Newport rams into final
Guild books a second chance
NEWPORT has qualified for the Geelong Baseball Association A Grade Grand Final with a 5-2 result in a quality contest over Guild Lions.
The Lions will meet Bellarine in the Preliminary Final next Saturday after the Bears downed Deakin 6-1 in the Elimination Final on Saturday.
Despite taking an early lead, the Lions were unable to hold off a determined Rams outfit that edged ahead in the third and provided late offensive support to starter David Asp and closing pitcher Jason Lester, while – down at Wallington Reserve – it was the heroics of Lachlan Hockey and Simon Murry that proved too much for Deakin, which bows out of the pennant race after an impressive season.
A GRADE QUALIFYING FINAL: NEWPORT 5 d GUILD 2
Playing in A Grade of this league for the first time as a standalone entity in more than 20 years, Newport performed at a high level throughout the regular season and has richly earned its shot at the GBA championship in a fortnight.
Going with seasoned starter David Asp, matched against wonderfully-performed Lions workhorse Brad Egan, Newport absorbed some early Guild offence that gleaned a run – on a Jordan Lekkas double - before the Rams exploited an error and three hits to take a short-lived lead in the top of three before the home side again drew level.
However, with Asp appearing to get stronger and with James Wood summoned to the hill to replace Egan for the Lions, both clubs put up zeroes until Jayde Thorne planted his indelible stamp on a fierce contest with an RBIsingle in the seventh followed by a match-defining two-out, two-RBI double in the top of the last.
It was a shot that may not have been heard around the world – though it certainly resonated around Waurn Ponds, and perhaps echoed as far west as Cape Town.
Although the Lions challenged in the equaliser – and threatened to crack a pressured Newport defence – reliever Jason Lester managed to keep his cool and retire the Guild offence for a famous victory.
In a game dominated by pitchers on both clubs, Thorne (three hits and three RBIs) and Troy Malthouse (one and two) played vital roles for the Rams, while Lekkas (two hits and an RBI) headed a subdued Guild offence that hit the ball hard early on but was unable to shake a resolute opponent that will be tough ask again in a fortnight.
A GRADE ELIMINATION FINAL: BELLARINE 6 d DEAKIN 1
Despite out-hitting the home side 14 to 9, Deakin was unable to convert its opportunities and could muster just a solitary run – in the sixth, when Cameron Lyons drew a pass, advanced on an infield hit and scored on a double by Hiroshi Narasaki.
Even at that point, it had been catch-up for the Blues all game after Lachlan Hockey swatted a two-RBI single in the bottom of the first and plated a third run on a sacrifice flyball in the third.
With Simon Murry converting further opportunities with timely base hits in the fifth and the eighth, the Bears were able to hold off a Deakin outfit that made a couple of key defensive errors and stranded 11 runners on base as the home side played solid – and at times brilliant - defence throughout.
Carding the win for his club, Hockey had a superb all-round game – tossing six innings for the sole earned run and hitting safely twice for three RBIs – while Murry provided quality support in slamming the gate over three scoreless frames and himself singling twice for two ribbies.
Other serious offensive contributors for the Bears were Lewis Weldon (two hits and two walks) and Wayne Visser (double and three walks), while Narasaki (three hits and an RBI), Mark Rigby (three hits), Kobe Greenhalgh (two hits) and Lachlan Medew (two knocks) were productive with the bat for Deakin – which gifted 11 walks to the Bears as Andrew Brady, Pat Moulton and Chris Webb battled for similar command as that exercised by Hockey and Murry.