7/03/10 Eagles’ Noses Bloodied
Sunday marked the beginning of the end of the 09/10 season with the commencement of the finals series. It was also a day that we were reminded just how difficult winning a pennant will be in the face of stern, talented opposition such as what we encountered.
Expectations were of course understandably high given the pinnacle of success that we have achieved in attaining top rankings after the minor round, but what was exposed was a vulnerability to the ravages of finals baseball and the unforgiving nature of sport when three of our top ranked teams were shown in no uncertain terms that they will not win this year’s pennant race without a fight.
The Under 18’s were ambushed by a very talented outfit from Glenelg who have formidable pitching talent and batted superbly to rout a previously imperturbable unit. The Under 16’s were blighted in similar fashion by a resurgent Sturt unit, albeit that their team balance was crucially affected by injury and illness. The Under 14 Green Machine fared better with an ultimately convincing win against the Dodgers, but not before some spirited resistance was quelled by some Eagle brilliance and the vagaries of the weather. The most exciting outcome of the day was a first semi-final nail biter where the Under 14 Dineen Machine clung on to a 2 run lead in the top of the last frame with bases loaded to eliminate the Dodgers. Sturt bushwhacked the Little League Major lads in a game where Sturt’s starting pitcher was magnificent. Ronnie Paulus’ Little League Minor boys were also run to a very close result in winning against Goodwood by the narrowest of margins.
The wash up is of course that we live to fight another day by virtue of having finished in first place. The unfortunate thing is that we have now conceded home Grand Final rights should we make it through the final hurdle next weekend in three of the four grades we topped. Nevertheless, we now know what we have to overcome if we are to hoist the grand final trophy.
Commiserations to the Division 1 side whose late season rush was ultimately in vain as they fell agonisingly short of qualification for the finals having swept aside most opposition over the last few weeks. It was encouraging that so many junior players and new graduates from the junior ranks were given the opportunity to play senior baseball and including the A grade team. With the club having been crowned the leading Junior club in the competition for four consecutive years, we now have a crop of talented juniors ready to supplement and augment the senior talent with which we are blessed.
The club scoreboard for this week reads as follows:
WT Result Opponent Season Ladder
Division 1 20 defeated Henley & Grange 2 12 – 11 (8th)
Division 1 18 defeated Northern District 2 13 – 11 (8th)
Division 2 20 defeated Henley & Grange 2 15 – 6 – 2 (3rd)
Division 2 13 defeated Northern Districts 3 16 – 6 – 2 (3rd)
Division 3 1 defeated Goodwood 4 1 – 0
Division 6 6 defeated Adelaide 5 1 – 0
Under 18 3 lost to Glenelg 14 0 – 1
Under 16 1 lost to Sturt 9 0 – 1
Under 14 (1) 12 defeated Golden Grove 4 1 – 0
Under 14 (2) 10 defeated Golden Grove 8 1 – 0
LL Major 1 lost to Sturt 12 0 – 1
LL Minor 10 defeated Goodwood 9 10 – 6 (4th)
Eagles stumble under fire
The Under 18 Eagles hosted Glenelg in a top of the table encounter, freshly primed from stand out performances in the weeks leading up to the game. Dylan Chuck started on the mound and Glenelg announced its intentions immediately by posting hits and putting runners in scoring position. Chucky and the Eagles responded but were forced to concede a couple of early runs. Glenelg fronted with bright prospect in Greg Mosel whose pitching in the first half of the game was exceptional. He completely shut down the line up for a series of three up three down innings before we even had a base runner, courtesy of a walk. In the meantime, the Bays had added more runs. We then contributed to our own demise, by not being able to execute the basics under pressure, committing the cardinal sin of not being able to throw strikes, and then committing Under 12 like errors with wild throws on regulation put outs, dropped balls on regulation put outs and then dropping fly balls, all of which sent a gleeful Glenelg into a scoring frenzy which ended mercifully at 14 – 3. This was a dark day for the Under 18’s, who now must work out of their skin to exact retribution in the only manner possible, defeating next week’s opponents and set up a re-match in a fortnight’s time.
Mead’s men ransacked at the Bay
Already missing their starting catcher through injury suffered in the Under 18 game, the back up catcher was also sick, meaning that we had to pull in our short stop to catch, our centre fielder to play short stop and move around our outfield to cover centre. Additionally, our first base starter was forced to the outfield because of a hand injury suffered in another sport. It was a less than ideal start for Rick Mead’s team and eventually a gleeful Sturt, who I’m sure couldn’t believe their luck, quite appropriately cashed in on our misfortune, given the talent in their team. After holding early with Fulton on the mound going to Nico Vanderlinden, the score line read 1 all, before the wheels came off and Sturt posted some solid hitting that we complemented with some free passes. In finals, these things come back to haunt you and the damage was done. The final score was an unflattering 12 – 1-mercy decision. The saving grace is that we have a week to regroup and sort through our injuries and get into the game with a positive mindset.
