By Sean Talbot
On Sunday afternoon, the Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers swept the Berwick Cougars at both Kings Park and Cyril Molyneux Reserve, with runs 38-3 to post four wins against a club that was simply outplayed, outmanned and outgunned on a weekend they will be keen to move on from.
Premier League 1sts, Jarrod Turner was at his mercurial best despite conditions, going 8 strong innings whilst scattering 7 hits, 1 walk, 1 earned run and striking out 9. Tigers sent out a lineup that was missing Ratcliffe, Rice and Hendricks however were still up to the challenge.
Left handed starter Matthew West, Tigers scored a one-out walk to Wade McConnon but were unable to capitalize, Jordan Elliott struck out and Donavon Hendricks grounded out to strand McConnon at 2nd base. Turner made quick work of the home side – looking firmly in control of his arsenal and the Berwick hitters.
McConnon again drew a one-out walk after Pete Schroeders flew out before West came back and induced a rare 1-6-3 double play to quickly end the inning and snuff out any offensive possibility.
Aaron Ouwehand led off the 3rd inning to put Cougars in position to get a run on the board and
Liam Madden led off the 4th inning with a long double that Davison appeared to lose in the Berwick sun in right field.
Looking to force a pitching change whilst running up West’s pitch count, Upwey were again unable to capitalize on a free runner, as Ryder Wilson reached base after West took his time on a comeback groundball which the speedy Wilson managed to beat out.
Deciding being shut out for 6 innings was more than enough, the Tigers finally broke in the top of the 7th inning.
Taking the ball from Turner after his herculean effort, Wes de Jong went right to work to wrap up the game, getting Hunter to ground out to Hendricks, King to ground out to Rogers who made a gorgeous throw from deep in the hole at 3rd on a long hop to Hendricks before Andrew Gibbens (pinch hitting for Hillier) struck out to end the game and see the Tigers run out victors 3-1.
Rogers was the pick of the hitters for Upwey registering another two hit game, with Schroders, Elliott, Hendricks, Senn, Davison and Wilson all adding one apiece.
The win sees Upwey continue to retain their hold on 3rd place on the Premier League ladder behind Waverley (14-3) and Essendon (11-6).
The Tigers will host Berwick in a midweek game on Tuesday night at Kings Park before travelling to Billabong Park to take on Blackburn.
Looking to end their three game skid and get back on the winners list, the 2nds found themselves in a dogfight in the sun against 4th placed Berwick who looked to claim a major scalp and reduce the gap between themselves, and the 3rd placed Tigers.
Hudson Hyde used a two-pitch mix to keep the Tiger line-up off balance, surrendering only a 3rd inning double on a hanging curveball to Michael Oxworth whilst walking 3. Ryder Wilson, the Tiger fireballer was greeted with hostility as he was tagged for 5 hits and 3 walks across his 2+ innings.
In the 3rd inning, Shaun Irvine was sacrificed to 2nd, Matt Cameron and Stuart Milz were unable to add to the damage however, as they both struck out to leave the score at 1-0.
In the bottom of the 3rd, Wilson was tagged for singles but looking to avoid any further potential damage to his starter, Ratcliffe called Sean Meldrum from the bullpen to attempt a Houdini-esque escape to the inning.
Meldrum was more than up to the task, striking out Joel Anson to strand 3 Cougars on base and the score at 1-1.
J Anson took the ball in the top of the 4th inning, walking leadoff hitter Mark Jones before striking out Will Richardson and Meldrum began to settle into his appearance, ensuring a leadoff walk and two-out error did not cost the Tigers, striking out Rhys Bumpstead to leave two on and the score at 1-1 after 4 complete.
Meldrum continued to apply the screws to the Berwick hitters as he utilized his entire arsenal of off-speed pitches, racking up strikeouts and ensuring the hosts could not mount any kind of meaningful rally for the remainder of the game.
Collecting the win for the Tigers, Meldrum was outstanding as he went 4 innings, surrendering 2 hits and 2 walks whilst striking out 6 after being called on in an unenviable spot and ensuring the game did not get out of hand.
The Tigers took full advantage of their 6 walks and 1 HPB, however they registered just the one hit by Oxworth, giving them bragging rights whilst posting 2 hits on just 1 hit.
J Anson took the loss for Berwick in a tough result as he threw 3 innings, giving up 3 walks and a HPB but no hits, with the lone run coming on the Toplis/L Anson errors in proof that baseball can indeed be a very cruel game sometimes.
The win sees Upwey leapfrog back into 1st place on the Premier League Reserves ladder and
The Tigers will travel to Blackburn next week to take on the 6th-placed Burners.
The 3rds were simply too much for the Cougars from the jump as they scored early, often and without remorse on their way to a 13-1 scoreline in hot and windy conditions at the Tiger Dome.
