By Sean Talbot
After making the long trek down the Princes Highway on Saturday, the Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers managed to hold on for a thrilling 6-5 win after holding a 6-1 lead going into the bottom of the last inning.
With staff ace Jarrod Turner getting the start for the Tigers and Sam Gibbons taking the ball for the Baycats, both sides knew their best chance at taking the points would be by backing their workhorse. After trading a scoreless first two innings, Upwey broke the deadlock in the top of the third inning, Staci Rogers singled to centerfield, Nick Rice reached on a Baycats infield error before Harvey Chinn roped a two-out single to score Rogers, followed by Jordan Elliott who reached on a second Baycats infield error, scoring Rice.
After Turner worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the third inning, the Tigers continued applying the pressure, as Jack Ratcliffe led off with a single to right field before scoring all the way from first on a deep double to left field by Rogers, before Gibbons found a way out of the jam preventing further runs. The Baycats looked set to open their account in the bottom of the fourth after Keli’I Zablan laced a two-out double, however Turner induced a fly ball off the bat of Gibbons to record the third out of the inning, sending the game to the fifth inning with the Tigers holding a 3-0 lead.
Upwey were on the cusp of scoring again in the fifth inning after Morrison hit a booming triple to right field, however the Baycats 9-5-2 relay was good enough to nab the Tigers powerhouse at the plate, ending the inning without the run scoring. Geelong again threatened in the bottom half of the fifth after Tanner Stack lined a two-out single but was picked off by Turner, ending the inning on the basepaths.
Leading off the top of the sixth inning, Ratcliffe hit a booming home run to left field that was last seen touching down near Avalon Airport to widen the Tigers lead to 4-0 before Gibbons again worked his way out of a jam, stranding Rogers at first base to end the inning. With Geelong again threatening to score their first run of the game after a leadoff Tigers error, Turner continued to prove why he is the league’s premier escape artist, inducing two fly balls and a ground ball to leave Braydn Barker stranded at first base.
After Gibbons worked a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, the Baycats were finally able to put a run on the board after Zablan worked a leadoff walk, coming around to score on pinch hitter Rudy Jaramillo’s two-out RBI single to right field before Turner got Stack to ground into a fielders choice, ending the frame with the Tigers holding a 4-1 lead.
As the game headed to the eighth inning, the home side called on fireballer Hayden Peoples to work the top half of the inning to and were rewarded with a 1-2-3 inning, keeping the Tigers in check and the lead still within reach, however; despite tiring after a lionhearted effort, Turner escaped a jam after tattooing leadoff hitter Barker to end the eighth inning with Upwey still leading 4-1.
Looking for a little magic to increase their lead in the top of the ninth off of new pitcher Jaramillo who was called in from left field, the Tigers were rewarded with a two-out, two-run single from Chinn that scored Rogers and Pete Schroeders (who had reached on a ground ball and a single, respectively) to run their lead to 6-1 before Geelong’s lefty settled down and made his pitches, stranding Chinn and Elliott in the process.
Ryder Wilson was handed the ball in the bottom of the ninth inning to close the game out with a comfortable five run lead, however Geelong were not willing to allow the visitors to wrap things up easily, making the young right hander work hard in his appearance as they strung together two hits, two walks and a hit batter to score two runs and load the bases before club coach Donavon Hendricks took the ball in an attempt to create a little escape magic of his own. Despite surrendering a two-out, two-run single to James Wood, Hendricks was able to settle and struck out Jye Robinson, stranding the tying run at third and the winning run at second to hand the Tigers one of their most hard-fought wins of the season.
It was a sensational game from both teams on the day, highlighted for the Tigers by the offensive production of Rogers (3-for-4 incl. double, 1 RBI), Chinn (two hits, 3 RBI) and Ratcliffe (two hits incl. home run, one RBI), while Turner (8 innings, seven hits, one run) was simply sensational on the other side of the ball.
The win improves the Tigers record to 14-3-5 on the year, good enough for second spot on the league ladder, trailing only reigning premiers Waverley by a half game. Upwey will play host to third placed Sunshine on Tuesday night in a midweek game that promises to be full of fireworks before travelling to Merri Park on Saturday to take on 16th place Fitzroy in a game the Tigers will be looking to win to continue to secure a double chance come finals.
Playing in the early game, the Seconds were unable to overcome a complete game, 131-pitch performance from Geelong starter Pat Brackley, who was too much for the Tigers bats on the day as they fell to Geelong 5-3.
With Pat Gawith taking the ball for Upwey, the young righty was met with a flurry of Baycats offense right out of the gate, as Maxton Sherry led off with a bunt single, James Renouf and Dion Kirchner both singled to load the bases before Dan O’Connor worked a two-out, full-count walk to score the games first run, before Gawith struck out Brackley to end the frame.
The Tigers counterpunched immediately in the second inning, as Matt Cameron led off with a 10-pitch at bat that saw him foul off four consecutive pitches before lacing a single to left field, before Will Yon scored from second base after grounding into a fielders choice to tie the game 1-1. Geelong were unable to answer in the bottom half of the inning, as Gawith struck out one and induced two fly balls to quickly put the Tigers back on offense. Brackley had settled into his work however, and a pair of groundballs and a strikeout saw the top of the third inning end as quickly as it started. Geelong were able to plate their second run in the bottom half of the frame as Kirchner laced an RBI single to centerfield to score Jackson Viney who had reached after getting hit and stealing second base.
Upwey looked more than ready to tie the game back up in the top of the fourth after a walk and a single to lead off the inning before Brackley looked to tighten the screws again, striking out a pair before Ryder Wilson worked a seven-pitch, bases-loaded walk to score Upwey’s second run, tying the game 2-2, but were unfortunately unable to add any further scores. Not to be outdone, the Baycats plated their game-breaking three runs in the bottom of the fourth, as single, a Tigers error and a double off the bat of Sherry combined to drive in two runs before a walk and another error scored Sherry, pushing the Geelong lead to 5-2.
Looking to regain their momentum in the top of the fifth, Upwey saw Jayden Christie-Dossetter lead off with a single and steal second before Cameron found success in another long at bat, this time lining an RBI single to left field on the seventh pitch of his at bat, however he was unable to advance beyond first before the inning ended. Getting the call in relief, Dan Smith induced a ground ball and struck out a pair of Baycats hitters to send the game to the top of the last with Geelong still holding onto a 5-3 lead.
Upwey looked set to force a pitching change and take the lead at the same time in the top of the sixth, as Mark Jones walked (after pinch-hitting for Shaun Irvine), Wilson singled and Christie-Dossetter walked to load the bases with two-out, however Brackley found enough in his tank to encourage a fly ball to left field to end the game and secure the win for Geelong.
Cameron was absolutely outstanding on the day for the Tigers, as his three hits led the team in a continuation of a real purple patch in form, while his patient at-bats did everything they could to force a pitching change for the home side. While unable to record a win, there were plenty more positives from Smith and particularly Gawith, the latter of whom has flourished in his role as starter in the absence of veteran Sean Meldrum.
The loss sees Upwey’s record fall to 10-4, still good enough for sole possession for third place on the league ladder as they turn their attention to 11th placed Fitzroy this weekend in what is now an important game for the Tigers.