Green Machine Turn the Tables on Dodgers
The Under 14 Green Machine began their finals campaign by squaring the ledger against the Dodgers whose 1 run win in November was the only loss suffered in the minor round. This time around, the game was played at the Nest and things were decidedly different with Brad Dedrick going on the mound to Ethan Haylock. Coach Green also had his A-grade infield in position and largely they were magnificent in defense against a feisty Dodgers outfit who fought the match out gamely. The undoubted highlights were the magnificent running backhanded catch by Nathan Byrnes at deep centre right and his backing up and throw out at second of the runner going from first on a wild throw from third. Magnificent team baseball Byrnesy!! It held the Dodgers to just two and got us the third out. The Eagle bats were again active as this potent lineup produced hit after hit. Lucas Hunter sliced deep to right twice for base hits, Brad Dedrick, omnipotent as ever looms large at the plate every time. Mitch Duval roped a ball down the left field line, Connor Foley slap hit brilliantly and Nathan Byrnes backed up his great outfielding by hitting and bunting well. This was a terrific team performance. Lucas Hunter came on to close the game on the mound and he was immaculate, backed up by his field and underscored the sixth dig. The weather intervened at the bottom of the sixth making conditions for fielding and pitching very difficult. During this time we were able to post an unassailable 8 run lead before time was called. This win secures a possible home Grand Final, assuming we can get over a strong Southern Districts team who last game ran us to a one run ball game. We will have to play well or it will have all been for nought. Grand Finals are earned, not given and pennants are even harder earned.
Dineen Machine win first semi in a thriller
The Under 14 Dineen Machine held on for a dramatic, tension filled win in the top of the seventh inning with bases loaded and a big crowd holding its breath. Pitcher William Lampard having come on in relief for starter James Appleton, had issued a couple of free bases, struck out one batter and had a good catch taken and faced what turned out to be the last batter with the count full. Happily for the Eagles, Will’s pitch went down the middle and the Dodgers batter chose to look at it before the umpire quite correctly pulled the chain, handing a win to the Eagles, calming coach Dineen’s nerves along with coach Kylie Lampard, scorer Bernadette Donaldson and the many parents and friends watching in the crowd. The Eagles had earlier bounced out to a big lead, but the Dodgers to their credit did not lie down and continued to force the game to its dramatic conclusion. The Eagles now move on to a preliminary final probably at Sturt, where hopes will be up that we can conjure another win and give ourselves a shot at Northern Districts in the Grand Final.
Little League Major blown off the Diamond by whirlwind Sturt
Having made the observation just last week that Sturt were breathing down our necks, ample evidence of this fact was provided by a Sturt outfit that enjoyed a day out at the expense of the Jamie Boydon/Tim Mead lead Eagles. The wheels started to wobble early and with Sturt’s pitcher Brodie Macbeth in great form, the Eagle bats were quelled and we struggled to make any impression on the scoreboard at all eventually losing 1 – 12. As in other losses suffered today, we now know the standard to which we must play if we are to lift the trophy at the end. First of all, however, we have to win the next game to get a chance to test out Sturt again.
Little League Minors hold out the Tribe in a thriller
Ron Paulus’ Little League Minor boys had to venture down to Glenelg because of all the activity at the nest. They did so thrillingly in posting a 10-9 win and didn’t coach Paulus have a big smile on his dial when he arrived back to share the news. Well done boys, its great to see you playing good baseball and learning how to have fun with this game.
March 14th Preliminary Final Day
Little League Minor: Coach: Ron Paulus
Kensington, Away at Kensington on Junior Diamond
Starting at 10.00am (report 9.00am)
Little League Major: Coaches: Jamie Boydon and Tim Mead
Goodwood, Home on the Junior Diamond Preliminary Final
Starting at 10.00am (report 9.00am)
Under 14 (2): Coach: Rob Dineen
Sturt, Away on the Main Diamond Preliminary Final
Starting at 12.30pm (report at 11.30am)
Under 14 (1): Coach: David Green
Southern Districts, Home on the Junior Diamond Preliminary Final
Starting at 12.30pm (report at 11.30am)
Under 16: Coach: Rick Mead
East Torrens, Home on the Main Diamond Preliminary Final
Starting at 12.30pm (report at 11.30am)
Under 18: Coach: Brett Ettridge
Woodville, Home on the Main Diamond Preliminary Final
Starting at 10.00am (report 9.00am)
Finals Selection Policy
During the regular season, we expect our coaches to rotate their squads through different positions, infield, outfield, pitching, catching and whatever their skill and experience allows. They also shuffle the batting order to make sure that players are given a fair opportunity at bat. When we enter the finals race, coaches are allowed to choose what they consider to be the line-up that best suits the team’s positional needs. They will endeavour to include all of the squad, but cannot guarantee that every player will see game time.
Junior Presentation Night
For your calendar, the wind up for the 2009/10 season will be Friday 26 March 2010 at the Club Rooms. Players in all Grades are eligible for awards. Coaches are asked to choose three players to receive awards recognising excellence, improvement, or persistence or any combination that they see fit. Our younger players will also receive special recognition for playing and this year will include the Tee ball All Stars that debuted under the tutelage of Andrew Scott and Robert Baker. Please keep this date free as it is our final function for the 09/10 season and we’d love to see you there.
See you at the Ball Park.
Yours in Baseball
Mark McGarry
Junior Chairman
West Torrens Baseball Club
