Cougars lose an epic struggle

– Marc McGowan
THE Berwick City Cougars lost a titanic struggle with Preston for the second time this season at La Trobe University on Sunday.
The clubs have met three times in the opening 11 rounds, with the Pirates holding sway by one run in both of their wins.
The Cougars defeated Preston 7-6 at home in October, but fell 4-3 to the Pirates on the weekend.
Ironman Jude Power patrolled the mound for the second straight match and conceded just one run through the first five innings.
And the Berwick City hitters provided solid support, scoring three runs in the same period to put their side on track for its fourth victory in five games.
Preston cut the deficit to one in the sixth inning before Shaun Fahy and Ian Frost made fielding errors on consecutive plays in the seventh – resulting in the tying run.
Power then threw a wild pitch to give the Pirates the lead in the same frame.
Preston took its 4-3 advantage into the ninth inning, but the Cougars looked set to pounce after playing coach Wayne Porter drew a walk to load the bases.
But teenager Adam Silva was unable to knock in his team-mates, leaving Berwick City with its fifth loss of the season and in sixth spot.
Porter, Tim Moon and Fahy – who managed a triple early in the contest – were the Cougars’ run-scorers.
Porter lamented his team’s fielding lapses in the seventh frame, but remained positive about what his players had achieved so far this year.
“They hit two balls into the outfield all day and only had three hits for the day,” he said.
“The only ball I touched all day was a foul ball … it was just their turn. We’ll look to turn it around this week. I would have thought we’ll win more than last year and anything else is a bonus from this point.”
Berwick City locks horns with winless Footscray at Hanks Reserve, Yarraville, on Sunday from 3.30pm in its last fixture before the Christmas break.