Moorabbin Panthers are back-to-back VSBL Division 2 Champions after securing the premiership on Saturday afternoon at Melbourne Ballpark.
One year after taking care of Newport in two games, Moorabbin achieved similar success in a series vs. Mulgrave, winning the first two games with a 6-1 victory on Thursday and a 17-7 win on Saturday.
Moorabbin had 18 hits and Mulgrave had 16 in the high-scoring second game. Moorabbin led 3-1 after the first and soon made it a 9-1 in the third. The fourth was quiet before both sides put two up in the fifth.
The run scoring continued as Mulgrave wasn't going down without a fight, eventually turning it into a 12-7 ballgame at the end of the eighth. Moorabbin scored five more in the ninth before a scoreless final frame sealed the deal on the Panthers' second straight premiership.
Matt Hardie had four hits and Stewart Mathieson had three, both with three RBIs. Tom Brookes had three hits and Nick Veale knocked in two runs. Mathieson handled five innings with nine first-pitch strikes and three strikeouts.
Riley O'Shea and Caleb Poole led Mulgrave in quality at-bats with three walks apiece. Poole threw 5.1 innings for the Rebels with 18 first-pitch strikes and five strikeouts, while Ryan Phillips had 12 first-pitch strikes in 3.2 innings.
Congratulations to Moorabbin Panthers and well done to Mulgrave on such a successful season!