Run out ties Swans twice in week
FOURTH-placed South Barwon has played its second tie in six days after the Swans were unable to be separated from Lara at Bisinella Oval.
Fresh from sharing the points with Newtown and Chilwell, South Barwon struck 7-187 against the Cats, after Henry Melville (27) and Harry Hauenstein (24) negotiated the heavy weather induced by emerging Lara firebrand Mitch Heyward (3-37).
“It was probably close to the best that he’s bowled all year,” Cats skipper Daniel Weigl said.
“He’s coming along in leaps and bounds, and I think he’ll be good for us for a long time.”
Needing to accelerate the scoring, Clinton Peake climbed into the bowling with a 29minute 35, but it was the 54run, 27-minute union between Brad Hauenstein (31 not out) and Zac Thorne (26 not out) that propelled the Swans to a competitive tally.
Lara answered positively through Vishesh Malhotra (39), Daniel Weigl (35), Rob Sodomaco (38) and Brenden Miller (23), although a string of
LARA 187 SOUTH BARWON 7-187
starts failed to see a big innings develop, triggering the Swans’ second final-ball thriller in a row as Heyward (3) was run out with the scores tied.
“We always like to encourage our guys to execute and go for it, but it’s about choosing the times to take those risks,” Weigl said.
“There were a few dismissals that needed to be reined in a little bit.
“We weren’t at full strength, with Brad McMaster and Danny Hughes out, and we didn’t play at our best, but we were still able to get a tie against another finals side.”
Evergreen Swans seamer Brad Hauenstein was brilliant with 4-22, while Kaushik Jagannathan left his mark on the contest with 2-31.
South Barwon must now defeat Highton in the final round or risk being replaced in the four by Newtown & Chilwell, while Lara will meet North Geelong with top spot in GCA1 up for grabs.