Coach makes his final pitch

WITH five games to go in his team’s season, Berwick Cougars coach Wayne Porter has presented his players with a simple equation: “We need to win three of our last five.
“We can not go backwards”.
After a frustrating week in which the Cougars lost a heartbreaker to Sunshine and thrashed an undermanned Port Melbourne, Porter said: “We need to keep improving and finish our season on a positive note, ahead of the mark.”
Porter wasn’t getting carried away with Sunday’s victory over Port Melbourne, and knew his side couldn’t afford to ease off in the lead-up to the clash.
“You can’t go there thinking it’ll be a walk in the park just because they’re undermanned,” he said.
“We’ve lost enough close games this season to know that.”
He said he was impressed with the recent form of young pitcher Matt Chilcott and hitter Scott Simpson but disappointed with his side’s effort against Sunshine last week.
“We basically lost the game in the first innings,” Porter said bluntly.
“We gave up three runs in the first and we just weren’t focused.
“We had our minds fixed on other things and players were worrying about themselves, not the team’s performance.”
Porter said the Cougars got back into the match in its late stages, and he considered it one that got away.
“They did have their best pitcher throwing,” he said.
“We’re getting close, we’re just not quite there.”
The Cougars’ focus now switches to their next game against the Waverley Wildcats.
“We beat them 2-1 last time so we can definitely win this time around,” Porter said.
“We’re just tyring to grind out our at-bats and make the most of our base hits.”