For those who can't read the email please visit the Batchat section of our website at http://www.melbournedemons.baseball.com.au/newsletter/ Calendar Well here we are at the half way mark of the season. I trust all have enjoyed the weekly summary of games and goings on. So lets see how all teams have gone so far and what lies in store for the second half of the season. For all coaches or spectators, any match reports or pictures you have keep them coming in so that Batchat can also improve. See you all next year. Next Round Saturday, January 14 th 2006 Womens Div 2 at St. Kilda Sunday, January 15 th 2006 Senior Men versus Geelong 1 sts & 2 nds at Surrey Park 3 rds & 4 ths at Geelong The Masters and Juniors start a couple of weeks later - Enjoy the break see you next year.   Results Mens 1sts – lost to Sunshine 4-3 It was a pitchers duel out at Sunshine last week on a very gusty day. Sunshine were first to open the scoring in the bottom of the first before Melbourne hit straight back in the second. Daryn Cassidy started on the mound and was sensational all game giving Melbourne a chance to win heading to the end of the game. At 3-2 going into the 9th, Melbourne was able to score 1 to tie up the scores. In the bottom of the 9th, Sunshine was able to score the run it needed to win with a base hit to left past the out stretched diving glove of Jordon. The loss gave Melbourne its 5th last inning loss in as many games. There is plenty of hard work to be done if we are to remain in Div 1.   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10   R H E Melbourne 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1   3 Sunshine 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1   4 Details The season so far: L, L, L, W, L, W, L, L, D, L, W, L, W, L, L, L, L, L The ladder show the 1sts will be in a fight over the last few games to remain in A-Grade for season 2006/07. With 9 games remaining and a fully fit team the opportunity has only to be taken. Div 1 - Round 12, 18 Dec 2005   Club P W L D Bye For Ag Pct Pts 1 Waverley 18 14 3 1 121 70 634 29 2 Blackburn 19 12 6 1 125 114 523 25 3 Geelong 18 12 6 124 65 656 24 4 Sunshine 18 11 6 1 84 68 553 23 5 Malvern 18 11 7 85 58 594 22 6 Essendon 18 9 9 61 73 455 18 7 Newport 19 7 11 1 67 87 435 15 8 Fitzroy 19 5 14 73 113 393 10 9 Melbourne 18 4 13 1 73 101 420 9 10 Upwey FTG 19 4 14 1 59 123 324 9 Mens 2nds – beat Sunshine 4-2 The seconds struggled on the weekend but did enough to win against a vastly different Sunshinie outfit to the first encounter. Andrew Mann started on the mound after a bye in the morning and proceeded to strike out the side. The performance was sensational striking out 12 batters. After coming out of the game to play short - a disputed call saw him thrown out of the game, leaving the team one short. Gavin Mann came out of the stands to play left and with the game leveling run at 1st, the ball was smacked to left, with little time to react, 1 step, back, 1 foward and the ball was caught. Game winning catch to Gavin with Ben Telford Getting the win. The season so far: L, L, W, L, L, W, L, L, L, W, W, W The seconds may pay the price come finals time. A quick glance at the ladder shows them two games and percentage outside finals. There have been many narrow losses including 2 runs against Waverley, 2 runs against Geelong, 2 runs to Malvern. If improvements can be made the seconds should feature in finals baseball this year. The winning streak is official now the 3 wins in a row.   