By Sean Talbot
It was all smiles under blue albeit windy skies on the weekend for the Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers as they swept the Williamstown Wolves in all four games the two clubs played in, with the results also moving all four teams back onto the winners list after being on the wrong end of results last weekend against Blackburn.
With staff ace Jarrod Turner being rested after already having thrown more than 100 innings on the season to date, club coach Donavon Hendricks took the start for the visiting Tigers as they prepared to face off the Wolves, who gave the start to veteran left-hander Dennis Neal, himself one of the league’s premier starting pitchers, ensuring runs would be hard to come by on the day.
Neal and Hendricks both breezed through their first innings, with Neal picking off Jack Ratcliffe after the young Tiger doubled with two outs in the top of the second to escape any potential danger, whilst Hendricks found himself in more danger than was wanted in the bottom half of the inning. Jason McDonald led off the bottom of the second with a sharp single to left field, followed by singles each to Neal and Cooper Carrison to load the bases with none out and Williamstown threatening to blow the game open early. Hendricks however was more than willing to show off his infamous Houdini escape tactics, striking out Hiroshi Narasaki and Nick Gray before inducing a weak pop-out in foul territory from Rolanda Curiel to leave ‘em loaded and escape the jam.
Neal and Hendricks traded a scoreless third inning each, however Hendricks was unable to match his contemporaries scoreless fourth inning, as McDonald again led off with a single, advancing to second on Neal’s groundball to Ratcliffe at second base before Carrison singled again to put runners on the corners with one out. Narasaki then lined a ball to Andy Kane in left field which scored McDonald who was tagging up, however Kane dropped the ball on the transfer from his glove to throwing hand and the call was made that Kane did not have control, leading Upwey to register a rare 7-6 putout to catch Carrison halfway between first and second and more than a little frustrated at the umpires inability to communicate the call. Gray grounded out to the Upwey skipper to end the frame, however Williamstown took to the top of the 5th with a 1-0 lead and Neal looking firmly in control.
Recording two quick outs to start the fifth, Neal then Ratcliffe after falling in behind in the count, bringing Rogers to the plate, looking to atone for his earlier baserunning blunder and extend the two-out rally. Working the count to 2-1, Neal tried to sneak a fastball past Rogers on the inner half of the plate and paid for it dearly as Rogers was able to barrel the ball up, catch the jet stream that was blowing out to left-center and clear the fence for a two-run home run, putting the Tigers on top 2-1 and taking back the momentum the Wolves created in the previous inning. The lead was short lived however, as back-to-back two-out doubles to Sam Reale and Yo Takehara evened the score at 2-2, putting Williamstown right back in the game.
Leading off the sixth inning, Nick Rice doubled to centerfield and came around to score on Wade McConnon’s double, his second hit of the game, giving the Tigers the lead again 3-2. Neal came back to induce a groundball from Jordan Elliott before Josh Hendricks struck out on a foul tip to end the inning. D Hendricks worked around a two-out walk to Narasaki by getting Gray to strike out, ending his day after six terrific innings. Harvey Chinn was called upon to pinch hit for D Hendricks in the top of the seventh inning, hitting a sharp ground ball to Narasaki at shortstop and reaching on an error, then being replaced by pinch runner Shaun Irvine, but Neal was again fantastic working out of trouble, striking out Rogers and inducing a ground ball by Kane.
Taking the ball in the bottom of the 7th, teenage fireballer Ryder Wilson created an immediate impact, getting Cruiel to pop out on the first pitch before Aaron Green grounded out and Reale struck out, sending the game to the eighth inning with the result still very much up for grabs. Rice was tattooed with a pitch to lead off the inning before Pete Schroeders laid down a gorgeous sacrifice bunt to move Rice to second and give the Tigers hope of increasing their lead. McConnon was next to bat, taking ball one before absolutely unloading on a deep fly ball that cleared the left field wall for the Tigers second two-run home run of the game, pushing the Upwey lead to 5-2 and ending Neal’s game. Despite the scoreline indicating otherwise, Neal was firmly in control for the majority of his start, with the pitches to Rogers and McConnon being the ones that truly burned him.
