The 2021/22 VSBL Women's competitions are heating up with four rounds in the books and plenty more to come as summer baseball continues.
Several teams remain undefeated, including Springvale, Doncaster, Preston, Waverley, South East, Sunshine, and North Western. See full season fixtures, results, and ladders HERE and check out recaps below.
Women's Division 1 & 2
Essendon Bombers 29 v Doncaster Dragons B 0
The Bombers racked up the runs in this matchup for their second win of the season, giving up just one run the whole game to Sherryn Medlicott.
Emma French struck out six in three innings without a hit while Courtney Foura gave up just that one hit in two innings with a pair of strikeouts.
Every player knocked in at least one run for Essendon as French had an RBI single and Foura singled twice and doubled once to bring home four.
Abbey Kelly had two singles and a walk for two RBIs, Tayla Weldon had a big two-RBI base hit, and Megan Kelly plated four with a pair of singles. Sam Deeble doubled, walked, and was hit by pitch with three RBIs and Allie Bebbere had three singles and a double for two RBIs.
Jasmine Bentley plated three with two singles and Emma Davenport nearly hit for the cycle, just missing out on a home run as she recorded a team-high seven RBIs. She had two singles, a double, and a triple.
2-2 Essendon hosts Geelong and 1-2 Doncaster B hosts Springvale next.
Springvale Lions B 9 v Newport Rams 6
The Lions won their fourth straight game with a late flurry of runs, denying the Rams their first win despite a great effort.
The first few innings were scoreless before Newport put together a four-run third. The Rams held the lead through the top of the fifth when Springvale tied it up before scoring another four in the sixth. The game finished with the Lions scoring one more and Newport tacking on two.
Leslie Anglin pitched five solid innings, giving up four runs - two of them unearned - with seven hits, a walk, and nine strikeouts. Claire Costa and Mackenzie Prentice-Evans pitched one inning each against a determined Springvale.
Ruby Dale had a two-RBI double and Kira Jansen, Costa, and Anglin had two hits apiece.
Springvale B remains at the top of the ladder with a 4-0 record going into a bye weekend while Newport has an away game at Essendon Jets.
Footscray Bulldogs 0 v Springvale Lions 11
Two pitchers worked together to record Springvale's second shutout of the season, a dominant result after a close 8-7 victory in round 3.
Springvale collected 10 hits and gave up just one, with three runs in the first, five in the third, and another three in the fourth.
Shae Lillywhite had four hits and three RBIs while Lili Cavanagh had two hits and three RBIs. Emily Devine recorded two hits while Hannah Jackson had an RBI. The Lions were patient at the plate too, taking seven walks overall with two walks to Hanami Campitelli.
Footscray's Caitlin Hoy and Lisa McLellan contributed on the mound while Amanda Napier had the team's lone hit of the game with a single.
Now 3-0, Springvale visits Doncaster B in round 5 while 1-2 Footscray heads to Doncaster.
Essendon Jets 0 v Doncaster Dragons 10
The Dragons are 3-0 after their first shutout win of the year, led by Jamie Bastian and Chelsea Stewart on the mound.
Bastian threw four innings with three hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts, while Stewart walked one and gave up two hits in an inning but got the outs when it counted, keeping the game scoreless.
Doncaster's offense was led by Jessica Johnson with three RBIs on two doubles, plus Amy McCann's single and two RBIs and Maddison Weller's RBI base hit. Brooklyn Hutton, Ursula Howard, Erin Collins, and Bastian each had one single.
The Dragons will look to continue their winning streak at home v Footscray in round 5 while the Jets host Newport.
Women's Division 3 North East
Malvern Braves 10 v Melbourne Demons 11
Melbourne narrowly lost 11-10 to the Warriors last week, but the Demons got back in the win column with a similar result at home v Malvern.
The Braves led 4-3 after the first and took an 8-4 lead into the third, scoring two more runs in the top of the inning. Melbourne managed a late rally, scoring four in the third and three in the fourth to secure a come-from-behind win.
Melbourne sits fourth with a 2-1 record going into the bye, while Malvern looks for a win on the road at Research Lower Plenty.
Malvern Ormond Glenhuntly 6 v Waverley Wildcats 26
The Wildcats were on a roll at the plate, earning a 3-0 record after their strongest offensive performance yet, surpassing 20 runs for the first time this season.
Malvern Ormond Glenhuntly had some solid at-bats too, scoring one in the first and third and four in the fourth. Waverley's offense included two six-run innings and seven runs in both the third and the fourth.