Club P W L D Bye For Ag Pct Pts 1 Waverley 12 11 1 93 31 750 22 2 Geelong 12 9 3 74 34 685 18 3 Malvern 12 8 4 74 47 612 16 4 Blackburn 12 6 4 2 86 49 637 14 5 Essendon 12 7 5 62 52 544 14 6 Fitzroy 12 5 7 70 65 519 10 7 Melbourne 12 5 7 53 81 396 10 8 Newport 12 4 7 1 50 58 463 9 9 Upwey FTG 12 3 8 1 61 90 404 7 10 Sunshine 12 0 12 21 137 133 0 Mens 3rds – beat Sunshine 6-5 The thirds had a slow start to the game giving Sunshine a 2 run lead in the first. Our bats took a coulple of innings to get started but when they did we took the lead and controlled the game till the end. Jamie Hough had a great day with the bat with 2 doubles and a single which put us on the board at the right time when runners were on base. Ben Hart threw a fantastic 88 pitches holding Sunshine to just the 2 runs untill he was dragged due to the 90 pitch count. Adam Promnitz came in to close the game giving up 3 runs making it 6-5 our way into the last innings. Adam closed the last innings by striking out 2 of the last 3 hitters for Sunshine winning the game 6-5. Fantastic effort by the whole team. The season so far: L, L, W, L, L, W, L, L, L, L, L, W The thirds have struggled for a consistent team this year as well as a lack of experience. Although they have been competitive in stages and in some games it is the consistency they are searching for.   Club P W L D Bye For Ag Pct Pts 1 Malvern 12 11 1 188 47 800 22 2 Blackburn 12 10 1 1 143 38 790 21 3 Waverley 12 9 3 121 60 669 18 4 Geelong 12 8 4 109 65 626 16 5 Upwey FTG 12 5 6 1 112 92 549 11 6 Essendon 12 4 6 2 71 88 447 10 7 Newport 12 4 7 1 75 116 393 9 8 Fitzroy 12 3 8 1 94 106 470 7 9 Melbourne 12 3 9 43 142 232 6 10 Sunshine 12 0 12 34 236 126 0   Mens 4ths – lost to Blackburn 25-5 No match report submitted The season so far: W, L, L, W, D, L, L, L, W, W, L, L The fourths have had some good wins and also some indifferent performances. The have struggled for a consistent team with a total of 22 players playing for the 4ths this year. A few more wins and the 4ths will be able to play finals.     Club P W L D Bye For Ag Pct Pts 1 Blackburn 12 11 1 187 68 733 22 2 Upwey FTG 12 10 2 129 77 626 20 3 Geelong 12 8 4 148 85 635 16 4 Fitzroy 12 8 4 126 97 565 16 5 Newport 12 6 6 120 100 546 12 6 Melbourne 12 4 7 1 95 147 393 9 7 Waverley 12 4 8 87 118 424 8 8 Sunshine 12 3 9 96 166 366 6 9 Essendon 12 3 9 56 158 262 6 10 Malvern 12 2 9 1 107 135 442 5   Ladies - Werribee beat the girls 2-17 At the Christmas break, the girls find themselves in equal third position with only percentage seperating them from 6th. There are 8 games remaining in the season with plenty of time for Melbourne to put a gap in the rest of the pack.   Club P W L D Bye For Ag Pct Pts 1 Werribee 13 6 7 110 151 422 12 2 Ormond Glenhuntly 13 5 8 80 125 390 10 3 Melbourne 13 3 10 107 162 398 6 4 Chelsea 13 3 10 93 169 355 6 5 Footscray 13 3 10 80 171 319 6 6 St. Kilda 13 3 10 76 203 272 6   Masters – beat Greensborough 7-2 No match report submitted The masters find themselves in 4th position at the half was stage of the season. With six games left against the top three teams, the bottom and 5th and 7th it will be a challenge for the masters but hey, they have the experience.   Club P W L D Bye For Ag Pct Pts 1 Blackburn 8 7 0 1 58 15 795 15 2 Sunshine 8 5 2 1 36 19 655 11 3 Springvale 8 4 3 1 37 29 561 9 4 Melbourne 8 4 3 1 36 31 537 9 5 Essendon 8 3 4 1 53 26 671 7 6 Greensborough 8 3 4 1 35 33 515 7 7 Newport 8 2 5 1 31 55 361 5 8 Waverley 8 0 7 1 13 91 125 1   Under 18 Melbourne – lost to Blackburn 6-2 No match report submitted Under 18 Melbourne/Doncaster – beat Spring/Berw 13-5 No match report submitted The season so far: With 4 rounds left both teams are in finals contention.     Club P W L D Bye For Ag Pct Pts 1 Blackburn 10 9 0 1 1 111 28 799 19 2 Cheltenham 10 8 1 1 1 103 41 715 17 3 Melbourne 10 8 2 1 121 34 781 16 4 Will/Port 10 5 3 2 1 94 65 591 12 5 Donc/Melb 10 3 5 2 1 73 72 503 8 6 Spring/Berw 10 4 6 1 63 64 496 8 7 Malvern 10 2 6 2 1 57 111 339 6 8 Footscray 9 1 8 2 46 133 257 2 9 Moor/Bon 9 0 9 2 27 153 150 0   Under 16 – beat Sandringham 11-2 No match report submitted The 16s are only 1 game from the 4 with a bye and 4 games remaining.   