Summer and Masters Summary
Summer League
The second round back after the break saw the Redbacks (2nd) and Pittwater Marlins (4th) matching up in the early game, with the Brewers (1st) taking on the Seasiders (7th) and the Big Dogs (3rd) up against the Manly Futures (5th).
The Redbacks jumped out to a slender lead early against the Marlins, with Ben Logue controlling the game from the mound over two innings for the Redbacks. Some clutch hitting helped the Redbacks pile on some late runs and the Marlins bats could not respond as they went down 8-1, with Chris Hurley closing down the game for the Redbacks.
In the 3.30pm game, the Forest Brewers scored early and often as they accounted for the Seasiders 11-0. Sean Chivers got the win for the Brewers, with Nathan Stenning coming on to close out the game. Brent Joyce was strong on the mound over the final two innings for the Seasiders, but it was too little too late with the damage already done in the early innings.
Over on A1, the Big Dogs played out a tight game against the Manly Futures, with the Big Dogs finally prevailing 3-0 over 7 innings. The Big Dogs took the lead early scoring a run in the top of the 1st inning. They extended the lead to three runs in the 3rd inning as fielding errors hurt the young Manly team. Blake Brown dominated on the mound, getting the win for the Big Dogs.
The action pauses over the Australia Day long weekend before we return on the 2nd of February. The pick of the games will be the 3.30pm match-up between the Forest Brewers (1st) and Big Dogs (3rd).
Tough Dog Masters (over 35s)
Round two of the Tough Dog Masters Cup saw Pittwater vs Mosman in the 6.30pm match up, with Forest taking on the reigning champions Ballers team in the late game.
In the early game, Mosman watched the game slip away early and couldn’t recover in a 6-3 loss. Pittwater scored two runs in the first inning on a fielder’s choice by Adam Davis and a walk by Shaun Thompson to take an early 2-0 lead.
No more runs were forthcoming until the third inning as both Eric Mena (Mosman) and Rob Chessell (Pittwater) controlled the game from the mound. At the top of the third inning Pittwater stretched their lead to 3-0 on a single by Thompson. The lead increased to 5-0 in the fourth inning through singles by Matt Jones, David Webb, Chessell and Davis.
Mosman responded in the bottom of the fourth through a triple by Owen Harris and an error by Pittwater.
Pittwater increased the lead again in the top of the 5th with a double to Chessell scoring Simon Alexander to make the score 6-1, before Mosman put two more runs on the board late, through a single to Andrew Turner, a walk to Blake Gregory and double by Pat Misciagna. Final score 6-3.
Chessell was credited with the victory for Pittwater. He surrendered zero runs on five hits over three innings, striking out two and walking one. Adam Bridle threw two innings in relief out of the bullpen.
Andrew Turner led Mosman with two hits in three at bats. Pittwater scattered ten hits in the game. Chessell, David Webb, and Thompson each racked up multiple hits for Pittwater.
In the late game, the Ballers snuck home 8-6, with a late flurry of runs keeping their undefeated streak alive. The Ballers opened up scoring in the first inning, scoring two runs when Mark Olofinski singled.
Forest evened things up at two in the bottom of the first inning, with an RBI to John Farrant and an error scoring the runs.
However the Ballers pulled away for good with two runs in the second inning. Anthony Dixon doubled on the first pitch of his at bat scoring one run, and Imran Khan singled on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring one run. Forest responded with one run in the bottom of the third inning, leaving the scores at 4-3 going into the fourth inning.
The Ballers managed to pull away to 8-3 at the top of the fourth, scoring four runs through two walks, a double by Dixon and an error. Forest responded, tallying three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning but in the end couldn’t get over the line. Forest hitting in the fourth was led by Shawn Elliott, Joe Weller, and John Farrant, all sending runners across the plate with RBIs.
Khan earned the victory on the mound for Ballers. He lasted three innings, allowing three hits and three runs (one earned). Tim Malone threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen. Farrant took the loss for Forest. He allowed five hits and four runs (zero earned) over three innings, striking out two.
Play resumes on the 4th of February as Pittwater take on Forest in the 6.30pm game to claim outright 2nd spot on the table. Mosman take on the Ballers in the 8.15pm game.