By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE Berwick City Cougars still sit in second spot on the Victorian Summer League Baseball Division 2 ladder despite a 9-4 loss at the hands of a hometown Malvern on Sunday.
After a strong start to the season, in which Berwick won its first two games, the senior Cougars outfit was given something of a reality check on the weekend.
Runs to Alex Clark, Jesse Hunter, John O’Connor and Aaron Ouwehand weren’t enough to combat the influence of in-form Malvern hitter Yoshi Campitelli, who finished with three of his own. Hubert Lau also had two, with singles each to Scott Ashton, James Lewis, Jordan Moore-Liester and Gavin Woolger as Malvern drew level with the Cougars on the win-loss ledger with two wins and a loss.
Despite the result, the young Berwick outfit has a lot to look forward to. Having such a large youth contingent, the future looks bright for the boys from Cyril Molyneux Reserve.
Coach Ronnie Carothers spoke very highly of not only the younger members but the team as a whole.
“There’s a good chemistry between the youth and the seasoned vets,” he told the News recently.
“It looks like it’s going to be a very big year because our youth are looking so good.”
Looking ahead, the plan for the club is very clear as far as Carothers is concerned.
“Youth is definitely the way to go and is the policy of our club,” he said.
“You just let them go out there and if they make mistakes it doesn’t matter.”
Berwick City will host Sunshine this Saturday from 3.30pm.