By Sean Talbot
Under brilliant blue skies at Boeing Reserve in Strathmore Heights on Sunday, the Upwey Ferntree Gully Tigers avenged their midweek loss to Essendon by posting a 6-2 win to take the season series 2-1 against the second placed against the Bombers and retain their grip on 3rd place on the Premier League ladder.
Working around the absence of starters Donavon Hendricks and Jack Ratcliffe, the Tigers sent ace Jarrod Turner to face off against Gareth Formisano in a showdown of two of the leagues best starting pitchers in a must-win for both clubs to ensure their place firmly within the top 3 on the ladder. Jumping Formisano in the top of the first inning, Wade McConnon tripled for the third successive game to right field before scoring on Jordan Elliott’s one-out single to left field, putting the Tigers on the board and registering two of the 11 hits the Tigers would tally against the Essendon righty. Sitting Essendon down in order in the bottom of the 1st, Turner ensured the pressure went right back on the home team as Andy Kane lined a hard hit, one out single to left field before teenage sensation Ryder Wilson doubled into the left field corner on the sixth pitch of a hard fought at bat, scoring Kane before Peter Schroeders grounded out to Jared Cruz.
Working around a Tim Sullivan leadoff base hit, Turner posted another scoreless inning as the Bombers were unable to successfully bunt their runner beyond 1st base and were quickly back on defence where they found themselves on the receiving end of another two Tigers runs courtesy of a McConnon leadoff single, Elliott’s second hit of the game, a Josh Hendricks RBI single to centerfield which was capped off by Staci Rogers sacrifice flyball to left field, pushing the score to 4-0 and sending panic through the Essendon camp. Trading scoreless third and fourth innings, the Tigers plated a fifth run in the top of the 5th inning as Randy Senn stroke a two-out single, advancing to 2nd on Rogers’ second hit of the day before coming round to score on a bang-bang play at home plate after Kane’s second hit of the day, this one adding an RBI to his stat sheet. Sam Street was promptly called in from the bullpen and tattooed Nick Rice with his first pitch, leaving the Tigers right fielder with what was appearing to be a third knee due growing above his left.
Not to be left behind or off the scoreboard, the Bombers rallied in the bottom half of the inning with Cam Deeble working a 6-pitch leadoff walk before Cody Rodwell unloaded a fastball over the left field fence that was last reported to be landing somewhere near Tullamarine Airport for a 2-run home run, getting the home squad on the board before Turner snagged a line drive off the batt of Marc Sayers. The visitors were kept off the scoreboard again in the 6th as Street induced a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Elliott to end the frame after plunking McConnon with one out. Turner again kept Essendon off the scoreboard in the bottom half, working a 1-2-3 inning that saw Jarryd Rogers put up a fight with a 10-pitch at bat that featured six foul balls before ultimately flying out to Kane in left field.
Street drilled his third hitter of the game as Hendricks wore on for the team leading off the 7th inning, however Street would again find his way out of trouble, getting Senn to strike out, Rogers to ground into a fielders choice and Kane to fly out to centerfield. Essendon threatened to put another score on the board in the bottom of the 7th as Sullivan singled and Deeble beating out a bunt to Hendricks before Michael Formisano struck out and Lachlan Condie grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, the second out of which cause uproar in the Essendon camp as they believed Condie had avoided Hendricks’ tag, however the call was upheld and the Tigers tight roped out of danger yet again.
Held in check by Street who was settled into his work and recording outs with minimal pitches, the Tigers called on Wes de Jong from the bullpen to take over from Turner who had again gone 7 or more innings, leaving his team with the lead and a real chance to close out another Upwey victory. de Jong struck out Rodwell to lead off the inning before finding himself in a second and third, one-out situation after Sayers singled and Cruz doubled, however de Jong was more than up to the challenge has he struck out Jack Giles on six pitches before getting the ever threatening Rogers to ground out to Hendricks at first base.
With Essendon making the call to M Formisano to take the ball after manning right field all game, the Tigers ensured he was given no time to settle, as Elliott reached on a single and advanced on a wild pitch before Hendricks blooped a ball into no mans land behind first base that effectively acted a sacrifice bunt as with Deeble, who made a terrific diving play found himself unable to get rid of the ball as Elliott took full advantage of the opportunity and advanced to third before Senn singled to centerfield to plate the Tigers 6th and final run of the afternoon. With de Jong taking the mound in the 9th inning, Sullivan laced his third hit of the day before giving way to Harrison Haigh to take over as a pinch runner, whose inexperience resulted in him being gunned down from left field by a Kane-McConnon-Rogers relay play after Deeble singled to the left field wall. de Jong then induced a fly ball out from Formisano before striking out pinch hitter Max Leuga to end the same and seal the Tigers victory.
