Although it ended up a comfortable win the Dodgers didnt have it all their own way against the lowly ranked young Pirates who jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the 3rd . JJ O'Conner on the hill settled into a great rythym for the remainder of what was to be a complete game winner giving up just 6 hits. The Dodger bats were hot for most of the day Sam Beasley leading the way with 3 including a home run and a double and also Luke Farrelley and Glen Mascoll with 2 each both with a home run also.
A2 - Berwick 10 def. Mornington 0.
I know it’s starting to sound boring but………………….
Another beautiful sun shiny day greeted the Dodger players as they took to the field against the Mornington Pirates. Shaun Fahey was welcomed back into the team and given the responsibility of pitching to a, reportedly, free swinging Pirate line up.
The first 3 digs came and went in a blur of very positive dodger offence and defence. Very good situation hitting from the dodger line up saw us leading 8-0 after 3 completed innings. Then it happened………… nothing. Whilst the defence continued to support the great work on the hill, the offence did nothing. A couple of scattered hits across the next two innings with no support from the dugout left us flat and marking time. After 5 completed innings the score remains 8-0.
Chilly took over on the hill from Shaun, and again showed that his curve ball is good enough to get anyone in this grade, 3 up 3 down for the Pirates. The bottom of the inning again saw a runner left on base, still 8-0.
Chilly was tested a bit in the 7 th, but was good enough to get out of the inning without conceding a run. The manager pleaded with the hitters to rally in a final effort to close the game via the 10 run rule. Dodger hitters responded to score the 2 runs required, allowing the umpire to close the game early.
Fantastic work on the hill by Shaun and Chilly. Crackers was, once again, a rock behind the dish.
A3 - Berwick 17 def. Mornington 0.
On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, again, the boys took on Mornington and came away with a resounding 17-0 win. Sean Howe continued his excellent form with 7 strike outs over 6 well controlled innings. Mark Howe then came on in the last innings, striking out 2 Mornington bats and not allowing any runs either. Our bats did the talking again with 17 hits for the game. Every player got hits, which is extremely pleasing from a coaching perspective. Hilly, Mark and lucas lead the way with 2 hits each also scoring 2 R.B.I's. other hits went to Dick, Andy, Ben and Sean with 2 and singles to Ryan, BB and Cam McRae.
Next week we take on Dingley Blue at home.
BB
A4 - Berwick 8 lost to Mornington 14.
We travelled to Wilson Reserve to play the Pirates after an absence of 12 months in the “Bigs” to a well presented diamond in idyllic weather. With 5 regulars unavailable and a late and welcome inclusion of Shae Lilywhite we were ready to tackle the Pirates. Once again we bounced out of the blocks scoring 2 runs in the first. With “sammy” O’Connor on the hill we shut down the Mornington bats and continued the charge with the bat adding a further 6 runs in the second. In the third inning “Sammy” struggled to come to terms with the zone and the Pirates capitilised on the odd error to get their momemtum rolling and to Mornington’s credit they fought back hard with great spirit to hold our hitters. “Beefa” Lees came on to pitch with no effect on the Pirates offence but by this stage the horse had bolted. We seemed a less than potent force late in the game with the bat. Pal “Porno” Chinnock backed up a great game behind the plate with 2 hits and 2 hits to Sam O’Conner were the only full game contributors. Final score Berwick 8 Mornington 14. Shae backed up a nice hit with a good job to stop the bleeding on the hill. I was bemused how our team went from dominant to submissive so dramatically in the second hour. As a result half the team showed up for an early Sunday training run. We must rekindle the hunger and desire by next week at home against Dingley Blue
Till then – see you on the diamond.
Roger Greene.
Womens - Berwick 13 def. Moorabin 1.
Sunday saw the girls up early to take on Moorabbin in the 10am game @ Carrum Downs. And though we were all less than excited about the early start, it certainly didn’t affect the way we played, or the amount of fun that was had.
Wearnie threw four innings and Hot Date made her long awaited return on the hill for the final inning. The girls both threw a lot of strikes, which made it easy for the field to make outs. Tay McKay had a great game behind the dish, and Gabby again made a great play at second base.
With the bats it was Tay leading the way, ending the game with three great hits, including two long, hard hit doubles. Other good hits went to Shae and Wearnie with 3 each, Jenna with a hard hit line drive down first base line, and Gill Gavin with a nice single to left field.
