The 2020/21 VSBL season has reached the holiday break with three rounds complete. There are a few teams with undefeated records headed into 2021, including Waverley in Division 4 East, Fitzroy and Mitchell Majors in Division 4 North, Mornington and Bonbeach in Division 4 South and Essendon in Division 4 West.
Division 4 East
Doncaster Dragons 4 v Melbourne Blue 14
The Demons put on a strong performance after last week's bye and an 11-5 loss to Monash Uni to open the season.
Melbourne Blue improves to eighth place with a 1-1 record and 19 runs scored v 15 given up.
0-2 Doncaster hosts Melbourne Red to start off 2021 and Melbourne Blue plays Mornington next.
Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers Black 0 v Monash University Farmers 24
The Tigers were no match for Monash Uni in this matchup, scoring seven runs in each of the first three innings and an extra three in the fourth.
After great contributions up and down the lineup from Ashley Aylen, Paul Blakeney, Glenn Doan and Josh Duff among others, the Farmers are 2-0-1 in third place with a round four game at Malvern. The tenth place Tigers play Upwey Ferntree Gully Gold next.
Malvern Braves 1 v Waverley Wildcats Black 14
The Wildcats scored three in the first and four in the second, while keeping Malvern to just one in the fourth. The Wildcats scored another four in the seventh to stay firmly in first place with a 3-0 record. Waverley Black has scored 57 runs and given up just five.
Ninth place Malvern plays Monash Uni next and Waverely Black plays Blackburn.
Mornington Pirates 2 v Waverley White Wildcats 12
Mornington scored one run to start the game but Waverley was right there, scoring seven runs to get a big buffer.
Mornington got one more run in the second while Waverley scored four. The third and the fourth innings were quiet and the Wildcats scored just one more in the fifth.
Waverley White is in fourth place with a 2-1 record while Mornington is 1-1-1 in sixth place. The Wildcats play Waverley Red next and Mornington hosts Melbourne Blue.
Waverley Wildcats Red 10 v Blackburn Orioles 2
The Wildcats took a 2-1 lead in the first but Blackburn tied it in the second. The third inning was scoreless but Waverley got two more in the fourth followed by six in the sixth.
The 3-0 Wildcats are in second place behind Waverley Black while Blackburn is in seventh with a 1-1-1 record. Waverley Red plays Waverley White next while Blackburn hosts Waverley Black.
Upwey Ferntree Gully Gold Tigers 2 v Melbourne Red 12
The Demons kept the Tigers scoreless through four with solid pitching and thorough offence. The Demons scored one in the first and another in the second before putting up five in the third and four in the fourth.
The Tigers got two in the fifth while the Demons got one more as the game wrapped up. Melbourne Red is now in fifth place with a 1-1-1 record with the next game at Doncaster, while the Tigers play the other Upwey Ferntree Gully team.
Division 4 North
Fitzroy Lions A 8 v Mitchell Majors B 5
The first inning was quiet before Mitchell Majors scored two in the second. Fitzroy quickly tied the game and scored five runs in the third and another in the fourth to put some space between them and the opponents.
One more Fitzroy run came around in the fifth while Mitchell Majors tacked on three in the final inning. Fitzroy A is 3-0 in first place with 44 runs scored and 14 given up. Mitchell Majors B is in third place with a 2-1 record and 30 runs scored v 18 given up.
Fitzroy A plays North Coburg A and Mitchell Majors B plays Mitchell Majors A next.
Fitzroy Lions B FORFEIT v North Coburg Rebels A
After the Fitzroy forfeit, the Lions are in sixth place at 0-3 while North Coburg A is in fourth place with a 1-2 record. Fitzroy B is at North Coburg B for round four and North Coburg A plays Fitzroy A.
North Coburg Rebels B 3 v Mitchell Majors A 14
The first inning saw both teams score two runs, followed by a scoreless second. North Coburg B got one in the third as Mitchell Majors scored three.
