The Little League Charter & Junior League Charter Academy made its debut on Saturday, 7 November, with four games in Sandringham (hosted by the Southern Mariners) and two in Geelong.
Southern Mariners (A) 13, Eastern Athletics (Green) 5
Dominant pitching and equally superb hitting buoyed the host Mariners (A) to a win over the Athletics (Green) squad, 13-5, in one of two inaugural games marking the official beginning of the Little League Charter & Junior League Charter Academy. Southern plated four runs in the first, five in the second and another four in the third before Eastern tallied four of their own in the final inning to provide the final margin.
Dante Cerusa, Rhys Fairweather and Marcus Graham all pitched for the Mariners while Zac Busch, Kye Stehr and Tom Seddon took the mound for the Athletics. The Mariners had five hits while the A’s managed only two.
Southern Mariners (B) 8, Eastern Athletics (Gold) 1
Similar to their brethren, the Mariners (B) jumped on their Eastern Athletics (Gold) competition early, responding to a top-of-the-inning marker by tallying four runs in each the first and second innings to cruise to an 8-1 victory. At the plate, Malcolm Elliot starred for the Mariners, recording two hits (including a two bagger) while Jed Woodger, Josh Ashen and Matt West also contributed a hit apiece. Elliot also made the play of the game gunning down a runner at home after catching a fly ball in left field.
Damian Hill recorded the only knock for the Athletics, a well-struck double. On the bump, Jed Woodger was brilliant, pitching three impressive innings, allowing only the sole hit while walking one and striking out four. Josh Smith entered in the last to secure the win. For the A’s, their pitchers were Cal Vance, Charlie Collins, Hill, and Koetsu Sakamoto.
Southern Mariners (B) 8, Eastern Athletics (Green) 6
Completing a hard fought sweep, the Southern Mariners (B) eked past the Eastern Athletics (Green), 8-6. The Mariners used two runs in the first, five in the second, and one insurance run in the third to record their second win of the season. That last run proved crucial as the game Athletics outfit tallied once in the third and five times in the last to tighten the game considerably. Jason Kane, Lucas Keyhoe, Mitch Thomas, and Will Richardson all pitched very well for the visitors while Josh Ashen, Shelby Miller, and Malcolm Elliot held their own for home side. Each team finished with four hits.
Eastern Athletics (Gold) 7, Southern Mariners (A) 5
Starting on time—five runs in the top of the first—proved key to the Eastern Athletic (Gold)’s first win of the season. They conceded two runs in the first and one in the second but then responded with a single run in the third to push the lead back up to 6-3. Two runs by the Mariners in the fourth pulled the home team within one, but an insurance run plated in the top of the fifth by the A’s provided the winning margin.
A balanced effort at the plate—seven different players contributed hits for the A’s, including two by Charlie Collins—helped ameliorate three knocks by the Southern Mariners Dante Caruso and two hits each by Will Tucker and Mark Turley.
On the mound Jacob Bald, Chris Neilson, Max Charlesworth, and Mitch Shane threw for the Mariners while Cameron Jones, Nick Cleland, Riley Light, and Mitch Homfrey toed the mound for the winners.
Geelong Baycats 12, Northern Diamondbacks (A) 2
Tossing four scoreless innings to start the season, the Baycats scored two, five and five runs in the first three innings to rout the Northern Diamondbacks, 12-2. Connor Hickey led the offensive onslaught for Geelong, slugging three hits; teammates Kobe Greenhalgh and Will Brennan each tacked on two more apiece. Nick Hau was stellar on the mound, allowing just one hit and walking none in three innings. Travis Duxson and Angus McNee also pitched well for the Baycats. Ryan Morrison, Bailey Marrola and Zac Kallis had the three hits for the D’Backs.
Geelong Baycats 7, Northern Diamondbacks (B) 3
Completing the Saturday sweep, the Baycats rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to plate four runs in the third and three in the fourth to complete the impressive weekend showing. Jarryd Wood had two of the Baycats six hits while Keenan Spence had the lone tally for Northern. Wood also pitched well in relief of Connor Hickey, who conceded only two hits in three innings pitched.
