By Gavin Staindl
IN a crucial Division Two round, Springvale has found itself adrift of the leaders after they lost both the Wednesday and Sunday games to the “lucky” Waverley Wildcats.
The Lions jumped out to the early lead in Wednesday night’s encounter at K. H. Wearne Reserve but was not able to hold onto the four run lead as the Wildcats poured on seven runs in the bottom of the third inning to take the game 10-7.
A valiant attempt to rally in the final innings restored some hope in the Lions batters but two line drives that slammed into stationary fielders left the team deflated.
“They got lucky to win in that (Wednesday night’s) game … they hit some lucky flares (in the scoring third innings) that went between fielders,” coach Glen Richards said.
“We came focussed and ready to play … but there is not much you can say.
“We should have won,” a disappointed Richards said.
The Sunday game at Napier Park was another game which, according to Richards, should have been won but instead resulted in a 3-1 loss.
Similar to the Wednesday night game, the Lions hit out early but a mid-game revival and solid pitching prevented any runners from advancing around the diamond.
The Lions in the third and fourth innings had runners on base with one out but on both occasions they were not able to convert the runners into runs.
“We missed out on a lot of opportunities,” Richards said.
Nevertheless, Richards was quick to applaud the consistent hitting of Peter Higgins as well as the “outstanding” efforts of the week’s two starting pitchers, Miles Barnden and Scott Baillie.
MEANWHILE, the Springvale Division One women have beaten their cross-town rivals Springvale-Berwick 2-1 in an epic encounter at K. H. Wearne Reserve that fittingly came down to a walk off hit by Cat Rowe.
It had been a pitching duel all day between Springvale’s Rowe and Springvale-Berwick’s Risa Nakashima that only produced a combined six hits from the seven innings.
Heading into the final innings the two pitchers were still throwing strong and with the score locked up at 1-1 the game was up for grabs.
Japanese import Kei Matsumoto led off the bottom of the seventh innings for the Lions and fortuitously landed a pop-up behind the third baseman to get on base.
After an effective bunt that allowed Matsumoto to reach second base, star pitcher Cat Rowe squared off against opposing pitcher Nakashima and sent a deep ball into the outfield to score Matsumoto and in doing so scored the Lions’ eighth win.
“The win nearly cements a spot in the finals for us,” Lions coach Mick Wearne said.
“It was a pitching duel and Cat had her best game for a few years,” he said.
Rowe, who pitched all seven innings, gave up only one run, three hits and two walks on her way to hitting a walk off run in her own win.
In front of a decent crowd at the home of Springvale Baseball, Springvale extended their winning streak over their cross-town rivals to two wins.
Earlier this year, many of the former Springvale players lent themselves to the newly formed Springvale-Berwick and as a result, the two matches between the two teams have produced a mixture of emotions.
“It was played in good spirit … competitive spirit. It is a strong, friendly rivalry between us,” Wearne said.
The win, along with the 11-1 drubbing of Port Melbourne last Wednesday night at K. H. Wearne Reserve, puts Springvale two games clear of rivals, Springvale-Berwick.
