The 2021 Victorian Masters Baseball Carnival kicked off at Geelong Baseball Centre today, and already teams are into the thick of the action. Through three divisions, players have taken to the diamonds in high spirits as they come back tomorrow in search for spots in the grand final.
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50+ Division
Tassy Tigers 5 v Bees 8
Tassy Tigers got on the board early in a close encounter with the Bees, scoring two runs at the bottom of the first after shutting the away side out.
Each team scored two runs in the second frame before the Tigers added one more to lead by three runs after three complete innings.
The Bees came hard at the top of the fourth to bring the margin even once again, the scoreboard reading five-all. The Bees were able to shut out the Tigers for the remainder of the game, while continuing to pile on the runs, adding three more across the final two innings.
Peter Hubble started on the mound for Tassy while Michael Hegarty came on in relief in the third inning.
Shane Haywood got the ball first for Bees, assisted by Ross Hornstra who entered the game in the fifth inning.
Tassy Tigers 2 v Sandringham 11
Sandringham handed the Tigers their second loss of the morning thanks to a couple of big innings. Darren Wilcox started for the winning side, with no runs given up until two in the fourth.
Steve Millington threw for Tassy with three Sandringham runs coming in the second, followed by another three in the fourth and five in the fifth to finish off the win.
Coburg 2 v Pandas 13
The Pandas opened their campaign with an 11-run victory off the back of a solid start from pitcher Greg Buzza.
Peter Locklier threw the first three for Coburg before handing the ball over to Mark Lowe. The game was tied at two apiece after the first but the rest of the offence belonged to the Pandas, as they scored seven in the second, three in the third, and one in the fourth to complete the 13-2 victory.
Gold Diggers 2 v Sandringham 10
Marshall Skinner threw four solid innings, giving up just two runs in the second to set Sandringham up for the win. Chris Nyberg came in the fifth for a scoreless relief appearance.
Richard King, Wayne Pollock, and Geoff Fleeman shared pitching duties for the Gold Diggers, who were first on the board with two in the second.
Sandringham's runs came a bit later with two in the fourth, seven in the fifth, and a final run in the sixth.
Pandas 11 v Doncaster 2
David Medlin started for Doncaster before Neil Southwell took over in the fifth as the side gave up 10 runs late in the game.
The score was 1-1 from the first through to the bottom of the fourth, when the Pandas tacked on three in support of starting pitcher Michael Alldis. Justin Charles pitched the last inning as the Pandas scored three in the fourth and seven in the fifth for their second win of the day.
Gold Diggers 2 v Big Cat Tomatoes 12
Scott Baillie and Mick Wearne pitched the Tomatoes to victory as the team turned a 1-0 deficit after the first into a 10-run victory.
The Gold Diggers had Al Condie start the game before Bill Leropoulos came in to pitch. The side scored once more in the fifth but three runs given up in the third plus five in the fourth and four in the fifth secured the win for the Tomatoes.
Coburg 18 v Sloths 3
It was a huge win to Coburg over the Sloths, as pitcher John McBride led the team to victory and was baked up by a solid offence.
The Sloths got the ball rolling with one run at the top of the first but a big seven-run inning from Coburg turned the tables.
Coburg kept the Sloths scoreless through the next two innings while adding seven to the board – four in the second and three in the third.
The Sloths got back on the board in the fourth with two runs but Coburg responded with four of their own at the bottom part of the inning.
Mick O’Halloran and John Emery each had a turn on the mound for Sloths to try and limit Coburg's offense.
45+ Division
Fitzroy 1 v Gold Diggers 10
The Gold Diggers ran rampant against Fitzroy, cruising to a nine-run lead to claim the victory.
The winning side scored four runs to open the account and had a three-run lead at the completion of the first inning after Fitzroy tallied one run.
The score stayed the same through the second but in the top of the third, the Gold Diggers tabled two more to extend the lead. They added four more in the fourth while shutting out Fitzroy ahead of a scoreless fifth to end the game and get their first win of the tournament.
