VSBL Division 2 teams show no signs of slowing down as the summer season continues. The Firsts have midweek games and one more weekend to go before the break.
Division 2 Firsts - Round 3
Werribee Giants 8 v Newport Rams 5
The Giants have won two in a row after a solid day against Newport. The Rams had the lead for most of the game, scoring one in the first and another in the third, before the Giants tied it up with two in the sixth.
Newport grabbed the lead back with a run in the seventh off a Mason Wray double, but six runs in the eighth sealed the deal for Werribee. The Rams didn't go down without a fight, battling to put two runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth to make Werribee work for the win.
Newport's David Asp threw five good innings with five hits, no runs and a strikeout. Jared Berman, Matthew Lawman and Aaron Robson filled in out of the bullpen.
Scott Malthouse and Wray had two hits apiece for Newport. Ryan Morrison doubled and Keenan Spence tripled.
Josh Lee was Werribee's winning pitcher after giving up nine hits and three runs - one unearned - during seven innings of work. He gave up two walks and struck out three.
Werribee's Wilmer Castillo had two singles, a double and two RBIs, while John n Curnow had three base hits and an RBI. Ryan Balzer, Wade Balzer and Trent singled while Pantalleresco Samuel Reale tripled.
Werribee is in third place with a 2-0-1 record while Newport is 1-2. The Giants' next game is at Mulgrave while Newport hosts Doncaster.
Port Melbourne Mariners 6 v Mulgrave Rebels 11
The Rebels made a late run for it to win their second game of the season. Mulgrave scored four in the second for an early lead but Port Melbourne came back with three in the third and two in the fifth.
The 5-4 ballgame was in Port Melbourne's favour until the Rebels rallied in the bottom of the sixth with three runs. Port Melbourne only scored one more in the top of the seventh while Mulgrave put up another four in the eighth to get the home win.
Port Melbourne's Bailey Waterman had three hits, including two singles, a double and an RBI. Jack White had a pair of base hits while Luke Jones, Matthew Morris and Matthew Parker with the other RBIs.
Parker was on the mound for five innings with seven hits, three walks and five strikeouts recorded.
There were hits up and down the Rebels' lineup. Jayson Arthur had three singles and three RBIs for Mulgrave, while Riley O'Shea had an RBI single and Ryan Phillips had a single and a double. Caleb Poole and Paul Rutgers also doubled while Michael Morgan and Nicholas Thompson also had hits.
Winning pitcher Arthur threw six innings with nine hits and three walks for five runs, four of them earned. Phillips filled in for three innings with three hits, two walks and one earned run scoring.
2-1 Mulgrave hosts Werribee next while 1-1-1 Port Melbourne plays Moorabbin at home.
Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 0 v Williamstown Wolves 10
The Wolves bounced back from a 4-3 loss to Doncaster the week before with a smooth shutout victory over Ormond Glenhuntly.
Williamstown got on the board with one in the first, and carried that 1-0 lead through to the sixth when five more runs scored. The Wolves brought four more runners around in the seventh to take out the win.
Ormond Glenhuntly had just two hits on the day - both singles to Jason Maxwell and Geoff MacDonald. Dennis Neal proved tough to hit on the mound, covering seven innings of scoreless baseball with 14 strikeouts.
Daniel Chircop and Mitchell Collins tripled while Justin Gourlay had two doubles and Aaron Green and Robert Higginson had two base hits each. Hiroshi Narasaki, Scott Meager, Jason McDonald and Tyler Gwin also had hits. Collins had three RBIs while Gwin knocked in two. Chircop, Gourlay and Meager also had RBIs.
Kyungsoo Jeon gave up eight hits, two walks and six runs - four earned) with six strikeouts in 5.33 innings. MacDonald filled in to close out the game.
The Hunters are still in search of their first win going into game four at home v Preston, while 2-1 Williamstown hosts St Kilda.
Doncaster Dragons 23 v Preston Pirates 4
The Dragons enjoyed their biggest margin yet, securing a 3-0 record to start the season as they sit atop the ladder with 42 runs scored and just 11 allowed.
Doncaster's Simon Fitzmaurice threw three innings while Angus Stals handled two and John Britton and Brian Chen both pitched one inning. Preston had six hits total on the day, including two doubles by Adrian Fittock and two singles from Gabriel Valderrama. Jaycob Pascuzzi and Hebert Rodriguez had base hits.
