Three hits from second baseman Shae Lillywhite could not guide the Springvale Lions to victory over rival Doncaster on Saturday.By Paul Pickering
FOR the second time this season, Springvale Baseball Club has suffered the indignity of losing both men’s and women’s matches on the same weekend.
The Lions, who are the reigning premiers in both the Men’s Division Three and Women’s Division One, had already secured top spot in both competitions going into the penultimate weekend of the regular season.
But the ladies’ 18-8 defeat to main rival Doncaster was a particularly emphatic reality check, as the Lions offered a sloppy defensive display in front of a healthy home crowd on Sponsors Day at K.H. Wearne Field.
Star pitcher Ella Holien was uncharacteristically wayward on the mound early, conceding three runs in the first inning, but the Lions hitters – led by Shae Lillywhite with three – bounced back to take a 7-5 lead on a six-run haul in the bottom of the second.
From there though, a string of errors in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings ushered 13 unearned runs over the plate for Doncaster to seal the victory.
While Springvale head coach Mick Wearne was disappointed with the loss, he backed his charges to put the scrappy performance behind them.
“I’d be concerned if it was something that happened on a regular basis, but generally our defence is very sound, so I guess you put it down to a one-off game,” Wearne said.
“I was more concerned that we had a chance to show (the sponsors and crowd) how far women’s baseball has come in the last 10 years and we basically blew it.”
On Sunday, an undermanned Springvale men’s team was also guilty of wasting opportunities in its 3-1 road loss to fifth-placed Preston.
With five of their starting nine out of the side, a new-look Lions line-up was headed by emerging 19-year-old pitcher Sean Howe.
In just his second game in the ones, Howe threw five innings for just five hits, but he received little support from his team-mates with the bat.
The crucial moment of the afternoon came in the fifth innings, with the bases loaded and playing coach Ben Bartlett at the plate.
While Bartlett proceeded to bat Mathew Pallant in, a swift double play from Preston snuffed out the Lions’ chance to register the tying runs.
Still, Wearne noted that it was a valuable experience for some of the Lion cubs.
In this weekend’s final round, the Springvale men and women will all travel to Port Melbourne to face the Mariners on a jam-packed day of baseball on Saturday.
No doubt the Lions will be looking to assert their authority on the eve of another finals campaign.
