Match Reports
Seniors Round 9
2 December 2007
FIRSTS 3 def Ormond / Glenhuntly 2
I have often mused over the fact that sport seems to mirror life in general in many, many ways.
No greater evidence of this was provided than in Saturdays game against cellar dwellers Ormond. Facing a game in which a loss would prove devastating we drew the short straw and faced their American import Trevor Caughey. Make no mistake this guy will take a scalp or two and whilst it may seem a bit Irish to think a win against the bottom side could end up being a “two wins” type of game I can see this becoming a reality.
Unfortunately for Trevor and Ormond we had our own go to man on the hill. For the 3rd successive start Andrew Jones was outstanding and picked up his third and our fifth win for the season with another complete game gem. Nine innings, 4 hits 8 strikeouts and 1 walk simply tell the story of how dominant Andrew was and it was only due to his counterparts sterling effort that Ormond remained in front until the 7th.
Mind you we did have a few chances with 10 runners left on and it was probably only a matter of time before we did get on the board but it would be better on all of our tickers if we didn’t leave it quite so late to put the numbers up.
Defensively the whole team supported Andrew very well with just the one error that really didn’t put any great pressure on us. Leon had a nice day with 14 put outs and a couple of assists highlighted by a very slick 6-3-6 double play at an important stage.
As stated earlier despite some chances we were held scoreless until the 7th when Brendan Simmons led off with a blast to the fence in right centre and stretched it into a triple. A situation for the coach to agonise over – one run down, the infield up – do you hit away or do you bunt?
The reality is that the squeeze is absolutely the lowest percentage play in baseball and one that over 20 years of coaching I’ve probably used no more than 5 times - for maybe 2 successful. The other reality is that it gives all you second guessers out there a great talking point. If we don’t score, the coach is a goose; if we do he’s a genius!
With 2 out Brendan Hopcraft, our leading hitter, stepped up and dumped a double down the right field line to not only put the tieing run over but we now have the go ahead run in scoring position.
Another reality about this game is that actual coaching strategy will win you a very minimal number of games. The ability of the players to execute is of far more importance and Hoppy has been at the forefront of our clutch hitters all season.
Michael Oxworth then smashed the ball down the 3rd base line and how the 3rd baseman came up with the ball is beyond me, but his errant throw saw Hoppy score comfortably and the good guys were in front.
With Andrew setting down the visitors the 8th, we looked to tack on an insurance run in our half. Pete led off with a single and after Adam Helleren perfectly executed his bunt we were in business. Things went a little awry when Boo smashed one back to the box and Pete got trapped between 2nd & 3rd to make 2 out. Brendan stole second to put us back in the same situation with a man on 2nd and 2 out and Scott Groner’s pinch hit single did the job.
At 3 – 1 we were not going to lose.
A hard fought win against as good as pitching as we will see – the most important thing was all the things the boys spoke openly and freely about after Thursday’s loss to Fitzroy were put in place.
Well done - bring on Moorabbin next week.
Ormond GH 000 100 000 1 run 4 hits
Upwey FTG 000 000 21X 3 runs 7 hits 1 error
Hits : Simmons 2; Hopcraft, Oxworth, Kimberley, Schroeders, Groner 1 each
RBI’s : Hopcraft, Groner 1 each
Pitching : Jones 9 IP 1 run 1 Erun 4 hits 8 K’s 1BB
SECONDS 17 def Ormond / Glenhuntly 1
The Tigers heading into this match with Ormond Glenhuntly were confident to say the least as last time we met we delivered the perfect game.
Keeping this in mind, we still had to make the plays and make sure the bats were alive from the beginning. We managed to do this right from the start. Our defence & pitching roster were strong limiting the opposition to just 3 hits for the day and striking out 8 of their batters. Offensively the hits were aplenty and with some unfortunate wild pitches and throws from Ormond we capitalised on these errors with aggressive base running and won the game comfortably with a 17-1 result!
Next week sees us visiting the Panthers (Moorabbin) domain and it will be the battle of the big cats!
Go Tigers!
THIRDS 27 def Ormond / Glenhuntly 8
Finding shade was the number one priority for the spectators when we played Ormond Glenhuntly on Sunday and the cricket match at right field provided a few shouts of “Howsthat” during the afternoon. We had a couple of players, Andrew Stork and Nic Unland, on loan as they were unavailable to play for the 2’s on Saturday so it was a bit of a mixed team.
The game got underway in hot blustery conditions with the Tigers having a bit of a struggle getting underway in the batting box. However, successive hits to Storky, Scott Ramsey, Graham Ashburn, Grant Wilkinson and Ben Lewis saw us get 3 runs on the board. Ormond got their batting dig underway and successive great fielding efforts by Andy Williams at short stop saw the first two batters go out at first. Storky who was catching, threw to Sean at third and got the runner when he tried to steal and we get to come out and bat again.
The second dig proved to be very long and productive for the Tigers as we batted through our line up twice. Sean put one over the fence to score the first home run of the game, Ben hit a double, his second for the game, and a triple and everyone got at least one hit with several getting two. Nic also put one over the fence and the spectators started comparing Sean’s and Nic’s home runs and talking about wind assistance. It was all a bit academic as we added 14 runs for the dig to take a commanding lead in the game.
Ormond then gave it a go with the bat but Ashie on the mound had a big dig. 2 strike outs and a pitchers cover to get the third out at first base saw him being involved in every out for the dig. They did get on the score board with a couple of runs and unfortunately some red in the book against us.