With two wins each, both the Southern Mariners B side and Geelong sit atop the ladder together after the first weekend of games.
The Little League Charter & Junior League Charter Academy made its debut on Saturday, 7 November, with four games in Sandringham (hosted by the Southern Mariners) and two in Geelong.
Southern Mariners (A) 13, Eastern Athletics (Green) 5
Dominant pitching and equally superb hitting buoyed the host Mariners (A) to a win over the Athletics (Green) squad, 13-5, in one of two inaugural games marking the official beginning of the Little League Charter & Junior League Charter Academy. Southern plated four runs in the first, five in the second and another four in the third before Eastern tallied four of their own in the final inning to provide the final margin.
Dante Cerusa, Rhys Fairweather and Marcus Graham all pitched for the Mariners while Zac Busch, Kye Stehr and Tom Seddon took the mound for the Athletics. The Mariners had five hits while the A’s managed only two.
Southern Mariners (B) 8, Eastern Athletics (Gold) 1
Similar to their brethren, the Mariners (B) jumped on their Eastern Athletics (Gold) competition early, responding to a top-of-the-inning marker by tallying four runs in each the first and second innings to cruise to an 8-1 victory. At the plate, Malcolm Elliot starred for the Mariners, recording two hits (including a two bagger) while Jed Woodger, Josh Ashen and Matt West also contributed a hit apiece. Elliot also made the play of the game gunning down a runner at home after catching a fly ball in left field.
Damian Hill recorded the only knock for the Athletics, a well-struck double. On the bump, Jed Woodger was brilliant, pitching three impressive innings, allowing only the sole hit while walking one and striking out four. Josh Smith entered in the last to secure the win. For the A’s, their pitchers were Cal Vance, Charlie Collins, Hill, and Koetsu Sakamoto.
Southern Mariners (B) 8, Eastern Athletics (Green) 6
Completing a hard fought sweep, the Southern Mariners (B) eked past the Eastern Athletics (Green), 8-6. The Mariners used two runs in the first, five in the second, and one insurance run in the third to record their second win of the season. That last run proved crucial as the game Athletics outfit tallied once in the third and five times in the last to tighten the game considerably. Jason Kane, Lucas Keyhoe, Mitch Thomas, and Will Richardson all pitched very well for the visitors while Josh Ashen, Shelby Miller, and Malcolm Elliot held their own for home side. Each team finished with four hits.
Eastern Athletics (Gold) 7, Southern Mariners (A) 5
Starting on time—five runs in the top of the first—proved key to the Eastern Athletic (Gold)’s first win of the season. They conceded two runs in the first and one in the second but then responded with a single run in the third to push the lead back up to 6-3. Two runs by the Mariners in the fourth pulled the home team within one, but an insurance run plated in the top of the fifth by the A’s provided the winning margin.
A balanced effort at the plate—seven different players contributed hits for the A’s, including two by Charlie Collins—helped ameliorate three knocks by the Southern Mariners Dante Caruso and two hits each by Will Tucker and Mark Turley.
On the mound Jacob Bald, Chris Neilson, Max Charlesworth, and Mitch Shane threw for the Mariners while Cameron Jones, Nick Cleland, Riley Light, and Mitch Homfrey toed the mound for the winners.
Geelong Baycats 12, Northern Diamondbacks (A) 2
Tossing four scoreless innings to start the season, the Baycats scored two, five and five runs in the first three innings to rout the Northern Diamondbacks, 12-2. Connor Hickey led the offensive onslaught for Geelong, slugging three hits; teammates Kobe Greenhalgh and Will Brennan each tacked on two more apiece. Nick Hau was stellar on the mound, allowing just one hit and walking none in three innings. Travis Duxson and Angus McNee also pitched well for the Baycats. Ryan Morrison, Bailey Marrola and Zac Kallis had the three hits for the D’Backs.
