Newport Rams overcome its round 10 woes trashing Port Melbourne 8-0 in the Baseball Victoria summer league premier division season on Sunday.
It was a nice way for the Rams to bounce back having lost on the previous Sunday, 10-0.
Speaking before Sunday’s match, Rams’ coach Sean Arnott said he is pleased with the way his side has kicked off the season.
“I’m very happy at this point if someone had said to me at the start of the season that we would be six (now seven) and four, with the squad we’ve got, I would’ve taken it, we’re a very young squad,” he said.
“We’ve had a few hiccups where the score doesn’t look very good on paper but we thought that might happen with the young group, but I’m pretty happy with where we are at that’s for sure.”
Up to the weekend Port Melbourne had been in a very similar situation as Newport, at five wins and five losses. Before the match Arnott said it was going to be a defining match for the rest of the year.
“Port Melbourne are a good side, they’re not a side that we should take lightly, a couple of years ago they had their struggles but they picked up a really good import last year and he’s come back this year. So it’s a really good challenge for us,” he said.
While the young squad is exciting for the future it has presented its challenges throughout the first 11 matches of the summer. The Rams claimed the division 2 title last season.
“There have been some challenges with availability for the mid-week games but I look at it as an opportunity for our second stringers to get an opportunity and to see what they want to do when they get an opportunity,” Arnott said.
“It’s up to them if they want to make a position in the side their own or whether they’re happy to have a game here and there and go back to the seconds.
“For the main part I think when the guys are presented with a chance to play in the firsts they try and grab it, and that’s really pleasing.
“I’m all for more games and less practice because the more exposure to playing baseball at a higher level the better.”
With just four matches to play before the Christmas break and the competition splits into two halves for the new year, Arnott’s goal for his side is simple.
“Our goal was to be a part of the top eight and I think we probably need to win two, maybe three of our last five games to secure a spot in the top eight,” he said.
“We’re not really concerned with the ladder position as long as it’s inside the top eight and then we can reassess at Christmas and hopefully make a run towards finals.”