Club P W L D Bye For Ag Pct Pts 1 Waverley 10 9 1 1 98 31 760 18 2 Fitzroy 10 7 2 1 1 68 45 602 15 3 Newport 10 7 3 1 64 43 598 14 4 Upwey FTG 10 6 4 1 73 63 537 12 5 Cheltenham 10 5 5 1 73 43 629 10 6 Melbourne 10 5 5 1 66 65 504 10 7 Essendon 10 4 5 1 1 80 53 602 9 8 Bonbeach 10 4 5 1 1 70 62 530 9 9 Geelong 9 4 4 1 2 51 63 447 9 10 Sandringham 10 2 8 1 52 71 423 4 11 Werribee 11 0 11 20 176 102 0 Under 14 Demons – beat Geelong 9-4 No match report submitted With 4 games left Melbourne is currently in 3rd. The remaining games are against Waverley, Doncaster, Werribee and Sandringham. This is sure to be a close season.   Club P W L D Bye For Ag Pct Pts 1 Werribee 10 9 1 132 29 820 18 2 Waverley 10 8 2 112 34 767 16 3 Melbourne 10 8 2 129 50 721 16 4 Sandringham 10 6 3 1 87 78 527 13 5 Cheltenham 10 6 4 100 75 571 12 6 Doncaster 10 4 5 1 83 106 439 9 7 Bonbeach 10 4 6 48 88 353 8 8 Geelong 10 2 8 61 127 325 4 9 Essendon 10 2 8 31 89 258 4 10 Upwey FTG 10 0 10 33 140 191 0   Under 14 Red Sox – beat Doncaster 14-7 The Red Sox finished the pre-Christmas part of the draw with a workmanlike 14 – 7 win over the Doncaster Dragons at Macleay Park leaving the team in 3 rd position on the ladder but with a tough road home in the New Year. Three of the last 4 games are against the other teams in the 4 and so the team will need to return from holidays sharp and fresh and ready for some hard fought games. After an impressive first innings in which Alex, returning from the State team, allowed only 2 runs (those coming from a misfield) and then the Red Sox made 7 runs for no outs (with Jack, Jai, Ravi, Hugh, Courtney, Ed and Chris all coming home with help from Alex and Tom who were left stranded) the game fell into something of a malaise after umpire Stu Batten fell victim to a migraine and had to leave the field. Rod Vapp did an admirable job as Stu’s replacement (I think he rather relished it) but the team seemed to lose concentration. We trust Stu has recovered – it was a shame he missed Jai’s fine pitching performance – but the firm Christmas party will do that to you. So will a nasty whack from a fast ball pitch. In the second innings Alex struck out 3 batters allowing 6 walks for 2 runs. Only Jack could score for the Red Sox. Jai replaced Alex on the mound in the 3 rd and allowed no runs with Conor taking a good catch at short stop. Ed and Chris both scored after big hits with Jimmy Mac credited with the RBI. Jai flyed out and Jack was pinged on the double play. In the 4 th, Jai was again able to shut down the Dragons with some fine fielding at 2 nd by Jimmy tossing in to 1 st. Ravi, Hugh and Conor all scored after hits. Doncaster rallied in the 5 th innings with 4 big base hits leading to 3 runs. The innings looked menacing but was closed after Hugh picked up on the run at left field and from just outside the diamond threw perfectly to Tom at 1 st to beat the runner. Only Jai scored for Melbourne in the bottom of the innings. In the 6 th innings Tom replaced Jai for 3 up and 3 down. Conor made a nice stop and tag and, never out of the play, Jai made a nice throw to 1 st and caught a fly ball. Unfortunately Melbourne couldn’t capitalize and also failed to score. Congratulation to the team for a fine performance over the first part of the season. Best wishes everyone for a wonderful Christmas and New Year and we look forward to everyone raring to go in the first game back against top of the table Blackburn. The season so far: With 4 games left Melbourne are inside the top 4 by a game. A good percentage is sure to help come finals time. Games are against Blackburn, Berwick, Cheltenham and Sandringham. It is sure to be a tough run home.   