Newport pitcher Jimmy Jensen threw one of the best games of the season on Sunday, guiding the Rams to a crucial win over Fitzroy in Vic Summer League division 1 baseball action.
Jensen gave up just four hits across nine innings as the Rams won 3-0 and moved up to fourth in their division.
Newport coach Dean Malthouse said it was one of the better pitching performances he was likely to see this season.
“A complete game shut-out is very rare,” he said. “That’s one of the rarest feats in baseball.
“So to give up just four hits across the day, I don’t think he could have done much better than that.
“We had him to thank for keeping the pressure on Fitzroy throughout the day.”
The Newport diamond was in very good condition considering the Saturday downpour, but it was an attritional game for much of the afternoon on Sunday, with Newport scoring all its runs in the fifth inning.
With Jensen shutting out the visitors, Newport took its chance in the fifth when Tyson Foreman hit a double with bases loaded and two out to open the scoring. That effort was followed soon after by a single to open up a three-run Newport lead.
That would turn out to be all that was needed for the home side, with Malthouse happy to take the win with an imperfect hitting performance.
“We didn’t get many hits, but the ones we did get were very timely and worked well for us,” he said.
“It was a good team batting performance in the end … we continued to focus on a few things we’ve been tinkering with and they showed some good signs.
“Always good to get a win in a tight game like that. It is such a tight season that wins over teams in your division are gold.”
Malthouse said the team should continue to improve as the season progressed after welcoming a number of new players to the side.
“We’ve started off slow, but we’re getting better every week,” he said.
“There’s a lot of new guys … we’re slowly getting more comfortable with each other and learning how each other plays – and that it turn leads to good baseball.”
