unearned - with three strikeouts. Franco Caramia Guevara pitched 3.33 innings with six hits, four walks and six runs allowed. He struck out one.
Doncaster's offence was led by Brendan McDonald with three RBIs on a walk, HBP, single and triple.
Rolando Curiel knocked in one of St Kilda's runs, while Mariano Favia also had an RBI with a pair of base hits. Daniel Hogg had a 2-RBI double while Alan Ortiz singled and doubled with a pair of RBIs. Snowden and Adam Schoppe also doubled. Derek Medlin, Billy Findlay and Brian Chen also had RBIs. Nicholas Unland had three singles and an RBI as Luke Utting singled too.
Doncaster is 4-1 in second place behind Moorabbin with 51 runs scored and 23 given up. St Kilda is eighth with a 1-4 record ahead of Ormond Glenhuntly and Preston. Doncaster hosts Newport in the new year and St Kilda plays Williamstown at home.
Moorabbin Panthers 5 v Newport Rams 10
Moorabbin struck early with a four-run first, and the game stayed that way until Newport tied it in the fourth with four runs scored.
A quiet fifth gave way to the sixth when Newport tacked on five, followed by another in the seventh. Moorabbin got one back in the eighth but it wasn't enough to make up the deficit.
David Asp pitched six innings for Newport, giving up nine hits, one HBP and four unearned runs with four strikeouts. Tyler Comben contributed two innings on the mound with one hit, one walk, one run and two strikeouts. Nathan Smith had a scoreless inning on the mound with one hit and one HBP.
Moorabbin's Stewart Mathieson threw five innings with 21 first pitch strikes as Matthew McGillvray had nine first pitch strikes in two innings.
Newport had 15 hits in total on the day while giving up 11 to Moorabbin. Both sides made one error. Mitch Barr and Neil Johnson had three hits apiece for the Panthers while Smith had three for Newport.
Chris Niesen had four quality at-bats for Moorabbin as Nick Bertucci knocked in two runs. Jared Berman led Newport with three RBIs on two singles. Comben had two RBIs with two base hits. Scot Malthouse, Ryan Morrison and Conor Schibeci all had multi-hit games as Mason Wray and Mathew Lawman recorded RBIs.
3-2 Newport heads to Doncaster in fourth place and first-place Moorabbin hosts Port Melbourne in hopes of improving a 4-1 record.
Mulgrave Rebels 4 v Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 10
The Hunters finally got a win on the board with a big performance v Mulgrave.
The first two innings were scoreless before both sides scored two in the third. The Hunters took a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth, although Mulgrave got one back in the sixth. Five more Ormond Glenhuntly runs sealed the deal in the seventh, with a final Mulgrave run scoring in the ninth.
The Hunters managed 10 hits against Mulgrave pitchers while giving up just nine themselves. Ninth place Ormond Glenhuntly is 1-4 now while Mulgrave is 3-2 in fifth place.
Mulgrave hits the road to play Werribee and Ormond Glenhuntly visits Preston to start of 2021.
Preston Pirates 0 v Williamstown Wolves 19
Williamstown scored five early runs and a late burst of offence saw the score line expand further. 10 runs in the fifth and four in the sixth ensured Williamstown's biggest win of the season.
Dennis Neal had a terrific start for Williamstown, throwing a no-hitter with just one walk and 13 strikeouts. Justin Gourlay led the way at the plate with seven RBIs on four hits, including a single, two doubles and a home run. Daniel Chircop walked and singled for an RBI as Mitchell Collins had two walks, a double and an RBI. Aaron Green doubled and walked, Tyler Gwin knocked in a run
Scott Meager had three RBIs and Jason McDonald had two.
Williamstown is in third place with a 3-2 record with the next game at St Kilda while 1-4 Preston hosts Ormond Glenhuntly.
Division 2 Seconds
Werribee Giants 10 v Port Melbourne Mariners 1
The first inning was scoreless but it wasn't long before the Giants were racking up the runs on their way to their first win of the season.
Werribee scored six in the second and one more in the fourth as the Mariners scored one in the bottom half. The Giants got another run in the sixth and two more in the seventh.
Werribee has improved to fifth place with a 1-1-1 record while Port Melbourne is ninth. The Mariners play Moorabbin next and Werribee hosts Mulgrave.
St Kilda Saints 2 v Doncaster Dragons 3
It was a close call but Doncaster pulled away for the win to protect an undefeated record. The 3-0 Dragons are in second place having scored 28 runs and given up 15, while St Kilda has two losses and a draw.
The Saints play Williamstown to start the year and Doncaster hosts Newport.
Mulgrave Rebels 3 v Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 7
Mulgrave scored two early runs but didn't bring another runner home until the sixth. Meanwhile Ormond Glenhuntly had a big third inning with seven runs.
Mulgrave is 1-2 in sixth place as the Hunters stay undefeated in third place just shy of Moorabbin and Doncaster which have scored more runs.
Mulgrave plays Werribee in the next round and Ormond Glenhuntly heads to Preston.
Preston Pirates 0 v Williamstown Wolves 14
The Wolves got things started right away with five early runs, followed by six more in the second. The third and fifth innings were quieter for Williamstown although three more runners came home in the fourth, all while holding Preston at bay.
