The 2021/22 VSBL season is underway as Division 1 returned to the diamond for a rainy first weekend of summer baseball. Although the Fitzroy v Melbourne and Essendon v Waverley games were washed out, the rest of the teams were able to get their games in as Geelong, Berwick City, and Upwey Ferntree Gully put wins on the board.
View full season fixtures, results, and ladders HERE and check out recaps below.
Division 1 Firsts
Blackburn Orioles 2 v Geelong Baycats 5
Geelong opened with a three-run first and never looked back, keeping the Orioles contained apart from two runs across the fourth and the fifth.
The Baycats collected 12 hits overall compared to six for Blackburn, with both sides making one error in the field.
Geelong's James Wood had three singles while Ryan Darcy and Lewis Weldon had two hits apiece. Josh Davies had a pair of RBIs too.
Jacob Evans and Ryan Berg knocked in runs for Blackburn as Liam Hopkins had the biggest hit of the day with a triple. Mitchell Whiting, Nick Rossell, and Charlie Collins had hits for the Orioles too.
Hayden Peoples threw four innings for Geelong with 10 first-pitch strikes, four strikeouts, and 1.00 WHIP on just three hits and a walk. Teammate Rudy Jaramillo handled three innings with eight first-pitch strikes and a strikeout.
Sam Bucello threw four innings for Blackburn with seven hits, two walks, and three earned runs. Evans gave up five hits, two walks, and two runs in two innings of work.
Next, Blackburn plays Malvern and Geelong heads to Waverley.
Sunshine Eagles 5 v Berwick City Cougars 13
Berwick struck first with three runs in the first and managed to stay in front the whole game. The Cougars added two in the third before Sunshine scored once in the fourth and fifth.
Berwick maintained the lead with three runs in the fifth and five in the sixth while holding Sunshine to just three more in the top of the sixth. The offensive firepower by Sunshine was led by RBIs from Connor Young, Shannon Hornstra, and Patariki Pouka Grego.
The Cougars' five-run sixth was driven by base hits from Brad Kmet, Mike McGillivray, and Nick O'Shea.
Craig Barnett was Berwick's winning pitcher, throwing five innings and allowing two runs on six hits with six strikeouts and zero walks. McGillivray threw two innings in relief out of the bullpen.
Griffin Weir took the loss for Sunshine, surrendering five runs on two hits over two and two-thirds innings, striking out three.
Berwick had 12 hits total including two apiece for John King, Aidan Willis, Barnett, and Kmet. Marcus Graham had ten chances in the field, the most on the team.
Nikau Pouaka-Grego went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead Sunshine in hits. The Eagles hit the road to take on Cheltenham next while the Cougars look for back-to-back wins at home v Fitzroy.
Sandringham Royals 4 v Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers 6
The Tigers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and managed to hold off the Royals for a two-run victory.
Sandringham made it 3-2 before the Tigers pushed away for good with three runs in the sixth.
The winning offense was led by Harvey Chinn with two singles and a walk and Josh Hendricks with three RBIs. Nick Rice and Staci Rogers both had doubles while Ash Winton and Peter Schroeders had base hits.
Donavon Hendricks kept things under control for the Tigers on the mound with four scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and two walks with a strikeout. Sean Meldrum and Jarrod Turner put in work on the mound as well.
On Sandringham's side, Nicholas Coy and Jack Wills each had an RBI, while Tahj Rousell doubled and Sam Skinner collected a pair of base hits.
Charlie Pierson threw three scoreless innings and Genevieve Beacom covered two innings with one earned run and two unearned runs scoring, plus a pair of strikeouts.
Upwey Ferntree Gully visits Essendon on Sunday and Sandringham hosts Melbourne for game two.
Malvern Braves 1 v Cheltenham Rustlers 1
This tight game ended in a tie as neither side could break free thanks to dominant pitching and defense.
Cheltenham collected four hits and didn't get on the board until the bottom of the sixth, and then Malvern tied it up in the final frame to secure the draw.
Jack Daniels, Dante Caruso, Dylan Trevorah, and Jack Dunn each collected one hit to lead Cheltenham, with Daniels getting the RBI.
Malvern's five hits on the day came off the bats of Geoff Holland, Mitch Kennedy, Lachlan Fuda, Chris Burke, and Justin Burke. Holland batted in Malvern's lone run of the game.
Kennedy, Ryan Othen, and Tyler Dale all pitched well for Malvern while Josh Tribe handled 4.1 innings for Cheltenham with 11 first pitch strikes and three strikeouts.
Malvern plays Blackburn and Cheltenham hosts Sunshine next.
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