By Marc McGowan
THE Berwick City Cougars finished their season on a high with a crushing 8-2 victory over St Kilda at Cyril Molyneux Reserve on Saturday.
The Cougars’ eighth win of the season allowed them to leapfrog Chelsea into sixth position on the Baseball Victoria division three ladder.
It was an impressive performance considering the Saints ended the regular season in third place and are headed for finals action this weekend.
The result followed Berwick City’s 14-4 loss to second-placed Williamstown at Melbourne Ball Park on Thursday.
Williamstown smacked six runs in the final inning to blow the margin out.
But the Cougars always set themselves for a quality display on the weekend, with the fixture coinciding with the club’s ladies’ day.
A bumper crowd filed into the venue and Berwick City produced the goods.
Jude Power started on the mound again, but it was with the bat that he made the most impact early in the encounter.
He knocked in Shaun Fahy for the game’s opening run to show the Cougars meant business.
However, St Kilda fought back to post the next two runs in consecutive innings.
The match became a tense struggle from then on before Berwick City playing coach Wayne Porter levelled the scores in the seventh inning to set up a blockbuster conclusion.
The Cougars’ batters had no intention of stopping there and added another three runs in the same inning to grab a 5-2 advantage.
The runs just kept on coming and a further three were added in Berwick City’s next turn at the plate.
Power then recorded the three outs at the top of the ninth inning to close out the day.
Veteran catcher Ian Frost, who has emerged from a season-long slump in recent weeks, was the star with the bat.
Davis Long, Porter and Fahy were also handy contributors.
Porter was delighted with his squad’s effort and the number of people in attendance.
“We had some pretty good motivation because there were a few people watching,” he said.
“We have beaten (top sides) Preston, Port Melbourne and St Kilda and we only lost to Springvale by a run.
“It’s just about performing every week.”
Porter was also pleased with his team’s development and has plans in place to allow the Cougars to make further improvements next season.
“Probably from where we were at the start to where we are at the end – more so in our spirit as a team – has been good,” he said.
“We have still got a way to go in our structure, but that’s going to change next year.”
