Midseason Rap- December 2014
Upwey go into the Christmas break with three wins after they started the season well then fell away. The Tigers have ever-reliable Nick Rice leading the way with the bat and Luke Howell working hard on the mound. They will take something from a drawn result with league leaders Blackburn in their final game of 2014.
The Orioles look stronger than ever as they head into the break at the top of their conference with eleven wins and a draw. Blackburn have been led by their manager Bright who has been dominant on the hill and ably backed up by Berka. The return of Ryan Phillips in the middle order this season has also bolstered the offence and given hitters such as Bumpstead, Hunter, Bookluck and D Tierney the chance to open up and score RBIs. The Burners are just ahead of Melbourne on the ladder, the Demons have ten wins and a draw.
Melbourne lost to fifth place Doncaster on Tuesday night after winning in the first leg on the weekend. Demon’s manager Matthew Kent is leading the way with the bat at close to the best in the league. Kent seems to be relishing his role at first base after his move from the dish. Burton, Moore and Ayres are doing well in the middle order and Nathan Aron has RBIs although he hasn’t collected a lot of hits. Add to that list the hitting power and consistency of Blackmore who is also the closer, and the Demons make formidable opponents. But when you consider that their starter Andy Mann is back and Ratcliffe is in the mix to back him up they look like a good final series team.
Doncaster has worked hard to keep in touch with the top teams and is four games out of first with seven wins. The Dragon’s Luke Westphal has put on some excellent pitching displays, throwing 91 strikeouts in 49 innings so far this summer. Westphal has been well backed up on the hill by Andrew Chesterton both as a closer and starting when required. Whilst the pitchers have been getting a lot of attention, manager Ben Utting has been matching them with the bat and being backed up by clean-up hitter Marcel d’Avoine. The Dragons look to have consolidated their place in Division 1 and if their hitting keeps improving the way it has so far this season they will look to go above Waverley who are almost even with them in their conference.
The Wildcats drew with Cheltenham on Tuesday night and are also four games off the pace in their conference. It is doubtful that the Waverley coaches will be satisfied with this position but it looks like they are poised for improvement. Their young list is currently being led with the bat by shortstop Jamie Papanicolaou then backed by Hodkinson, Edwards and Maxfield. Jamie’s brother Luke has been eating up innings on the hill whilst Darcy has also had starts. All will benefit from the return of John Kennedy, with Tyler and closer Matthew Wilson in the pen. The young squad throws hard and has had time to gain experience so watch out for them in the second half.
Cheltenham sits in third place in conference 1 three games off the top. The boys from the farm are being led with the bat by club favourite Paul Rutgers who is well supported by Trevorah, Rossell and Harman (who has had limited availability). Largely, Cunningham who has been well backed up by Kloppe has performed their pitching duties. The Rustlers can overpower teams with extra base hits so may claim some highly placed scalps after Christmas.
In third place in conference 2 Geelong have steadied. The Baycats are being lead in the box by veteran first baseman Cameron Gibbons, whilst Snarey and Zablan have been hitting with power to back him up. Evins has been churning up the innings on the hill, as has Zablan. Veteran Forbes is pitching less often but with good economy as is young pitcher James Wood. Geelong now have their team settled and are one win behind second placed Preston. The Baycats have answered the call in the last few weeks and finished with a 10-5 win over Williamstown. With both their batters and pitchers confident, the Baycats look set to win their share for the rest of the season.
Williamstown are currently on four wins, which keeps them in touch with the middle of the ladder and an outside chance in the second half. Russell is leading the harbourside team with bat and ball whilst manager Dean Marnell is hitting well surrounded by M Pollock and Green. Lester has pitched sparingly with some economy whilst Lee and Asp have been getting through innings. Williamstown have shown that they can perform well in pressure games, so if they can find more runs and improve their pitching efficiency slightly they could threaten higher teams in 2015.
Newport started off with losses then steadied as their list gained strength. Malthouse is the leading the way for the Rams with the bat followed by Foreman and Jordan Young (who has stolen six bases). Young has taken some of the pitching duties but most have been done by Weir and midweek specialist Kline. Although they finished with a loss to Preston, Newport are a young team who have now jelled and are capable of anything in the second half.
Meanwhile, the Pirates have continued their rise and sit in second place in conference 2. They have had many things to cheer about this season including a full pitching roster and some impressive hitting. Andrew Smiley has lead the way on the hill and most notably threw a “no hitter” early in the season. Travis Bass also pitches for them and has backed up Smiley whilst hitting with the best in the league. Jordan Ley the Pirate’s shortstop is leading the batting in Division 1, tipping Kent of Melbourne for most hits. With offence at their disposal and pitching depth, Preston will be planning ways to take on the current three time premiers Essendon.
