The 2020/21 VSBL season is back from the break as Division 2 teams came out swinging. Moorabbin is at the top of the ladder, but Williamstown, Doncaster and Newport aren't far behind with less than two months to go.
Division 2 Firsts
Port Melbourne Mariners 1 v Moorabbin Panthers 9
The Panthers kept chipping away at the lead to secure their fifth win of the season.
Moorabbin opened with one in the first and another three in the fourth. The Panthers scored one more in the sixth and two in both the seventh and eighth to seal the deal. Port Melbourne's lone run came in the seventh.
Moorabbin's Michael McGillivray pitched seven innings with just one run allowed. He gave up four hits, four walks, and three HBP with seven strikeouts. Christopher Nielsen handled two scoreless innings with no hits or walks and three strikeouts.
Matthew Parker threw six innings with six hits, two walks and three HBP with five runs allowed - three of them earned. He struck out six batters. Kevin Ung and Tyson Cox-Davies contributed one inning each, with Ung giving up two hits, two walks and two unearned runs. Cox-Davies allowed two hits and two runs with two strikeouts.
Kieran Lewis led Moorabbin's offence with four RBIs on two doubles and a single. Ben Laux had a two-run homer and Stewart Mathieson singled and doubled on the day. Adam Harris, Matt Hardie, Tom Brookes and Nielsen singled as well.
Port Melbourne's quieter offence included an RBI by Cox-Davies as well as singles to Ung, Bailey Waterman, Jack White and Adam Baker.
Ladder-leader Moorabbin has a 5-1 record with the next game at home v Doncaster while Port Melbourne has a 2-3-1 record with an upcoming away game at St Kilda.
Mulgrave Rebels 2 v Werribee Giants 4
This low-scoring game saw both sides perform well in the pitching department, with Werribee's Josh Lee and Mulgrave's Jayson Arthur working hard on the mound.
Lee threw the entire nine games, with just two unearned runs scored against him. He allowed four hits, one walk, and one HBP while striking out nine batters. The Rebels got eight solid innings out of Arthur, who gave up six hits and eight walks with nine strikeouts and four runs - two of them unearned.
Werribee's winning lineup featured RBI singles from Lee and Simon Riches, two base hits by Evan McPherson, and singles to Wade Balzer and Pantalleresco. Mulgrave's offence included an RBI single to Nicholas Coy, another RBI by Nicholas Thompson and base hits from Trent Watkinson, Caleb Poole and Ryan Phillips.
Werribee improved to a 3-2-1 record while Mulgrave is 3-3. Werribee hosts Williamstown and Mulgrave heads to Preston next.
Newport Rams 17 v Doncaster Dragons 2
The Rams recorded their fourth win of the season with their highest-scoring game of the season. Newport's Tyler Comben pitched five innings with six hits, four walks, two runs - one unearned - and four strikeouts. Aaron Robson handled the other two innings with three hits, two walks and two strikeouts.
Luke Utting pitched 2.66 innings for Doncaster, giving up three earned runs on four hits, two walks and one HBP. He struck out three. 12 runs scored during the 2.66 innings Simon Fitzmaurice was on the mound, but seven of them were unearned. Two unearned runs scored with Billy Findlay pitching.
Newport's big offence included 4 RBIs for Keenan Spence with a home run, a triple and two singles, as well as 3 RBIs apiece for Nathan Smith and Dean Malthouse. Mason Wray plated two with a pair of singles and a double while Jared Berman, Morgan Doty and Mathew Lawman all had one RBI. Scot Malthouse and Ryan Morrison both singled.
Doncaster's offensive contributors included Findlay and Marc Sandy who batted in a run each, as well as Brian Chen with three singles. Dakota Gibson, Derek Medlin and Nic Unland singled.
After this result, both teams sit at 4-2 with Newport playing Ormond Glenhuntly next and Doncaster playing Moorabbin.
Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 8 v Preston Pirates 6
The first inning was scoreless before both teams got on the board in the second. Ormond Glenhuntly led 2-1 after the second and 4-1 after the third. The Hunters scored three more in the fifth.
Preston fought to stay in it, scoring one in the fifth and another in the sixth before three runs came home in the eighth. The Pirates were within one but gave up an eighth run to the Hunters in the final frame as the game fell just out of reach.
