The second round of the 2020/21 VSBL Women's Division 1, 2 and 3 season featured some surprise results as teams bolstered their records ahead of the holiday break. Teams play this weekend with a few looking for 3-0 records heading into 2021.
Women's Division 1
Newport Rams 3 v Doncaster Dragons 13
The Dragons bounced back from a tough one-run loss to Essendon in the first round with a comprehensive win over Newport in the second.
Morgan Doty took the mound for Newport and faced a tough lineup of Doncaster batters who got the job done, bringing runners around to score with teamwork on full display at the plate.
Jessica Johnson is leading Doncaster in hits with eight so far, followed by Chelsea Stewart at three as the team has scored 22 runs and given up 13. Now 1-1, Doncaster wraps up 2020 at Newport on Saturday as the Rams search for a win.
Springvale Lions 3 v Essendon Bombers 21
The Bombers brought their A-game to take on the Big Cats at home, winning by a huge margin over the reigning premiers.
Giving up 12 runs in the first inning sealed the Lions' fate early, as the Bombers got ahold of the ball and never looked back. They added three in the second, four in the third and another two in the fourth, while Springvale brought home a lone runner in the second and two in the fifth.
Abbey Kelly was unstoppable for Essendon, as the Women's Division 1 MVP collected a single and a triple with three walks for a perfect on-base percentage. That's not all, as she pitched three innings, giving up four hits and two walks with one earned run scored and six strikeouts.
Courtney Foura had a single, double and triple while Megan Kelly had a pair of base hits and Kayla Adams doubled. Allie Bebbere recorded two RBIs and a single with two innings of work on the mound as two unearned runs scored.
Now 1-1, Springvale hosts the undefeated Bombers on Saturday with the Lions looking to bounce back.
Women's Division 2
Springvale Lions 21 v Essendon Bombers 7
While the Lions lost in Division 1, the Division 2 team took care of the Bombers. Seven was their lucky number, scoring as many runs in each of the three innings while Essendon tacked on two in the first, one in the second and four in the third.
After a huge performance, Springvale gets an early break with a bye this week while 1-1 Essendon hosts Geelong for the final game before the new year.
Preston Pirates FORFEIT v Geelong Baycats
Preston's next game is at Footscray as the Bulldogs are fresh off the bye, while Geelong plays at Essendon.
Women's Division 3 East
Cheltenham Rustlers 16 v Berwick City Cougars 16
In a fun game with crazy scoring on both sides, neither team could pull ahead in the final stages.
Cheltenham scored an early run in the first and followed up with another in the second before the Cougars bounced back with a seven-run second inning. Cheltenham took that on board, scoring seven in the third. Berwick made it a tied ballgame in the bottom of the third with nine apiece before both sides put up a further seven in the fourth to finish in a draw.
Berwick takes the bye this week and Cheltenham hosts Wheelers Hill.
Pakenham Pumas Black 4 v Bonbeach Bluejays 21
After a 12-5 loss to Wheelers Hill in the first round, the Bluejays bounced back with a comprehensive win over the Pumas.
Bonbeach scored seven runs in each of the three innings while Pakenham tacked on two in the second and two more in the third.
Bonbeach is in the top three with a 1-1 record and 26 runs scored v 16 runs given up. Bonbeach plays at Springvale on Saturday while Pakenham Black looks for a win on the road at Moorabbin.
Springvale Lions 5 v Sandringham Royals 18
The Royals ran away with this one in similar fashion to their 13-3 victory over Pakenham Black in round one. Springvale had won the first game 15-11 v Pakenham White, but the Lions' offence was much quieter this time around.
Springvale struck first with a run in the opening frame, but Sandringham fired straight back with six runs. The Lions were still in it, scoring four runs in the second to be just one run behind, but once the Royals tacked on a further seven runs in the second, the game was out of reach.
Sandringham rounded off the game with five further runs in the third. The Royals find themselves in second place with a 2-0 record, just behind Moorabbin with 31 runs scored and eight given up compared to 37 runs for and 14 runs against for the Panthers.
Springvale has fallen out of the top two but remains in the top five as they Lions have scored 20 and given up 29 so far. They host Bonbeach on Saturday and Sandringham pays a visit to Pakenham White as the Pumas are fresh off the bye.
Moorabbin Panthers 18 v Wheelers Hill Warriors 9
It's back to back wins for the reigning premiers thanks to a convincing performance on Saturday.
While the Warriors manufactured a fair bit of offence on their own, it wasn't quite enough to hold up to the hard-hitting Moorabbin side that won 19-5 over Berwick in the opening round.
The Panthers scored seven to start before adding four more in the second for an 11-0 lead. The Warriors got two on the board, but four more followed for Moorabbin in the third ahead of a final three-run frame in the fourth. In the final inning, the Warriors did put up seven runs but it wasn't enough to undo the earlier damage.
Despite the loss, Wheelers Hill remains in fourth place with a 1-1 record and 21 runs scored for v 23 against. The Warriors play Cheltenham next while undefeated Moorabbin hosts Pakenham Black as the Panthers look to stay at the top of the ladder.
Women's Division 3 West
Newport Rams 1 v Melbourne Demons 22
The Rams enjoyed a 15-12 victory in round one but fell short in this matchup with the Demons, who were also coming off a win.
Melbourne scored two in the first, six in the second and seven in both the third and fourth to reach the final score, while Newport scored just a lone run in the fourth.
Mackenzie Prentice-Evans pitched two innings for Newport as the Rams recorded just three hits against a tough Melbourne side. Pure Foster and Rebecca Asp singled and Prentice-Evans doubled.
Newport hosts Doncaster at home for the third round while Melbourne heads to Geelong.
North Western Titans 4 v Doncaster Dragons 14
The Titans fell 14-9 to the Demons in round one and were handed another loss this past weekend as Doncaster built on a 13-10 win from the week before.
The 2-0 Dragons are just behind the Demons with 27 runs scored for and 14 against. North Western is currently at the bottom of the ladder with 13 runs for and 28 against, but it could all change this weekend as the Titans travel to Merri Park to play Fitzroy and Doncaster plays at Newport.
Geelong Baycats 12 v Fitzroy Lions 17
Geelong had another high-scoring loss after dropping the first game to Newport 15-12. The offence is there for the Baycats but they are struggling to keep other teams at bay in the box.
Geelong scored six in the first, although Fitzroy quickly answered with seven. Three more Baycats runs came around in the second but the Lions were right there with another seven. Both sides scored three in the third with Fitzroy just in front for the Lions first win of the season.
Fitzroy hosts North Western and Geelong hosts Melbourne in round three.