Lions first loss

By Gavin Staindl
THE SPRINGVALE Lions lost their first game of the season, going down 10-4 to Melbourne at K. H. Wearne Reserve.
All of Springvale’s runs came in a flurry courtesy of a grand slam by Glen Richards in the third inning that put the Lions up 4-3.
With both teams fighting to remain the only Division Two side undefeated through four rounds, Melbourne bounced back in the sixth inning with six runs of its own.
Walks and errors all contributed to the six unearned runs that gave Melbourne the insurmountable 9-4 lead.
It is the first time the young Melbourne side has been able to topple the Lions since the re-formatting of the competition in 2008.
But Melbourne entered last Sunday’s match with added depth and experience enabling it to hold onto the lead and retain top spot on the Division Two ladder.
Coach Mick Wearne was not fazed his team’s perfect record was broken, rather he was upbeat that his side could stick with one the best teams in the competition.
“They’ve got a good bunch of young guys and they’ve got an American playing for them so they’re pretty close to the benchmark,” Wearne said.
“We were light on for pitching whereas they had the full week off to rest their pitchers,” Wearne said.
On Thursday night, Springvale beat Williamstown 9-1 at the Melbourne Ball Park, extending their record to 4-0 but in doing so they were forced to throw star import pitcher, Brad Hertzler.
This meant Hertzler was unable to back it up for Sunday’s game, leaving the pitching duties with Glen Richards who struggled for control.
“He was a bit wayward and gave up three runs in the first few innings.
“Glen (Richards) pitched four and Scott Bailie pitched five and he (Bailie) did a great job.
Springvale’s pitchers will have to be on their game through the month of November with some important games likely to test their durability.
Springvale will next week play ex-Division One team Bonbeach before playing in-form Sunshine and St Kilda.
The Springvale Division One women’s teams both had comfortable victories.
After dropping their first two games, the Springvale Pumas have bounced back to 2-2 with their latest scalp one to remember.
The Pumas trounced Geelong 29-0 at their own home ground while the Springvale Lions took care of Port Melbourne, beating them 15-2 at Longstaff Field.