BASEBALL: Traralgon Dominates Grand Final Positions.The Preliminary Finals were held on Sunday in the Edison Mission Energy Latrobe Valley Baseball Association. By Latrobe Valley Baseball Association - 13th September 2001 - Back to News The Preliminary Finals were held on Sunday in the Edison Mission Energy Latrobe Valley Baseball Association. In an eventful day the Traralgon Redsox will be represented in six of the seven Grand Final match-ups come Sunday.
The A grade Preliminary game was a low scoring tight contest between Moe/Newborough and Sale. Good pitching kept runners on base as neither team could gain a clear advantage. Both teams had six safe hits for the day with the Dodgers Tim Wilson and Sale’s Ken Bailey having two hits respectively.
The Dodgers scored first off a double by Wilson. Greg Carmody quickly answered for Sale in their first dig also scoring off a double. The Dodgers went ahead in the third 3-1 due to some good selective hitting and hard running off the bases. Once again Sale answered back in the bottom half of the third with three runs to take the lead 4-3. A double to Simon Dimarco backed up with a double to Darren Coburn and a single to Ken Bailey gave Sale the edge after three innings.
The Dodgers then halted Sale’s scoring with Duanne Baker again proving to be too strong in the pitching department. Moe/Newborough tied the scores in the fourth, at 4-4, after another Tim Wilson double drove in Simon Wilson. Sale changed pitchers to Greg Carmody and the Dodgers immediately went on the attack with three runs in the sixth to effectively close out the game. A double to Brian Spiteri and bunt play to Gary White helped in the runners to set up a Grand Final replay for the fourth year running with Traralgon at Sale on Sunday.
The teams were hard to separate in the B grade contest as the lead changed hands regularly. Greg Johnson was dominating on the mound for Sale and finished with seven strikeouts from four innings. Scores were tied at 3-3 after three innings. Mark Wilson was doing an equally impressive job on the mound for the Dodgers as he finished with four strikeouts from five innings and was again one of his teams best. Kirk Went and David Robinson had two hits each for the Dodgers in the team’s 6-5 victory. David Lambourn, Alex Greenwood along with Johnston were Sale’s top performers.
Prior to the C grade game a ceremony was held to honour Traralgon Redsox President Peter Hornstra and club stalwart Peter O’Callaghan. Mayor David Jenkins presented the pair with framed certificates to for their contributions to the Traralgon Baseball Club over the years.
A determined Traralgon team came out after the ceremony and dominated the Churchill Braves early. Steve O’Callaghan was pitching well and was aptly supported by his field and consistent batting. The Braves threatened to take control but Traralgon was continuously halting the Braves run.
The Redsox then proceeded to bat through their line-up twice with David Griffiths responsible for six runs scored. From then on Traralgon ran out comfortable winners.
In the under 18 game, the Redsox again battled Churchill. Traralgon never allowed Churchill to get into the game and finished comfortable victors. Traralgon lead 1-0 at the end of the first but that would be as close as the Braves got. Four runs in the second and another seven in the third ended Churchill’s charge to a Grand Final. Terry Cox and Luke Hornstra had three hits each for the Redsox in a great team performance. Hornstra was also named League Best and Fairest for the under 18 competition.
Rain threatened in the under sixteen game, but could not dampen the spirits of Moe/Newborough and Traralgon. The teams fought out an excellent contest that was effectively decided in one innings when Traralgon scored seven runs helped by some untimely errors in the field. The young Dodgers were valiant in defeat and have a promising future. The final score was 11-4 in Traralgon’s favour. The Redsox victory was especially satisfying for Stephen Cox who was named League Best and Fairest last Friday at the Traralgon Tennis Club.
The game could have went either way in the under 14 contest between Traralgon and Churchill. Poise and a little luck had been with Traralgon all day as they finished on top 6-5 and booked an entry into another Grand Final. Matt McLean put in another fine performance on the mound for the Redsox. The highlight of the game was a double play between Jarryd Wilhelme and Shannon Gross. Congratulations to Churchill’s John Keighran and Sale’s Jason Morrison who tied for Best and Fairest and both have promising futures ahead of them.
In the under 12 competition, Sale’s Matt Raidel was named Best and Fairest in Last Friday’s League vote count and will have a chance to top this award with a championship trophy come Sunday. This Friday the Senior Best and Fairest Count and All-Star Presentation will be held at the Morwell Baseball Club.
Lets keep our fingers crossed that the weather will hold out Sunday for the Edison Mission Energy Latrobe Valley Baseball Association Grand Final to be held at Stephenson’s Park in Sale. In A grade the Redsox will face a determined Moe/Newborough at 2PM. In B grade and C grade, Sale will battle Traralgon. The impressive junior prospects will be on show in the Under 18, 16 and 14 Grand Finals as Sale will play Traralgon in all junior contests with play beginning at 9AM. Sale will also play-off in the under 12 Grand Final. The public is urged to come along and see some exciting baseball.
A GRADE
Moe/Newborough 7 defeated Sale 4.
Safe Hits:
Moe/Newborough Hits - Tim Wilson 2, Simon Wilson 1, Gary White 1, Brian Spiteri 1, Brett Wilson 1.
Sale - Ken Bailey 2, Simon Dimarco 1, Greg Carmody 1, Campbell Wilson 1, Darren Coburn 1.
B GRADE
Sale 6 defeated Moe/Newborough 5.
Safe Hits:
Sale - Greg Johnston 1, Alex Greenwood 1, Scott Monaghan 1, Mick Liehr 1.
Moe/Newborough - Kirk Went 2, David Robinson 2, Mark Wilson 1, Jason Kaczkowski 1.
C GRADE
Traralgon 18 defeated Churchill 3
UNDER 18
Traralgon 14 defeated Churchill 0
UNDER 16
Traralgon 11 defeated Moe/Newborough 4
UNDER 14
Traralgon 6 defeated Churchill 5
UNDER 12
Churchill 10 defeated Traralgon 7
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: lvba@gippslander.com
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