David Foster

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Match Report Div 3 Women"s 1st Final Vs Fitzroy

Well, our first chance to play in a Women’s Summer Baseball final. Everyone was pumped and the weather was spot on and we even had 2 umpires. We had completed a great season and finished second just a game clear of Fitzroy. With the added bonus of a home final.

Brooke Sadler started on the mound with a strike out. Magda Boros was busy at second with a short throw to Heather Nicol at second to get the second out and then she took a catch to finish the innings with no runs crossing the plate. Our first innings started well with Mags returning to the lead off position and getting a walk. We then generated 4 hits to score 6 runs. Michelle Searle, Brooke S, Nikki Chapman and Bec Michael all got singles.

In the second Sarah Upton was busy at first receiving a throw from Heather at short to get the first out and as 3 runs had crossed the plate Sarah took a steady foul fly to finish the innings. Unfortunately, we responded well below our best as we went 3 up and 3 down.

We made an earlier that expected change during Fitzroy’s second innings to try and change the flow. Our luck on the mound in the third deserted us as we blew a few chances in the field and they scored 7 runs. Mags worked hard to get the first out at first and yet again Sarah took a foul fly to get the second out, however we could not get that last out. We knew it was important to get some runs in the bottom half of this innings and our lower order did not let us down. Nikki got her second single for the day and Keira Wilson got her first hit. Brooke Robertson again worked hard in the batting box to get on base again with a walk to keep our hopes alive as we scored one run.

So, with Fitzroy’s last at bat and being 3 runs in front we needed a quick innings to give us another bat. Michelle found her touch and struck the first hitter out but this was short lived as she walked the next 2. From there Michelle found her strike zone again as the fourth hitter, hit a short fly to Mags who caught it down near her shoe laces and then whipped the ball over to first to get a double play. With nearly 10 mins to play and 3 runs to tie we had the game where we could win. Unfortunately, despite a lead off hit to Meg Fahy we could not get a runner past second. Game over season over.

What a great season we had, we played many great innings and the team had a great time. These people are some of the most supportive and funny people I have ever had the pleasure to coach. So, to the team thanks you for a great season and you all made the coaching of this team a real highlight of my summer.

Thanks again to Mark Lazarus of Q Photography for again capturing some memorable moments.

Phill Northfield

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U14 State had an emphatic 14-1 victory over Essendon to secure a place in this seasons U14 State West Grand Final.

Scoring 2 in the first, 1 in the second and 5 in the third before Essendon had recorded their first hit of the game, a solo moon shot in the bottom of the third. We tacked on 1 more in the fourth and another 5 in the fifth.

Regardless of the result next week we have had a successful season. This young group of keen baseballers have:

Improved

Had fun

Been great team mates

and will be back

I think these are pretty good measures of success.

Phill Northfield

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Div 1-3rds faced off against Upwey FTG in an elimination final on GBC1. The start time pushed back to allow our opposition, and our own players to navigate the Air Show traffic.

One of our exciting juniors, Riley had the start and put in a solid outing for us. He was unlucky when a few hits dropped in and a defensive miscue extended his outing. His stat line doesn't truly reflect how good he was for us.

While we had plenty of hard hit outs and traffic on the bases after 4 completed innings we were in a 6-1 hole!

Cameron settled into his work and put the bats back in our hands and our hitters got down to business, the business of scoring runs. We batted through the lineup and then some to put up a 7 spot and take the lead 8-6 after 5 completed innings.

Add in a 12 minute rain delay and things were getting interesting.

We turned a nice 4-6-3 double play to get out of the 6th and a 1-2-3 innings for the 7th.

Time & Game and 8-6 win to the good guys and locked in a Home Grand Final.

It's easy to say now, but i never doubted that we would win this encounter, even when we were down. I have such belief in these players.

This season we have rarely played with the same team two weeks in a row. In fact, the team we rolled out on Sunday only had 3 players from round 1. While not always by choice we have managed our players giving them opportunities whenever they presented and next week will be no different.

#letsgobaycats

Chris Rickard

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Sorry for the long post, bear with me!…

Semi-Final day and Baycats U18 travelled to UpweyFTG for the 1v4 game, with the winner moving to the GF next Sunday.

The result, UFTG won 2-0!

But the game was a terrific one for junior club ball, played at high standard and fast paced (7inn in 80min!). The game was played competitively and in great spirits as players in both teams get along well with each other.

In the 1st innings Baycats had good at bats, Bradyn Barker seeing 8 pitches in his AB, Harper Rickard had base hit, but nothing came from them. UFTG came out strong, scoring 1 run on 2h and Sac fly, despite a 9 pitch inning from Baycats starter Harvey Elderfield.

The 2nd and 3rd digs went quickly for both teams, for Baycats Maxton Sherry singled in 2nd innings, in the 3rd Tyson Sherry led off with BB, Tanner Stack singled and Harper walked also, we loaded the bases but couldn’t push a run over the plate.

In the bottom 4th, UFTG had a lead off double, then bunted and a miss-que in the field they scored their 2nd run.

Top 6th for Geelong and we had singles from Harvey and Maxton, but again good pitching from Upwey and we couldn’t capitalize for a run.

Top of 7th and Tyson (for the 3rd time!) led off with a good PA for a walk and stole 2B, but we run out of outs to end the game.

Harvey was terrific on the hill, going the distance in the fast paced game, with stat line of 6inn 4h 3k 1bb 2r 1er (67pitches, 43strikes).

Both teams pitching had high strike % and hitters were aggressive all day resulting in low pitch counts and an action packed game, Baycats hitters had just one 3 batter innings and Upwey had two.

Harper was great behind the dish, Tanner was solid at SS converting 5 out opportunities, Tyson had a great day with 3BBs with the bat and took 2 key flyballs in RF and Ollie Yarnell took 3 flyballs in LF with one against the foul fence.

Maxton led our hitters with 2h’s, Tanner, Harper and Harvey had 1 hit each.

The wrap on this years team- we had 14 players who were fantastic all season long. With such a big squad, we run a roster to have 11 players at each game, we batted thru all 11 each week to maximize each player’s time on the field. This meant our team changed from week to week and only this morning did we get all 14 players at the ground together. Thanks to all players for supporting this process, it allowed players to pick their ‘off day’ around their school studies, family activities, injury and long travel to Senior games!

It’s a credit to all players that we remained competitive and finished with a semi-final game that was so close to a spot in the Grand Final.

This mornings game saw the end of junior careers for 7 of our players, some of whom have played together since they were 9/10yo’s and I’ve been fortunate to coach them several times through the years. To Harper Rickard, Darcy Stack, Cooper Tipping, Maxton Sherry, Simon Day, Hamish Sutherland and Logan McConnell I wish you all the best in this great game and beyond.