Geelong Baycats 7, Northern Diamondbacks (B) 3
Completing the Saturday sweep, the Baycats rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to plate four runs in the third and three in the fourth to complete the impressive weekend showing. Jarryd Wood had two of the Baycats six hits while Keenan Spence had the lone tally for Northern. Wood also pitched well in relief of Connor Hickey, who conceded only two hits in three innings pitched.
With two wins each, both the Southern Mariners B side and Geelong sit atop the ladder together after the first weekend of games.
Newport 4 Defeated Waverley 3 at Waverley. Sunday 8th November 2015.
Wildcats lefty Jon Kennedy was doing equally as well on the mound holding the Rams before his team came out and scored first in the third dig. The home side showed good team batting when Oliver Dunn doubled and advanced on a ground out then a double from Tyler Dale made sure of the run.
Newport were behind but not deterred as Tyson Foreman led off in the fifth and singled to right. Tyler then advanced all the way on errors, as did Dean Malthouse who followed him in the batting order. The score was 3-1 in the Rams favour when Waverley came to bat in the bottom of the frame.
The pressure of the contest was beginning to show as the Wildcats held tough in the batter’s box. Newport gave up a walk to Jamie Papanicolaou, Matthew Beattie got on after an error and Dunn was HBP. After five the match was drawn at 3-3.
Luke Papanicolaou took the mound (after some brilliant pitching from Kennedy) in the sixth for Waverley and Dean Malthouse doubled with a hard hit ball to left in the seventh. Malthouse ended up scoring as the go ahead run when Sandersius singled to centre and an error on the throw extended his run from third to home.
The pitchers had control of the game after that as Tyler Dale and Matthew Beattie closed it for Waverley and Cameron McNish pitched the remaining inning for the winners.
Beattie and Dunn both hit with two out in the bottom of the ninth in what made for an exciting end to a hard fought contest. It wasn’t to be for the home team though as McNish struck out the final batter and left the two winning runs on base.
Hits
Newport- 9
Foreman 2, Lawman 2, Dean Malthouse 1 (double), Sandersius 1, Dean Anglin 1, Siepolt 1, Stephen Pengally 1.
Waverley- 8
Chase Hodkinson 1, Justin Burke 1, Jamie Papanicolaou 2, Matthew Beattie 1, Oliver Dunn 2 (1 Double), Kane Hillier 1.
Main Pitching Stats
Sandersius, Newport- Innings 8, Ks 5, Hits 6, Earned Runs 2, BFP 30, Balls 37, Strikes 76, Total 113. Winning Pitcher.
Kennedy, Waverley- Innings 5, Hits 6, Ks 4, Earned Runs 1, BFP 25, Balls 24, Strikes 58, Total 82.
Twenty four years and 499 games ago a Williamstown Wolves right fielder stepped on to the baseball field for the first time in senior competition. He was 14.
And the rest is Victorian baseball history.
At home on Sunday Glen Hardy is set to play his 500th game for Williamstown in a Division 2 reserves tilt against Upwey Ferntree Gully, a remarkable accomplishment for its longevity alone.
But it’s his production that is even more startling.
He has played 348 first grade games, 127 with the reserves, 13 in the thirds and—just for good measure—12 in the fourths.
Two years after he made his first Williamstown appearance, Hardy debuted in the first nine, remaining with the 1s for a Ripkin-esque 300 consecutive games.
Primarily a leadoff hitter, his lifetime batting average in the top grade is .295 and in the reserves he is hitting such a stratospheric figure that it undoubtedly would have made Rogers Hornsby jealous: .462.
These audacious numbers helped Hardy gain selection to the Williamstown Team of the Century in right field.
His brother Murray is no slouch either, having played in over 400 games. Moira and Bill, his mother and father, are also heavily involved in Wolves baseball.
Off the field, Hardy has also been a star and team player. He served as Secretary in 2008 and President from 2009-12. He has also coached the juniors and, along with his family, been an instrumental member of the Williamstown club.
