By Paul Pickering
THE Springvale Lions survived a pair of rare close encounters in Baseball Victoria round two men’s and women’s action on the weekend.
Reigning premiers in both competitions, the Lions’ Division One women and Division Three men, accounted for rivals Doncaster and St Kilda to secure an early season stranglehold on top spot.
The women travelled to Doncaster to renew acquaintances with the team they have bettered in three consecutive grand finals.
Despite the impressive debut of pitcher Vic Brown through four innings, the Lions trailed for much of Saturday’s contest.
The late hitting of Emma Jenkinson, Shae Lillywhite and Kellie Wolfe allowed Springvale to draw level at 5-5 in the sixth inning, before a double in the seventh gave the Lions a match-winning lead.
Ella Holien closed out the match at the mound, denying Doncaster the chance of exacting revenge on its perennial tormentor.
Despite having five players from last year’s grand final triumph absent on Saturday, the Lions are again shaping as the team to beat this summer.
Injured star Simone Wearne, who assumed coaching duties in the absence of her father Michael last week, is recovering well from her knee reconstruction and has flagged a possible return to the mound in January.
Meanwhile, Springvale’s men’s coach Ben Bartlett described his charges as “pretty flat” in their 3-2 victory over St Kilda.
In their past three premiership-winning seasons, the Lions have rarely ventured into the ninth inning, with the seventh inning mercy rule being invoked because of a 10-run lead on most occasions.
In that time, St Kilda has been one of the few teams to push the Lions.
So it proved on Sunday, as both teams struggled to put bat on ball.
“If anything it was a pitchers’ duel for the day,” Bartlett said.
“We’d obviously rather win a bit more comfortably, but in the past few years we’ve had some pretty close contests against them.”
Despite a lacklustre performance from the Lions at the plate, there was plenty of entertainment provided by supreme Springvale pitcher Glen Richards.
The former Atlanta Braves southpaw threw an astonishing 14 strike outs in his six innings at the mound.
Having trailed 1-0 going into the sixth inning, vital hits from Matthew Greene, Rob Hogan, Mark Anderton and Bartlett – combined with the relief pitching of Matthew Pallant and Hogan – salvaged a gutsy victory for the Lions.
Springvale’s men will make the trip to Preston this Sunday, while the women host Port Melbourne on Saturday.
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