A huge thank you to Julie Rickard for scoring and Brett Elderfield as assistant coach also Chris Barker filling in a couple of times as coach too.

Thanks to Baycats club leaders for allowing me to take this team and supporting us.

As for me - with Harper playing his last junior game today, it ends my Summer junior club coaching career.

Not including a couple of seasons when I was much younger!, this time round it’s been 15 seasons with 14 as junior team coach for Baycats, supporting all three of my sons through this great game. When I started as U12 Metro coach for Emerson’s team back in 2008, I had no idea I’d see through Cooper’s years and then Harper’s too. I’ve spent time with my boys in each age group which included Little League and Junior League tournaments along the way.

The only year I missed a team was with boys in different age groups and work travel commitments making it hard to commit to a team.

A huge thank you to Julie Rickard and Miller Rickard for supporting and allowing me and the boys to play/coach the game all this time, hopefully with many years to come! Julie has scored for most of the teams I’ve coached, and also teams that I haven’t coached! She’s filled in for many teams along the way too.

Thanks Julie

David Foster

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Div 3 Women's Match Report Vs Mitchell Majors

On Saturday we played our last home and away game for season 2022-23. The unlucky team to meet us was the Mitchell Majors. They were sitting on the bottom and we were second. Our girls collected 22 hits and scored 23 runs to their single run.

We welcomed the return of Brooke Sadler on the mound and right from the start she completed the first out with a throw to Andrea Huggins at first. After the second out the Majors did fire up somewhat with 2 hits to score a run but Brooke then struck out the third out for the innings. We responded with a seven-run innings with only 2 outs. There was a lead off double to Heather Nicol, a double to Nikki Chapman and single to Michelle Searle, Brooke, Keira Wilson, Ruby Wright and Bec Michael.

Brooke followed on from her first innings with a K, another 1 to 3 and third out was another strike out. Heather led off with another double but was out done by Brook who hit a triple. There were singles to Michelle, Keira and doubles to Nikki and Ruby. This time we scored 6 runs with 3 outs.

The third innings did see Brooke dominating with three K’s in a row. We managed to get 4 runs in this innings with singles to Michelle, Brooke, Nikki, Keira and Magda Boros.

To spread the load somewhat we made a change on the mound and gave Heather some practice. She struck the first two out and their prime hitter get her second hit for the day but Heather fought hard to get the last out with another strike out. For our final hit we scored 6 runs with singles to Michelle (4 from 4), Heather, and a triple to Nikki, who finished the day with 4 hits and 6 RBI’s.

It was a great game for our girls as they have started to hit their straps with the first final against Fitzroy coming up at home on Saturday at 2.00pm. Thanks to Andrea and Ruby for filling the gaps in our line up throughout the season and we hope you can both join us next year.

Deniz Horasan

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This afternoon Division 1, 4s took on Waverley at home. The teams fate had already been sealed with no chance of finals. Phill Northfield took the mound to help us out in the first two innings and started off great. Only giving up 1 run in the first, the team responded with quality at bats. Getting 2 runs. The second innings unfortunately, some fielding errors and good hitting from Waverley gave them 8 runs and sealed out fate.

Hayden Quattrocelli then took the mound and really helped the team and zoned in his pitching. He helped out on the mound for 3 innings, but we just had no answer with the bat today.

Final score was 13-2, which sums up the season. It has been great to see players like Hayden really improve his pitching, Hudson Carr own the plate as our catcher, and grow in confidence and ability. Thomas Rome, come out of his shell after his first season in the seniors.

Also big thanks to all the cameo appearances from the older guys, Chris Rickard, Brenton Laurie and Geoff Rome helping us out during the season when our numbers were dire.

Thanks to Baycats committee, Gibbo and other coaches for the season.

Good luck to those playing finals. #gobaycats

Brenton Laurie

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Last night to finish the season off for the U16 they had a scratch match against the parents and pizza for tea.

I must say the kids did go in a bit full of themselves.

We had some great moments with Damien Carr wanting to be a Dancer and doing a spin in the batters box Ben Johnson hit a home run taking the game to a 2-2 that’s when the parents deployed our secret weapon a 13 year old with her dad geoff Rome behind the plate and her big brother Thomas in the batters box she sat him down on 3 pitches striking him out swinging then the big Cade White stepped up pointing to the out field 4 pitches later he had his bat tucked under his arm walking back to the dugout Josef come in slapping one to the out field then the next batter getting thrown out at 1st.

The parents tacked on 4 more runs with a struck out triple .

After the game they demolished 6 family pizza.

Thanks to all the parents and kids for a great season it was a fantastic way to end I look forward to seeing you all throughout the winter season and maybe playing against some of you.

All reactions:

45Jason Peoples, Stacey Barker and 43 others

Kyle Robinson

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The Div 3-2’s travelled to Chelsea to take on the Dolphins on Sunday in a game that was just about having some fun and making the most of the last game of the season, as we were out of finals contention this year.

The baseball gods turned on the weather for us and the day was looking amazing. A few changes to the team from the last couple of weeks, missing our coach and superstar starting pitcher Martin, coaching duties were left to Kyle

Rick started on the bump for us, giving the Chelsea batters a little bit of trouble to start off, and recording a strikeout with his first batter faced, but the Dolphins soon worked out the timing and started to put the ball into play.

Kyle took the mound for the next 2 innings. Some costly walks in tight counts and some timely hits by Chelsea saw the score line become a little lopsided but we were still in high spirits.

Jennifer took the bump for the 5th and final innings, changing the speed yet again and making Chelsea work. Their first batter in this innings thought he had an easy single to center, only for Alex to throw him out at 1 for dawdling down the first base line

Unfortunately it wasn’t our day and we ended the game going down 16-2.

Shout out to women’s coach Matt for coming along and filling in the day, to Katrina for her resilience and consistent effort behind the dish all game.

We finish the season out of finals contention but as a team we should hold our heads up knowing we have what it takes to take it to any of the teams we faced throughout the season. A big shout out to Bouma for his leadership, coaching and support and for putting up with us and our antics for the season, it’s been great !

Lastly, a big shout out to all of the supporters, helpers, umpires and scorers and the extended baycats family, thanks for another great season look forward to seeing you all again next season !

#gobaycats

Sto Bajarca

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Div 3 1’s were on the road at Chelsea for the last home and away game of the season. Our equation was simple win and we kept our finals hopes alive. Well we did just that and came away with a 13-0 win.

Dan Anson had the start and was very impressive over his 5 innings giving up 4 hits and striking out 5 while throwing nearly a 70% strike ratio. Jackson Viney was in relief throwing 1.1 innings conceding 1 hit and striking out 2. Jackson was throwing plenty of strikes as well throwing 75% strikes. Dan Mason closed out the game for us (he really just wanted a crack at Dobbie) and have a crack he did . Dan got the last 2 outs of the innings not before giving up a hit pitched ball and 2 singles.

