The 2019/20 VSBL season has featured fabulous efforts from Women's Division 1, 2 and 3 teams, and this past weekend was no exception. There was a big showdown between Women's Division 1 powerhouses and Essendon had a solid round of performances. There's two weeks to go before the break as every team looks to make the most of the season.
Women's Division 1 - Round 11
Springvale Lions 11 v Doncaster Dragons 5
Springvale and Doncaster have put on quite a show thus far this season, with both sides looking very strong through the first half of the season. Springvale won the last meeting 17-1 while Doncaster won the round 5 clash 20-4. These two teams drew 7-7 in the second week, but Springvale shut down Doncaster's hopes of a big win this past Saturday.
Gabby Bevan and Lili Cavanagh did a great job on the mound for Springvale. The top two teams have flipped flopped once again as a result, with Springvale retaking first place with a 8-2-1 record. Doncaster isn't far behind at 7-2-2 ahead of the next game at home v Footscray. Springvale hosts Essendon for the midweek game on Wednesday night.
Essendon Bombers 16 v Footscray Bulldogs 3
Footscray hasn't had much luck this season, carrying a 0-9-1 record into the first 10 weeks of the season. Now the Bulldogs have dropped another game to a hard-hitting Essendon side that was clicking on all cylinders.
Essendon scored seven runs in both the first and the second inning to put the game out of reach for Footscray. The Bulldogs did manage to get two runs in the third and one in the fifth but it wasn't enough as Essendon scored two more runs before the game was done.
Kayla Adams, Claire Costa, Jasmine Bentley and Abbey Kelly helped lead the Bombers to their fourth victory of the year as they stay in third place and look to keep climbing the ladder.
Footscray has another shot at a win this week at Doncaster while Essendon has high hopes as the team heads to Springvale.
Women's Division 2 - Round 10
Springvale Lions 3 v Doncaster Dragons 6
The Lions battled hard but the Dragons prevailed in this matchup, taking their record to 9-0 on the season to lead the competition. Maddy Patrick and Aspen McGovern had a great game for Springvale despite the loss.
Springvale came into this matchup as the other undefeated team but now the Lions have an 8-1 record to stay firmly in second place. Round 11 sees Footscray host Doncaster and Springvale head to Fitzroy.
Fitzroy Lions 4 v Essendon Bombers 13
The Bombers got their first win of the season on the board with a strong performance. Essendon remains at the bottom of the ladder but the Bombers will be hopeful they can make a second-half climb after their success this weekend.
Fitzroy is 2-8 after back-to-back losses before taking on Springvale this weekend. Essendon will head to Wheelers Hill in search of win number two.
Footscray Bulldogs v Wheelers Hill Warriors
Women's Division 3 East
Melbourne Demons 13 v Moorabbin Panthers 5
The Demons were dangerous in the box once again, racking up the runs as they overpowered the Panthers in a highly-anticipated between the top team and one of their closest competitors.
Moorabbin started strong, exiting the first inning with a 2-1 lead but it wasn't to last. A quick and quiet second inning gave way to the third, when Melbourne put up four unanswered runs. Another run followed in the third, and Moorabbin just couldn't get anything going offensively.
The final damage came in the top of the sixth when Melbourne put on a fantastic team display, scoring seven runs. The Demons held the Panthers to three runs in the final frame as they won their seventh game of the year.
Moorabbin's quiet offense aside from the opening and closing innings proved problematic, but the Panthers are ready to go out and improve their 4-3 record as they host Mulgrave in round 11. Melbourne hosts Springvale this upcoming weekend.
Doncaster Dragons 21 v Mulgrave Rebels 6
The Dragons put on an impressive display of offense as they secured another dominant double-digit win. Doncaster's lineup got the job done, with players including Kathrine Colclough, Keeley Harrison and Kathy Hutton working hard all day along with the rest of the Dragons.
After this weekend Doncaster switches with Moorabbin to take second place. The Dragons have a 5-3 record while Moorabbin is 4-3.
Doncaster has a bye for round 11 while 1-5 Mulgrave goes to Moorabbin.
Springvale Lions - BYE
Women's Division 3 South - Round 10
Cheltenham Rustlers 12 v Bonbeach Bluejays Blue 14
The Bluejays put on an impressive show to overcome the ladder-leading Rustlers and hand them their first loss of the season.
Cheltenham was previously undefeated and despite a great offensive performance, the Rustlers just couldn't quite hold on in the end. Bonbeach took a 7-0 lead in the first and from there Cheltenham had to play catch-up, coming close but never quite making it in the end.
Kat Doherty, Bronwyn James, Joanne Myers and the rest of the Bonbeach side kept up the momentum throughout the rest of the game, scoring one more in the second and six in the third.
Cheltenham scored seven in the second, four in the third and one in the fourth but the comeback win eluded the Rustlers. They remain at the top of the ladder with a 7-1 record, but Bonbeach Blue is definitely catching up with a 6-1 record now.
Round 11 features matchups between Pakenham Pumas Black and Bonbeach Bluejays Blue, Cheltenham Rustlers and Bonbeach Bluejays White and Pakenham Pumas White and Sandringham Royals. Berwick has the bye.
Berwick City Cougars v Pakenham Pumas Black - FORFEIT
Bonbeach Bluejays White - FORFEIT v Pakenham Pumas White
Sandringham Royals - BYE
Women's Division 3 West - Round 10
Fitzroy Lions 9 v North Western Titans 12
In a strong game offensively for both sides, North Western prevailed for win number three of the season. That makes three in a row for the Titans as they now sit in third place with a 3-3-1 record. After losing back-to-back games, the Lions are 3-4 before this next week's bye, while the Titans take on Sunshine.
Geelong Baycats White 9 v Sunshine Eagles 20
The Eagles have won five in a row to cement their spot at the top of the ladder with seven games to go in the regular season.
Sunshine's shortstop Makayla McKenner made an amazing unassisted double play to keep the Eagles tracking along smoothly. Sunshine has a 7-1 record while Geelong White is still searching for that first win of the season with seven losses and one draw thus far.
Geelong Baycats White plays Geelong Baycats Blue and Sunshine hosts North Western this upcoming weekend.
Geelong Baycats Blue - BYE