Big Cat Tomatoes 9 v Rebels 1
The Tomatoes opened their tournament run with a comprehensive win over the Rebels. The first inning was scoreless before the Rebels put up one in the second. The Big Cats fired back with three in the bottom of the inning.
The score remained 3-1 through the top of the fifth, before the Tomatoes finished off the game with a six-run inning.
Bruce Barnes and Andy Malthouse threw for the Rebels while Andrew Peulen started for the Tomatoes before handing the ball to Scott Baillie.
Sloths 1 v Big Cat Tomatoes 17
The Tomatoes are two-for-two on the day after a double-digit effort to top the Sloths. Grant Taylor started on the mound and was quickly met with a few opportunistic hitters, as the Tomatoes put four on in the first and seven in the second.
The Tomatoes kept scoring with two in the third, one in the fourth, and a final three in the fifth. Meanwhile the Sloths lone run of the game came in third. Danny Haymes pitched in relief for the Sloths while Simon Pole and Simon Ratcliffe kept things under control for the Tomatoes.
35+ Division
Doncaster 1 v Bald Eagles 11
The Bald Eagles had a big 10-run win over Doncaster after back-to-back four-run digs in the first and second. Michael Peters got a lead-off single in the first and scored when Jason Harriage singled. Harriage came around to score, as well as Troy Waterman on a Warren Attard double. He scored the Bald Eagles' fourth run.
Peters hit another lead-off single at the top of the second, scoring his second run of the morning when the bases were loaded. Warren Attard drew a walk and later scored while Sheldon Christie scored after hitting a double via a sacrifice fly from Lonnie Attard.
Jonathon Van Der Hagen had a lead-off single in the third and later scored after Peters and Christie hit singles too. Peters scored on a Waterman sacrifice fly before the remaining outs were recorded.
Doncaster held the Bald Eagles to zero runs and only two baserunners in five plate appearances in the fourth inning before some big strikeouts also ensured the eventual winners wouldn't plate another run in the fifth. Todd Messinger pitched the first inning for Doncaster, giving up six hits and four runs with a strikeout. After that, Neil Munro came onto the mound, surrendering eight hits for seven runs with two strikeouts.
Waterman started on the mound for the Bald Eagles with Christie coming on in the second. Peters went three from four as Christie, Waterman, Harriage, Lonnie Attard and Van Der Hagen each had two hits for the team.
Rebels 7 v Cods 4
The Cods started the game well with Tetsu Kamiyama smashing a lead-off double and scoring the first run of the game as Damon Barker also doubled the next at-bat. Ash Meyers continued the hitting streak with a single, putting runners on the corners before a fielders choice allowed Barker to score. The next three hitters each singled with Jason Jonker batting in Simmonds.
Tim LeeTet had a lead-off single and the home side had two runners on when Glenn Farrell was hit by pitch. Luke LeeTet singled to bring a run home and a base hit to Craig Learmonth scored another run. The Rebels followed up with a sharp defensive inning, keeping it scoreless despite a two-down single to Tim Seymour before grabbing the lead at the bottom of the second, scoring two runs.
Meyers was hit by pitch with two outs and had made it to home to score on a Simmonds double to bring the Cods within one. At the bottom of the third, the first three Rebels batters got on base with Jay Grahovac and Brayden Prescott scoring on errors. The Cods needed a few runs to keep the game going and despite a lead-off single to Jonker, couldn’t get him around as the side was retired.
Jonker was the starting pitcher for the Cods, throwing one inning for three hits and two runs. Kamiyama came onto the mound for the next two innings, giving up nine hits for two earned runs with one strikeout. Jonker scored two hits from two at bats while Kamiyama, Barker and Simmonds hit doubles. Simmonds tallied two RBIs.
Waters started on the bump for the Rebels, also lasting one inning for six hits and three runs. Farrell then went to the mound, giving up three hits and one run in three innings, along with four strikeouts. Luke LeeTet and Joel Zika both went two for two at the plate while Brad Windsor drew two RBIs.