Offensively we were solid only having 2 digs where we didn’t score. Dan Mason lead the way for us with 3 hits (inc 2 infield singles), Dan Anson, Maxton Sherry and Tyson Sherry all had 2 hits. Lachlan Stott, Cade White and Jackson Viney all had 1 hit each. RBI’s went to Dan Mason (3), Riley Peoples (2), Tyson Sherry (2), Cade White (1), Jackson Viney (1), Dan Anson (1), Maxton Sherry (1).

Once again the game was played in great spirits between the 2 clubs and our encounters this year have been great fun.

Unfortunately while we did our job yesterday and gave ourselves a chance at playing finals Mornington managed to rally late in their game against Sandringham and walk it off with a win in extra innings ending our season and finishing above us by half a game.

It was a bitter sweet ending to the season but I must say I couldn’t be prouder of the team and how they played all season. Specially how well the juniors developed throughout the year after a bit of a bumpy start to the season, they stuck at it and held their own in a tough division.

Thanks to Wendy for making the trips each week to score for us it’s a huge effort and doesn’t go unnoticed.

Good luck to the teams who have made finals go get ‘em.

Phill Northfield

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U14 State played the last game of the Home & Away vs Sunshine on GBC2.

With a finals spot locked in, today's game was an opportunity to even out some playing time with 6 of the 13 players all playing half a game.

After shutting out Sunshine in the 1st, we score 4 runs on 4 hits and never lost the lead scoring in all but 1 innings.

After our loss last week, we lost the opportunity for a home final, so next week we will head down the hwy to face off against Essendon in an elimination final.

Chris Rickard

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Baycats U18 hosted Waverley this morning for the last H&A game, finishing with 14-2 win and securing 4th place and finals berth next week.

Bradyn Barker started on the hill and had to go to work as Waverley scored 2 on hit & 2bbs and a fielding miss-cue. Bradyn found his mark after that and was very good. Tanner Stack threw in relief, both pitchers had good strike % and controlled the game well.

Bradyn’s stat line 3inn 2h 3k 2bb 2r 0er

Tanner’s stat line 2inn 0h 4k 0bb 0er

Our hitters had big 2nd and 3rd innings with 5 and 7 runs respectively. We had scored 1 in the 1st inning and 1 more in 5th Inn late in the game.

Our hitting was led by Harper Rickard 2h 2rbi. Also with 1 hit each was Bradyn B (dbl, 2rbi), Simon Day (2rbi), Darcy Stack (trpl), Logan McConnell (rbi), Tyson Sherry (rbi), Ollie Yarnell, Harvey Elderfield.

Nyah O’Brien had 1 rbi and 1bb, Maxton Sherry 1bb 2hpb and Tanner S had Sac fly and 3 free passes.

All players contributed positively today, just as all players have done all season.

With this being our final home game, thanks to Cristi Sherry and the ladies that have run the canteen on our home games this season.

Thanks to Nick Zanghi for umpiring this morning and has done most of our games this season.

We look foward to semi final clash next Sunday with an away game against UpweyFTG/Blackburn.

Phill Northfield

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Div 1-3rds did enough today to get past Waverley 9-2 in what can only be described as a well rounded TEAM effort in another 7 innings game.

Cameron started and gave us 3 solid innings, followed by Adam for 2 and then Andrew for the last 2. Andy was also our starting catcher and was supported by Mr everywhere Zanghi who also played 2B & SS as well as hitting a couple of doubles.

Buzza & Q were the only players not to change fielding positions today as we managed some tired bodies a week out from finals.

Oh yeah, Darcy also came into the game and squared one up for a nice pinch hit double too.

This team has had a bit of a revolving door this season with players constantly moving between the Div1-2s and the Div3-1s as opportunities were presented. As an example, the team we rolled out today only had 3 players who were in the team in round 1. This is something i think we managed pretty well through-out the season. Some weeks were definitely harder than others and team selection this week will be tough!

We finished the season in second place and have won the opportunity for a home final V Upwey on Sunday 5th March. We will look forward to seeing you all there next week to support us in our elimination final.

#letsgobaycats

Brenton Laurie

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The U16 team today headed to Doncaster in a must win game to play in the finals we come away with the win but the team we needed to lose they decided they would win so we fall short by half a game.

The team has played great all season with lots of laughs along the way. I am proud of them for a fantastic fun season I have learnt a lot this season and hope the kids have as well.

David Foster

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Match Report Vs Essendon

My apologies for the lack of reports recently. This reporter has been travelling SA and Western Vic over the past fortnight. So, to retrace briefly how the Div. 3 Women’s team travelled over those two weeks. On the 4th we played Alfredton at home and came from behind to tie 9 all whilst loosing Sarah Upton to a knee injury and playing without our on field leader in Meg Fahy. Then on the 11th we travelled to Newport and played a team that had 4 or 5 players playing down from Div. 2 (due to team shortage through out the club) They really taught us a lesson on how to play ball. As we were placed under pressure, we made several errors in the field and chose poor pitches to hit and as result we went down 14 to 6 (our worst lost for the season).

Having been given a reality test last week it was important we refocused on the way we play the game. Unfortunately for Essendon we were switched on and beat them 18 to 3. With Michelle Searle on the mound, we started strongly with a strike out to the first hitter and a great throw from our catcher Meg to Brooke Sadler at third to get the third out with a strong tag. We responded with 4 walks and 6 hits to score 7 runs with no outs. With hits to Michelle, Heather Nicol, Nikki Chapman, Keira Wilson, Andrea Huggins and a double to Brooke.

In the second we made a quick change on the mound as things were not working and we brought Heather on to ply her skills. Essendon did score one run but Heather and Meg where central to the three outs. One being a tight out at home plate with loaded bases as Heather intercepted a line drive and made the throw to home. The second out came in the form of a strike out. With the third out being well controlled by Meg as she collected a bouncing third strike and tagged the hitter. With one run to get back we recovered well after a lead off strike out to score 4 runs. With hits to Michelle, Andrea and a great triple to Heather.

We had to worked harder in the third as Essendon started to get their game going as they were held to 2 runs. This was helped by a strike out to Heather on the mound a great catch to Keira at centre field and a rare forced out at third with a throw from shortstop Brooke to Michelle at third. Now was the time for us to make a statement and secure our spot in the finals as we responded with 7 runs and only one out. Our hitters displayed control in the batting box with six walks and hits to Bec Michael and Mags Boros.

In the final innings we gained control mainly through a great unassisted double play to Mags at second base. Mags took a catch off a well hit line drive and then beat the runner back to second to complete the third out. We started our fourth with another hit to Brooke and a muffed fly at centre field from a long hit from Heather. Unfortunately, time beat us to score more runs. To finish I need to mention the efforts of Heather on the mound her stats were great, throwing 38 pitches and 30 of them were strikes. A great warm up to the finals. Please find a few pics courtesy of Mark Lazarus.

