After two weeks of play Melbourne, Waverley, Essendon and Geelong are all sitting on two wins. Though this probably doesn’t mean much early in the season these teams surely appreciate their good start. Essendon have had two extra innings games already whilst both Newport and Sunshine have been unlucky not to have yet won a game. Round 3 should see lineups more settled as import and transferred players either arrive or are more comfortable in their new clubs.
Waverly 4, Doncaster 0
Utilising a committee of pitchers—none who threw more than two innings each—the Waverly Wildcats shut out the Doncaster Dragons, 4-0. Led by Jon Kennedy on the mound, Waverly had two players (Luke Papanicolaou and Mitchell Hayes) record multiple hits, with Hayes also knocking in two of the four runs. Doncaster’s Billy Findlay also had two hits while Brendan McDonald contributed a two bagger to the Dragons’ cause. Their pitching too was stellar as Simon Fitzmaurice started and went five innings giving up four runs, before handing the ball off to Ben Utting who threw four innings, allowing just one hit and no runs.
Geelong 3, Newport 1
In a closely contested match, Geelong scored single runs in the fifth, sixth, and eighth inning to defeat Newport, 3-1. In defeat, Rams hurler Gabriel Sandersius was magnificent, striking out 12 batters and throwing 88 strikes over 130 pitches. Doing it all, he also accounted for their lone run with a single in the top of the first. The lack of notches on the scoreboard masked the fact that three members of Newport—Mathew Lawman, Scot Malthouse and Zac Seipolt—came through with multi-hit games.
The biggest blow, however, was struck by Geelong’s Matthew Zablan who followed up a sixth inning single with a mammoth home run in the eighth. Not to be outdone by his Rams counterpart across the diamond, Zablan also closed out the game for the save after Cameron Forbes (six innings, 57 strikes in 77 pitches) and Stuart Barnes (two innings) also pitched masterfully.
Essendon 5, Sunshine 4
Speaking of the residents of Moonee Ponds, the Essendon Bombers prevailed in a cracker of a match, tying the game in the ninth before prevailing in walk-off fashion in the 11th frame. The Eagles, too, showed plenty of fight, tallying twice in the ninth to pull ahead, 4-3, before suffering a tough defeat. Of note: six Essendon players recorded multiple knocks, including five who had doubles. And Scott McIntyre’s hit in the bottom of the last proved decisive.
The Bombers pitching was led by Luke Abels, who threw five innings, before Gareth Formisano (two innings), Dean McIntrye and Michael Formisano (one frame apiece) finished off the game. Essendon travels to play Sandringham and the Pirates visit Newport in the coming round.
Melbourne 5, Blackburn 3
Despite falling behind 2-0 after the first half inning, the Melbourne Demons battled back to score one in the first and four in the third to secure a rain-shortened 5-3 win at home over Blackburn. Details from the Victorian Summer Baseball League (LINK!) match of the round can be found here.
Preston 4, Sandringham 1
Beware the Preston Pirates! In a taught, back-and-forth affair the Pirates went ahead in the eighth inning before adding two insurance runs to down the Sandringham Royals, 4-1. Despite its low score, the game was chock full of hits with the victors tallying 10 and the Royals amassing seven. Headlining the hitting parade was Ryan Evans who notched three singles. Benjamin Jackson, Mitchell Legge and Jorday Ley also got more than one hit for Preston. Jordan Barnett for Sandringham also recorded two singles.
On the mound, Hayden Godbold got the win and Masknni Hashiguchi and Ley were very good in relief. For Sandringham, Kynan Wilcox (4.2 innings, three hits, one earned run) and Spencer Jack (4.2, 7, 3) split the pitching duties for the Royals.
Cheltenham 5, Springvale 0
In a game much closer than the score indicated, the Cheltenham Rustlers blanked the Springvale Lions, 5-0. Led by the dynamic duo of Andrew Gribbin (2-for-3 with a run and RBI) and Paul Rutgers (3-5, including a double, run, and RBI), the Rustlers scored one in the first, three in the seventh and one in the eighth to record their first win of the season. Bryan Kloppe pitched excellently over six innings, only allowing two hits. Teammate Kable Hogben then closed out the game. For the Lions, it was Steve Hughes on the bump followed by veteran Freddy Flores.
Round 3’s Match of the Round will feature Preston at Newport. First pitch is Sunday at 3.30 p.m.