1sts
The firsts have put well beyond all doubt relegation and have won both of their games on the weekend and will finish in 6th place on the ladder when the season draws to a close with next Saturdays game at Essendon.
Game 1 - Saturday. 1sts vs Sandringham at Sandringham
We defeated Sandringham 11 - 0 in 7 innings. The 10 run mercy rule was applied after 7 completed innings. The 1sts had 14 hits to the Royals 3. Andy Mann was outstanding and had the ball on a string to get the win going the distance on 3 hits and striking out 5.
Mark Doubleday led the way at the plate hitting 2 doubles & a single and driving in 2 runs. He was closely followed by coach Brett Caulfield with 3 singles and 3 runs batted in. Other singles went to Jordan Mitchelhill ( 3 ), Nathan Jones ( 2 rbi ), Ian Semple ( 2 rbi ), Matt Houlden, Stuart Cox & Michael Dunn. Robby Hondo drove in 2 runs.
Game 2 - Sunday. MCC vs Sunshine at Surrey Park
1sts defeated Sunshine 13 -10 in a feat that not even a number of state teams in the Claxton Shield could achieve.
Tim Frost started on the mound for MCC and got the win going 6 1/3 innings for 5 hits 6 strikeouts and 3 earned runs. Brendan Ratcliffe came on in relief over 2 2/3 innings giving up 6 hits and 2 earned runs.
Greg Wiltshire took the loss for Sunshine and was knocked out of the game after 4 innings giving up 8 hits and 3 earned runs.
MCC hits went to Jordan Mitchelhill who hit a triple and single and drove in 2 runs. Ian Semple also hit a triple.
There were plenty of Doubles with Mark Doubleday hitting two of them ( 1 rbi ), Micheal Dunn ( 2 rbi ), Matt Houlden ( as well as 2 singles ) & Tim Frost ( and a single ). Singles to Coach Brett Caulfield ( 2 rbi ), Rhett Mitchelhill ( 2 with 1 rbi ) & Brendan Ratcliff ( 2 ).
The Seconds just missed the finals on percentage after comprehensively beating Sunshine
Div 1 - Round 18, 25 Feb 2007
| |
Team |
P |
W |
L |
D |
Bye |
Pts |
For |
Ag |
Pct |
|
| 1 |
Waverley |
25 |
20 |
5 |
|
|
40 |
175 |
90 |
660 |
| 2 |
Essendon |
26 |
18 |
8 |
|
|
36 |
195 |
86 |
694 |
| 3 |
Blackburn |
26 |
18 |
8 |
|
|
36 |
159 |
102 |
609 |
| 4 |
Geelong |
26 |
16 |
10 |
|
|
32 |
125 |
81 |
607 |
| 5 |
Malvern |
26 |
13 |
12 |
1 |
|
27 |
133 |
125 |
516 |
| 6 |
Melbourne |
26 |
11 |
14 |
1 |
|
23 |
111 |
140 |
442 |
| 7 |
Sunshine |
25 |
10 |
15 |
|
|
20 |
97 |
132 |
424 |
| 8 |
Bonbeach |
26 |
9 |
16 |
1 |
|
19 |
140 |
154 |
476 |
| 9 |
Newport |
26 |
9 |
16 |
1 |
|
19 |
92 |
147 |
385 |
| 10 |
Sandringham |
26 |
3 |
23 |
|
|
6 |
73 |
243 |
231 |
Div 1 Res - Round 18, 25 Feb 2007
| |
Team |
P |
W |
L |
D |
Bye |
Pts |
For |
Ag |
Pct |
|
| 1 |
Geelong |
18 |
15 |
2 |
1 |
|
31 |
164 |
63 |
723 |
| 2 |
Blackburn |
18 |
12 |
3 |
3 |
|
27 |
130 |