With contributions from the entire lineup, including Jacob Bergin, Sean Best, Gerard Carter and Justin Charles, Williamstown improves to a 1-2 record. The Wolves are at St Kilda to start 2021 and Preston hosts Ormond Glenhuntly.
Moorabbin Panthers 15 v Newport Rams 0
Tom Brookes, Felix Brunner, Tyler Ellis, Xander Gunn and the rest of Moorabbin's hard-hitting lineup got win number three on the board with four early runs.
The reigning premiers went on to score three in the third, one in the fourth, three in the fifth and a final four in the sixth.
This marked Newport's first loss as the team is now 2-1 in fourth place with Moorabbin at the top of the ladder after scoring 30 and giving up just two in the first three games.
Next up, Moorabbin hosts Port Melbourne and Newport goes to Doncaster.
Division 2 Thirds
Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 5 v Mulgrave Rebels 18
The Rebels won 14-4 in round two and followed up with another high-scoring performance.
Mulgrave is in fifth place with a 2-1 record and 34 runs scored with just 15 given up. Ormond Glenhuntly is in ninth place. The Rebels host Werribee in the next round and the Hunters play Preston at home.
Moorabbin Panthers 7 v Newport Rams 8
It was a close call for both sides but Newport held on to keep a undefeated record intact.
The Rams enjoyed an early three-run lead but not for long as Moorabbin tied the game in the top of the second. The third inning was scoreless but the fourth saw Moorabbin briefly take a 5-3 lead.
The Panthers were in prime position after scoring two more in the fifth, but Newport scored five to get the tying and go-ahead run home in the final frame.
3-0 Newport is in second place just behind Doncaster with 31 runs scored and 12 given up. Moorabbin is fourth at 2-1 with 40 runs scored and 14 allowed.
Newport plays Doncaster at home in a battle of the undefeated teams while round four has Moorabbin ont he road to Port Melbourne.
Williamstown Wolves 13 v Preston Pirates 3
Williamstown's hard-hitting lineup including Kenji Chen, Daniel Collisson, Ashton Coote and James Dann got the job done on Sunday.
The Wolves scored nine early runs, followed by one in the third and another in the fourth and two final runs in the sixth. Preston scored just one in the second and two in the fifth.
Williamstown moved into third place after this game with a 2-1 record thanks to 44 runs scored and just 16 allowed. Williamstown plays St Kilda next and eighth place Preston plays at Ormond Glenhuntly.
Doncaster Dragons 5 v St Kilda Saints 3
The Dragons defended their undefeated record, following up on a strong 18-7 win over Preston the week before.
Doncaster sits atop the ladder with 33 runs scored and 13 given up, while Newport isn't far behind in second place having scored 31 runs across the first three games of the season.
Doncaster plays Newport next and St Kilda heads to Williamstown.
Port Melbourne Mariners 12 v Werribee Giants 4
The Mariners bounced back from a 14-4 loss to Mulgrave the week before by putting on a big show against Werribee.
The Giants had a 4-1 lead after two but Port Melbourne refused to go down without a fight, coming back to score five in the third, four in the fourth and two more in the fifth all while keeping Werribee off the board.
Port Melbourne is in sixth place with a 2-1 record having scored 26 runs and given up 24, while Werribee is one spot behind at 1-2 with 14 runs scored and 35 given up.
Port Melbourne hosts Moorabbin to kick off 2021 and Werribee heads to Mulgrave.
Division 2 Fourths
Port Melbourne Mariners 7 v Werribee Giants 8
The game was tied at two after the second before Port Melbourne took the lead on two extra runs in the third.
The next score came in the bottom of the fifth as Werribee tacked on three, but it didn't last long as Port Melbourne scored another three. Werribee sealed the deal with three more runs in the final frame to get the team's first win on the board.
Sixth place Werribee heads to Mulgrave and ninth place Port Melbourne hosts Moorabbin next.
Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 6 v Mulgrave Rebels 4
The Hunters lost a heartbreaker by one run last week as Williamstown won 14-13, but they got back in the win column with a solid game at Mulgrave.
The Hunters improve to third with 28 runs scored and 26 allowed, while Mulgrave is currently seventh with a 1-2 record on 16 runs scored and 20 given up.
Ormond Glenhuntly has a bye for round four and Mulgrave hosts Werribee.
Moorabbin Panthers 18 v Newport Rams 7
Moorabbin's lineup of Mark Boyle, Ben Campbell, Ruby Dale, Quinn Estes and others got the job done at the plate, securing back-to-back double-digit wins.
The Panthers opened with seven runs while Newport scored two. Eight more Moorabbin runs came home in the third and three more in the fifth, while two in the fourth and three in the fifth scored for Newport.
Moorabbin remains undefeated with a 3-0 record thanks to 34 runs scored and just seven allowed, as Newport is fourth with a 2-1 record and an even 22 runs scored and given up.
Newport hosts Doncaster and Moorabbin visits Port Melbourne in the new year.
Doncaster Dragons 13 v St Kilda Saints 13
Both teams battled so incredibly hard to avoid the loss and it showed, resulting in a draw. Doncaster is in eighth place with one loss and one draw, having scored 14 runs and given up 16, while St Kilda is fifth with a 1-1-1 record and 28 runs scored v 36 given up.
Williamstown had a bye but the team hosts St Kilda to start 2021 as Doncaster plays Newport.