Club P W L D Bye For Ag Pct Pts 1 Blackburn 10 9 1 148 34 813 18 2 Cheltenham 10 9 1 150 57 725 18 3 Melbourne 10 8 2 150 83 644 16 4 Sandringham 10 7 3 113 74 604 14 5 Malvern 10 7 3 128 88 593 14 6 Waverley 10 6 4 147 103 588 12 7 Berwick 10 5 5 95 79 546 10 8 Springvale 10 4 6 91 129 414 8 9 Upwey FTG 10 2 8 87 140 383 4 10 Doncaster 10 2 8 70 145 326 4 11 SLBC-Haileybury 10 1 9 51 194 208 2 12 Moorabbin 10 0 10 54 164 248 0 Big thanks to Alan for his sensational match reports each week so far!   Under 12 Demons – beat Waverley Cougars 11-1 Under 12's Melbourne Demons 15 Defeated Blackburn 3 This game started out pretty even with both teams scoring 3 runs by the top of the 3rd dig in what seemed a very nervous start. It was the Melbourne Demons who then blasted away in the bottom of the 3rd with an impressive 7 runs with the highlight being 2 big stand up doubles from Jack and Brandon, the Demons never looked back. Brandon pitched for the game and was right on the ball striking out 9 players and conceding only 1 BB for the match and an impressive pick off to 2 to cap off his day. Brandon earned himself 'Man of the Match' with an equally impressive at bat with 2 hits including a huge double. Excellent fieldwork from the Demons held Blackburn well. Klara again had taken 2nd base while Patrick covered Short. Stephen played 1st and did a good job in his first time in this position. Jack caught for his second game this year showing he has not lost the touch with a very impressive display especially his throw-overs to 2. The batting stakes were good although not as strong as the game against the Waverley Panthers, recording 10 walks and 7 hits for the day. Brandon 2 ( 1 double) and 1 each to Klara, Patrick, Jack (double), Sebastian and Ted. The Melbourne Demons head into a well earned break taking top spot on the ladder, well done team! We start it all again on January 29th for round 11 at Upwey with training on Wednesday 25th January. Thanks to Klara for the special Xmas gift, I'll catch many fly balls with this one! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The season so far: Top spot - What more can be said. It says a lot about the dedication of Rod and the players and parents. With 3 games and a bye left, finals are assured but can they go one better and knock off Waverley this year? We will have to wait and see.   Club P W L D Bye For Ag Pct Pts 1 Melbourne 9 8 1 1 126 56 692 16 2 Berwick 9 8 1 1 108 59 647 16 3 Wav Panthers 8 7 1 2 160 56 741 14 4 Doncaster 9 6 3 1 150 96 610 12 5 Wav Cougars 9 5 4 1 125 89 584 10 6 Upwey FTG 9 3 6 1 83 154 350 6 7 Blackburn 9 1 8 1 85 146 368 2 8 Malvern 9 1 8 1 82 150 353 2 9 Sandringham 9 1 8 1 55 180 234 2 Under 14 Domestic Both under 14 teams have the finals all but stitched up. There are 4 games left. Good luck all. UNDER 14 - Round 7 TEAM PL W L D B Points RF RA Run % Melbourne RED 7 5 1 1 11 65 22 295.5 Melbourne BLUE 7 5 1 1 11 59 21 281.0 Fitzroy 7 3 3 1 7 53 50 106.0 Preston 7 3 3 1 7 41 62 66.1 Malvern ASTRO's 7 1 5 1 3 35 67 52.2 Malvern INDIANS 7 1 5 1 3 35 72 48.6 Under 12 Domestic Melbourne Blue have the finals pretty much secure and the red team is only just outside. With 4 games left both teams are able to make finals. Both teams have improved greatly so far and with more hard work can improve further. UNDER 12 - Round 7 TEAM PL W L D B Points RF RA Run % Oakleigh 7 6 0 1 13 61 32 191 Melbourne BLUE 7 5 1 1 11 58 19 305 Malvern ASTRO'S 7 4 2 1 9 55 36 153 Malvern DEVILRAYS 7 3 2 2 8 51 33 155 Malvern ORIELS 7 3 2 2 8 48 41 117 Preston 7 3 3 1 7 53 35 151 Melbourne RED 7 3 3 1 7 39 53 74 Malvern BLUEJAY'S 7 1 5 1 3 28 48 58 Fitzroy 7 1 5 1 3 29 71 41 Malvern MARINERS 7 0 6 1 1 20 74 27   Editors/Comments Andrew Williams & Matt Houlden Suggestions and contributions to demonsbc@yahoo.com 05/06 Number 2 This copywrited publication is presented by authority of the office of the chairman of the Melbourne Baseball Club and may not be reproduced or retransmitted in any form the accounts and descriptions of this article may not be disseminated without express written consent.