Cougars tamed by Churchill

By Marc McGowan
JOHN O’Connor Junior was the star for the Berwick City Cougars as they fell just short of a three-peat at the Gippsland Baseball Championships in Sale on the weekend.
The 18-year-old Endeavour Hills slugger plays in Division One for Waverley during the summer, but played a pivotal role for his father’s club.
The Cougars won all five of their preliminary matches before losing the grand final 14-5 to a rampaging Churchill squad.
Pitcher Jude Power gave up 10 earned runs over six innings in the two-hour final.
O’Connor Junior slammed a team-leading five home runs, including one in the decider, for the tournament.
He is a member of the Victorian Institute of Sport’s baseball program.
Shaun Fahy also belted one out of Stevenson Park against Churchill and finished the championships with 14 hits and a batting average of .667.
Power smashed four home runs over the weekend to be another strong performer.
Veteran Richard Gyton crossed the plate 14 times to be Berwick City’s leading runscorer and also managed five stolen bases.
Teenager Aaron Warner won the best defensive player award.
Berwick City’s top squad defeated Morwell 12-2, Dandenong 5-3, Moe/Newborough 7-2, Traralgon 23-0 and Sale 10-3 to qualify for the grand final.
Fourteen-year-old Matt Chilcott threw the whole game against Sale.
The Cougars’ second side finished with a 1-4 record.
The annual tournament doubles as Berwick City’s end-of-season trip and the players spent Saturday night at Fahy’s mother’s pub, the Gippsland Hotel.
Second team coach Brett Barnett said players and officials were disappointed not to win the competition for the third straight year.
“Churchill is always competitive, but at the moment they’ve got some good players with them,” he said.
“We put up a good fight, but Churchill was the better team on the day.”
But Barnett said the trip was enjoyable and was not just about winning the tournament.
“It’s a good, fun weekend. The single boys and the families all look forward to it – it’s a great weekend,” he said.
“It was very tiring, though. When it gets late on Sunday afternoon everyone has aches and pains.”