Martin Bouma

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On Sunday, the 3 Div 2nds took on the bottom of the ladder Port Melbourne in perfect baseball conditions. In what would be a game of tug of war, the game resulted as a 7-7 draw after 5 innings. With the second week in a row where we couldn't stop the tying run in the last inning, or score in the final frame.

Offensively, the team did well against a very competitive pitcher. Managing to score runs in the first 4 innings and being in the lead from the second inning. The team stole 9 bases, Kyle Robinson nabbing 3! Martin Bouma hit two singles. Kyle Robinson with a Double. Gary Kevelham (2 RBI), Jaimee Brereton (1 RBI), Ben Loone (1 RBI), Rick Doherty and Nick Allen (1 RBI) all hitting singles. It was great to see the team taking quality at bats.

Defensively the uncharacteristic free passes hurt the most. Martin Bouma struggled with control at times and a short warm up for Lily contributed to the final score. Martin Bouma 4IP 5H 8K 4BB. Despite the accuracy troubles the team kept up the noise and worked hard to mitigate. Shout out to Kyle working hard behind the dish (sorry mate!)

This week is our final game, and it couldn't be more fitting, travelling to Chelsea to take on Daniel Dobbie's Dolphins in a 4th vs 5th. Go Baycats!

All reactions:

19Leanne Gibbons, David White and 17 others

Deniz Horasan

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Yesterday the 4s took on the top spot Melbourne team. We had Nyah O'Brien work brilliantly on the mound all game and really gave us a competitive edge. Thomas Rome came in the last dig to close out our game. This was really great to see from young players, especially when our squads were depleted by significant unavailabilities.

Big thanks to Brenton Laurie for working behind the plate all day and Tim Cruise and Andrew Medew for the effort to travel to Boxhill and give 100% on a warm day.

Overall the game didn’t go our way losing 14-2. But as a coach all you can ask is for players to keep their heads up and try, which all players did.

Next week we play at home for the final game of the season. Let’s make it a fun one.

Phill Northfield

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**Keep scrolling - nothing to see here**

U14 State had a top of the table clash vs Research. A win would secure a home final, while a loss would mean we'd be on the road come finals.

Unfortunately, we left our "A" game at home sleeping and barely gave a whimper as we were pummelled by a highly motivated Research Team looking to secure top spot.

We had runners on base in every innings.

We left runners on base in every innings.

We were out hit 13 to 3.

We made both mental and physical errors.

BUT, the best part..... is we get to play again next week.

So, it's time to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get ready for next week.

Phill Northfield

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Div1 3rds ventured to Surrey Park on Sunday and came home on the wrong side of an 11-12 result.

Both teams pitchers struggled with the mound and had difficulty throwing consistent strikes.

In a rarity we only completed 4 innings but not surprising as combined both teams gave 20 free passes.

We had the lead early, lost it only to get it back going into the bottom of what was to be the last. Tip of the cap to the Melbourne hitters who got timely hits with runners in scoring position and made the most of their opportunities.

This has knocked us off top spot. So as we move on to next week we are playing for a home final.

Bruce Wood

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The Baycats 2nds played an excellent game on Saturday Feb 18, defeating Melbourne 10-4.

Our defence was led by Jake Elderfield, who continued to show his development as a pitcher. Jake threw 7 innings, allowed only 6 scattered hits and struck out 5. He was well supported by both James Renouf and Jordan Ellis behind the plate and our field backed him up well. Thanks to Jarrod Durston for filling in - you're welcome any time JD!!

Offensively Chris Durston had a terrific game with 3 hits and 5 RBI's. Jordan Ellis, Jarrod Durston, Chris Hockey, Lucas Ash, Nick Hau, James Renouf and Jake Elderfield all recorded his, and Dion Kirchner smacked the ball hard and was dead set stiff not to pick up a couple. All players hit the ball hard and our baserunning was again excellent.

As it's the last game for me, I'd like to thank Swanny for his work as assistant coach, to Craig Durston for helping me out this year, to Cathy Weldon for gamechanger and Anna for scoring. Your work is greatly appreciated.

Chris Rickard

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Baycats U18 travelled to Malvern this morning and got a 4-4 draw in a high standard game.

Malvern made a strong start scoring 2 in the 1st and 1 in the 2nd inning. Malvern scored 1 in 5th for all of their runs.

Baycats worked the other way! With good at bats and runners in scoring position in each inning except the 1st, we scored 1 in the 2nd on 2 hits and 1 in 4th also on 2 hits. A big 6th inning for Baycats as we tied the game with 2 runs on 4 singles in the dig.

The top of 7th for Geelong was quick with 3 up 3 down left us defending the draw. Malvern doubled off the 1st pitch in bottom 7th! But good pitching and defense had next 3 hitters all out with the runner stranded at 3rd.

Harvey Elderfield had the start on the hill with Bradyn Barker in relief, both had high strike rate with just 1bb between them. Harvey’s stat line finished at 5Inn 11h 2k 0bb 3er. Bradyn was equally good with 2inn 2h 2k 1bb 0er.

Maxton Sherry led our hitters with 2dbls 1rbi, Tyson Sherry had 1dbl 1sgl and Harvey 2sgls 2 rbi. With 1 hit each was Tanner Stack (1rbi), Bradyn B and Harper Rickard.

Maxton was good in defense being the utility moving around the infield throughout the game, Tanner was good catching and threw out a base stealer

This was a big game for our current standings, the draw allowed us to hold onto 4th position with 1 game to go, we play Waverley at home in the last round.

Chris Rickard

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This morning Baycats U18 had a good win against visiting Preston, 6-4.

This was a danger game for Geelong, Preston were just below us on the ladder but with potential to score a lot of runs, they have the tallest junior team I’ve ever seen with 3 players over 6’3”

Preston had a good start scoring 1 off 3 hits in the top 1st inning, but Baycats responded in bottom 1st with 3 runs off 2 hits and 2 free passes.

Preston scored 3 in top 3rd to take the lead back, Baycats again responded with 1 run to have scores tied 4-4 after 3 innings. Our defense was solid behind good pitching and our hitters worked hard as we scored 1 in the 4th and another in 6th for the final score 6-4.

The game was fast paced as we finished in the 7th with 10min to spare!

Bradyn Barker had the start on the hill and was great, with stat line of 5Inn 5h 6k 1bb 4r 1er and was relieved equally well by Harvey Elderfield 2inn 0h 4k 1bb 0r

The top order of our hitting line up did all the damage in offense led by Darcy Stack with 3hits (2dbl 2rbi), Maxton Sherry 1h 2rbi 1sac 4Steals , Harvey 1dbl 1rbi, Bradyn 1h, Tanner Stack 1h.