Kyungsoo Jeon threw five innings for Ormond Glenhuntly with four hits, one walk, two runs - one unearned - and eight strikeouts. Jiwon Choi pitched four innings, giving up eight hits, two walks and four runs - three of them earned.
Preston's Jaycob Pascuzzi threw four scoreless innings with just one hit, one walk and two strikeouts. Nicholas Pascuzzi gave up a hit, two walks and one run in his lone inning of work. He also struck out one. The Hunters collected 10 hits, two walks and seven runs - two unearned - during Gabriel Valderrama's four innings on the mound.
Ormond Glenhuntly's offence was led by Jason Maxwell with two RBIs, as Doha Kwak, Rhy Dyball, Brad Dolan, Jeon and Choi also plated runs. Keunyeol Park had two base hits and Geoff MacDonald singled and doubled.
Preston had two RBIs from Glenn Farrell and doubles by Adrian Fittock, Luke Williams and Pascuzzi. Matt Fordham, Mitch Legge and Hebert Rodriguez batted in runs.
Eighth-placed Ormond Glenhuntly plays Newport and tenth-place Preston plays Mulgrave next.
Williamstown Wolves 8 v St Kilda Saints 3
The Wolves scored two to start the game and kept St Kilda off the board for the most part, aside from one in the second and two in the seventh. Williamstown scored four in the sixth and two in the ninth.
Dennis Neal covered six solid innings with four hits, three walks, one run and eight strikeouts. Daniel Chircop threw three innings with four hits, one walk, two runs and a strikeout.
St Kilda's Adam Schoppe stayed on the mound for the entire game, allowing 12 hits, two walks, two HBP and eight earned runs with seven strikeouts.
Hiroshi Narasaki had 3 RBIs on two doubles, while Williamstown's other runs were batted in by Jason McDonald, Tyler Gwin and Aaron Green. Robert Higginson singled twice and Scott Meager had a base hit too.
Alan Ortiz, Paul Puskar and Daniel Hogg brought in runs for St Kilda as Rolando Curiel, Mariano Favia and Mariano Heyden all had hits.
Ninth-place St Kilda is 1-5 going into a game v Port Melbourne while Williamstown is 4-2 before a clash with Werribee.
Division 2 Seconds
Port Melbourne Mariners 0 v Moorabbin Panthers 12
The Panthers stayed undefeated after a strong home game performance as they scored in four out of five innings.
Moorabbin scored twice in the first and three times in the second. Three more runs came home in the third, followed by four in the fourth.
Three of Moorabbin's wins have been shutout victories, as the team has given up just two runs total with 42 scored.
Next up for Moorabbin is a game at Mulgrave, while Port Melbourne hosts Doncaster.
Williamstown Wolves 2 v St Kilda Saints 6
The Saints scored early to secure their first win of the season.
St Kilda scored two in the first and three in the second. The rest of the game was quiet except for the fifth inning, when Williamstown scored two and St Kilda scored one.
The seventh-place Saints are now 1-2-1 with 13 runs scored and 17 given up. Williamstown is just behind in eighth place with one win and three losses with 27 runs scored and 22 given up. St Kilda plays Preston next and Williamstown plays Newport.
Newport Rams 15 v Doncaster Dragons 3
The Rams bounced back from a tough 15-0 loss to Moorabbin in round three with a big win against Doncaster.
Aggressive baserunning, several stolen bases and early scoring helped Newport get ahead.
Trenell Hutchins had two hits for the Rams while Harun Pelja and Mason Condie impressed on the mound. Catcher Zac Gorman also contributed behind the dish and at the plate.
Newport moved up one spot to third with three wins and a loss. Doncaster is fourth with the same record but only 31 runs scored compared to 37 for the Rams.
Newport plays Williamstown and Doncaster plays Port Melbourne next.
Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 10 v Preston Pirates 3
The Hunters had the upper hand over the Pirates in this matchup, as they came back from an early 2-0 deficit to take the lead in the fourth. By the end of that inning it was a 6-2 ballgame.
The fifth inning was scoreless but the Hunters added four in the final frame while giving up just one to the Pirates.
