Teams have hit the ground running for the 2021/22 VSBL Division 2 season, with Mulgrave and Werribee leading the way and the other clubs following close behind.
View full season fixtures, results, and ladders HERE and read recaps below.
Division 2 Firsts
Newport Rams 4 v Moorabbin Panthers 5
The Panthers narrowly came away with the win, a welcome result after just missing out in a 6-5 loss to Preston in round 1.
Newport led 3-0 after four but Moorabbin walked it off to win the game after scoring four in the bottom of the sixth. The Rams managed one more in the top of the seventh as the back and forth battle continued, with the Panthers ultimately coming out on top.
Moorabbin had eight hits and made three errors while Newport had seven hits and two errors on the day.
Stewart Mathieson handled just over three innings for Moorabbin, giving up six hits and two walks with three runs - one unearned - and two strikeouts on 14 first pitch strikes. Nicholas Veale struck out four in his scoreless innings while Mitch Sheldon-Collins gave up a hit, a walk, and a run in one inning.
The Rams had Tyler Comben on the mound for five scoreless innings, giving up just three hits with four strikeouts. David Asp came on in relief with five runs - four of them unearned - scoring against him. Asp had 10 first pitch strikes and Comben had eight.
Newport's Nathan Smith and Matt Lawman had three quality at-bats and Connor Schibeci had two, with Lawman collecting three hits and two RBIs. Zachary Gorman, Ben Howard, and Aaron Robson all had hits on the day too.
Moorabbin's offense was led by Travis Finney with two RBIs on a big double, plus singles from Mitch Barr, Matt Hardie, and Mitch Johnston.
Both Moorabbin and Newport are 1-1 now with the Panthers playing Doncaster at home in round 3 and the Rams visiting Mulgrave.
Preston Pirates 3 v Mulgrave Rebels 12
The Rebels followed up on their 5-0 win over St Kilda in the first round with strong offense on Sunday to get ahead of Preston.
Mulgrave jumped on board early with two runs in the first followed by another in the third. However, it wasn't until the fourth that the Rebels really came alive, putting up nine runs to take the game out of reach.
The fifth was scoreless and Preston did score twice in the sixth and once in the seventh, but it wasn't enough to make up the deficit.
Jayson Arthur got the win for Mulgrave after throwing six innings and giving up four hits, a walk, and two runs - one unearned - while striking out seven. Donnie Poole handled one inning, giving up one hit and one unearned run.
Caleb Poole knocked in two runs for Mulgrave while Jason Cousins, Grant Miller, Riley O'Shea, Ryan Phillips, and Nicholas Thompson each had one RBI. Jordan Gavin and Doonie Poole had two singles apiece.
Gabriel Valderrama threw three innings for Preston as Logan O'Brien also took a turn on the mound. Offensively, the team had three hits on the day, including a single and a double for Jaycob Pascuzzi and a base hit by Luke Williams.
Now 2-0, Mulgrave hosts Newport and 1-1 Preston visits Williamstown next.
St Kilda Saints 2 v Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 3
The Hunters got their first win on the board in a tight game against the Saints.
Ormond Glenhuntly got on the board first with two runs in the second, although St Kilda cut their lead in half in the fourth. The Saints momentarily tied it up in the fifth, but the Hunters powered back to score one more and retake the lead, with the score staying that way for the rest of the game.
St Kilda starter Adam Schoppe covered six solid innings, giving up three hits and four walks with four strikeouts along the way. One of Ormond Glenhuntly's runs was unearned.
The Saints managed six hits with a double by Shuji Sanuki and singles for Todd Clarkson, Rolando Curiel, Mariano Favia, Bryan Livett, and Tom Snowden. Livett and Sanuki batted one run in each.
Now 1-1, Ormond Glenhuntly while the Saints look for their first win at home v Port Melbourne.
Werribee Giants 6 v Port Melbourne Mariners 2
The Giants battled back to win their second straight game. Port Melbourne led 1-0 at the end of the second, but Werribee tied it up in the fourth and kept the offense going from there.
Werribee put three runs on in the fifth and one more in both the sixth and the seventh, all while keeping Port Melbourne to a lone run in the bottom of the sixth.
Wesley de Jong pitched seven strong innings for Werribee with five hits, one walk, and two runs - one unearned. He also struck out eight and had 20 first pitch strikes with a 1.00 WHIP.
Matthew Parker covered five innings for Port Melbourne with six hits, four walks, four runs (three earned), and four strikeouts. Parker had a 1.80 WHIP and 14 first pitch strikes while reliever Toby Gleeson-Payne had eight with two strikeouts and a 2.00 WHIP.
The Giants had nine hits total, including two singles and a double for Wade Balzer, a pair of base hits for Evan McPherson, and Trent Pantalleresco's double. Ryan Balzer doubled and Harry Garrett singled too as Simon Hibbert had three quality at-bats and Addison Bishop-Worn and Tyler Huisman had two each.
Port Melbourne's six hits came from Gleeson-Payne and Parker as Jack White had three singles. Parker and Beau Graham knocked in runs.
Port Melbourne is 1-1 and plays St Kilda on the road while 2-0 Werribee visits Ormond Glenhuntly for round 3.
Williamstown Wolves 5 v Doncaster Dragons 5
Williamstown and Doncaster both battled hard, with the game ultimately ending in a draw after timely bursts of offense.
Angus Stals pitched 2.66 innings for Doncaster, giving up seven hits, three walks, and five runs - four of them earned. Simon Fitzmaurice handled 2.33 scoreless innings with just two hits, two walks, and a strikeout. Brian Chen also struck out two during his scoreless outing.
Dennis Neal handled pitching duties for Williamstown, covering seven innings with 11 hits, 11 strikeouts, three walks, and five runs - four of them earned.
Doncaster's Dakota Gibson knocked in a pair of runs with two base hits, while Jean Alvarado also had an RBI and Derek Medlin doubled. Brian Chen had two base hits, Nic Unland had three singles, and Josh Lacey got on base with a single too.
Williamstown's runs were batted in by Curtis Cox, Aaron Green, Jason McDonald, and Hiroshi Narasaki. Cooper Carrison, Nicholas Gray, and Robert Higginson also had hits.
After this draw, Williamstown hosts Preston and Doncaster heads to Moorabbin with both teams in search of their first wins.