Maxton was great behind the dish and Tanner controlled the defense at short stop.

Thanks to Chris Hockey umpiring and Stacey Barker, Cristi Sherry (I hope I got you all!) for the canteen.

Next week we have a big game as we travel to Malvern.

Phill Northfield

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Div1-3rds faced off against the Rebels down on GBC2 and came away 9-2 winners.

Alex had the start and showed what he is truly capable of, going 5 innings and only allowing 2 runs on 2 hits. Interesting note: both runs that scored landed on base via HPB.

Our hitters all recorded at least 1 hit each with a couple of them snagging 2 or more.

While we weren't defensively perfect this week, we were good in the field and made some great heads up plays.

Great work by Jake this week behind the dish. He did a great job managing our pitchers and even threw out a runner! I hope you enjoyed your well earned recovery beers

Next Sunday we head to Surrey Park to take on the Demons.

Phill Northfield

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U14 State hosted 2nd placed Essendon on GBC2.

Having nearly a full roster, today was to be a "Bullpen" game for us, but it didn't quite pan out that way...

Sid had the start and threw plenty of strikes early and was unlucky to give up 3 hits, 2 hugging the 3rd base line and the other bouncing off the senior pitchers rubber. While they scored 2 runs it was our defence who stepped it up a gear. Sid picked off a runner at 2nd. Then with bases loaded Lucas caught the base runner at 3rd snoozing after an aggressive lead saw him get caught in a run down.

We halved their lead by scoring 1. Essendon's pitcher was throwing plenty of strikes and caught our hitters sleeping, striking out 3 in the innings.

Tylah & Jack rocked off to see who would throw next. Jack lost so he had to start the second. A couple of quick outs soon soured with a walk an error and a hit followed by a pitch left down the middle that landed 260ft away and before we knew it they had scored 4, to extend the lead by 5.

Que the quality AB's and we scored 5, 4 of those with 2 outs. Now the game is tied at 6 all.

Tylah was supposed to start the next innings (remember i said bullpen game...) but no, Jack was adamant that he wished to throw the next innings (might have been dirty on giving up a big fly!) So the 3rd innings saw him face the minimum number of hitters retiring the side on 9 pitches. Great call coach

The bottom of the 3rd saw a change in pitchers for the Bombers. A couple of quick outs via another strike out, and some poorly timed aggressive base running had us on our heels. But never fear the bottom half of the order is here and so were the QAB's. A couple of walks and a smoking double to Lucas and before you knew it, we'd scored 5 with 2 out!

It's about now that i should have been going to my other pitcher Theo right? Sid, Jack, Tylah to Theo... But there was NO chance Jack was giving up the ball now. To be fair he'd only thrown 26 pitches and was just warming up... or not. I may have started to question my decision to allow him to continue after a lead off walk and a hit to the first two hitters but a sweet 4-6-3 double play and no damage done. We did give up a run on a hit into LF before enticing a pop up to Beau at 2nd base.

The bottom of the 4th innings saw another example of some poorly timed super aggressive base running by us . We didn't score in the innings so going into the top of 5 we were up 11-7.

Now you would have thought a 4 run lead would have been enough, right?

It was, as again we took our opportunities in the field and we won 11-7.

So much for the "Bullpen" game, Sid 1inn, Jack 4inn, Tylah 0inn & Theo 0inn.

Thanks to Donny for having the field marked. This makes pregame setup so much easier.

Thanks to Nick for umpiring.

Next week we take on first placed Research away in what should be a cracker.

#letsgobaycats

Martin Bouma

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Yesterday the Div 3 2's had the challenge of taking on the undefeated offensive juggernaut Pakenham at home. Pakenham having 226 runs recorded on the season, we knew we had our work cut out for us. With no chance for the finals, this was a final chance for us to prove ourselves to the league... and we did just that.

In a very low scoring game, the final result being a 2-2 draw after some controversial umpiring decisions. Tarnishing what would have been a perfect record for the traveling side.

Offensively, the team did a fantastic job of applying pressure. In 6 of the 7 innings we put runners on base and into scoring positions. Unfortunately we were unable to convert many of the base runners into runs, much to Pakenham's credit. We ended up with 10 hits on the day. Pat Johnson (double and a single), Rick Doherty and Ben Johnson 2 singles. Gary Kevelham and Martin Bouma a double a piece. Kyle Robinson and Nick Allen with a single each. Pat and Alex Hockey both stealing a bag.

Defensively we completely outperformed expectations with our pitchers and fielding keeping the Pakenham to 1 run through 6 innings and only 2 for the game. Unfortunatley the runs scored were after miss plays. Kyle Robinson got work in with some great plays at shortstop. Gary Kevelham made a very clean 3-6-3 double play to get us out of an inning. Our outfielders also had a great day managing to make a number of catches. Martin Bouma started on the bump going 4 innings, only allowing 4 hits, striking out 6 and not allowing any free passes. Alex Hockey came on for middle relief. While allowing the first two to get on base, he settled down and manage to record 3 straight outs. Not allowing runs to score. Kyle Robisnon finished the day on the hill for a 2 inning close. In true fashion, Kyle finished the day getting 5 outs via the pop up! It was not without pressure having given up 1 hit and walking 3 across the 2 innings. A great job by all of our pitchers keeping the opposition off balance.

That was a fantastic game of baseball. The player and spectators from each team were loud, and it really felt like finals baseball. Thanks again to Gary Kevelham for making himself avaliable to help us out! Next week we are at home again against Port Melbourne. Lets keep this momentum. Go Baycats!

All reactions:

27Mark Jeffery, Chris Hill and 25 others

Martin Bouma

  · 

Edit: Stats updated after clarification.

Yesterday the Div 3 2's played against the 5th place Mornington for the second time this season. The last time we faced them was game one of the season. The Pirates were undermanned with only 7 starting players, but with the rules for Division 3, were able to cover with courtesy fielders and no blanks. We won convincingly 15 to 5 scoring runs in each inning. We had the last inning rolling back which we had added another 3 to that total.

As a coach I have been very proud of how aggressive we have been with the bat and on the base paths this season; yesterday was no exception. Patrick Johnson and Darcy Stack did a great job as the lead off hitters all day, crossing home 7 times and stealing 4 bases between them. 3 of our 4 innings, we bat through the 9 so the boys did a great job setting the table each inning. Our hitters, 2 through 7 all ended up with RBI. On the base paths we took all of the opportunities to us with 12 stolen bases in total. In some feats of aggressive base running, the spry Rick Doherty sliding in head first to go first to third on a single to left field. Patrick Johnson also took third base from a hit to left field, winning a running race with the 3rd baseman out of position.

Martin Bouma 4 hits (3 singles and a double), Darcy Stack and Pat Johnson 2 singles, Kyle Robinson with a well struck double, and Rick Doherty, Alex Hockey and Ben Johnson with a single.

