Lions make light of injury pain

By Gavin Staindl
THEY are the walking wounded of Springvale but the Division Two Lions baseball team won’t give in just yet.
With a growing injury list to match the increasing string of losses, Springvale dropped to eighth on the ladder with an 11-8 loss to Preston at Wearne Reserve on Sunday.
While Neil Cavanaugh (back) and Brad Hertzler (arm) carried debilitating injuries into the match, Ben Bartlett and Miles Barnden were added to the injury list two hours later.
After giving up a 7-3 lead through four innings, the injured Hertzler had to be replaced on the mound by one of Springvale’s few fit pitchers in Barnden.
Barnden wrestled back a 7-8 lead heading into the final innings before he injured his quadriceps at which point he lost all momentum and control.
Making matters worse for Springvale was Bartlett who suffered a groin injury while playing the role of catcher.
The Lions’ fragile situation was summed up in the ninth innings when Barnden threw a past ball behind Bartlett who hobbled to retrieve it while Barnden awkwardly limped from the mound to cover home plate.
Although the crippling situation led to the Lions third straight loss, coach Mick Wearne said all you can do is laugh.
“The whole thing was pretty funny … but we did struggle to get through the game,” Wearne said.
After grabbing the 8-7 lead, the Lions eventually withered and a Preston home run in the ninth gave Springvale its fifth loss in six games.
Wearne joined junior Ben Rosewall to come in as replacements for Cavanaugh and Scott Baillie who was ejected for arguing balls and strikes.
Although the team still remains deep in the hunt for finals, Wearne has a more pressing concern.
“We need players.
“We just don’t have enough fit players to fill a side every week.
“That doesn’t mean to say we are not out of finals yet, but we’ll be more focused on getting players to games,” he said.
The Springvale Lions Division One women’s team has also got woes of its own as it comes to grips with a 10-1 loss to Doncaster at Deep Creek Reserve.
Ella Holien and Cat Row both shared pitching duties as the Lions try to regain form heading into the last two weeks before finals.
The Lions have only played two games since Christmas and will look to get more game time into the girls when they play fellow Springvale side, the Pumas, next week.
The Pumas are coming off an eight game winning streak that most recently includes a 10-3 victory over Malvern at Kooyong Park.
The Pumas need the two points against the Lions to secure a top two finish but if the Lions clinch the win next week as well as a win the following week they can snatch second place.