Sending Kole Halupecki to the mound, the visitors were kept well in check as the experienced Tiger lineup went about putting the Berwick pitchers to the sword, taking full advantage of all their opportunities.
The win sees the Tigers improve to 8-3-2 on the season and retain their stranglehold on 2nd place on the Premier League Thirds ladder, trailing only the 9-3-1 Blackburn side whom they will square off against next week in a game that is sure to be full of action as two of the leagues’ heavyweights battle for first place and momentum coming into the back end of the season.
The 4ths put the game away in the bottom of the 1st inning and then continued to pile on in every inning thereafter, beating the visiting Cougars senselessly to the tune of a 20-0.
With Oscar Monagas getting the start for Upwey, the righty sat the visitors down in order in the top of the 1st before the Tigers went about proving why they are heavy flag favorites and owners of a perfect record on the year.
The end score more reflected an NFL game than a baseball game as the divide between 1st place and 8th place on the Premier League Fourths ladder was well and truly on display.
The Tigers now look forward to their clash with the 4th placed Blackburn next week as they look to continue their golden season and maintain their undefeated record against a Burners team.
Hosted ladder leaders Waverley Red, the Metro League East 5ths had a day to forget as they were soundly defeated by the Wildcats, being jumped at the go and eventually conceding a 13-1 defeat in a game that does not reflect on how well the Tigers have played down the stretch this season.
Surrendering the lead early, the Tigers were never really in the game as the Wildcats poured it on with authority and ensured they took the points back to Napier Park.
The Tigers will ironically travel to Waverley next week to take on Waverley Black in a game that will see 2nd v 4th and one that promises to be an absolute blinder and a potential finals preview for both squads.
Travelling to Bonbeach where vandals had unfortunately torched the clubrooms during the week, the Metro League South 6ths were not well received by the Blue Jays who proceeded to seemingly take their frustrations for the fire out on the visitors, belting them without mercy to the tune of an eventual 20-1 scoreline.
The Tigers can take to heart that while they are Upwey’s 6th side, they faced off against the Blue Jays 3rds in a game that certainly provided a mismatch of abilities, its a game the visitors will be keen to move on from.
This saw Upwey’s record on the season fall to 5-9 as they drop to 6th place on the ladder as they host 7th place Pakenham next weekend at Kings Park.
Travelling to A.W. Oliver Reserve and looking to continue their perfect season, the Lady Tigers set about immediately setting the tone for the afternoon, plating the maximum 7 runs for the inning on a leadoff error, a Jess McDonald walk with hits to Claire Williams, Sally Light, Zienna McCulloch, Victoria Chinn and a circus act of errors off the bat of Caitlin Kiel saw the score jump to 6-0 before Chelsea Mosbey hit a ground ball to plate the 7th run for the inning.
It was a less-than-ideal first inning as the home side scored 6 of their own runs as Mather struggled with her control and base hits ensuring that runners continued to cross the plate. Lady Tigers were held in check in the top of the second inning before the Lady Panthers again took advantage of Mather’s control issues, plating a further three runs to run the score to 10-7 and see the away side trailing for one of the very few times this season.
At the bottom of the third, Mosbey surrendered a leadoff single and a walk before striking out Alice Millington in a sequence of events that saw Taylor Kain score from 3rd on an error by Z McCulloch behind the plate.
Looking to again take the lead in the fourth inning, the Lady Tigers exploded for another seven runs as they blew the game wide open.
Mosbey worked around an error and two walks to tightrope out of danger and keep Moorabbin off the scoreboard as the Lady Panthers saw their last chance to tie the game slip right between their fingers as the premiership favorites showed just why they are the measuring stick in the league.
Not content with a seven run lead, the Lady Tigers took full advantage of a single to Chinn, who promptly stole second and advanced to third on Kiel’s base hit to centerfield. Jack was unable to advance the runners and was struck out, Mosbey walked to load the bases before Mather battled but was ultimately struck out, however Holden came through in the clutch and lifted a single to centerfield to bring home the Lady Tigers 18th and final run for the afternoon, bringing an end to the inning and the game as time was called.
Z McCulloch and Chinn were the standouts for the Lady Tigers, with the former collecting 2 hits and 5 RBI and the latter 3 hits, 3 RBI and 2 stolen bases, however, they were more than ably backed up by Light and Kiel (1 hit and 2 RBI apiece) and McDonald (3 walks), while Mosbey was again outstanding on the mound after taking over from Mather.
The win sees the Lady Tigers again retain their stranglehold on 1st place on the Women’s Metro South ladder with a still perfect 13-0 record as they continue to flatten any obstacle in their way, whilst Moorabbin fall to 6-5-1 but retain 4th place.
Upwey will play host to the Cheltenham Lady Rustlers next week.
