By Sean Talbot
A five-hit day from Wade McConnon, supported by four-hit days by Jordan Elliott and Josh Hendricks were the catalyst for the Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers massive 29-0 win at Kings Park on Sunday afternoon.
It was one for the memory bank for the Firsts as they scored early, often and regularly on their way to an eventual 29-0 blowout win against the visiting Sandringham Royals who were simply outmatched and outgunned against the Tigers, who racked up an incredible 24 team hits, nine walks and two HBP’s.
With staff ace Jarrod Turner, Sean Meldrum and Ryder Wilson combining for seven minimal fuss shutout innings, the Tigers quickly went to work building a lead, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning on the back of hits to McConnon, Elliott and Hendricks, a walk to Pete Schroeders and two RBI groundballs to Flynn Morrison and Nick Rice. Despite being kept scoreless in the bottom of the second, the Tigers exploded for 10 runs in the bottom of the third inning, featuring hits to McConnon (two in the inning), Elliott (two in the inning), Hendricks (two in the inning), Randy Senn, Schroeders, a walk to Staci Rogers and Donavon Hendricks and Rice being drilled by pitches as the Tigers sent 14 hitters to the plate as they put the game well out of reach from the visitors.
With Turner continuing to keep the visitors off the scoreboard, the Tigers scored another six times in the bottom of the fourth inning on the back of six more hits (including the fourth hit for the 2-3-4 trio of McConnon, Elliott and Hendricks), four walks and a Harvey Chinn at bat that lasted over 30 minutes due to a rain delay that threatened to end the game before the required five innings for a legal game had been played.
Despite the delay, the Tigers momentum could not be halted as they scored five runs in the fifth inning and four more in the sixth inning, flexing their offensive muscle as they continued to increase their already sizeable lead, before Wilson’s scoreless 7th inning finally invoked the 10-run mercy rule, bringing an end to one of the highest scoring Tigers games in recorded history. The Tigers received multiple contributions up and down their order, led by McConnon (five hits, 3 RBI), Elliott (four hits, four RBI), Hendricks (four hits, five RBI), Senn (three hits, four RBI) and Morrison (two hits, five RBI), while the all-righty trio of Turner, Meldrum and Wilson surrendered just four hits and one walk whilst striking out nine Royals hitters.
Credit must also go to the Sandringham pitcher core of Ryan Williams, Luke Socic and Declan Ferguson who battled all day in the face of a full-speed Tigers offense, not an easy task given the result.
Buoyed by the win, the Tigers will turn their attention to their Tuesday midweek contest against Fitzroy at Kings Park and Sunday’s trip down the Princes Freeway to take on Newport in what promises to be a terrific game between the two sides.
Playing the early game, the Seconds set the tone for the high scoring day, exploding for a nine-run third inning on their way to an eventual 15-0 blowout win of the Royals.
With starting pitcher Pat Gawith throwing an abridged complete game, two-hit shutout, the Tigers received all the pitching support they could dream of, scoring three times in the second inning, nine times in the third and a further three in the fifth inning as they once again received at least one hit from all members of their starting line-up, with multiples going to Jayden Christie-Dossetter (two), evergreen Mark “Fossil” Jones (two) and club favourite Russell Jeffery (three).
The game was still anyone’s to win heading into the third inning despite the Tigers 3-0 lead, however eight hits, three walks, a sacrifice fly and a defensive error put the game well beyond the reach of the visitors as the Tigers took a commanding 12-0 lead.
With Royals starting pitcher Jasper Cormick being put to the sword (three innings, 10 hits, 12 runs) and reliever Jarrod Thomas doing his best to steady the ship, the Tigers continued to lay down a full-frontal offensive showing, relentlessly putting the ball in play as they totalled 13 team hits whilst taking full advantage of some errant Royals pitching that surrendered six walks, two HBP’s and two wild pitches. Despite batting in the eighth spot in the Tigers lineup, Jeffery inflicted maximum damage in his at bats, pacing the team with his three hits to go along with three RBI’s and a terrific game behind the plate as the teams catcher.
The Tigers will be looking to continue their returned momentum as they square off with 15th placed Newport at The Graveyard, whilst the Royals will be looking to find a way to rebound after a truly testing day at the ballpark.
Travelling down Eastlink to CB Wilson Reserve, the Thirds found themselves in a true dogfight against the hosting Mornington Pirates, with the Tigers two runs in the opening frame ultimately proving to be the difference maker in the second consecutive nailbiter won by the Tigers.
Taking full advantage of singles from Will Yon and Richard Ferguson in his second game of the day, veteran Sean O’Halloran laced a double to left field to score Yon and Ferguson, providing all the offensive support that starting pitcher Tyler Kilby would need on the day as he worked a two-hit, four-inning shutout of the hosts. With the Tigers recording four hits and Mornington just the pair, pitchers Kilby and Mornington duo Reyes Sanchez and Damien Bodey were all outstanding on the day in a terrific showing of the quality of pitching in the league, with all three hurlers working themselves out of jams and limiting scoring opportunities throughout the day.
Despite threatening to blow the game wide open in the second inning after loading the bases with two outs, Sanchez steadied and recorded a fly ball to strand three baserunners, however the Pirates were unable to break through against Kilby who provided his best start of the season to date in extremely positive signs for the Tigers, while the errorless defensive showing also incredibly encouraging.
The first place Tigers will be on the road to Surrey Park next weekend as they take on the eighth-placed Melbourne Demons, a game Upwey will be keen to win to maintain separation between themselves and second-placed Waverley.
Playing the curtain raiser on the Peninsula, the Fourths scored in every inning played to jump out to an early lead and continue adding to it, running out eventual winners 9-3 in what was a highly competitive game.
Riding the offensive contributions of veteran Steve Williams (two hits, two RBI) and teenager Ryan Bretel (two hits, two RBI) and strong start from Dom McGrath, the Tigers never relented on their offensive pressure, scoring twice in the first, once in the second, once in the third, three times in the fourth and a further two in the fifth whilst outhitting their hosts 8-6.
Despite the small difference in base hits between the two clubs, it was the Tigers 11 team stolen bases which provided them with the greater of the scoring chances, with Riley and Steve Williams pacing the team with three each. McGrath was again outstanding in his starting assignment, ensuring that the three runs scored by the Pirates in the middle innings would not be enough to head off the Tigers before handing the ball to coach Richard Ferguson who worked a scoreless fifth inning to slam the gate on the home side and hand the Tigers a well-earned 9-3 win.
It will be all smiles for the Tigers as they continue to be led by veterans Williams, Ferguson, O’Halloran and McGrath whilst young guns Johnson and Bretel provide more than enough support defensively and down the bottom of the stacked Tiger hitting order. Upwey will be in for a test on Sunday, as third-placed Melbourne will be looking to hang a second loss of the season on the Tigers as they attempt to keep pace with the ladder leaders.
It was a day to forget on Diamond 2 at Kings Park for the Fifths and Sixths, hosting premiership favourite Bonbeach and being handily defeated by the Blue Jays, with the Fifths on the wrong end of an 11-0 scoreline and the Sixths faring no better, on the wrong side of an eventual 23-0 result that showed the strength and depth of Bonbeach within State League 3 and 4 respectively.
While both scorelines certainly do not paint any sort of a rosy picture vis-à-vis positive results, the Tigers can hold steadfast knowing that they played well defensively and as a team, with the highlight of the day being the Smith/Geary-Smith family combining for their first game together ever, memories that will be sure to last a lifetime.