He was awarded Life Membership in 2013.
Twenty four years and 499 games ago a Williamstown Wolves right fielder stepped on to the baseball field for the first time in senior competition. He was 14.
And the rest is Victorian baseball history.
At home on Sunday Glen Hardy is set to play his 500th game for Williamstown in a Division 2 reserves tilt against Upwey Ferntree Gully, a remarkable accomplishment for its longevity alone.
But it’s his production that is even more startling.
He has played 348 first grade games, 127 with the reserves, 13 in the thirds and—just for good measure—12 in the fourths.
Two years after he made his first Williamstown appearance, Hardy debuted in the first nine, remaining with the 1s for a Ripkin-esque 300 consecutive games.
Primarily a leadoff hitter, his lifetime batting average in the top grade is .295 and in the reserves he is hitting such a stratospheric figure that it undoubtedly would have made Rogers Hornsby jealous: .462.
These audacious numbers helped Hardy gain selection to the Williamstown Team of the Century in right field.
His brother Murray is no slouch either, having played in over 400 games. Moira and Bill, his mother and father, are also heavily involved in Wolves baseball.
Off the field, Hardy has also been a star and team player. He served as Secretary in 2008 and President from 2009-12. He has also coached the juniors and, along with his family, been an instrumental member of the Williamstown club.
He was awarded Life Membership in 2013.
In order to maximise teams and participants at the National Championships, BA provides opportunities to players who are keen to further their baseball experience and meet the below criteria.
Friendship Player Eligibility
In order to be eligible to become a friendship player for another state, players must have registered and trailed unsuccessfully for their respective home state. Players who choose NOT to trial for their respective home states will be ineligible to be considered as friendship players.
Players wishing to be eligible as friendship players are required to register their interest online within the specified time frames as set forth by BA. At the completion of the registration process registered players will form the friendship player selection pool.
In making themselves available, those players are committing themselves to represent the relevant state and the costs associated with that representation.
Friendship Player Selection
The Head of High Performance (HHP) will liaise with the requesting team’s High Performance Manager (HPM) in regards to friendship player requirements. Once established the HHP will consult with State HPM’s and gather relevant information about players listed within the friendship player selection pool.
The HHP and respective National Team Head Coach will complete selection of friendship players. If considered for a friendship position, players will be contacted directly by BA.
Once a friendship player is selected, they are able to come back to represent their home state up until a reasonable date set by BA prior to the tournament. This date will take into consideration being able to find a player to replace the original appointed player and make any necessary changes to flights and other relevant details.
The relevant State Associations will be notified of the selections and provided two (2) days to lodge a valid objection for not providing a clearance. Should an objection not be forthcoming within the specified time frame, players shall be regarded as cleared
Should the State Association refuse clearance, BA will seek the reasons for such a refusal and seek to resolve any issues to the satisfaction of all parties.
BA retains the right to ultimately provide clearance or refuse clearance to any players making themselves available as Friendship Players.
U16 & U18 Register Here
Youth Women (U16) Register Here
Women Register here
Springvale 4, Doncaster 3
In a tight affair, the Lions downed the Dragons, 4-3, in Springvale. In defeat, Doncaster’s Belinda Cannington had a double in four trips and Erin Collis pitched very well, allowing just two earned runs in four innings of work.
Essendon, Footscray, and Malvern were all idle this week.
Mulgrave 10, Chelsea 6
Looking to maintain their strong performance on the field, host Mulgrave were leading 10-0 in the fifth after tallying four, zero, three, and three in the first four innings. Missed opportunities in the fifth allowed Chelsea back into the game, chalking up four runs to nearly cut the deficit in half.
Strong fielding and pitching by both teams left each scoreless in the last half—until the ninth when the Dolphins plated another couple runs to close the game out to its final score. Mulgrave finished with 14 hits while Chelsea struck 10. For the Rebels, starter Stuart Phillips pitched eight impressive innings (90 of 144 pitches for strikes with five punch outs) before vacating the mound for teammate Daniel van den Hoek in the ninth.