Mitchell Majors scored seven runs in the fourth and two in the fifth. Mitchell Majors A is 3-0 with 40 runs scored and just eight given up. The second place side is just behind Fitzroy A and set to play Mitchell Majors B next.
North Coburg B is 0-3 and plays Fitzroy B next.
Division 4 South
Bonbeach Bluejays A 18 v St Kilda Saints 2
The Bluejays ran wild in this game, scoring five runs in each of the first two innings. Eight more runs came home in the fourth while St Kilda got one in the first and third.
Bonbeach A is in second place, just behind Mornington with 27 runs scored and six runs given up. Ninth place St Kilda plays Bonbeach B next with the Bluejays coming off the bye and the break, while Bonbeach A plays Mornington in a battle of the undefeated teams.
Wheelers Hill Warriors 2 v Berwick City Cougars 8
The Cougars' lineup of Andrew Collcutt, Cooper Porter, Paul Quinn and Rhys Mckenzie got the job done against the Warriors.
Berwick led 3-2 at the end of the third before scoring another three in the fourth and two in the fifth while keeping Wheelers Hill off the board.
Berwick is in third place with a 2-1 record while Wheelers Hill is in eighth at 1-2. The Warriors host Mordialloc next and Berwick plays Chelsea.
Pakenham Pumas 5 v Mordialloc Ducks 19
The Ducks were a force to be reckoned with on Sunday, scoring nearly 20 runs with persistent batting up and down the lineup.
The Pumas opened with three runs but the Ducks were right there four runs in the bottom of the inning. Pakenham scored another two followed by seven Mordialloc runs in the second and seven more in the third. The Ducks got one more in the fourth as they held Pakenham scoreless for the last three.
James Coyne had a massive 3-RBI triple as well as a single and a double to give Mordialloc a big boost.
Mordialloc is in fifth place with a 1-1 record, just ahead of 1-2 Pakenham. The Ducks play Wheelers Hill and Pakenham has a bye to start 2021.
Chelsea Dolphins 5 v Mornington Pirates 11
The Pirates started the game with five runs and never looked back, going on to score two in the second and one in the third. Mornington added three in the fourth while Chelsea's only runs came in the fifth.
This result keeps Mornington atop the ladder with 28 runs scored and only seven given up. Chelsea is in seventh place with a 1-2 record, with a home game v Berwick next. Mornington plays Bonbeach A in round four.
Division 4 West
Footscray Bulldogs 8 v Newport Rams 6
Footscray pulled away in the final inning to secure back to back wins, bouncing back after a 15-3 loss to Geelong B in the first round.
Both teams scored once in the first followed by a three-run second inning for Newport. Neither side scored in the third but Footscray tacked on four in the fourth to take the lead. The fifth was quiet before the Bulldogs added another in the sixth and Newport got two. Footscray's pair of runs in the seventh proved the deciding factor to break the 6-6 tie.
Newport is in fifth place with a 1-2 record and Footscray is in third place with a 2-1 record. The next round has Footscray hosting Geelong A and Newport playing Geelong B.
Geelong Baycats B 4 v Essendon Bombers 10
The Bombers are undefeated after another solid performance. Despite falling behind 3-2 at the end of the first, the Bombers eventually battled back.
Geelong B had scored one more in the third but the last three innings were all Essendon offence. The Bombers put up one in the first, four in the fifth and three in the sixth.
Geelong B is in fourth place with a 1-2 record and 22 runs scored v 20 given up. The Baycats host Newport next and Essendon plays the club's other team for round four.
Geelong Baycats A 7 v Essendon Jets 6
The Baycats came back late to win the game after the Jets took an early lead. Essendon led 3-1 after the third before adding another two in the fourth. It was the fifth when Geelong turned things around, scoring six while giving up just one to Essendon. The sixth was scoreless on both sides as Geelong held on for the win.
The Baycats are 2-1 in second place while the Jets are in sixth place ahead of games against Footscray and Essendon Bombers, respectively.