Second-place Waverley heads to Preston for a battle of the unbeaten teams in round 5 while Malvern Ormond Glenhuntly has a 1-2 record before facing the Warriors, who had a bye this week.
Upwey Ferntree Gully 6 v Preston Pirates 14
The Pirates improved to 3-0 with a big win over Upwey Ferntree Gully, made possible by a seven-run first inning.
Preston led 7-1 after the first and 9-1 after the second, although the Tigers did get two back in the third and another three in the fourth. The Pirates tacked on three in the third and two in the fourth to finish off the game.
Preston has a chance to go 4-0 at home v Waverley this weekend and Upwey Ferntree Gully plays Pakenham at home as the Tigers look for their second win.
Pakenham Pumas (forfeit) v Research Lower Plenty
After this forfeit, Research Lower Plenty has a 1-2 record going into a round 5 matchup at home v Malvern.
Women's Division 3 South
Springvale Lions 7 v Sandringham Royals 15
Sandringham lost a 9-8 heartbreaker to Moorabbin last round, but the Royals bounced back with a big win over Springvale.
The game was tied 2-2 after the first but Sandringham soon pulled in front with a six-run second inning. Springvale got four back in the top of the third and another in the fourth, but seven more Sandringham runs across the final frames sealed the deal.
2-2 Sandringham plays Berwick at home while Springvale hosts Moorabbin in search of a win.
Pakenham Pumas 10 v Berwick Cougars 7
The Pumas improved to 2-2 in a back-and-forth battle at Berwick, following up on a 10-8 win over Springvale the week before.
Pakenham started strong, scoring seven in the first and three in the second. While Berwick kept at it, scoring one in the first, three in the second, and two in the fourth, the Cougars fell just short. Their rally in the final frame was left to one run as Pakenham finished three in front.
Both teams have two wins and two losses with Berwick just in front of Pakenham on runs scored. Berwick heads to Sandringham next as Pakenham hits the road to take on Bonbeach.
Bonbeach Bluejays 15 v Moorabbin Panthers 2
Bonbeach snapped Moorabbin's three-game win streak with their highest run tally so far, scoring five in the first, four in the second, and six in the third.
The Panthers were quieter offensively than in previous games, managing just two runs in the final frame. Despite the loss, Moorabbin still sets at the top of the ladder with a 3-1 record going into an away game at Springvale.
Now 2-2, Bonbeach will go for back-to-back wins at home v Pakenham.
Women's Division 3 West
Essendon Bombers 9 v Fitzroy Doncaster 14
Fitzroy Doncaster managed to stay in front of the Bombers in a high-scoring game, finishing with a solid lead to earn their first victory of the year.
Now 1-2, Fitzroy Doncaster hosts North Western Orange in round 5 while Essendon has a bye before playing Port Melbourne in round 6.
Sunshine Eagles 15 v North Western Titans Orange 8
The Eagles led 4-3 after the first and 8-6 after the second, staying just in front of the Titans as both teams added two in the third.
A final flurry of five runs gave Sunshine a comfortable lead as the Eagles won their third straight game.
Julia Klieve had three walks and pitched four innings for North Western while Belinda Guiney singled and walked and two players got on base in their debut, Emma Elmore and Erica Walther.
Sunshine goes into the next round 3-0 with an away game at Werribee and North Western Orange plays at Fitzroy Doncaster in hopes of improving on a 2-1 record.
Geelong Baycats 2 v North Western Titans Black 9
The Titans scored five runs across the first two innings before Geelong got two back. North Western added four more in the fourth to seal the deal on their second victory of the season.
Anna Radnay threw four innings for North Western, giving up two runs and striking out three. Deb Said went 2-for-3 with a single and a double as Di Tompkins and Charmaine St John had two base hits each.
Jen Mason threw three solid innings for Geelong with five hits, five runs (three unearned), three walks, and two strikeouts. Lucinda Hateley covered the last two innings on the mound, giving up two hits, four runs, and three walks with a pair of strikeouts and a 10-pitch, 3-out final inning.
Sarah Upton had two of Geelong's eight singles while Magda Boros, Mickayla McDonald, Michelle Searle, Ella Wilson, Mason, and Hateley all had one each.
2-0 North Western Black heads to Port Melbourne and 2-1 Geelong plays at Newport in round 5.
Port Melbourne Mariners (forfeit) v Newport Rams
After this forfeit, Newport has a 1-2 record going into a round 5 matchup at home v Geelong.