59 |
688 |
| 3 |
Essendon |
18 |
10 |
5 |
3 |
|
23 |
119 |
52 |
696 |
| 4 |
Waverley |
18 |
9 |
6 |
3 |
|
21 |
112 |
53 |
679 |
| 5 |
Melbourne |
18 |
9 |
6 |
3 |
|
21 |
84 |
76 |
525 |
| 6 |
Newport |
18 |
9 |
8 |
1 |
|
19 |
120 |
99 |
548 |
| 7 |
Malvern |
18 |
9 |
8 |
1 |
|
19 |
89 |
86 |
509 |
| 8 |
Sandringham |
18 |
3 |
13 |
2 |
|
8 |
29 |
176 |
142 |
| 9 |
Bonbeach |
18 |
3 |
14 |
1 |
|
7 |
71 |
107 |
399 |
| 10 |
Sunshine |
18 |
1 |
15 |
2 |
|
4 |
38 |
185 |
170 |
Div 1 Thirds - Round 18, 25 Feb 2007
| |
Team |
P |
W |
L |
D |
Bye |
Pts |
For |
Ag |
Pct |
|
| 1 |
Blackburn |
18 |
13 |
4 |
1 |
|
27 |
186 |
105 |
639 |
| 2 |
Sunshine |
18 |
12 |
4 |
2 |
|
26 |
172 |
107 |
617 |
| 3 |
Geelong |
18 |
12 |
5 |
1 |
|
25 |
186 |
83 |
691 |
| 4 |
Waverley |
18 |
10 |
6 |
2 |
|
22 |
167 |
138 |
548 |
| 5 |
Malvern |
18 |
10 |
7 |
1 |
|
21 |
185 |
124 |
599 |
| 6 |
Bonbeach |
18 |
9 |
7 |
2 |
|
20 |
142 |
125 |
532 |
| 7 |
Essendon |
18 |
6 |
10 |
2 |
|
14 |
119 |
135 |
469 |
| 8 |
Melbourne |
18 |
4 |
11 |
3 |
|
11 |
71 |
160 |
307 |
| 9 |
Newport |
18 |
4 |
13 |
1 |
|
9 |
94 |
165 |
363 |
| 10 |
Sandringham |
18 |
1 |
14 |
3 |
|
5 |
70 |
250 |
219 |
Div 1 Fourths - Round 18, 25 Feb 2007
| |
Team |
P |
W |
L |
D |
Bye |
Pts |
For |
Ag |
Pct |
|
| 1 |
Geelong |
18 |
15 |
3 |
|
|
30 |
216 |
90 |
706 |
| 2 |
Blackburn |
18 |
12 |
4 |
2 |
|
26 |
175 |
87 |
668 |
| 3 |
Waverley |
18 |
12 |
6 |
|
|
24 |
215 |
125 |
632 |
| 4 |
Malvern |
18 |
11 |
6 |
1 |
|
23 |
206 |
153 |
574 |
| 5 |
Melbourne |
18 |
10 |
7 |
1 |
|
21 |
152 |
156 |
494 |
| 6 |
Essendon |
18 |
6 |
10 |
2 |
|
14 |
109 |
152 |
418 |
| 7 |
Newport |
18 |
7 |
11 |
|
|
14 |
114 |
168 |
404 |
| 8 |
Bonbeach |
18 |
6 |
11 |
1 |
|
13 |
141 |
163 |
464 |
| 9 |
Sandringham |
18 |
4 |
14 |
|
|
8 |
100 |
228 |
305 |
| 10 |
Sunshine |
18 |
3 |
14 |
1 |
|
7 |
92 |
210 |
305 |
Div 4 West - Round 18, 25 Feb 2007
| |
Team |
P |
W |
L |
D |
Bye |
Pts |
For |
Ag |
Pct |
|
| 1 |
Melton A |
17 |
15 |
0 |
2 |
|
32 |
249 |
53 |
825 |
| 2 |
Fitzroy A |
17 |
11 |
4 |
2 |
|
24 |
181 |
108 |
626 |
| 3 |
Werribee |
17 |
8 |
7 |
2 |
|
18 |
138 |
126 |
523 |
| 4 |
Fitzroy B |
16 |
8 |
6 |
2 |
|
18 |
142 |
146 |
493 |
| 5 |
Melbourne |
8 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
|
11 |
58 |
89 |
395 |
| 6 |
Melton B |
16 |
4 |
11 |
1 |
|
9 |
110 |
159 |
409 |
| 7 |
Williamstown |
17 |
4 |
13 |
|
|
8 |
114 |
217 |
344 |
| 8 |
North Balwyn |
17 |
3 |
14 |
|
|
6 |
108 |
221 |
328 |
Masters Div 1 - Round 14, 26 Feb 2007
| |
Team |
P |
W |
L |
D |
Bye |
Pts |
For |
Ag |
Pct |
|
| 1 |
Blackburn |
14 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
|
25 |
120 |
53 |
694 |
| 2 |
Springvale |
14 |
11 |
3 |
|
|
22 |
99 |
70 |
586 |
| 3 |
Essendon |