At the plate, Ben Hardman paced the Rebels with a single, double and four RBI. Mulgrave’s Rhys McDonnell, Caleb Pool, Warwick Poole, and Nicholas Thompson all had multiple hits, including a triple by Thompson. van den Hoek also recorded a three bagger for the Rebels.
Original report supplied by Lincoln Ladds of Mulgrave Baseball Club.
Footscray 7, Ormond Glenhuntly 6
Plating four runs in the top of the first and another three in the seventh were just enough for the Bulldogs to keep the Hunters at bay, 7-6. Ormond Glenhuntly responded to the initial Footscray attack by scoring twice in each the second and third to tie the contest but could not answer their three-run seventh, slimming the lead in the bottom of that inning and the ninth with singles run but unable to come up with equalizer. Matt Martin and Mitsuhiko Nakatab each had two singles for the victors with the former also knocking in two runs as well.
Research 10, St Kilda 4
Another sloppy start once again put the Saints behind early as they fell to the visiting Roadrunners, 10-4. St Kilda starter Pete McCourt pitched well but was again the victim of multiple fielding miscues. In relief, fireballer Brett Elliott was sensational, striking out eight and only giving up two hits in five innings of scoreless relief. With the defeat, St Kilda drops to 0-3-1 while the Research victory was their first of the season.
Pakenham was idle this weekend.
Williamstown 9, Werribee 3
Of the nine hitters in the visiting Wolves starting lineup, seven of them recorded multi-hit games, including Kile Rogers and Scott Meager’s three singles and Aaron Green’s four knocks. In total, Williamstown finished with 19 hits and scored their nine runs with three in the first, one in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth, and two more insurance runs in the sixth inning. With the loss, the Giants fall to 5-2 while the Wolves recorded their third victory in seven games.
Ballarat 9, Malvern 2
Two innings of runs were all that the Brewers needed to down the Braves, 9-2. Symmetrically scoring four runs in the fourth and five in the fifth, Ballarat countered Malvern’s two-run second to earn their third win of the season. With the loss, Malvern dropped to 2-5. Leigh Ashmore (three singles and three RBI), David Haehl (two singles and three RBI) and Ricky Howell (a triple and RBI in four trips) starred for the host Brewers while Stephen Lawrence tallied two hits and knocked in both runs for the losing side.
Moorabbin 12, Bonbeach 0
Ten runs in the fourth inning broke up a previously close tilt and vaulted the host Panthers to an easy 12-0 victory over the Bluejays. In addition to the mammoth middle frame, Moorabbin also plated single runs in the third and sixth inning to provide the winning margin. In a losing effort, Jon Bannister and Mitchell Sheldon-Collins contributed the only two hits for the Bluejays.
Upwey FTG 3, Port Melbourne 2
It took an extra frame, but the Tigers outlasted the visiting Mariners, 3-2, to complete a come-from-behind victory. In a game dominated by pitching, hurlers Donavon Hendricks (Upwey FTG) and Will Musson (Port Melbourne) starred. Upwey had multiple hits in the third to score the first run; it wasn’t until the eighth inning that the Mariners responded, tallying twice after a couple of hits, two bunts and a sacrifice fly. Undaunted, the Tigers evened the score in the bottom of the same frame. Then, in the tenth, Upwey won the game after two hits, an intentional walk and a single to left field.
Pacing the Tigers with hits was Peter Schroeders and Nicholas Rice with three each and Dylan Archer and Donavon Hendricks who both contributed two. For the Mariners, five players each had a single knock.
Original report supplied by Greg Rice of Upwey Baseball Club.