There were a few notable plays on the day. Darcy made a great play with a ball coming up the line, going to ground to pick it up and out run the batter. Kyle with a leaping catch in shallow left field. Martin Bouma started on the bump going 4 innings. Started the game going into the 3rd inning with minimum number of batters faced. Mornington then turned on the bats for an inning punching 4 hits through gaps in the infield. Some errors added to the total, resulting a 5 run inning. Martin's stat line for the day, 4IP 5H 3K 0BB. Kyle Robinson closed the game out, allowing no runs and striking out 2.

This week we take on the currently undefeated Pakenham at home on Saturday. With the momentum from the last two weeks, lets take them on! Go Baycats!

All reactions:

19David White, Sto Bajarca and 17 others

Sto Bajarca

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Div 3 1’s hosted 3rd placed Mornington on the weekend. It was a crucial game for us and a win would keep our finals chances alive. It was a great contest and in the end we came away with an 11-9 win.

Jackson Viney took the bump and was throwing gas early, it’s probably the hardest I’ve seen him throw for us all season. Jackson battled through the first 2 innings and despite a high pitch count only gave up 1 run before he had an 8 pitch 3 innings which shows how good his stuff is. My go to man Dan Mason came on in the 4th and got us out of a jam getting us out of the 4th. Kurt Wilson made his debut for us throwing the 5th not giving up a run. Dan Anson closed the game out for us giving us a solid 3 digs and looking very comfortable.

Offensively we had a great start scoring 3 in the first with Dan Anson being in the hole for the 1st and 3rd out of the dig for the second week in a row (did I mention that was in the 1st innings). As a coach I couldn’t be happier with our performance on the weekend. We had multiple quality team at bats such as Tyson Sherry shortening up and punching a ground ball to 2B to score a run late in the game and Riley Peoples hitting a sac fly in the 5th. We ran the bases hard and had 4 stolen bases for the day. Jackson Viney let it for us with 3 hits (inc a triple), Dan Anson had 2 hits (inc a double). Lachlan Stott, Dan Mason, Maxton Sherry, Cade White and Riley Peoples all had 1 hit each. RBI’s went to Riley Peoples (3), Maxton Sherry (2), Tyson Sherry (1), Cade White (1), Jackson Viney (1), Dan Anson (1).

With this win we edge our way closer to finals sitting 4th by the smallest of margins slightly behind Essendon and just above Mornington. This is going down to the wire and we cannot think our job is done. The last 3 rounds are basically elimination finals for us. I believe in this team and I believe we can give it a red hot crack.

Thanks to Butch and Belly for umpiring and thanks to the self proclaimed A Team in the canteen

Phill Northfield

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**Another one but not as long**

U14 State.

We have played Newport twice in two weeks both home and away. Week 1 saw us with the bare 9 as we ventured down the Hwy. We got off to a bit of a slow start but powered home to win 10-4. Quality AB were the order of the day with with only 4 of our 26 batters striking out. Ash had 3 hits with Reuben and Jack both with 2. They each had 3 RBI's. Reuben and Theo threw plenty of strikes only allowing 4 free passes. Defensively we only made 1 error. It was a good game against quality opposition.

Today we hosted Newport on GBC1. We had different look team this week with 12 of our 13 players available. Sid, Toby, Brandon and Theo all pitched today with varying degrees of success.

It was a seesawing affair from the first innings. Newport scored 2 in the top of the 1st leaving the bases loaded. We replied with 4 and also left the bases loaded. In the second they scored another 2 runs and we also scored 2 runs. Going into the top of the 3rd innings Baycats are leading 6-4.

Newport bounce back and score 4 to take the lead 8-6. We were only able to peg 1 back so after 3 completed innings we are down 7-8.

A 7 pitch 1-2-3 innings and we had the bats back in our hands and there was excitement brewing. Bottom of the 4th we score 1 to tie it up at 8 all.

Now, i'm not sure if i've ever witnessed this but what comes next is pretty impressive. A 9 pitch immaculate innings (that's 9 strikes for those playing along at home).

With our tails up we walk it off to win 9-8

#letsgobaycats

Chris Rickard

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Baycats U18 this morning went up the highway to face Essendon in a high standard game that went into the 7th inning. Despite going down 1-9, Baycats played well against some good pitching.

A big 1st inning by the Bombers scoring 4 on 4 hits with a couple of tough to read flyballs with the bright morning clouds in the background gave them control in the game early.

Harvey Elderfield had the start on the hill and got better as the game went on after the shaky 1st innings. He finished with stat line of 4.1inn 10h 0k 1bb. Will Cavanagh was good in his 1st relief outing since before the break, with stat line 1.2inn 1h 0k 4bb.

Our hitters worked hard, staying aggressive against high strike rate and good pitching.

Harper Rickard had a great day leading with 3hits (1dbl). With 1 hit each was Will Cav, Harvey E, Oliver Yarnell and Tyson Sherry.

In the field Harper was solid behind the dish running the game and threw out a base stealer. Maxton Sherry had some hot plays at 3B and Tyson was great at 2B converting 6 chances into outs.

Next week we play Preston at home.

Phill Northfield

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**Long Post Warning** (Sorry, not really)

Our Div1 3rds returned from the Christmas break to play Blackburn away. Even though we got off to a bit of a slow start we finished strongly to win 6-2. Alex and Cameron both threw well to keep us in the game. William, Nicholas, and Cameron were the best of our hitters with 7 hits between them.

The following week we played away at Malvern. We lost 8-4. Unable to reproduce the previous weeks form Alex struggled through two innings before passing the ball over to Cameron. Defensively we weren't great as we made few errors in the field. We were always in with a sniff. We out hit Malvern 8-4 and we left runners on in every innings. Tip of the cap to their Lefty pitcher who controlled the running game really well. The second inning was the difference.

Thanks to Gibbo for scoring and the trip home

Yesterday saw us host Berwick. What a difference a week makes. Alex and Cam combined for a shutout with 14K's, 5BB and only 3 hits. We won 7-0 and left runners in scoring position in nearly every innings. A huge shout out to Andrew who played for us today. This meant i only had to catch 2 innings and one of those in junior catchers gear! We are blaming you Deniz and we're OK with thatThanks to Phoebe Arnott and Nick Hau for the senior sized gear.

William, Cameron and Jake all had two hits with RBI's to William, Harvey and Hayden.

#letsgobaycats

Martin Bouma

  · 

The humidity was high when the 3rd 2nds played away at Footscray on Sunday. The team was consistant with the bat and put pressure on Footscray in each inning. Baycats come away with a win 9-4.

