VSBL Division 3 featured high scores across the board this past weekend as Springvale, Bonbeach, Pakenham, and North Western Chelsea, and Pakenham remain in the top four going into round 12.
View full season fixtures, results, and ladders HERE and read recaps from the latest games below.
Division 3 Firsts
Footscray Bulldogs 1 v Bonbeach Bluejays 19
The Bluejays wasted no time jumping on the board, scoring three early runs after giving up one to Footscray to open the game. The competition was close for the first few innings, but soon Bonbeach opened it up with five runs in the third and ten in the fourth.
Bonbeach was led by Daniel Conway-Jones on the mound, as he gave up seven hits but just one run with two strikeouts and a walk. Matt Bucci and Aaron Mills both contributed one scoreless inning in relief.
The high-scoring side saw an RBI triple from Mathew Prior and five RBIs on five hits from Daniel Conway-Jones on a big single and a double. Jacob Bald and Mills both had three RBIs along with Olly Hookey-Rizzo while James Crowe had two singles and a double and Matthew Burton had a pair of base hits with an RBI.
Shane Kinlough threw six innings for Footscray and had two singles alongside Alec McGuinness. Mark Jewers, Liam McKean, and Thomas Medland had one single each.
9-2 Bonbeach heads to Pakenham next while Footscray looks to improve on a 3-8 record on the road to Chelsea.
Chelsea Dolphins 5 v North Western Titans 15
The Titans struck first with a five-run second, followed by four runs in the third and another in the fourth. The score was 10-2 going into the bottom of the sixth when North Western scored three more.
Chelsea continued to battle, bringing three home in the final inning while North Western got two for a final score of 15-5, North Western's seventh win of the year.
Connor Wilson threw all seven innings for the Titans with ten hits, ten strikeouts, one walk, and five runs - four of them earned. He also had two RBIs on a single and a double.
North Western also relied on strong offensive contributions from Cameron Wilson, who plated five with two singles and a home run. Ryan Tompkins had two base hits with an RBI while Jarrod Johns, Dan Holmes, Daniel Hamilton, and Anthony Falzon had one RBI each.
On Chelsea's side, Hayden Ochoa, Matthew Hannan, and Lachlan Davies put in work on the mound as Ryoji Shinoda, Rhys Tippett, and Henry George knocked in runs. Davies had a pair of singles while Jarryd Tippett, Evan Nisbet, and Trevor Johansen had hits too.
North Western takes a 7-4 record into round 12 at Springvale as 4-7 Chelsea plays Footscray at home.
North Coburg Rebels 5 v Pakenham Pumas 18
The Pumas are 7-4 after a comprehensive win over North Coburg, made possible by strong pitching from Tim Bellerby, Max Hunter, and Mitchell Lording.
Bellerby gave up six hits, two runs, and a walk with four strikeouts in three innings to start the game. Then came Lording, who handled two scoreless innings with two hits, two walks, and a strikeout. Three unearned runs scored while Hunter was on the mound but the offense had done its job so Pakenham was already comfortably in front.
Lording and Hunter had three RBIs with a double and a single each while Greg McCormick, Jesse Hunter, and Danny Cannizzaro knocked in two runs apiece. Matthew Mills had a pair of singles as Bellerby and Jarrad Bell also got on base.
Jack Pinches and Andy Karp battled on the mound for North Coburg, with the team's RBIs coming off the bats of Gavin Alki, Addison Kaye, Justin Lake, and Karp. Ravneel Prasad, Dionysios Papadatos, Kade Eicke, Yoshinori Adachi, and Pinches all singled, demonstrating contributions up and down the lineup despite the loss.
After this big matchup, Pakenham hosts Bonbeach and North Coburg plays Geelong at home in the next round.
Geelong Baycats 0 v Springvale Lions 11
The Lions continued on their hot streak, winning their 11th straight game off the back of another quality start by Lucas Anderson. The pitcher threw struck out six and gave up just two hits and a walk in the first six innings, followed by Rydge Hogan who had a hit and a strikeout in one inning.
Matthew Sage, Tyson Sherry, and Cade White had Geelong's lone hits of the day as Noah Brennan, Connor Hughes, Riley Peoples, and Sage took turns on the mound.
On Springvale's side, Hogan singled and tripled two RBIs, with Steve Hughes knocking in three and Matthew Cameron and Joel Stubbs recording a pair of RBIs also. Anderson had an RBI single as Scott Baillie, Rowan Hall, and Adam Thatcher got on base with timely hits to further their cause.
11-0 Springvale plays fourth-place North Western at home while Geelong has a shot at win number three with an away game at North Coburg.