Cougars take tough double

By Gavin Staindl
BERWICK City has bounced back from last week’s loss in emphatic fashion, beating Ormond 16-1 on Thursday night and backing it up on Saturday with a 8-4 home win over Springvale.
In front of about 500 spectators on Saturday, Berwick came from a run down in the sixth innings to walk off with a pivotal victory against rivals Springvale.
The win moves the Cougars back to third position on the Division Two ladder and means they will only have to win two more games from their remaining four matches to cement their first finals berth in Division Two.
On Thursday night, Berwick was once again at its dominating best early in the match, scoring 10 runs in the opening two innings.
Adam Silva drove home a three-run jack and a one-run double while on the mound Ryan Phillips and Matt Chilcock provided the pitching to keep Ormond at bay.
But it was on Saturday that the Cougars did the damage.
Donning a pink and blue outfit in support of the annual Ladies’ Day and breast cancer awareness, the Cougars were outclassed by Springvale’s starter Rob Hogan and fell behind early.
Berwick was still trailing 2-1 heading into the sixth innings but when Hogan was replaced, the Cougars sensed a comeback chance.
Aided by a few loop hits that landed safe, Berwick added runs in the sixth and eighth innings and managed to hold off Springvale in the last innings to move to within two games of finals.
“It’s a massive win for us,” coach Mick Poole said.
“It is almost like a four-point game because now (the fifth-placed) Springvale can’t knock us out because we’ve won both head to head matches.
“There is still a big chance of us not making finals but so far we haven’t dropped any games we should have won,” Poole said.
In the same breath, Berwick has not beaten the two sides above it but Poole is hoping all that will change on Thursday night when his side faces off against Melbourne.
The last time Berwick played the league leaders was when it was comprehensively beaten 12-2 in November last year.
But Poole believes his young Cougars have improved enough in three months to match it with the division’s best team.
“I’m really looking forward to having a go at Melbourne. “We got belted the last time we played them so it will be interesting to see how much we have improved since then,” Poole said.