Rangers start home run in style
BASEBALL: With a spot in the GBL division three finals up for grabs over the coming weeks, it is a case of win or stay home for the Toowoomba Rangers.
At the weekend the club began its five-game stand at Commonwealth Oval in perfect fashion, defeating All Stars 10-1.
Despite two scoreless innings to start the match, the home side picked it up in the third, dropping three runs on their opponents.
This was countered with a single to start the fourth, however the Rangers went into overdrive with the bat at the bottom of the innings, scoring seven runs and putting the game out of reach before its conclusion in the sixth.
Toowoomba player-coach Darryl Luchterhand said the side was able to overcome a slow start on Sunday, however recognised they would need to rectify that against stronger opposition.
“We’ve always got the ability, but against the better teams we’ll have to do that early in order to try and take them out of the game,” Luchterhand said.
“Everyone got a hit which was great. Brenton Althaus got two and Sean Rodgers had a few hits as well.
“The good thing was that we were actually doing the little things right. We got a couple of base hits out of bunts, and a pleasing thing was that we not only got the job done, but got those bonuses as well.”
Luchterhand said being able to call on small ball tactics when required is important, particularly as they prepare for a finals charge.
“It’s good to know that we can play a bit of small ball for when we have to,” he said.
“There might be times against Windsor (this weekend) where we have to.
“They are very strong offensively and swing the bats well. They’re averaging over 10 runs a game and put 10 on us the last time we played.”
The weekend’s victory ensures the Rangers remain firmly in a clustered top-four, with teams closely following outside the four.
This weekend’s game against fellow finals contender Windsor has been labelled a “mustwin” by Luchterhand.
“I think if we win we will make the four, and if we lose we might just miss out,” he said.
“Every weekend is a grand final now. We can’t rely on teams to drop games, and our destiny is in our own hands.”