Doncaster 6 v Rebels 19
It was a completely dominating performance from the Rebels in a 13-run win over Doncaster. Lead-off batter Tim LeeTet walked and advanced on a groundout before scoring on a home run from Luke LeeTet. Shane Waters singled with the following three batters reaching first on either a hit by pitch or walk and by the end of the Rebels' turn at bat, five runs had been plated.
Doncaster's first chance at the plate saw the side down two quickly before back-to-back singles to Chris Nunn and Craig Hutton before the third out was recorded.
Farrell started on the mound for the Rebels as the team kept up the scoring, with Learmonth coming in as relief. For Doncaster, its defense was headed by Nunn, with Robertson in relief.
Nunn, Mayo and Messings each had two hits for Doncaster. Medlin was credited with two RBIs as Munro also came home twice.
For the Rebels, Luke LeeTet went four from four including a home run and two RBIs. Waters also went four from four and had three RBIs. Learmonth, Friedman and Brad Watson each went three from four as Luke LeeTet and Waters scored four runs apiece.
Red Sox 5 v Sloths 2
It was a tight contest between the Red Sox and the Sloths with the Red Sox leading at the end and running out two-run victors.
The Sloths led 2-1 after one inning but by the time the second ended, the Red Sox had tied it up. They doubled their lead as the third inning came to a close and after a scoreless fourth inning, scored again in the fifth with the game coming to a close.
Jude Power was the main pitcher for the Red Sox while Daniel Conway-Jones started on the mound for the Sloths, replaced by Shannon Groenendyk.
Pandas 13 v Red Sox 3
It was a three-up, three-down innings for both sides in the opening inning, but the Red Sox got on the board first in the second frame as Luke Hornstra hit a lead-off single. The scoring continued with Trent Curwood, John Kus, and Josh Graham knocking in runs.
The Pandas started the second inning similarly, with a lead-off singles to Jarrod Fraim and Blake Witham. Consecutive errors plated two which turned into seven by the end of the frame. The third was much the same with six runs, including RBIs for Steven Baumann and Lyndon Karstake.
Cameron Forbes was the main pitcher for the Pandas, giving up six hits and two earned runs with five strikeouts. Tristan McDonald, Fraim, Ross and Peoples each went two from three at the plate. McDonald secured three RBIs while Karstake had two RBIs.
Josh Graham pitched for the Red Sox, giving up 14 hits for six earned runs. Kus collected two hits from two at bats with Curwood coming home to score two of the Red Sox three runs for the game. Ross Hipke and Jason Peoples had singles in the fourth.
Tip Rats 0 v Pandas 9
The Pandas started the game on fire with five runs scoring in the first, adding three in the second before scoring the ninth run in the sixth inning. Casey Jones led off with a single before Cameron Forbes reached on an error. Tristan McDonald then singled to bring Jones home. Russell Spears, Adrian Kelly and Jason Peoples all singled in the first inning also as Forbes, McDonald and Jarrod Fraim scored.
The Tip Rats got a few runners on bases from walks and Trevor Elliot singled but couldn't bring either player home.
The Pandas put together a string of five hits in the second with two outs, including a McDonald double as he, Forbes, and Ryan Stewart all scored. It was a three-up, three-down dig for Tip Rats in the second.
The Pandas were quiet across the third and fourth, and despite singles to Ross Hipke and Fraim in the fifth, didn't score. The Tip Rats found runners on base with a hit by pitch and a fielder's choice, but they were left stranded.
Phil Northfield started on the mound for Tip Rats, pitching four innings for 14 hits and four earned runs. Russell Millard and Elliot helped out in relief.
Blake Witham had the ball in hand to begin the defense for the Pandas, finishing scoreless four innings with nine strikeouts and just two hits.
The Tip Rats only recorded two hits for the game, one each to Elliot and Meeman. McDonald had a 4-for-4 outing with an RBI while Forbes, Spears, Hipke and Peoples each had two hits for the Pandas. McDonald and Spears had two RBIs while Forbes and McDonald scored twice.