Last round all about gaining the mental edge before finals

WITH the A Grade four already settled, teams qualifying for Geelong Baseball Association finals action had at least something to play for in the last round — in terms of gaining any intangible mental edge over their opponents and allowing managers and players the opportunity to work around injuries, playing form or other concerns in preparation for semi-final week.

Embarking on a scoring spree after a tight first two innings, league-leading Bellarine dealt a 10-2 loss to secondplaced Saints, Guild faltered against Lara — which posted a 9-5 win in a Retro Day at the stadium — and Royals mounted a stirring recovery to nail Deakin 8-6 before a windswept throng gathered for a Ballarat baseball reunion.

BELLARINE 10, SAINTS 2

With Cody Anderson (Saints) and Lachlan Hockey (Bellarine) spinning scoreless early innings, it was the Bears who came alive with a threespot in the top of the third, compliments of timely hitting by key offensive players in Wayne Visser, Simon Murry and Lewis Weldon.

While Hockey held sway to put up zeroes in another superb outing (no hits over four scoreless frames), his side continued to press against Saints reliever Cooper Rickard — who experienced some control issues as the visitors stretched the lead in the fourth and fifth before Connor Hughes was called upon to stem the flow.

Holding a ten-zip lead into the middle of six, the Bears remained untroubled despite a couple of late runs off Pat Brackley as the contest petered out to a fairly bland ending.

Applying a total of nine hits in effective scoring conversion, Bellarine was well-served by Visser (two hits and three RBIs in another telling performance), Murry (two and two), Kris Kiefel (one and two) and Weldon (one and two), while Josh Lee, Will Brennan and Connor Hughes were the only players to hit safely for Saints.

Bellarine will be home team to Saints when these two sides meet again in the second semifinal at Bellarine on Saturday.

LARA 9, GUILD 5

Going with Travis Arandt on the hill, Lara plated a run in the first and would have been delighted with the starting work of its pitcher — who held the Lions scoreless over two while his club put up a fourspot in the top of three.

Although Guild hit back with two in the equaliser, the Wildcats edged further ahead and called Jarrod Fraim into the fray to hold the line through another four innings of impressive work against a strong offensive side that was never in the contest against a couple of part-time hurlers who showed decent control in jointly conceding just two walks over the errorless eightinning contest.

While the Guild pitching trio of Travis Duxson, Jarryd Wood and Angus McNee was equally on song, the Wildcats took full advantage of scoring opportunities through the likes of Cameron Forbes (three hits and an RBI), Fraim (two and two), Jared Berman (two and one), Dan Anson ( two and one), Mitch Miller (one and two), Stuart Forbes (two hits) and Arandt (two RBIs).

Ryan Stewart (three hits and an RBI) and Jarrod Durston (two and two) were the best of a Guild offence that will be well aware of the capabilities of its seasoned opponent when the clubs meet again next Saturday.

Guild will play host to Lara in the elimination first semifinal at Geelong Baseball Centre on Saturday, August 31.

ROYALS 8, DEAKIN 6

Despite a barnstorming offensive start by the visitors, Ballarat Royals continued its dominance over Deakin this season, recovering from a substantial early deficit to end its inaugural A Grade season on a positive note.

Belting five in the second as Royals starter Jordan Isbister struggled with direction, Deakin was well held through subsequent innings by a home club that played some remarkable defence and remained upbeat while pegging back the early lead and edging to a narrow lead after four.

Although the Blues tied the game up in the top of five, Isbister stuck to his task and was ultimately rewarded with the win as his side cashed in on defensive miscues and timely hitting to score a game-breaking two runs in the bottom of the last.

While Deakin hurler Chris Webb (two hits and three RBIs), Zac Seipolt (two hits), Kobe Greenhalgh (two hits and an RBI) and Stephen Pengelly (one and one) were productive for Deakin, the Royals offence exploited the offensive grunt provided by Leigh Ashmore (two hits and two ribbies), Jedd Miller (three and one), Isbister (two and one) and Tyler Channell (one and two).

Both clubs have failed to qualify for the A Grade finals, although they will be following with interest the fortunes of their lower grades — where both have teams qualified for playoffs.