With some new additions to the team we tallied 10 hits and 8 walks on the day. The Foostcray pitching tested our timing with 3 pitchers with various arm angles and ball speed. From the outset we set the tone scoring our lead off runner. Martin Bouma hit 3 jarring singles (4 RBI), Ben Johnson with an extremely long double *cough* and a single (3 RBI). Patrick Johnson (1 RBI) and Blake Witham both putting up two singles. Blake with some very hard hit fouls. Jess Kevelham making solid contact on the day with only 1 single to show for it.

Defensively the team played errorless baseball. Footscray were keen to put bat on ball, and managed to find a few gaps. Martin Bouma started on the bump going 3IP 5h 4K 1BB 3ER. Lily stepping up in relief with a hitless 3 innings. 3IP 0H 4K 4BB 1 ER for the stat line. Pat and Kat did a fantastic job sharing the catching duties and getting some work in.

The team worked together, picking each other up and having fun. Lets bring the momentum into our next game as we face off against the Mornington Pirates at home. Go Baycats!

All reactions:

18Chris Hill, David White and 16 others

Sto Bajarca

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Div 3 1’s took a road trip down to Footscray on Sunday afternoon coming away with 21-7 win.

Our offence started strongly scoring 20 of our runs in the first 4 innings. Dan Mason was hot with the stick getting 4 hits (including a 3 run dinger over the left-centre fence in the 2nd) and was a triple away from the cycle. Lachlan Stott (2 doubles) and Tyson Sherry each had 3 hits. Riley Peoples, Cade White (1 double) and Maxton Sherry all had 2 hits each. Dan Anson and Jackson Viney had one hit each with Jackson launching a solo shot over right field fence in the top of the 7th. RBI’s went to Dan Mason (4), Lachlan Stott (3), Cade White (2), Riley Peoples (2), Maxton Sherry (1), Dan Anson (1) and Jackson Viney (1).

Riley Peoples started on the bump in what were difficult conditions with Footscray’s mound having lumps of concrete under the dirt. Riley gave us a quality start throwing 4 innings striking out 4, giving up 1 unearned run, 1 hit and 2 walks. Dan Anson was in relief and couldn’t get comfortable on the mound but battled hard throwing 1 2/3 innings giving up 4 hits and 3 walks. Dan Mason closed out the game for us with 1 1/3 innings giving up 3 hits and 3 walks.

Footscray kept battling and did their damage late in the game mainly with 2 out as we made a couple of untimely errors and struggled to throw strikes consistently.

We stay in contention for finals sitting equal 4th with Essendon. The next 2 weeks are going to be tough coming up against Mornington (currently 3rd) and Pakenham (currently 1st). I believe in this group and I know we are capable of taking a win over the next fortnight if we play to our potential.

Chris Rickard

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U18 Baycats won their home game this morning 13-7 against the visiting Werribee Giants.

Our pitching had trouble finding the slot as they battled the wet field and slippery mound from the overnight rain. But our hitters were on point as we scored runs in all but 1 innings, and that inning we hit the ball hard at the defense and Werribee turned a double play off a line drive catch.

Bradyn Barker was starting pitcher and had to work hard in the 1st inning as the Giants scored 3. Bradyn’s stat line 3Inn 1h 5k 6bb 3r. Harvey Elderfield was in relief 2inn 4h 3k 2bb 4r.

Our hitters responded in the bottom of 1st scoring 6 runs from 3 hits and 4 free passes as Werribee pitchers had to manage the slippery conditions also. As the game went on, the field improved and the game settled into a good game played in good spirits.

Tyson Sherry was great catching and had a nice caught stealing.

The hitting was led by Maxton Sherry with 2h 2rbi, Tanner Stack 1h 2rbi. Hitters with 1 hit each were Will Cavanagh (dbl), Harper Rickard (dbl), Oliver Yarnel (dbl), Bradyn Barker, Harvey Elderfield, and Tyson Sherry.

Thanks to Nick Zanghi for umpiring, Rachel Stack and Narelle Cooper for the canteen and Donny for setting up the field the day before.

Next week we play Essendon away.

Bruce Wood

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Baycats 2nds played Malvern on Saturday 28th and came away with an excellent 5-2 win. It was great to have Hayden Peoples pitching for us in his first outing for a while. Hayden threw 2 innings with 5 K's and no walks. Noah Brennan then threw the next 4 innings, only allowing 1 hit and recording 6 K's. Noah has continued to develop over the season and his strike percentage was excellent. Defensively, we supported both pitchers well, to the extent that the game was a shutout until the last. Lucas Ash continued his good form with the bat, recording 2 hits. Chris Durston also had 2 hits including an important 2 out RBI late in the game. Dion Kirchner, Nick Hau, Noah Brennan, Adam Jirik and Hayden Peoples all had hits, with Hayden's being a double that scored 2 runs. Jake Elderfield hit the ball hard and had an RBI. Again, our base-running was excellent with 3 stolen bases and some good heads up running. We now have 7 wins and sit in equal 5th position, which is a terrific effort given the youth of the team, and given the number of changes in our lineup that have occurred over the year. Our focus will stay the same - play to our strengths and let the results take care of themselves.

Martin Bouma

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The Div 3 2's headed to Sandy to challenge the 3rd place Royals. The game was a pitches duel with the majority of runs scored in the 6th and final inning. We entered into the final frame 3-1 our way. Unfortunately we couldn't close it out with a 3-8 loss.

There were a lot of positives to come out of the first game back! We had some great fielding plays by Nyah Obrien and Martin Bouma. Hudson Carr worked hard in the catches role. Tom Rome was tested at third base with a few hot hits coming his way.

We only had 4 hits on the day. Martin Bouma with 2 singles. Harry Sim with a triple. An amazing play in the 6th inning, loaded bases and Jaimee Brereton with a swinging bunt which resulted in 2 runs scoring and her standing up at second base. Lily Kevelham put one to the left fielder scoring a run for the SAC fly. Several players were unlucky to not add to the hits after making solid contact. We had runners on base in nearly every inning, and had 7 stolen bases in total (3 to the speedy Rick Doherty!).

Martin Bouma went 5 and a third, striking out 11 only giving up 3 hits and 2 walks. Nyah Obrien came onto the hill at the end getting the last two outs via the strike out.

Next week we travel to footscray. Go Baycats!

David Foster

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Div 3 Women's V’s Williamstown

Well first game back after the break had us looking a bit rusty especial in the second innings. Brooke Sadler started on the mound and kept Williamstown to one run as she got most hitters to ground out all bar one, who got a nice lead off hit to centre field. We responded in the first with three runs with the help of 3 walks and a single to Brooke.

In the second we struggled in the field with some of our plays and choices but with one down and loaded bases Heather Nicol made a great throw from second (on the hit) to Meg Fahy (catching) to get the forced out at home. That was one of 3 great plays Meg made or was involved in during this game. Williamstown took advantage of us in this innings to record 4 hits and 5 runs. Now being behind in the game it was important to take back control and our team rallied to score 7 runs. This was achieved mainly through hits to Brooke, Heather and a double to Keira Wilson and some timely walks.