The Bombers had some players unavailable early in the season but seemed to relish that as an opportunity to show off depth of their own. Pitching duties have been handled by impressive submariner, Luke Ables who has been supported by Michael & Gareth Formisano, Kyle Bedford and Hipke. Veteran Tim Sullivan is leading with the bat in front of Larkin and Doyle. The Bombers showed how important it is to have a good bullpen in their last finals victory and that seems to be key at Boeing Reserve this season. Clear leaders at the top of conference 2 with 13 wins Essendon look like they will only get stronger leaving most sporting clubs in Australia standing by saying, “we’ll have what they’re having”.
Division 2
Eleven matches remain in Division 2 meaning that we are past the halfway point of the season after 15 rounds.
Sunshine dominate at the top of the ladder, whilst Werribee and Moorabbin come next with fourth spot being held by Malvern.
The Braves have workhorse Jordan Liester throwing his heart out and being backed up by part-time pitcher McKenzie. Campitelli is also doing well with the bat. Although Malvern lost their final game to Springvale they got seven hits so should have confidence to consolidate fourth spot after Christmas.
Springvale got eight hits to end with a win over Malvern when Richards, Kirby and Anderson got two each. Brown threw 5 strikeouts in six innings for the Lions.
Fitzroy who have used a lot of pitchers this season have challenged higher teams and are contenders if they can show more consistent results. Muchan has been a good find in the dish whilst McLean continues to hit hard and Alex Turlea leads the team with the bat and in the middle infield.
Port Melbourne have a lot of pitching options with the Rogers brothers both taking the hill at various times. Staci is proving his utility in the dish and with the bat to match. Desmedt throws well and is holding the mound in the midweek games whilst Geoff Holland is showing a lot of class in all areas of the game. With more consistent effort the Mariners could challenge for top four in 2015.
Moorabbin are batting right through their order with Musson, Wheeler and Mulherin all taking their turn to hit when it mattered. The Panthers also have solid pitching options in Musson, Mulherin and Dewar so look good for a competitive finals series.
Werribee have looked strong all season and sit second on the ladder behind Sunshine, being lead by McPherson, and the Balzer brothers in offence. Their pitching looks strong with this season’s return of the hard throwing Rowe who is supported by fellow starter DeJohn whilst Curnow eats up innings in the middle. Wade Balzer also looks good as a closer for the Giants so expect only improvement from them next year.
Berwick City is playing with a young side that is led with the bat by Beasley and the enigmatic JJ O’Connor. Cain Hillier is also batting well for the Cougars for whom a finals berth is not out of the question.
St.Kilda have had some heartbreaking one run losses and are capable of some improvement in the second half. Manager Chris Maurer will be looking forward to results going their way after Christmas.
Bonbeach St.Chads have shown some improvement over the last few weeks when they won with a walk off over Fitzroy, then lost in a shoot out in the return leg 13-12. If the Blue Jays can continue with this form they will trouble the higher teams at the business end of the summer.
Chatwood and Davis of Sunshine are currently leading the batting in Division 2.
Women’s Division 1
Springvale currently dominate after fifteen games without a loss. The Lions are led with the bat by Lillywhite and Manzie-Novotney. Row, Brown and Jackson are all the league’s best in pitching so present many options for the women from Wearne Reserve.
Doncaster is the challenger in second place. The Dragons have McCann, Cannington and Hamilton leading the league in batting whilst workhorse Steane is churning through the innings on the hill, as is Collis. With some improvement the Dragons may be set to have a crack at the formidable Lions team.
Essendon are the new kids on the Division 1 block and held their own with three wins in a row, that is until, they ran into the Springvale freight train. Abbey Kelly, Pedersen and Gell lead the Bombers with the bat whilst French, Kelly and Page have been taking charge on the hill. The Bombers suffered a ten run loss to Doncaster earlier in the season then recovered with great character to beat the Dragons in their next meeting.
Footscray in fourth spot are three games off the Essendon pace being led with the bat by Abbey McLellan, Palmer and star pitcher Risa Tanaka. Kirsten Bezzina is learning the ropes on the mound and with some improvement the Bulldogs might make a challenge to the top teams in the second half.
Malvern have four wins in fifth spot and are led with the bat and ball by Johnson and Howard, with consistent hitting by Goodrope. The Braves have shown flashes of what might be, but they need to hit deeper into their line-up if they are going to threaten.
Pastowski has been hitting and pitching well for Werribee whilst Griffin has been in control in the box. Werribee are currently finding their way in Division 1 with one win (that they got a couple of weeks ago). If the Giants can start hitting deeper into their line-up they may find a way to win more games.
Thanks for reading, I hope you and your family stay safe until we start again in January.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Yours in baseball
Cam Gleeson.
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