It was the ideal start to the new season for the Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers, who went a perfect 7 from 7 to start the new Baseball Victoria season.
Starting with a blowout 14-2 victory over Pakenham White for the Lady Tigers on Saturday, the men’s teams then played clinical baseball as they recorded single wins over Monash University, Sandringham and 4 over Melbourne, the last of which was a commanding 10-0 mercy rule victory for the back-to-back reigning Division 1 premiers.
Riding a phenomenal start from staff ace Jordan Turner who threw 6 shutout innings, the Tigers plated runs in the 4th and 5th innings before exploding for 7 runs with 2 outs in the 7th inning to enforce the mercy rule and end the game early.
Club coach Donavon Hendricks was thrilled with the results his players were able to produce under Sunday’s blue skies.
“I’m incredibly proud of the start of the season, not only from our 1sts group with a great 10-0 win in the semi-final rematch of last season, but also our entire club with 7 wins.
“Our 1s today had to fight early and battle some great quality pitching from Melbourne’s import starting pitcher.
“We got a great start from our own Jarrod Turner who set the tone for us from the very first pitch.
“Some clutch hitting and gritty at bats allowed us to create some distance from Melbourne late in the game.
“I’m really proud of the effort and the results out of the blocks for Round One,” he said.
The Tigers head to Merri Park on Sunday looking to improve to 2-0 against the recently promoted Fitzroy Lions, whilst the Lady Tigers are on the road to St Kilda for what promises to be a very competitive matchup.
