By RUSSELL BENNETT
IT was a case of sweet, sweet redemption for the Berwick City Cougars fourths on Sunday on their Cyril Molyneux Reserve home diamond.
The side capped off a sensational, undefeated 18-0 season by beating Fitzroy A in their Baseball Victoria Summer League Division 2 decider 5-1.
But the win was about much more than an undefeated record – it was all about payback.
Fitzroy got the better of the Casey side in last season’s grand final and it took until Sunday for that bitter taste to disappear.
Most of the Berwick side had more than 15 years of playing experience under their belts – but it was young 15-year-old sensation Jayden Quinn who played a key role in the victory, scoring the final two runs of the game.
Quinn is a rising star pitcher but the Cougars opted to go for experience on the mound in the decider. But the youngster has stepped up in a big way all season and Sunday was no exception.
Andrew Sullivan and Simon Ferris also got among the runs, with Ferris also the team’s starting pitcher for the grand final. He pitched for the first four innings and into the fifth, only giving up a total of three hits for just one run.
But as his control started to waver somewhat in the fifth, fourths player-coach Shaun Fahy stepped up to the mound to finish the job.
Fahy retired from the Cougars’ first team last year, standing down to give some of the club’s youngsters more of an opportunity at a higher level.
So this year, as part of the fourths team, he made it his mission to help the side’s returning nucleus reverse last year’s result.
“I know the team was really disappointed in how things finished up last season but some of the guys get the chance to bow out with a flag now,” he said.
Fahy has known a lot of his team-mates for 15 years and described the group as a “well-gelled team with no one on their own agendas”.
This year marks the first time the Cougars have won two senior flags in the same season, with the club’s seconds securing a 4-1 win, also against Fitzroy.
Berwick finished fourth at the end of the regular season and defeated the first-placed Moorabbin last week to advance to the grand final.
Steve Collier was fantastic on the mound on Sunday, pitching a complete game in the win.
Pitching and defence was the difference between the two sides on the day, but Scott Dale was the star with the bat for the Cougars.
Keep an eye on the News in the coming editions for more on the Cougars seconds flag.