Berwick City 8, Fitzroy 2
Brilliantly implementing a classic road strategy, the Cougars scored two runs in the third, seventh and eighth innings and tacked on single markers in the fourth and ninth to outlast the host Lions, 8-2. The only inning in which Fitzroy plated any runs was the sixth, when Taylor Eichhorst knocked in both runs for the Lions on one of his two singles. With the victory, Berwick City remains top of the ladder with a 6-1 mark and Fitzroy (4-3) falls to fourth with the loss.
Round 5 of Division 1 action saw more big hitting from Blackburn (they scored 17 runs thanks to a grand slam and two other dingers); Melbourne remain undefeated as they dealt Waverley their first loss of the season; and Springvale got their first win after hurler Freddy Flores threw a complete game and Matthew Hayle hit well against Doncaster, who are still having trouble scoring. Finally, Rudy Jaramillo delivered with the ball and the bat for the second week in a row as the host Baycats scratched out a win against the Royals.
Springvale 6, Doncaster 2
Freddy Flores threw a complete game for the host Lions whilst Matthew Hayle collected three hits for the winners. For a full recap of this game visit our latest installment of Match of the Round.
Geelong 4, Sandringham 1
Rudy Jaramillo started on the hill for Geelong whilst Kyung soo Jeon took the ball for Sandringham. The first play of the day went Sandringham’s way when Anton Cevec reached on a fielding error and ended up scoring courtesy of Jake Sinclair and Declan Ferguson singles. That put the visiting Royals ahead 1-0.
Geelong evened the score in the bottom of the third when Chris Durston walked and then scored after singles by Liam Spence and Kelii Zablan. Jaramillo got his second hit of the day in the fourth; ditto for Durston in the fifth but both were left on base and the game was tied until late in the game.
The Baycats error in the first looked costly in the low scoring affair but Spence, Zablan, Cameron Gibbons and Mark Rigby all singled to secure the final margin, 4-1, in the bottom of the eighth.
Jeon threw four innings for Sandringham and was relieved by Kynan Wilcox (two innings) and Spencer Jack (two). Rudy Jaramillo threw six innings for the Geelong and was relieved by Cameron Forbes (two) and Zablan (one). By all reports this was a very good game of defensive baseball as the six pitchers combined to cede only four walks for the entire contest. Geelong outhit Sandringham 11 to four.
Blackburn 17, Cheltenham 6
David Dicker led the way with the bat for the visiting Orioles with four hits and was well supported by Daniel Mack, with three other players also getting multiple hits for a team total of 18. Blackburn showed their power at the plate when they plated eight of their runs with the long ball, including a grand slam from the white-hot Nick Rossell.
The Rustlers scored two in the bottom of the first when Paul Rutgers (three hits) hit a solo home run, then Ben Leslie doubled and was plated after a wild pitch and a ground out.
Blackburn came to life in the second inning when they scored six runs on five hits. Singles from Jesse Barron, Dicker, David Tierney and Ryan Berg were capped off by the aforementioned grand slam from Rossell. The Orioles also added one in the top of sixth when Dicker hit a solo homer to left.
To their credit, Cheltenham weren’t deterred as they scored three in the bottom of the same inning on a Brett Curnow double and a Cane Davidson ground out. At that point the Rustlers were trailing, 7-6.
But Blackburn also scored three more before the ninth, which was when they really took control of the game. In the top of the final frame two hit batters and two walks were batted in by a Mack single and a three run homer from Steven Bookluck. Ross Hunter also singled in the inning for his second hit of the day. Topping off an impressive day, Mack added to his three hits when he pitched a scoreless last inning for Blackburn.
These two teams meet again on Wednesday night. First pitch is 6 p.m. at the Orioles home ground.
Melbourne 5, Waverley 2
Melbourne started off the scoring when they plated three in the bottom of the third inning. Ollie McMahon singled and Matthew Kent walked before Robert Hondramatis survived after an error and Nathan Aron (3 for 4) singled.
Waverley challenged in the fifth and scored one run when Chase Hodgkinson and Jordan Busch singled and Busch was plated after an error.