Our third dig saw us score another 6 runs and it was Scott Ramsey’s turn to hit a home run again to left field. Wilko got his second 2 base hit for the game and Nic picked up a double as well. Yuley got to bat twice again in the dig. Bottom three and 2 up, 2 down before Ormond decide to hit the ball around a bit. This combined with a couple of walks saw them score 3 runs and keep their supporters cheering.
Top 4 and a string of double base hits starting with Wozza, then Storky and Chris Grey gave us 4 more runs before we go side away. Ormond came out to bat and it was their turn to get a home run , and a triple and score 3 runs before the umpire calls game and we get the 27 to 8 win.
In what was a batting feast Scott just got the batting award as he went 4 from 4 including a home run, Ben almost got the complete set with a single, two doubles and a triple, Grant was also very close as he also went 4 from 4 being 2 doubles and 2 singles, Nic and Sean both got a home run and a single base hit each, Storky 2 singles and a double, Ashie a double and a triple, Yuley got 2 singles, Wozza and Chris both got doubles and Andy got a sac fly.
We are still second on the ladder on percentage behind Mulgrave and in front of Fitzroy and Bonbeach so we can not sit back and relax yet. Next week we are at home against Moorabbin and I look forward to seeing you there. All the best from the scribe.
FOURTHS 25 def Ormond / Glenhuntly 3
The 4’s ran into a very different OGH lineup from our first match in round two with only half their original players returning. There was a lot more youth on their side this time and perhaps they thought that would give them an advantage. Alas for them it was not to be with UFTG notching up 25 runs to 3 for our fourth win on the trot.
This week it was the older guys showing the way with the bat. Geoff Williams continued his good form with 3 from 3 including two doubles. His base running however was the highlight, almost causing our second “disagreement” in two games when he avoided a run down at second by flapping his arms wildly at the first baseman who was trying to run him down and then later being stranded about 30 feet from home after being sent by Josh Y who was perhaps a bit overly optimistic about his U16 coach’s foot speed. Steve Thomson came up from the 5ths and promptly went 4 for 4 with three doubles. He also managed to hook one foul ball onto the train headed to Dandenong. Rusty Bratton did a good job as our lead-off with 3 for 5. A special mention also needs to be made of our latest recruit, the self-confessed “Forty Nine Year Old Fat Rookie” (otherwise known as Phil) who went 3 for 5 and was unlucky not to hit a couple of bombs (his timing was just a wee bit off – seriously). He’s also pretty useful in the field to tell the truth.
Michael Rice once again did a great job limiting the opposition batters with a solid pitching effort. Our error rate continues to drop although we can rush things a bit when it’s not necessary. Communication in the field was also good but continues to be the one area where we still have a ways to go. Overall a very good day and proof that this team will be contenders come finals time as long as we continue to train hard and get the basic right.
May the Fourths be with you.
FIFTHS 6 def Cheltenham 4
This week we faced Cheltenham, who we had lost to in the first round with only seven players. With Rob Jones and Bob Simonton coming off the disabled list and a full list we had much better chance of taking the points.
We scored in the first innings with our lead off batter Gotch ripped a single to centre off the first pitch. He then stole second. Gin pushed him around to third with a hit to left. We scored on the first and third steal play as the opposition elected to throw gin out at second. A caught stealing and a fly ball terminated our good start.
We took the field and had them with two out quickly with a first up strike out by Tim Annett on the Hill and a routine ground ball to Gotch at second. We let them get a run across due to a walk a stolen base and wild throw. Tim closed down their innings with his second strike out.
Despite getting the lead of runner on base we failed to put a runner past second base in our second batting innings.We then did the same thing to our opposition in the bottom of the second and after walking the first batter Tim suck out the next three to retire the side. Smokin!!
In our next innings we took advantage of a fielding error and strung together a couple of hits in the middle order and put across two runs.
In this innings we started off where we left off getting two outs with Tim fielding a ground ball and then Tim Watson taking a fly at rightfield. We then loaded up the bases with a coupe of walks but Tim managed to get his control back to strike out the third batter shutting down the innings with out them scoring. In the four inning we where sat back down in order with our guys hitting fly ball and ground outs.
The bottom of the inning Cheltenham put over one run. The first out was a strike out to Tim who shortly afterwards reached his pitch count. Gin then took over on the hill and got the second out by fielding a ground ball and the third out was a high fly ball to Gotch.
In the next innings we had the top of our order back up and again took advantage of an error to put on the lead off man. We then put together three hits and a sac fly to score three runs.
The bottom of the fifth Cheltenham threatened with getting some runners on base due a couple of walks but we where able to shut them down with out scoring again. Bob Simonton at third accounted for two outs is innings with a ground out and chasing down a foul fly ball. The third out was a ground ball to Gotch at second.
In the last inning we did not get a good start with our first two batters going out. We then got some runners with a couple of hits but we failed to score the runs.
In Cheltenham’s final innings we walked the first runner. Then Gin strike out the next batter. Goose at Centre run in to take a good catch for the second out. Then Cheltenham where able to get two run across due to a couple of hits. Then the batter who is the tying run puts a long ball out to right field and Tim Watson runs it down at full stretch to take the fly ending the game.
Hitting
Jin Chin Tu Wu 4, Steve Leggy 3, Gotchy 2 singles to Rob Jones and Scott Legge. (db).
Highlights - Tim Annett with 7 K’s
See a fourty year old rookie behind the dish.
Rob Jones continued versatility in defence
Being completive all day and coming away with the points
The forty year old fat rookie.
WOMEN'S 9 lost to Malvern 17