Taking the mound after being called in relief by manager Chris Rickard, Jason Lester surrendered a single to Elliott on a 2-2 count before he unfortunately lost his arm slot and his control, walking J Hendricks and Wilson on four pitches apiece to load the bases and none out. Not getting the result from his righty he was hoping for, Rickard again went to the bullpen, this time calling on Daniel Chircop who had raced to Greenwich Reserve from Melbourne Ballpark where he was seen in a Team Australia uniform assisting the green and hold. Ratcliffe battled hard but was struck out for the second out, giving the Wolves hope they might be able to perform their own escape before the game got out of hand. Elliott scored the Tigers sixth run of the game on a wild pitch that moved J Hendricks and Wilson to third and second respectively before Rogers reached on an error by Cruiel that scored J Hendricks and Wilson on the play, pushing the score to 8-2 in favor of the Tigers. Kane worked a walk after Rogers moved to third on another wild pitch, however he was subsequently picked off to become the third Tigers runner lost on bases to end the eighth inning with the score 8-2.
Having been firmly rested after the long top half of the inning, Wilson made short work of the Wolves in the bottom half, getting Takehara to line out to Schroeders before McDonald popped out in foul territory and Neal struck out, ending the eighth inning and Wilson’s day. The appearance, just his first after being shellshocked by Sandringham in round six, will be one that Wilson and the Tigers coaching staff will be quite encouraged by as the young righty looks to become another valuable piece out of the Tigers bullpen.
Leading off the top of the 9th, Rice laced a single to left field for his second hit of the game, however Schroeders struck out and McConnon flew out to leave the Tigers in a one-on, two-out situation and bringing Elliott to the plate, who wasted no time in launching the Tigers third home run of the day to left-center, his second of the year, both coming on the road at Williamstown to balloon the score to 10-2 before pinch hitter Manning Davison was struck out to end the frame. Wes de Jong was called on from the bullpen to handle the ninth inning, slamming the gate shut on the Wolves and sealing the Tigers 10-2 win.
As mentioned, D Hendricks was terrific in his start, throwing six innings, scattering eight hits, one walk and two runs (two earned) to pick up the win with Wilson and de Jong combining for three scoreless innings in relief, as McConnon (three hits incl. home run, three RBI), Elliott (two hits incl. home run, two RBI), Rice (two hits) and Rogers (home run, two RBI) were the pick of the hitters for Upwey. After their 5-5 draw against Waverley on Tuesday and the win against Williamstown, the Tigers jump back into third on the Premier League ladder as they look forward to the coming weekend as they host the visiting Sandringham squad, looking to avenge their early season, walk-off loss to the Royals.
On the road and somewhat scuffling on the heels of a 1-3-1 record over their last five games, the 2nds looked to win their second game against Williamstown and did so in emphatic fashion to the tune of a 10-0 scoreline and a combined no-hit shutout between Sean Meldrum and Josh Yung. Trading a scoreless first inning with Wolves starter Sam Reale, the Tigers struck first in the second inning as Matt Cameron worked a four-pitch walk and advanced to third on a single off the bat of Will Richardson that landed in the Bermuda Triangle between first base, second base and right field. Stuart Milz battled but was struck out before Shaun Irvine was also struck out, however the ball got away from Williamstown catcher Nathan Di Blasi and allowed Cameron to scamper home. Meldrum worked a scoreless second inning before he and Reale again traded a scoreless third.
