Berwick City starting pitcher Joel Anderson put in an eye-catching four-inning stint against Chelsea at Cyril Molyneux Reserve on Sunday.By Marc McGowan
IT WAS another frustrating day at the plate for the Berwick City Cougars in their 10-1 Baseball Victoria Division Three defeat to the Chelsea Dolphins at Cyril Molyneux Reserve on Sunday.
The Cougars were without a hit until playing coach Wayne Porter’s second turn at the bat and their youthful line-up generally struggled to get bat on ball.
The big positive, however, was the excellent showing by 16-year-old starting pitcher Joel Anderson, who continues to impress each time he steps onto the mound.
The Bass teenager pitched four strong innings before heat exhaustion forced Porter to replace him for the fifth.
It would have been the first time for the season that a starting pitcher had entered the fifth inning for Berwick City.
The Cougars were only 3-0 down when Anderson left the game, but the margin continued to widen due to the limp resistance provided by the Berwick City batters.
The home side even resorted to using the bunt for the majority of the fifth inning, and it resulted in the Cougars getting runners on second and third base, but the batters failed to capitalise.
Eighteen-year-old Daniel Betreen struggled with his control after replacing Anderson, and Porter quickly took him out of the game.
Shaun Fahy completed the inning before Betreen was given another opportunity, and he was much better his second time around.
Porter then turned to Fahy to finish off the match.
The sole run for the Cougars came from 17-year-old Jack Spears, who Porter highlighted as being one of the few bright spots for the locals.
“We’ve just got to get better with our hitting – no-one is setting the world on fire,” Porter said.
“We’ve left 30 to 40 runs on base this season. It’s just about timely hitting – that’s how you win games.”
The fixture is not getting any easier for Berwick City, with a return clash against the unbeaten Springvale Lions at K.H. Wearne Reserve on Sunday at 3.30pm.
To make matters worse, Porter is unavailable as he will be honouring a commitment he made 12 months ago to play softball in the Australian Corporate Games.