In the third we went with a change on the mound to give Heather a chance to get a few innings under her belt. She soon found her rhythm to record three strike outs in a row. In our final at bat, we were aided by a pitching change which did not go well for Williamston. As our team picked out 4 walks and had hits to Brooke and Heather (double). At this point with 4 runs scored, none out and 1stand 3rd occupied, the game unfortunately was interrupted by a serious medical situation. The young Williamstown right fielder ended up requiring assistance from an ambulance crew and was taken to hospital. Meg has since been in contact with their coach and she is doing well but it certainly hit everyone hard.

Special thanks to Paul Wilson who was coaching at first and Nikki Chapman who rushed across to assist, along with the girl’s team mates.

In the end it was decided the game should be stopped and we were recorded with a 14 to 6 win.

Lewis Weldon

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Our 1st drove down the freeway to take on Blackburn for our first game back after the break.

Not much happened in the first 8 innings. Just Sam doing Sam things (8 inning shut out).

Not much in the 9th really either.

We started the 10th with runners on 1st and 2nd.

2 hitters later with runners on 2nd and 3rd, tanner knocked ones to right to score the first run f the game. With some “smart base running” from will Brennan drawing a throw to 3rd that got away from the fielder that scored the second run of the game.

We went into the the bottom of he 10th with a 3 run lead.

Choc got the lead off hitter to roll into a double play. 2 pitches late, Will Brennan makes a terrific backhand play down the line to make the final out of the game.

Final result

Geelong 3 Blackburn 0

Deniz Horasan

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Division 1, 4s took on Blackburn on Saturday. The team started off really strong with Hayden Quattrocelli holding his own in the first innings and the team getting 2 runs on the board. Unfortunately, after that the game was pretty much one sided. Big thanks to Chris Rickard for working both ends of the mound and plate and also to Hayden who really kept his cool and tried to turn things around.

Hits from Ben Loone, William Fitzgerald, Hayden Quattrocelli wasn’t enough for us to fall 28-2.

Full respect to the guys for keeping their heads up and trying all day. This was one game to forget and regroup for next week.

Phill Northfield

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U14 State had a great hit out in a one sided win to start the second half of the season.

Our pitchers and catchers worked well together throwing plenty of strikes and with 3 runners caught stealing they put a big dent our oppositions running game. Our defense made some great plays too.

Next week we are away at Newport. We haven't beaten them yet and this encounter should be a cracker.

Sto Bajarca

  · 

Div 3 1’s were away at Sandy today and we played a game of 2 halves ending up in an 11-3 loss.

Jackson Viney had the start and while he says he wasn’t feeling the best he gave us a fantastic start throwing 5 digs striking out 7 and scattering 2 hits. Riley Peoples was in relief and didn’t have any luck. Sandringham hit gaps and moved runners around and plated 7 runs over the 6th and 7th innings. To Riley’s credit he did exactly what we want from our pitchers throwing plenty of strikes throwing over 60% strikes and giving our field chances at making plays.

Tyson Sherry led the way with the stick with 3 hits, Dan Mason continued his hot streak with another 2 hits, Riley Peoples also had 2 hits with Jackson Viney, Maxton Sherry and the ring in Geoff Rome all having one hit. Controversy ensued late in the game where a stolen base was taken away from the speedster coach after a miss called ball 4 , which in the end didn’t mean anything because the next pitch was actually ball 4 .

Big thanks to Geoff Rome for filling in for us today as well as Hudson Carr and Tom Rome for sticking around. Shout out to Jordie and Bradyn for helping out on the day too as coaching bases.

Unfortunately with this loss the Div 3 1’s are almost in finals mode having to get hot and win most of our remaining games to extend our season. I believe in this group and I know we are going to get hot and have a good crack at it.

All reactions:

23You, Jason Peoples, Stacey Barker and 20 others

Chris Rickard

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Baycats U18 got back into action today with an away win at Sunshine that had to be earned in a tough game. Final score 6-4.

The game was high standard with good pitching making both teams hitters earn their runs.

The shiners scored 1 run in each first 4 innings and controlling the game early, as Baycats got on the board with 2 runs in top of 4th.

Harvey Elderfield started pitching 3.2inn 5h 4k 5bb 4r and was relieved by Harper Rickard 2.1inn 0h 1k 1bb 0r.

Our hitting was led by Maxton Sherry and Will Cavanagh 2h each, both laid down terrific running bunts during the game. With 1 hit each was Darcy Stack, Harper, Simon Day, and Tyson Sherry. Our RBIs went to Darcy, Simon, Hamish Sutherland and Tyson.

Thanks Bradyn Barker for coming up the Hwy early and supporting from the bench on his off game.

Next week we have Werribee at home.

Bruce Wood

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The 2nds played Blackburn on Saturday and had a good 12-7 win. Jake Elderfield got the start and did an excellent job over 5 innings, throwing only 82 pitches. This included an 2nd innings when Blackburn scored 4 runs. To his credit Jake fought back and changed up his approach to keep their hitters off balance all day. Jake hardly threw a pitch above the knees all day and he gave our field lots of opportunities. James Renouf and Jordan Ellis were both good behind the plate and Adam Jirik did well at shortstop. Offensively Dion Kirchner had 2 hits, as did Lucas Ash. Adam Jirik picked up a hit as well. Bradyn Barker had good at bats all day, as did James Renouf, Jordan Ellis and Chris Durston. Our baserunning has been a focus all year, and it was excellent all day. I am really proud of the guys and the way they have competed over the season. They played the game we want to play - quality at bats, solid defense and aggressive running. With 6 wins we are thereabouts in terms of finals. Our focus is not about wins or losses, but about playing an aggressive style of baseball and let take wins care of themselves. Thanks as always to Craig Durston for his assistance and to Anna for scoring.

Brenton Laurie

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On the weekend the U16 team travelled down to Moorabbin with a 6-4 win in the final game before the big man comes and the new year starts.

The team has been playing some great baseball over the last few weeks and getting the results and having fun together.

Enjoy the break team don’t forget to keep throwing and taking some hits. to the kids that are playing the U16 nationals good luck.

Deniz Horasan

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Sorry for the late post. On Sunday 18 December Division 1, 4s took on Sandringham. Due to numbers we were fortunate to have the Div 3, 2s guys play for us and it worked fantastic. Martin Bouma led the charge with pitching a full game and only giving up 3 runs. Additionally with his bat he delivered 3 hits (2 singles and a double).

The team were solid all day and got us the win 7-3.

Lily Kevelham and Ben Johnson also were solid with the bats both getting two hits and Katrina Edwards a single.

Overall it was a great win just before Christmas and keeps us somewhat in finals contention.

Happy New Year all, looking forward to 2023 and the second half of the season. #gobaycats