4-0 Ormond Glenhuntly plays Werribee next while Preston hosts St Kilda.
Mulgrave Rebels 4 v Werribee Giants 4
The Giants had their second draw of the season after the Rebels came back to tie it in the last inning.
Werribee scored one in the third and three in the sixth but faltered in the end to lose hold of the victory. The Giants sit fifth with one win, one loss and two draws, while Mulgrave is sixth with one win, two losses and a draw.
Werribee visits Ormond Glenhuntly next while Mulgrave hosts Moorabbin.
Division 2 Thirds
Werribee Giants 2 v Mulgrave Rebels 3
It was a close one but ultimately the Rebels prevailed, thanks to a late three-run burst in the fifth.
Werribee scored one in the first and another in the fifth before giving up the go-ahead run to the Rebels. Mulgrave held on to stop Werribee from scoring in the top of the sixth.
Mulgrave improved to 3-1 after this game while Werribee has a 1-3 record. Mulgrave plays Moorabbin next and Werribee plays Ormond Glenhuntly.
Doncaster Dragons 2 v Newport Rams 17
The Rams ran wild on the base paths, tying their highest run tally of the year. They also scored 17 runs in a 14-run victory over Werribee in round two.
The 4-0 Rams host Williamstown and 3-1 Doncaster hosts Port Melbourne next.
St Kilda Saints 1 v Williamstown Wolves 6
The Wolves opened with one in the first followed by two in the second and three in the third. St Kilda got one in the fourth while the fifth was quiet with no score on either side.
Williamstown is 3-1 and St Kilda is 0-4 going into games v Newport and Preston respectively.
Preston Pirates 9 v Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 7
The Pirates recorded their first win of the season with a solid offensive performance at the Hunters home base. The game was tied at one after the first before Preston scored two more in the second.
Preston briefly led 4-3 after the top of the third but by the bottom half, Ormond Glenhuntly had scored four to take the lead. The back and forth battle continued with neither side scoring in the fourth before Preston fired back with four in the fifth and one more in the sixth. The Hunters came within two in the final frame, but the Pirates walked away victorious.
Seventh-place Preston plays St Kilda next and Ormond Glenhuntly plays Werribee.
Moorabbin Panthers 13 v Port Melbourne Mariners 1
The Panthers scored in four out of five innings on their way to win number three. Moorabbin scored one in the first, eight in the second and three in the third. A final run scored in the fifth while Port Melbourne's lone run came in the second.
Now 3-1, second-place Moorabbin plays Mulgrave while 2-2 Port Melbourne looks to improve on a sixth-place position going into a game v Doncaster.
Division 2 Fourths
Werribee Giants 10 v Mulgrave Rebels 14
It was a busy day offensively as the Rebels came away with their second win of the season.
Mulgrave led 9-0 after the first but Werribee got back in the game, scoring eight in the second. The Rebels tacked on five and gave up a final two to Werribee as the game finished.
The 2-2 Rebels sit fifth with an even 30 runs scored and 30 given up, while Werribee is seventh at 1-3 with 28 runs scored for and 45 scored against.
Mulgrave plays Moorabbin and Werribee plays Ormond Glenhuntly after the bye in round five.
Doncaster Dragons 4 v Newport Rams 6
Newport narrowly came away with the win, denying the Dragons their first win of the season. Newport has won three and lost one with 28 runs scored and 26 given up. Doncaster has two losses and a draw having scored 18 runs and given up 22.
Doncaster plays Port Melbourne and Newport plays Williamstown next.
St Kilda Saints 7 v Williamstown Wolves 11
The Wolves bounced back quickly after the Saints took a 5-2 lead into the second. Although St Kilda still led after the second with the score sitting at 7-6, Williamstown took over in the third two runs, followed by two more in the fourth and another in the fifth.
Williamstown takes a 3-0 record into round five at Newport while 1-2-1 St Kilda has a bye.
Moorabbin Panthers 10 v Port Melbourne Mariners 2
The Panthers scored three early runs to get the game started in their favour, and they went on to score three in the fourth and four in the fifth. Port Melbourne's only runs came in the fourth.
The 4-0 Panthers host Mulgrave next while Port Melbourne visits Doncaster.