The Wildcats looked good again in the eighth when Mitch Hayes, Andrew Hayes and Tyler Dale singled consecutively and another run scored reducing the Wildcat’s deficit to two.
But the Demons responded, striking right back in the bottom of the eighth when Kent singled, Aron hit his second double of the game and Matthew Blackmore singled, providing Melbourne their final margin of victory.
Evan Brisentine had nine strikeouts for Melbourne and Jon Kennedy racked up six over four innings for Waverley. The Demons outhit the Wildcats seven to five.
Sunshine 3, Newport 2
It took more than the standard nine innings, but in the end it was all worth it for the Eagles as a single marker in the tenth frame provided the winning margin over the host Rams. Newport tallied once in the first and another in the fifth to account for their run total. Sunshine, meanwhile, plated single runs in the third, fifth, and tenth to win their second game of the season. With the loss Newport falls to 1-4.
Essendon 8, Preston 3
In a battle of two teams vying for the top spot in their division, Preston and Essendon squared off at the home of the Pirates. Bubby Buzachero started on the mound for the home team while Luke Abels was handed the ball for the Bombers.
Preston got on the board first in the bottom of the second when Buzachero doubled to center, moved up 90 feet, and was then plated by a Dean Marnell sacrifice fly. Essendon didn’t flinch, though, striking back in the third buoyed by a double and run scored by Tom Dicker.
Not long after that the weather—throughout the game both sunny and windy—did a complete turn: the heavens opened up and sent the teams from the ground. Thankfully the game was only held up for 20 minutes before play resumed. Undeterred by the break, the teams both plated multiple runners over the next few innings and the Pirates held a 3 -2 lead through seven.
In the top of the eighth inning, Preston let the game get away when a series of errors saw the Bombers score four unearned runs and take the lead. The eighth was also the inning that saw Buzachero depart from the mound when he swapped places with third baseman Ben Jackson with two outs.
Things did not get any better for the Pirates in the top of the ninth as a further two errors saw the Bombers plate another two unearned runs to run out winners, 8-3. The wet conditions certainly had an effect on the outcome of the game with the Pirates racking up seven errors with five of those coming after the rain delay.
Essendon's Kyle Bedford, following starter Luke Abels, got the win in after he threw the last three innings. Buzachero took the loss for the Pirates.
The sides meet again on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. with Essendon taking its turn as host.
Original report supplied by Gary O’Brien of Essendon Baseball Club.
Springvale 6, Doncaster 2
Freddy Flores threw a complete game for the host Lions whilst Matthew Hayle collected three hits for the winners. For a full recap of this game visit our latest installment of Match of the Round.
Geelong 4, Sandringham 1
Rudy Jaramillo started on the hill for Geelong whilst Kyung soo Jeon took the ball for Sandringham. The first play of the day went Sandringham’s way when Anton Cevec reached on a fielding error and ended up scoring courtesy of Jake Sinclair and Declan Ferguson singles. That put the visiting Royals ahead 1-0.
Geelong evened the score in the bottom of the third when Chris Durston walked and then scored after singles by Liam Spence and Kelii Zablan. Jaramillo got his second hit of the day in the fourth; ditto for Durston in the fifth but both were left on base and the game was tied until late in the game.
The Baycats error in the first looked costly in the low scoring affair but Spence, Zablan, Cameron Gibbons and Mark Rigby all singled to secure the final margin, 4-1, in the bottom of the eighth.
Jeon threw four innings for Sandringham and was relieved by Kynan Wilcox (two innings) and Spencer Jack (two). Rudy Jaramillo threw six innings for the Geelong and was relieved by Cameron Forbes (two) and Zablan (one). By all reports this was a very good game of defensive baseball as the six pitchers combined to cede only four walks for the entire contest. Geelong outhit Sandringham 11 to four.
Blackburn 17, Cheltenham 6
David Dicker led the way with the bat for the visiting Orioles with four hits and was well supported by Daniel Mack, with three other players also getting multiple hits for a team total of 18. Blackburn showed their power at the plate when they plated eight of their runs with the long ball, including a grand slam from the white-hot Nick Rossell.
