Above: Springvale pitcher Ella Holien winds up during Saturday’s 6-3 win over Malvern.
By Paul Pickering
THE Springvale Lions are the only undefeated club in Baseball Victoria women’s and men’s competitions, with both sides shrugging aside their challengers on the weekend.
While the Division Three men returned to top form in routing Williamstown 10-0, the ladies of the Lions pride were less than convincing in a 6-3 win over Malvern.
Another ruthless pitching performance from Ella Holien and Kellie Manzie-Novotny ensured Springvale maintained the ascendancy throughout the afternoon, yet a disjointed offensive display gave the Lions’ coaching staff reason for concern.
Injured national team pitcher Simone Wearne, who has assumed a coaching role while recovering from a knee reconstruction, said the Lions continued to struggle with signals and base running.
“It’s starting to get a bit frustrating, because we continue to miss signals and squander opportunities every week,” she said.
While the misunderstandings are yet to prove costly for the Lions, Wearne has challenged her charges to iron out the communication issues on the training track this week.
Springvale’s top three hitters – Shae Lillywhite, Manzie-Novotny and Siobhan Taylor – were again at their best, but it was the Lions’ defence that ultimately suffocated the Braves.
“They had loaded bases a couple of times, but our pitching ended up saving the day,” Wearne said.
With a dangerous double-header against second-placed Werribee this week, Wearne said the Lions would need to improve all facets of their game to defend their unbeaten record.
Meanwhile, Springvale men’s coach Ben Bartlett was relieved to see his batters provide some support for pitching workhorse Glen Richards on Sunday.
The top-of-the-table clash with Williamstown started as a pitching duel between Richards and his opposite number Ryan Camov, only for the Lions to pounce in the third inning.
A string of hits and walks saw five runners round home plate in the third, before a further two in the fourth inning and three in the sixth brought the contest to a premature end.
Rob Hogan was the star with the bat, with his three hits resulting in four RBIs (runs batted in).
Despite a windy day on the mound, Richards added another 11 strike outs to his season’s tally of 43.
The Lions hit the road to face Port Melbourne this Sunday.