McConnon, Elliott, Hendricks, Senn and Kane lead the way for the Tigers with 2 hits apiece, with Elliott, Hendricks, Senn, Rogers, Kane and Wilson registering RBI’s, while Turner thew 7 innings for 5 hits, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts for his 2 earned runs, whilst de Jong scattered 4 hits and 3 strikeouts in his appearance.
The win sees Upwey retain their stranglehold on third place with an 11-7 record as they now sit just behind Essendon (11-5) with Waverley (13-3) still in top spot but certainly within striking distance of the top four. The Tigers are back on the road next weekend as they again travel to Berwick to take on the Cougars.
The 2nds were looking to rebound after a tough loss last week against Sunshine, however they were unable to be on the positive side of the outcome as they lost their second game in 3 starts to Essendon, this time to the turn of a 4-1 result. Getting the start for Upwey, Sean Meldrum was put to the sword by the hosts from the first inning, as they continually put balls in play and kept the pressure on a Tigers team who were caught flat footed on defense, committing 4 errors throughout the game in another uncharacteristically sloppy showing from the normally clean fielding squad. Meldrum gave way to Josh Yung in the 4th after surrendering 4 runs (1 earned). Jung kept the game close, however the Essendon trio of Cody Rodwell, Laclan Amon and Hudson Pallay were just too much for the Upwey hitters to overcome.
The loss sees Upwey drop to 3rd place with an 8-5 record as they look ahead to their clash with the 6-4-2 Cougars next week.
It was 2nd v 5th as the 3rds also travelled to Essendon, looking to take the points and jump into equal first place with Blackburn. Facing an imposing lineup with multiple former 1sts players in it, the Tigers were more than up to the task as Dan Smith stymied the normally potent Bomber offense and kept his squad in the game as the Tigers looked to find the decisive run to secure the win in an incredibly competitive game. The teams could not be separated when time was called however, with a 3-3 game showing the strength of the two teams and the competitiveness of both the game and the Premier League Thirds itself. Upwey now holds a 7-3-1 record in clear second place as they host the 7th placed, 4-7-1 Berwick on Sunday at Kings Park.
The 4ths continued their undefeated season on the road, belting the Bombers to the tune of a 15-4 scoreline that saw them send 15 hitters to the plate while putting a 10 spot on the scoreboard in the top of the 3rd, blowing the game wide open before adding a further run in the 4th and 3 more in the 6th for good measure, well and truly running away with the result and proving why they are the measuring stick in the competition and the clear flag favorites. Steve Williams (3 hits, 1 RBI), Russell Ferguson (3 hits, 2 RBI) and Tarquin Booth (3 hits incl. home run, 3 RBI) were the pick of the hitters for the Tigers, while Russell Ferguson and Dom McGrath shared pitching duties with minimal resistance. Upwey (12-0) plays host to Berwick (0-12) next week in what should be another tally in the win column for the Tigers, as they have given up almost as many runs for the season total (18) as what the Cougars have on average per game this season (14.3).
The Regional Metro East 5ths travelled to Research Lower Plenty to take on the Roadrunners and promptly accomplished what Wile E. Coyote never could, stopping them in their tracks whilst posting a comfortable 11-2 win in a game that was all but over in the 2nd inning as the Tigers plated 5 and put the game out of reach before adding additional runs in the 3rd, 4th, 5 and 6th innings. The Tigers tallied 15 hits for the day in a true team effort, with Tom Hurley (3 hits) and Mark Livingston (3 hits) being the standouts on the day. The win sees Upwey improve to 8-3-1and jump into sole possession of 4th place as they look ahead to Waverley Red (1st place, 10-1) next week in a game that should be an absolute pearler as both teams look to build momentum down the stretch.
The Regional Metro South 6ths were unable to take advantage of home cooking as they hosted the Moorabbin Panthers at Kings Park on Sunday, staring down the barrel of a hard fought 13-6 loss. While only 1.5 games separated the two squads on the ladder, the Panthers experience and depth ultimately proved to be the deciding factor as they applied continual pressure to the home side, putting balls in play and forcing errors to take the points home to AW Oliver Reserve as they now sit at .500 after improving to 6-6 on the season. The loss sees the Tigers drop to 6th place and 5-8 on the season as they face an acid test in 2nd placed Bonbeach on the road next weekend in a game that could very well end the Tigers playoff hopes if they are unable to secure the points.
Looking to host the Pakenham Black Pumas at home on Saturday, the Lady Tigers were unfortunately given a 9-0 walkover as Pakenham could not field enough players for a team and ultimately forfeited the result. The win sees Upwey remain perfect at the top of the Womens Metro South ladder with a 12-0 record as they prepare to hit the road and travel to Moorabbin on Saturday to take on the 4th placed Lady Panthers in what is shaping up to be a must win game for the ladies from the bay as they hope to hold onto their finals dreams against the true flag favourites.