Richardson led off the fourth inning and picked up his second hit of the game with a bunt that caught the Williamstown defense by surprise before Milz was again set down on strikes. Richardson stole second and advanced on a balk by Reale before Irvine worked a six-pitch walk, putting runners at the corners. Jayden Christie-Dossetter then came unglued on a pitch down in the zone, belting a triple to deep left field that scored Richardson with ease before Irvine chugged home, pushing the score to 3-0. Ash Geary-Smith worked his own six-pitch walk which saw Rickard pay a visit to his starter to settle him down and work out how to best approach the Wolves middle order which was due up. Seemingly undeterred by the mound visit, Michael Oxworth proceeded to lash the first pitch he saw over the right field fence for a three-run home run, pushing the Tigers lead to 6-0 before Randy Senn flew out and Davison struck out to end the inning. Meldrum finally allowed his first baserunner of the game in the top of the fourth as an errant fastball caught Scott Meager in the head before Mitch Clement walked to put two on with one out, however Meldrum was able to get an incredibly rare 8-5 putout on a shallow fly ball to centerfield before striking out Walter LeFevre.
Taking the ball for Williamstown, Emerson Rickard recorded two outs on three pitches after getting Cameron and Richardson to both weakly ground out, however the Wolves produced a spirited two-out rally, as Mark Jones and Irvine both singled before Christie-Dossetter hit his second triple of the game to push the score to 8-0. Geary-Smith beat out a groundball to Clement at first base that E Rickard was unable to cover, Oxworth singled to move Geary-Smith to third however Senn hit a ball to deep centerfield that was caught and ended the inning with Upwey firmly in control and in possession of a 9-0 lead.
Taking the ball from Meldrum, Jung was absolutely miserly in his best appearance to date on the season, striking out five of the six hitters he faced to keep the Wolves off the board whilst facing on the minimum for his two innings of work. The Tigers pushed the score to 10-0 in the top of the sixth as Davison led off with a single off of relief pitcher Cooper Rickard, advanced on Cameron’s ground out and scored on Jones’ two-out error to Meager at second base.
The much needed win sees the Tigers regain second place on the Premier League Reserves ladder with a 10-5-1 record as they look ahead to this coming weekend and attempting to pick up a revenge win against the 8-5-3 4th placed Royals who forced a draw after coming from behind against them in round four.
Hosting the Wolves at Kings Park, the 3rds picked up an impressive 9-4 win against a spirited visiting squad that battled hard in the batters box and made the hosts work for their runs. Getting the start at home, Dan Smith threw three innings, giving up six hits for four runs (four earned) whilst keeping his side firmly in the game. Scoring in multiple innings, the side was led by Steve Johnson who picked up three hits from his three at-bats whilst being supported by Sam Griffiths, who went 2-from-3 (including a double and 2 RBI). Harry Snoxell relieved Smith in the top of the fifth and was fantastic in his appearance, giving up no hits, no walks, no runs, striking out two and facing the minimum six hitters.
“This was really a game of two halves against a very plucky opposition. Jett (Williamstown pitcher Jett Popinski) did a great job throwing the complete game for Willy (sic), however our boys worked their way back into the game and leaned on their experience against a young side, executing when it mattered to pull away with the game,” coach Tarquin Booth said.
The win sees Upwey improve to 9-4-2 on the season to maintain their stranglehold on third place but facing a real challenge this coming weekend against the second placed Royals team (11-5), however the Tigers do hold the wood over Sandringham after besting them 7-5 earlier in the season.
Playing at home and looking to rebound from their first loss of the year last season, Upwey found themselves locked in an absolute battle with the visiting Wolves, unable to convert their chances or break away from their opposition who were playing at a level far above their 4-11 season record would suggest. With coach Richard (not Russell) Ferguson getting the start for his team, the Tigers surrendered a run in the top of the first and another in the fourth to find themselves trailing 2-0 after four complete innings and facing the possibility of back-to-back losses. Chris Chalmers led off the bottom of the fifth with a base hit and, after attempting to sacrifice his out, Paul Sadler reached base on a three-base error to score the Tigers first run of the game and close the gap to 2-1. Steve Williams singled to score Sadler to tie the game, and Ferguson was able to held his own cause with an RBI single to score Williams to give Upwey the lead 3-2.
