By Gavin Staindl
THE Springvale division two men’s baseball team crushed its Berwick rival 18-3 in an embarrassing affair at Cyril Molyneux Reserve.
Berwick pitcher Stewart Brunton had a nightmare start to his beginning on the mound giving up six runs without recording an out.
Such was the Lions pressure with the bat in the first innings that Brunton had to be replaced without managing to record an out.
From there the Lions continued to rip at the Cougars defence until the mercy rule was called in the seventh inning.
Coach Glen Richards was back to his pre-season best as he recorded four hits and pitched the opening two innings giving up no hits and striking out three in his first outing on the mound since injuring his shoulder in November last year.
“I pitched pretty well I thought … and I woke up the next day and my shoulder was fine,” Richards said.
Richards also praised reliever Ben Bartlett’s relieving efforts.
“He throws a lot of strikes and goes after hitters and he pitched really well for five innings,” Richards said.
Although Springvale will not make finals they are still working hard to improve on the season.
“We will keep working, playing smart baseball and manufacturing runs,” Richards said.
MEANWHILE, the Springvale Division One women’s baseball team has clinched second position heading into next week’s first round of finals after beating rivals Springvale/Berwick 19-1 at Cyril Molyneux Reserve.
The Lions, who had already secured second position last week after upsetting Doncaster, were content in playing three pitchers and trying out new players in preparation for their semi-final against Doncaster.
Vic Brown, Cat Rowe and Ella Holien all pitched for the Lions and were also among the many hits recorded by Springvale.
Coach Mick Wearne estimated his team managed a whopping 15 hits in the five innings that consisted of runs being scored in every innings.
Wearne now faces the difficult decision of who to start on the mound against the team that has only lost one match this season.
“We have a bit of depth and it is a fair advantage having that … choosing who to pick will be a difficult problem but it is a good problem that we have.
“We have always had close games with them (Doncaster) but I am reasonably confident,” Wearne said of his team’s chances.