14 |
9 |
4 |
1 |
|
19 |
109 |
59 |
649 |
| 4 |
Greensborough |
14 |
7 |
7 |
|
|
14 |
103 |
86 |
545 |
| 5 |
Melbourne |
14 |
6 |
8 |
|
|
12 |
80 |
84 |
488 |
| 6 |
Bonbeach |
14 |
4 |
9 |
1 |
|
9 |
89 |
112 |
443 |
| 7 |
Newport |
14 |
3 |
10 |
1 |
|
7 |
55 |
132 |
294 |
| 8 |
Sunshine |
14 |
2 |
12 |
|
|
4 |
48 |
113 |
298 |
Under 16s
Melbourne V Werribee - 18/02/07
Our very young U/16 State League team finished off the season in fine style, thumping Preston 14-4 the week before and finishing off the season with an impreessive 8-7 win over Werribee at home on Sunday.Werribee boasted 2 VIS players Thomas Shaw a pitcher and Oliver Box.Werribee scored a run in the first dig and kept our boys at bay with our equalising turn at bat. In the 2nd dig Campbell Wiggins proceeded to keep the Werribbe offense quiet - and then our young demons lit up the VIS pitcher collecting 5 safe hits and 5 runs, with Thomas Arthur picking up 2 RBIs with a safe hit to Right Field and Justin Gourlay's SAF to deep Centre.
Campbell continued to impress on the mound ( and with the bat another 2 safe hits ) until his arm became sore and was replaced by Alex Hondo. Leading the opposition 6-2 going into the last dig, the boys for the 5th time this year, blew a winning lead with 3 errors and surrendering the lead 7-6. After some encourging words and loss of hair, our boys showed some G & D, picking up another 3 safe hits, with Thomas Arthur collecting his 2nd hit for the game and Alex Hondo sticking one just inside the Left Field fence...we scored the required 2 runs and won the game.
Encouraging signs with the bat were also shown by Bryce Taylor and Ben Cull who also collected a safe hit each. Melbourne 8 defeated Werribee 7
Thoams Arhur - 2 Singles
Campbell Wiggins - 2 Singles
Alex Hondo - 1 Double
Justin Gourlay - 1 Single
Bryce Taylor - 1 Single
Ben Cull - 1 Single
Under 14 vs Cheltenham in Semi Final
Under 14 Metro 1st Final Melbourne lost to Cheltenham
|
| 1
| 2
| 3
| 4
| 5
| 6
| Total |
| Cheltenham
| 4
| 1
| 1
| 4
| 8
|
| 18 |
| Melbourne
| 1
| 1
| 4
| 0
| 1
|
| 7 |
The Melbourne Demons had a chance to progress in the Finals but they needed to play above themselves and make few errors to win against a hungry teams like Cheltenham. Unfortunately the passion was not there and many errors cost the team the game.
There was a moment in the bottom of the 3rd where Melbourne had clawed back to level the scores thanks to a massive 2 rum home run from Chris Vapp however Cheltenham kicked away again off errors in the 4th.
Finals in any sport need to be played with a renewed vigor and each player needs to find that little extra within to shine. A strong team will always be victorious over a team of a few strong players.