Grizzled veteran Dom McGrath closed out the game and slammed the door shut on Williamstown to lock up the win for the home squad, their 14th in 15 games for the season which sees them still clear in first place on the ladder. The team will travel to Sandringham this weekend to take on the fifth placed Royals (5-9-1) as they hope to add another win to their season tally.
Travelling to Robert Booth Reserve, the Regional Metro East 5ths were unable to secure the points, losing a thrilling game to Mulgrave that saw the Tigers unable to hold a three run lead going into the bottom of the last inning as the Rebels rallied to score four runs and walk off 9-8 winners. In a sign of how competitive the game was, runs were scored by either one or both teams in every inning besides the third as the scorers were certainly kept busy throughout the afternoon. Getting the start for Upwey, Riley Johnson did his best to keep his side in the game, throwing 5 1/3 innings, giving up nine hits and three walks to surrender eight runs (four earned), while Marc Livingston was tagged for a hit and two walks in the last inning to be saddled with the loss.
Doing their best to help their cause, Johnson and Livingston were best for Upwey with the bats as they each collected two hits in a game that saw eight of the nine Upwey starters register a safe hit, with Darcy Kelly driving in three of his sides eight runs in a solid display from his spot in the lower third of the Upwey batting order. The loss sees Upwey’s record slip to 8-7-1 as they now share fifth place on the Regional Metro East ladder with Monash Uni as they prepare to host ninth placed Doncaster Gold this coming weekend, needing a win to keep their finals dreams alive.
Playing away against an experienced Blackburn side, the Regional Metro South 6ths were dealt the same results the Upwey 1sts, 3rds and 4ths were last weekend as they were handed an 18-5 drubbing at the hands of the Burners in a game that was out of their hands early and only got worse from there. The loss all but ensures the Tigers are mathematically unable to secure a top-four spot and will not be playing finals at the end of the season, a disappointing result no doubt. The Tigers host third placed Chelsea Blue this coming weekend in a game they will look to come out on the right side of in front of what is sure to be a solid home crowd due to the planned Life Members & Past Players Day for the Tigers.
Travelling to Chelsea with their perfect season still intact, the Lady Tigers were manhandled by the Dolphins and handed their first loss of the season to the tune of an 11-3 result. Scoring three runs in the top of the first inning, it was all Chelsea from that point onward as the Dolphins scored six in the first, three in the second and two in the fourth to run away with the game and even the season series 1-1. Taking the ball after a few weeks off, Chelsea Mosbey was not at her usual best, throwing three innings, giving up four hits whilst surrendering nine runs (five earned) and a season high eight walks to provide Chelsea with plenty of scoring chances they were more than willing to cash in on. Jess McDonald took the ball in relief but was unable to record an out as the home side scored a further two times on two walks and two safe hits before time and game was called.
Despite jumping the home side with three runs in the top of the first on the back of their hot start offense, the Lady Tigers committed four errors in an uncharacteristic display from a team that has outmatched all that have come before them this season, playing catch up for one of the few times but failing to catch their opponents who have scored an incredible 229 runs for the season whilst surrendering a mere 57 in return.
While the loss certainly does not change their ability to play finals by any stretch of the imagination, it does see Upwey in second place on the Women’s Metro South ladder for the first time this season, now trailing the Dolphins by just 0.42 per cent on win percentage while being well clear of third placed Waverley (9-5-1) and fourth placed Moorabbin (8-5-1).
Sally Light, Zienna McCulloch and Victoria Chinn all collected 1 hit and 1 RBI each to lead the Lady Tigers offense, whilst Billie McCulloch and Hayley Mather each chimed in with a hit each at the top and bottom of the Lady Tigers hitting order. Looking forward to the coming weekend with their sights firmly set on keeping pace with Chelsea, Upwey will host ninth placed combined effort Sandringham/Berwick (3-11) in a contest that will almost certainly see coach Russell Jeffery start his strongest lineup as his team of veterans and young superstars aim to continue their strong march towards finals baseball come March.
