Springvale star Rob Hogan smashes a lead-off home run in the fourth inning against the Berwick City Cougars at Cyril Molyneux Reserve on Sunday.By Paul Pickering
THE Springvale Lions will be looking to claim the minor premiership in the Baseball Victoria Division Three Men’s competition at Melbourne Ball Park tonight, after shrugging aside local rival Berwick on Sunday afternoon.
The 6-1 away victory saw the Lions maintain a two-game buffer atop the division, meaning a win over second-placed Williamstown in tonight’s mid-week fixture would ice top billing for the finals series.
Any hope Berwick (6-10, sixth place) had of participating in the finals was dashed by the Lions on Sunday, as pitchers Glen Richards and Rob Hogan strangled the Cougars at Cyril Molyneux Reserve.
Richards and Cougars pitcher Jude Power ensured a fierce opening to the match, both cranking up their fast balls to establish an intimidating presence at the mound.
But not even Power’s heat could put an end to Springvale playing-coach Ben Bartlett’s 16-game hitting streak.
Bartlett converted his first at-bat of the day before going on to score the opening run.
From there, Rob Hogan took over for the Lions, pounding a lead-off homer in the fourth innings and batting-in two runners with a double in the fifth.
Having thrown eleven strikeouts in six innings, Richards passed on a clean sheet to Hogan in the seventh.
But Richards’ impact on the game wouldn’t end there, as he drilled home Springvale’s advantage with a soaring home run in the seventh.
Only an out-fielding error in the bottom of the ninth could prevent the Lions from shutting out the Cougars.
After the match, Bartlett said he was impressed with the way his batters handled the extra speed of Power.
“He throws pretty hard and a lot of our guys haven’t seen him before, so I was pretty happy with our hitting,” Bartlett said.
Looking ahead, Bartlett said the squad was primed for a re-match with St Kilda – the only team to defeat the Lions this season – on Sunday at K.H. Wearne Field.
“St Kilda’s probably been that monkey side for us this season, stretching us to 3-2 in the first game and then a 9-5 loss last time, so they’re a bit of a dark horse,” he said.
Meanwhile, Springvale’s Division One women had the weekend off after pummelling Malvern 15-5 last Wednesday night (30 January).
The ladies will now travel to Waverley on Saturday afternoon.
