Geelong and Essendon remain undefeated in VSBL Division 1 while Malvern, Fitzroy, Sandringham, and Sunshine also got big wins on the board with just a few weeks to go before the summer break.
View full season fixtures, results, and ladders HERE and check out recaps below.
Division 1 Firsts
Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers 0 v Geelong Baycats 8
Geelong takes a 4-0 record into the next round following a shutout victory over Upwey Ferntree Gully on Saturday afternoon.
Hayden Peoples earned the win for Geelong, throwing six shutout innings while striking out six. Brock Wells, Tyler Luther-Wilson, and Keli’i Zablan had three hits apiece while Rudy Jaramillo and Lewis Weldon had RBIs.
Harvey Chinn had Upwey's lone single of the game as the Tigers are now 1-2-1 with their next game on the road at Sunshine. Geelong hosts Berwick City next.
Cheltenham Rustlers 7 v Fitzroy Lions 11
Fitzroy racked up 11 runs in the bottom of the second after Cheltenham scored five in the top half. Only two more Rustlers runs came round to score as Joshua Tribe had three RBIs and Jack Dunn had two hits including a home run.
The Lions made the most of their scoring opportunities, putting up five earned runs and six unearned runs with doubles from Tom Dicker and Riley Hill, plus RBI singles by Patrick Wyatt, Danny King, and Ethan Epifanio.
Damian Preston shared pitching duties with Hill and King, who got the win on three hits and two runs in three innings.
Cheltenham's Russell Ferguson struck out six in four innings with just one hit.
Now 1-1-1, Fitzroy plays Waverley at home and Cheltenham heads to Essendon next.
Waverley Wildcats 1 v Malvern Braves 2
A walk-off double led Malvern past Waverley 2-1 in this tight matchup. The game was tied at one with the Braves batting in the bottom of the seventh when James Squire doubled on a 1-0 count, scoring one run.
The pitching was strong on both sides as Malvern pitchers struck out seven and Waverley pitchers sat down three.
Malvern got things started in the first inning, scoring on an error, although Waverley evened things up at one in the top of the fifth when Mitch Kennedy's wild pitch allowed a run to score.
Mitch Kennedy led the Braves to victory on the mound, going three innings, allowing one run on zero hits, striking out three, and walking zero. John Kennedy started the game, allowing one hit and zero runs over four innings, striking out four and walking one.
Luke Papanicolaou started the game for Waverley, giving up one run on five hits over three innings, striking out two. Jamie Papanicolaou took the loss, lasting three and two-thirds innings, allowing three hits and one run while striking out one and walking one.
Squire, Kennedy, Gavin Woolger, Tyler Dale, Jarryd Dale, Justin Burke, Ryan Dale, and Mark Richards all had one hit for Malvern while Mitch Homfray went 1-for-3 at the plate to lead Waverley in hits.
After getting their first win on the board, the Braves host Melbourne in round 5 as 1-2 Waverley heads to Fitzroy.
Essendon Bombers 7 v Melbourne Demons 2
Melbourne fired up the offense in the first inning, when Rhys De Highden hit a solo homer, but eventually Essendon pulled away with five runs in the fourth.
The Bomber's big offense came alive when Darby Sexton singled on a 3-2 count, scoring one run, Lachlan Condie singled on a 2-2 count, scoring two runs, and Jack Giles doubled on a 3-2 count, scoring two runs.
Gareth Formisano got the win for Essendon, giving up just two runs on six hits over five innings, striking out six and walking one. Luke Abels and Sam Street entered the game out of the bullpen.
Hayden Godbold started the game for Melbourne, throwing three scoreless with two hits, a walk, and a strikeout. Kurtis Smith took the loss after allowing five runs on three hits.
Kynan Jones went 2-for-3 to lead Melbourne while Sexton had a 2-for-4 day for Essendon. Now the 3-0 Bombers host Cheltenham and the Demons head to Malvern.
Berwick City Cougars 6 v Sandringham Royals 9
Sandringham took the lead late in the game in a 9-6 victory over Berwick on Saturday. The game was tied at six with the Royals batting in the bottom of the fifth when Charlie Pierson's sac fly scored one run for Sandringham.
Berwick scored four runs in the first inning, but Sandringham still managed to pull out the victory. Cain Bumpstead and Aaron Ouwehand all contributed in the big inning with RBIs, while an error also scored a run for Berwick.
Sandringham evened things up at six in the bottom of the fourth inning. Declan Ferguson homered on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring three runs.
Genevieve Beacom started the game for Sandringham and covered two and a third innings, allowing four hits and six runs while striking out two. Riley Trad was the winning pitcher after giving up no hits or runs over four and two-thirds innings, striking out three.
Mike McGillivray got the start for Berwick. The righty allowed four hits and three runs over three innings, striking out three. Bumpstead took the loss for Berwick, giving up three runs on three hits over two innings.
Josh Meyer went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Sandringham in hits while Ouwehand led Berwick with two hits in four at-bats. The Cougars didn't commit a single error in the field as Nick O'Shea had the most chances with seven.
Now 2-2, Sandringham heads to Blackburn for a round 5 matchup and Berwick looks to improve on a 3-1 record at Geelong on Saturday.
Blackburn Orioles 3 v Sunshine Eagles 4
Sunshine took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second and managed to hang on for the win, despite giving up two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth.
The Eagles took an early lead on an RBI single by Adam Irons before Nikau Pouaka-Grego hit a bases clearing double.
The Orioles capitalised on a pair of wild pitches in the fourth and Steven Bookluck's bases-loaded walk in the fifth.
Irons got the win on the mound with 2.66 scoreless innings with two hits, a walk, and four strikeouts. Griffin Weir covered four innings with three hits and two runs.
Blackburn's Sam Bucello threw 19 first pitch strikes and struck out two in six innings of work with six hits, a walk, and four runs.
Ryan Berg, Jacob Evans, Liam Hopkins, Thomas Kerr-Chapman, Keal Kingston, and Mitchell Whiting had singles for Blackburn.
The Orioles are 1-3 with their last win coming in round two while Sunshine sits at 3-1. Blackburn plays Sandringham at home and Sunshine hosts Upwey Ferntree Gully next.
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