This game ends the Under 14's Metro season. It has been a great ride with some fantastic moments to cherish. This team with predominately bottom age players supported by a few older players who had never played Baseball before, did a remarkable job to make Finals as the only Melbourne Junior team in Sunday's competition. Well done and thanks for allowing me to coach you.
All the best for next year!
TEEBALL TOURNAMENT REPORT 2007
MELBOURNE TEEBALLERS DEFY THE ODDS FOR A FANTASTIC DAY
IT didn’t look good when our tiny Teeballers lined up in their first round robin game against a professional-looking Waverley outfit. Decked out in proper baseball gear and looking much older than most of our players, the Panthers were an intimidating sight.
But the Demons took it in their stride, doing their best and doing everyone proud. Wilson Swan took two great catches and Natasha, Wilson and Jessica were all involved in great plays taking their opponents by surprise. It was a low-key start to what turned out to be a fantastic day at Saturday’s Cheltenham round robin. Everyone contributed something special, like Ethan Smoothy bringing himself and three others home three times at the end of an innings. It was an amazing achievement for our youngest and smallest player. Liam Grant also took the catch of the day – a spectacular overhead grab.
It was a long but rewarding day. Melbourne played Waverley Panthers at 9am, Cheltenham Stallions at 10.10am, Doncaster Dragons at 11.20am, Moorabbin Panthers at 12.45pm and Werribee Giants in our “mini-final” at 2pm.
Our undermanned and inexperienced Teeballers were sensational, improving in every game. They were joined by Under 12 Brett Cronin, who was a fantastic help. Waverley gave us a tough start, as they were obviously older and more experienced. Despite the odds being stacked against them, Mark and Liam made it home and everyone tried hard in the field. Wilson took two great catches as pitcher, and Natasha tagged an opponent out at first and combined with Jessica for an out on second.
The second match saw Jessica make it home twice and Natasha, Wilson, Liam and Brett join her. Wilson and Liam combined well for several outs on first base. Game three saw Wilson and Liam combining well on first base again, and Liam took the catch of the day as pitcher. Wilson also took a great catch. Melbourne scored really well as the day progressed, taking it right up to Doncaster, Moorabbin and Werribee.
Our players made it home more than 60 times for the tournament, which was remarkable given their lack of experience.
Coach Brock Donley was ably assisted again by Mark’s Dad Len and Rodney Hough, his son Brandon and Jess’s dad Brian helped umpire. Liam’s Dad Larry also scored tirelessly all day, kept busy by all those runs! Not to forget the support from Lee Hough and the Melbourne Demons mascot!
Here is a brief run-down of each player’s highlights:
LIAM GRANT: Hit hard all day, and took a sensational catch against high-ranked Waverley. Combined with Wilson for numerous outs on first base, and executed a double play against Doncaster.
NATASHA DONLEY: Led the batting with some great hits, and combined well with Jessica on second base for several outs.
WILSON SWAN: Made some great hits, fielded sensationally and took three great catches. Teamed well with Liam in the field.
SHANAE SMOOTHY: Did well all day, tried hard in the field and made a great out on third base against Moorabbin.
ETHAN SMOOTHY: The great improver, who hit himself and three players home at the end of an innings three times. A sensational effort!
MARK DAVIDSON: Played well all day, trying hard in the field and making some great hits. Made it home many times.
JESSICA CRITCHLEY-ROY: Did some great fielding, combining with Natasha for two outs on second base in the one game. Did well on third base against Moorabbin.
BRETT CRONIN: Fantastic hard hitter who made plenty of runs and was one of the best fielders all day.
After a nailbiter against Werribee Brock presented everyone with a certificate and key ring, telling them how proud he was of their efforts.
The kids had a sensational day and everyone went home feeling two metres tall – especially Ethan.
On behalf of all the players and their families, we’d like to thank Brock for a fantastic season of coaching and encouragement.
It was really appreciated and we wish him all the best with the under 14s next season.
Click on the link for a photo gallery with more photos | 