On the offence for Doncaster, Britton singled while Chen knocked in four runs on two base hits. Marcel Davoine had two singles and a double with an RBI, while Dakota Gibson and Campbell Hutton also brought runners in. Brendan McDonald had two base hits and two RBIs while Derek Medlin had three RBIs and Marc Sandy four on two singles and a double. Luke Utting had a single and an RBI too.
Net up for Doncaster is a game v Newport while Preston plays Ormond Glenhuntly.
Moorabbin Panthers 17 v St Kilda Saints 5
The Panthers rolled to their third win of the season with a massive margin over St Kilda. The Saints scored their five runs early in the first, while Moorabbin scored one in the second and five in the third to take the lead.
The fourth and fifth were quiet before Moorabbin scored two in the sixth, one in the seventh and eight in the eighth to reach the final score line.
"We had home runs to 16-year-old Nick Bertucci, his first career homer, as well as Chris Nielson and Stew Mathieson," Moorabbin Club Coach Ben Laux said.
In addition to the homers, Mitch Barr doubled and walked with two RBIs, while Adam Harris also brought two runners home with a big extra-base hit. Christopher Nielsen brought three runners home too. Neil Johnson and Kieran Lewis had two hits as Mathieson not only knocked in seven runs, but also had three strong innings in relief of Matt Hardie, who threw five innings with four hits, four walks and five runs while striking out four.
St Kilda had Adam Schoppe on the mound for four innings, with Tom Snowden throwing three and Deilyn Guzman covering an inning. Rolando Curiel had a single and a double as Alan Ortiz, Marcel McFall, Mariano Heyden and Mariano Favia also recorded hits.
Moorabbin takes an undefeated record into the next game at Port Melbourne while St Kilda plays Williamstown.
Division 2 Reserves
Werribee Giants 4 v Newport Rams 9
The Rams are 2-0 after a big weekend game and they held on for the win despite giving up three runs in the fourth.
Werribee didn't go down without a fight, with RBIs from Andrew Leahy, Simon Hubbert and Tom Stewart. Hubbert drew a walk to score a run in the first.
Newport put up five runs in the fifth with RBIs from Troy Schadendorff, Ben Howard, Trenell Hutchins and Tyler Comben.
Comben was the winning pitcher, throwing a scoreless inning with no hits and two strikeouts. Mason Condie handled an inning of relief out of the bullpen in support of starter Connor Schibeci, who gave up one hit and one run in three innings with five strikeouts.
David Gregurke led the Rams with two hits in three at-bats.
Werribee's starter Will Castillo allowed three hits and five runs in three innings of work with four strikeouts. Addison Bishop-Worn took the loss for Werribee, giving up three hits and five runs across one and two-thirds innings with a strikeout.
Newport is 2-0 while Werribee is 0-1-1 going into the next round against Moorabbin and Port Melbourne, respectively.
Port Melbourne Mariners 2 v Mulgrave Rebels 18
The Rebels were a force to be reckoned with on Saturday, taking a 5-0 lead after the first before scoring eight more in the second and five in the third. Port Melbourne's two runs came in the third.
Both sides made two errors on the day while the Mariners had five hits to Mulgrave's seven. Grant Miller had three RBIs followed by two apiece for Dilon Parkin and Nick Burridge, who tied with Ricardo Ayala for the most quality at-bats with four. Trent Watkinson took three walks to help his team out.
Parkin had nine first-pitch strikes in 2.2 innings of work as Joel Poole also contributed on the mound. David Fuller and Joshua Morris each had three first-pitch strikes during their time on the mound for Port Melbourne.
Mulgrave improved to 1-1 with this result ahead of an Ormond Glenhuntly game while Port Melbourne is searching for a win at home v Werribee.
Doncaster Dragons 16 v Preston Pirates 5
The Dragons narrowly escaped with a win in round one, besting Williamstown with a final score of 9-8, but this time around they enjoyed a larger margin.
Doncaster looks strong so far, sitting atop the ladder with a 2-0 record and 25 runs scored for with just 13 given up. Preston needs a win and will look for it on the road at Williamstown, while Doncaster hosts St Kilda in the third round.
Moorabbin Panthers 9 v St Kilda Saints 2
The game was tied at 1-1 after the first but the Panthers got ahead in the third with two runs. They added three in the fourth and another three in the seventh while the Saints only got one more in the seventh.
This marks Moorabbin's second win after a 6-0 victory over Preston the week before. The Panthers play Newport next while St Kilda, with a loss and a draw, visits Doncaster.
Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 7 v Williamstown Wolves 3
The Hunters had the edge over the Wolves after a late burst of runs. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third when Williamstown scored one.
Ormond Glenhuntly responded with two in the fourth, just for Williamstown to tie it up again in the bottom half. The Hunters scored two in the fifth and three in the sixth, only giving up one more run to the Wolves to finalise the win.
The Hunters are 2-0 while Williamstown is 0-2 going into the next lot of games v Mulgrave and Preston, respectively.
Division 2 Thirds
Werribee Giants 3 v Newport Rams 17
The Rams had the upper hand in this matchup after putting up five runs in the first and seven in the second. 10 of the 12 hitters had at least one hit as Sean Pengelly led with a 3-for-3 performance with a walk. He also threw three innings, giving up just one hit with eight strikeouts.
Other highlights for Newport included Nathan Blakemore's ground rule double in his first thirds game, and Noah Darcy's relief appearance getting out of a bases-loaded, no outs situation. In his pitching debut, Kevin Johnson struck out three in one inning.
Werribee scored one in the second and two in the fourth, as the quiet day offensively gave the team a 1-1 record ahead of a home game v Port Melbourne. 2-0 Newport sits just behind Moorabbin and Doncaster with 23 runs scored and five given up, with a home game v Moorabbin up next.
Preston Pirates 7 v Doncaster Dragons 18
The Dragons won 10-3 over Williamstown in the first round and they carried that momentum into their second game, scoring even more against the Pirates for a 2-0 record. Doncaster is second with 28 runs scored and 10 given up, while Preston is 0-2 with a home game v Williamstown coming up next. The Dragons head to St Kilda on Sunday.
St Kilda Saints 1 v Moorabbin Panthers 12
The Panthers demonstrated their championship comradery with a big display of team batting on Sunday, scoring in three of the four innings. They put one up in the first, followed by an eight-run second inning and three more runs in the third. St Kilda's lone run came in the fourth.
Moorabbin is currently the team to beat in the division, sitting atop the ladder with a 2-0 record and 33 runs allowed v six given up. The Panthers pay a visit to Newport on Sunday while the 0-2 Saints host Doncaster.
Williamstown Wolves 28 v Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 3
The Wolves wasted no time at the plate, racking up run after run against a much quieter Ormond Glenhuntly side. This result evened Williamstown's record up at 1-1 after a 10-3 loss to Doncaster to open the season.
Williamstown plays Preston next while Ormond Glenhuntly looks for win number one at Mulgrave.
Mulgrave Rebels 14 v Port Melbourne Mariners 4
The Rebels were on a roll in this game, bouncing back from a 6-2 loss to Newport in the first round.
A nine-run first inning pretty much sealed the deal for Mulgrave, with another run in the third and the fourth. Mulgrave scored an additional three runs in the fifth, all while holding Port Melbourne to just four in the fourth.
Mulgrave and Port Melbourne are both 1-1 ahead of games v Ormond Glenhuntly and Werribee, respectively.
Division 2 Fourths
Werribee Giants - FORFEIT v Newport Rams
The Rams are 2-0 after this forfeit and play Moorabbin next while Werribee is set to host Port Melbourne.
St Kilda Saints 0 v Moorabbin Panthers 13
The Panthers scored eight runs to start the game and never looked back, adding one more in the third and four in the fourth for a solid shutout victory. Moorabbin is 2-0 in second place with 16 runs scored and none given up. Meanwhile St Kilda is 1-1 and plays Doncaster, fresh off a bye, in round three as Moorabbin visits Newport.
Williamstown Wolves 14 v Ormond Glenhuntly Hunters 13
This was a tough battle filled with bursts of offence, but ultimately the Wolves did just one better than the Hunters. Ormond Glenhuntly opened the scoring with five runs in the first, followed by a further eight in the second.
It looked like a Hunters victory but the Wolves were in it to win it, scoring eight in the third and one in the fourth. Down by four runs, the Wolves put up five in the fifth to take out the win, their second on the season.
Ormond Glenhuntly is now 1-1 ahead of a game at Mulgrave while Williamstown has a bye to wrap up the year.
Mulgrave Rebels 8 v Port Melbourne Mariners 2
The Rebels didn't give the Mariners much to work with, as Port Melbourne's runs came in the third and fourth, after Mulgrave had already scored three early runs. One in the fourth, two in the fifth and two in the sixth helped the Rebels to their first win of the season.
1-1 Mulgrave hosts Ormond Glenhuntly at 0-2 Port Melbourne heads to Werribee next.