The Rustlers scored two in the bottom of the first when Paul Rutgers (three hits) hit a solo home run, then Ben Leslie doubled and was plated after a wild pitch and a ground out.
Blackburn came to life in the second inning when they scored six runs on five hits. Singles from Jesse Barron, Dicker, David Tierney and Ryan Berg were capped off by the aforementioned grand slam from Rossell. The Orioles also added one in the top of sixth when Dicker hit a solo homer to left.
To their credit, Cheltenham weren’t deterred as they scored three in the bottom of the same inning on a Brett Curnow double and a Cane Davidson ground out. At that point the Rustlers were trailing, 7-6.
But Blackburn also scored three more before the ninth, which was when they really took control of the game. In the top of the final frame two hit batters and two walks were batted in by a Mack single and a three run homer from Steven Bookluck. Ross Hunter also singled in the inning for his second hit of the day. Topping off an impressive day, Mack added to his three hits when he pitched a scoreless last inning for Blackburn.
These two teams meet again on Wednesday night. First pitch is 6 p.m. at the Orioles home ground.
Melbourne 5, Waverley 2
Melbourne started off the scoring when they plated three in the bottom of the third inning. Ollie McMahon singled and Matthew Kent walked before Robert Hondramatis survived after an error and Nathan Aron (3 for 4) singled.
Waverley challenged in the fifth and scored one run when Chase Hodgkinson and Jordan Busch singled and Busch was plated after an error.
The Wildcats looked good again in the eighth when Mitch Hayes, Andrew Hayes and Tyler Dale singled consecutively and another run scored reducing the Wildcat’s deficit to two.
But the Demons responded, striking right back in the bottom of the eighth when Kent singled, Aron hit his second double of the game and Matthew Blackmore singled, providing Melbourne their final margin of victory.
Evan Brisentine had nine strikeouts for Melbourne and Jon Kennedy racked up six over four innings for Waverley. The Demons outhit the Wildcats seven to five.
Sunshine 3, Newport 2
It took more than the standard nine innings, but in the end it was all worth it for the Eagles as a single marker in the tenth frame provided the winning margin over the host Rams. Newport tallied once in the first and another in the fifth to account for their run total. Sunshine, meanwhile, plated single runs in the third, fifth, and tenth to win their second game of the season. With the loss Newport falls to 1-4.
Essendon 8, Preston 3
In a battle of two teams vying for the top spot in their division, Preston and Essendon squared off at the home of the Pirates. Bubby Buzachero started on the mound for the home team while Luke Abels was handed the ball for the Bombers.
Preston got on the board first in the bottom of the second when Buzachero doubled to center, moved up 90 feet, and was then plated by a Dean Marnell sacrifice fly. Essendon didn’t flinch, though, striking back in the third buoyed by a double and run scored by Tom Dicker.
Not long after that the weather—throughout the game both sunny and windy—did a complete turn: the heavens opened up and sent the teams from the ground. Thankfully the game was only held up for 20 minutes before play resumed. Undeterred by the break, the teams both plated multiple runners over the next few innings and the Pirates held a 3 -2 lead through seven.
In the top of the eighth inning, Preston let the game get away when a series of errors saw the Bombers score four unearned runs and take the lead. The eighth was also the inning that saw Buzachero depart from the mound when he swapped places with third baseman Ben Jackson with two outs.
Things did not get any better for the Pirates in the top of the ninth as a further two errors saw the Bombers plate another two unearned runs to run out winners, 8-3. The wet conditions certainly had an effect on the outcome of the game with the Pirates racking up seven errors with five of those coming after the rain delay.
Essendon's Kyle Bedford, following starter Luke Abels, got the win in after he threw the last three innings. Buzachero took the loss for the Pirates.
The sides meet again on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. with Essendon taking its turn as host.
Original report supplied by Gary O’Brien of Essendon Baseball Club.