One play saved the day for Williamstown Wolves in a thrilling 4-3 win over Werribee Giants in Baseball Victoria’s summer league division 2 at Presidents Park on Sunday.
Wolves coach Dean Marnell described it as “one of the best plays I’ve ever seen”, while Giants counterpart Phil Balzer said it was a “miraculous play – never seen it done before”.
With the Wolves leading 4-3 at the bottom of the ninth, the Giants had one last chance to snatch extra innings.
Josh Lee, the would-be hero of the day, had to be feeling a little queasy after walking the lead-off hitter and failing a pick-off at first base.
Lee dug a deep hole for himself, advancing Giants pinch runner Andrew Christou to third base with no outs.
Balzer ordered a squeeze bunt in a bid to get Christou home and it seemed to be perfectly executed.
That was until Lee leapt up off the mound, scrambled towards the ball and in one motion flicked it up to his catcher Jason McDonald.
Christou arrived a split second late, cleaning up McDonald in the process, but the catcher held on to the ball to complete an unlikely play.
Lee got a chance to close out the game and did so with relative ease.
Marnell was shocked at what he had seen.
“That moment, that play, that time of the game – to make that play was amazing,” he said.
“We had to win to improve our chances of playing A-grade next year so it was like a grand final for us today. That’s how crucial it was.”
Balzer couldn’t help but doff his cap to Lee for making the play.
“The percentage would’ve been 99 per cent our way to actually score that run,” he said. “It was an outstanding play.”
With a shortage of run support, the Wolves rode on the coattails of starting pitcher Jason Lester and reliever Lee.
The pair combined for a massive 14 strike outs.
“Our pitchers kept us in the game,” Marnell said. The Wolves are edging closer to the minor premiership and automatic promotion.
