Mens 1 sts – beat Newport 10-3
Relying heavily on pitching thus far the Melbourne offence finally hit near top gear in a 10-3 demolition of Newport. Will Keys was the most devastating going four for five and scoring three runs to lead a fourteen hit barrage. Mark Doubleday (2 RBI) and Michael Dunn (1 RBI) both pitched in with doubles. Daryn Cassidy continued his one-man demolition of VBA hitters as he pitched six strong innings for the win, overpowering the Newport hitters early in the game with his exploding fastball. Brendan Ratcliffe then held them scoreless in the last three with a combination of his breaking ball and deceptive fastball. The defence was excellent again despite regular shortstop Stuart Cox having to catch in place of the injured Brett Caulfield who was limited to DH duties.
Mens 2 nds – drew Newport 5-5
In another tightly fought contest the 2's battled hard all game behind another solid outing from Tim Frost and continued clutch hitting from Chris Cassidy and Nathan Jones. Unfortunately some missed opportunities with runners in scoring position, stopped Melbourne from putting the game away and a typical hardworking Newport team clawed back to even the game in the last inning. Hits went to Tim (2), Nathan (2, RBI) and Ben Telford (2, RBI).
Mens 3 rds – beat Newport 6-4
Melbourne jumped out to an early lead in the first innings and it looked like they were going to comfortably continue the woes of the winless Rams. However Newport had other ideas as they clawed their way back into the contest with the aid of some misguided Melbourne defence. To the Demon’s credit they were able to minimise the damage and keep the contest level until late in the piece when the Melbourne bats produced some nice clutch hitting to take the game.
Mens 4 ths – beat Newport 8-7
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Ladies – Washout versus Footscray
For the second week in a row the girls were unable to take the field due to a couple of downpours before the game started.
U18 – had a bye
U16 – beat Newport 5-1
U14 Demons – lost to Essendon 9-8
This week the under fourteens welcomed a new member in Jayson Shaw from Peechelba (near Wangaratta). Jayson drives down every weekend for State training has agreed to play with us while he’s here. Our boys played their best game of the season against 2nd placed Essendon, holding them to just 4 runs through 6.5 innings. A fantastic effort given that Essendon boasts five state representatives. Unfortunately the final score saw the boys lose 8 runs to 9, with a few errors in the field. Alex had a fantastic game, throwing 80 pitches in 6.5 digs. Some defensive highlights included a great catch by Bryce at third taking a rocket off the bat, Ben’s couple of great catches in centerfield, and also some great infield work from Campbell and Jayson. Batting was great this week, with Jayson hitting was we all thought was a home run, only for it to be overruled as a stand up double. Safe hits went to Ben Cull (2), Tim Stephens (2), Jayson Shaw (2, double), Campbell Wiggins, Alex Hondo and Thomas Arthur.
U14 Red Sox – lost to Malvern 12-6
U12 – beat Waverley 18-4
This match promised to be a tough encounter against a traditional rival Waverley. The boys welcomed the inclusion of Andrew Harris to the line up to add some batting strength. Waverley jumped the start, batting in 4 runs. Melbourne responded with equalising 4 runs. The second dig from Waverley was shut down in quick succession with Brandon pitching 75% strikes and Ravi catching behind the mask. Melbourne responded with a gruelling 7 runs to which Waverley could find no reply. Melbourne went on to bat in a further 7 runs in the 3rd dig to complete a great days work. Safe hits to Ravi, Brandon, Jack and with Chris Vapp digging deep for his first safe hit for the season. The TEAM played a good tight game especially with the base running making the difference on the day. The next 4 weeks see Melbourne playing 3 of the top teams, which will be a good test for the boys and also provide more opportunities for hitting. Thanks to Stuart Batten for a great job umpiring and to Jim Politis for the rewards at the end of the match
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