The 2021/22 VSBL Division 3 season is off to a competitive start with four teams sitting at 2-1 behind 3-0 Springvale. There are three rounds left before the summer break as teams look to finish 2021 on a high note.
View full season fixtures, results, and ladders HERE and check out recaps below.
Division 3 Firsts
Geelong Baycats 1 v Chelsea Dolphins 9
The Dolphins made up for a 15-5 loss to Springvale in round 2 with a great game on Sunday, recording their second victory of the season.
Chelsea led 2-0 after the first and added two more runs before Geelong got on the board in the fifth. By the end of the inning the Dolphins had further extended their lead and were ahead 6-1. They went on to score three more in the bottom of the sixth to reach the final score.
Chelsea's Ryoji Shinoda threw six solid innings with 12 first pitch strikes, three strikeouts, and a 1.33 WHIP. Shannon Groenendyke pitched in relief as both pitchers had a pair of RBIs at the plate too.
Matt Hannan had three quality at-bats including two walks while Rhys Tippett had two hits and two walks.
Geelong stayed competitive on the field with four U16 players and some awesome defense, including Will Cavanagh's unassisted double play from centre field at home.
2-1 Chelsea hosts North Western and the Baycats play Springvale at home in round 4.
North Coburg Rebels 9 v Footscray Bulldogs 13
The Bulldogs bounced back from a 4-1 loss to Pakenham the week before while the Rebels stayed competitive at the plate with their smallest margin yet.
The Rebels strung together a few walks and timely hits to put six runs on the board in the first. By the end of the opening inning it was a 6-4 ballgame.
The Bulldogs tied it up in the bottom of the second but the Rebels pulled in front by one in the third. It wasn't until the bottom of the fourth that Footscray captured the lead, scoring four runs and another two in the fifth.
The sixth inning saw North Coburg get two back but a final run for Footscray and a scoreless last turn at the plate for the Rebels had them down by just four runs.
Addison Kaye, Andy Karp, and Jack Pinches all spent time on the mound for North Coburg as Footscray managed nine hits overall.
Justin Lake had three RBIs on four hits - three singles and a home run - and Kaye had a home run, a single, two RBIs, and a stolen base. Jay Grahovac singled twice, doubled once, stole two bases, and brought home a run.
Marc De Petro had two singles and an RBI, Learmonth had a single, double, and an RBI, and Jonathan
Anderson recorded a base hit.
The Bulldogs sit second on the ladder at 2-1 with 31 runs scored and just 14 given up. They host Bonbeach in round 4 while North Coburg plays Pakenham at home.
Bonbeach Bluejays 8 v North Western Titans 1
Bonbeach scored one in the first before four quick, quiet innings setting them up for seven runs in the sixth. The Titans got one back but that was it as the Bluejays won their second game of the season.
Mathew Prior pitched well for Bonbeach and was great at the plate with a single, a double, a walk, and two RBIs. Matthew Bucci had an RBI double and Jarad Curwood recorded an RBI single.
The Titans had Daniel Hamilton on the mound for 6.66 innings, giving up seven hits, four walks, and eight runs (one unearned) with 10 strikeouts. Connor Wilson struck out one with no hits or walks in 1.33 innings of work.
Matthew Howe got two singles while Kyle Hodgetts, Ryan Tompkins, and Cameron Wilson had one each.
Bonbeach looks to go three in a row on the road at Footscray while North Western's round 4 matchup is at Chelsea.
Springvale Lions 8 v Pakenham Pumas 2
The Lions won their third straight despite a quiet start for both sides, as Pakenham held Springvale off until the fourth.
Two runs in both the fourth and fifth gave the Lions a 4-0 lead, but the Pumas cut that in half in the bottom of the fifth. Springvale wasn't fazed, adding three in the sixth and one more in the seventh.
Springvale's Scott Baillie threw six innings with no walks and five hits, two runs, and four strikeouts. Rydge
Hogan had a three-up, three-down inning, striking out every batter he faced.
Pakenham's Max Hunter handled four innings with five hits, three walks, one HBP, two runs, and six strikeouts. Tim Bellerby struck out four in three innings with eight hits, three walks, and six runs - four of them unearned.
Adam Thatcher had a two-RBI single for Springvale while Steve Hughes had three RBIs on two singles, a triple, and a walk. Matthew Stenhouse and Joel Stubbs singled and brought runners home. Hogan had three singles while Matthew Cameron and Ryan Kirby had one each.
Darren Reeves and Bellerby plated runs for Pakenham as Danny Cannizzaro, Scott Dale, Travis Hough, and Hunter all had singles.
3-0 Springvale sits atop the ladder and heads to Geelong this weekend while 2-1 Pakenham is away at North Coburg.