In her return from injury, Gill (DT) was solid with the bat, and in the field. Well done mate, it was great to see you back out there again enjoying your baseball.
Next week the girls have the challenge of taking on the team to beat Melbourne uni @ their home ground, 2.30pm. Good luck!
U16 - Berwick 5 def. Dingley 3.
It was the top of the table clash between the 2 undefeated sides and we came away with a 5-3 win. Jesse Gavin started the game on the mound and did an exceptional job for 4 innings only allowing 1 unearned run. Craig B then came on to finish the game. The defensive game only saw 3 hits to the Berwick bats, going to Lachy, Turtle and Woody, who also hit in 2 R.B.I's.
U14 - Berwick 9 def. Cheltenham Blue 2.
Was the coldest morning ever down at Dodger dome for the under 14’s round five match versus second placed Cheltenham Blue. Nick Hill was unavailable due to Haileybury commitments so we were down to bare nine. Top 1 st Oliver Dunn on the bump again with a big task ahead of him on a cold morning. Rustlers came out hard and two runs were scored quick from a double and an asleep Dodgers. Dunny replied by striking out the 4,5,6 in the order getting himself in a nice rhythm. Bottom 1 st and Alex Clark doubled with two out but was left on base. Top 2 nd and Dunny fires again striking out hitter 7 and 8, no.9 hitter was a blank. Bottom 2 nd and it was up to the bottom order to fire, and they responded. Ryan “Roo” Lowe came up to bat with one out. He was 0 for 6 in his last 3 games. He had a good session at Ausport on Tuesday night with the Dodger team. He got to the count 1 ball 2 strikes and then he swang and BOOM, home run clear over left field for his first hit of the season. WOW. Then with two out Billy Allan came up to bat and also off the same count he hit a line drive double!! Well done Billy the hard work was all worth it on Tuesday night! Dodgers trail 2 to 1. Top 3 rd and Dunny walks the lead off batter. Hard groundball then hit to Hayden Wood at third base and he turned a double through Lachlan Beasley at second base, but didn’t get the out at first base. Runner then stole but Brad Kmet (our upcoming catcher in the hands of Sam Beasley) threw the runner out at second base. Well done. Then a deep, deep fly ball to Roo at centre field and he judged the ball beautifully at centre field as always. Well done Dodger defence. Bottom 3 rd and Clarky doubles again, followed by another double by Hayden Wood. Tied ball game 2 all. Steve Hughes got on base also. Brad Kmet then hit a hard ground ball to the right side to score the go ahead run. Well done Brad, great execution of team baseball. Roo then singled to left field with a line drive and scored another run. Dodgers go out up 4 – 2. Top 4 th and Steve Hughes on the bump to relieve and close Rustlers down. 10 strikes, 5 balls three strikeouts and we are in to bat again. Well done Stevo. Bottom 4 th and Dodgers turn it on with singles to Dunny, Lachy, Brad and a double by Roo. Baserunners were aggressive and whole team put in. Dodgers win game 9-2. A great effort by all players. Good luck next weekend at Ballarat in the under 14 Victorian Winter Championships to Oliver Dunn, Steve Hughes and Lachlan Beasley.
Dan
U12 - Berwick
What a chilly start to the day, the ground was white, being covered by ice, but the sun was shining through. Playing Cheltenham White, being the same win - loss as us, it was always going to be a tough game. Starting off pitching for us was Liam (Maddog) Madden, who struggled to find the zone a little this week, but also a couple of nice hits from Cheltenham too, saw them scoring 5 runs in the first innings. To see Richo relieve Maddog, and then shut them down scoring 0 more runs that innings. With having 14 kids in the batting line up, there was not much chance of everyone getting many hits, in fact there was only 3 players that got 2 bats this week. With only 1 of those getting 2 safe hits, Rydge Hogan hitting a double and a single, aslo scoring our only 2 runs for the day. Great job Rydge. Richo continued pitching for the next innings, which also kept Cheltenham scoreless.
To finish off pitching for us was Rydge again, continuing his great game, also shut down Cheltenham with them only scoring 1 run but it was unearned also. Great job by Rydge and Marchy behind the dish too, they stopped a few more runs being scored. So in total, we lost to Cheltenham, 6 to 2.
