Deakin wins five on the trot, Mounties hit form

ROUND 7 produced a mixed bag of thrillers, an upset and a blowout to add real spice into what is already shaping as an enthralling Geelong Baseball Association winter season.

Emerging as a real contender after a sluggish start to its campaign, Deakin dealt league-leading Newport its first loss, while Bellarine — at home — excited its supporters with a walk-off result over Guild and Mounties had a day out with a thumping away win over Colac.

With the leading group of four threatening to gain separation, East Belmont kept itself in post-season contention with a narrow Sunday victory over Lara, a light of other days that has struggled to nail the close games this season.

While the Rams were without some key personnel for this contest — through duties interstate and elsewhere — that takes nothing at all away from the performance of a Deakin outfit that has won five on the trot and is building its winter season nicely.

Scoring the first run of the game on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the second, Newport was rocked by a five-run reply that drove starter Jason Lester from the hill earlier than would have been anticipated by the brains trust of Aaron Green and David Asp — who shared pitching duties as their side battled to get back in the contest.

A two-run Hiroshi Narasaki double in the bottom of five made it extra tough for the visitors.

With half of his side’s hits, Heath Black headlined the offensive stats for Newport, while Deakin had strong contributors in Narasaki, Matt Belfrage (two hits), Andy Medew (hit and two walks), Nathan Warren (hit, BB, HPB from three trips) and Kobe Greenhalgh.

Going scoreless in its past two games, Mounties made light work of the road trip against Colac — which had won a previous encounter back in April but was on the receiving end of an old-fash- ioned shellacking this time around.

The game started brightly enough for the Braves, who chased wayward Mounties starter Gavin Smith from the hill with six earned runs against his name in response to a three-spot by the visitors — although teenage reliever Mitch Collins was well up to the task in spinning two innings of scoreless work while his side piled on the offence.

An avalanche of 10 in the fourth and another six in the top of the last made it supertough for the Braves, who were fragile in defence with six telling errors gifting 10 unearned runs to Mounties. These two clubs have enjoyed some epic stoushes in recent times — and this was no exception, with Guild gaining an early break, being pegged back in the fifth and drawing level in the top of the last before the Bears’ top order manufactured the goahead run that has drawn them level in second on win percentage.

By any measure, the Lions would regard this game as one that got away, given that youngsters Angus McNee (four innings for no hits — albeit counterbalanced by six passes) and Jarryd Wood (two scoreless innings) did an outstanding job for their club, which let itself down by gifting three unearned runs through four defensive errors. Losing six of its nine games by either one or two runs, Lara — with a solitary win back in early April — has slipped to equal last on the A Grade table, while fifthplaced Saints have stayed in touch with the league leaders.

Plating a run in the top of the first, Saints conceded two in the equaliser and a threespot in the third to appear in strife against Lara starter Dan Anson — who held sway until the sixth, when timely hitting led by Marcel Ernstzen gleaned another three for a narrow Saints lead that was stretched marginally in the last.

Saints will play host to Bellarine in a stern test next Saturday, while Lara will be at home to a Newport outfit coming off a loss and likely to be back to full strength.