Williamstown is standing at the crossroads in the Baseball Victoria summer league division 2.
The Wolves have four hugely important games in the lead-up to the Christmas break, which will help shape their destiny this season.
With a 6-6 record, the Wolves are yet to stamp themselves as a genuine premiership threat, but they want to be more than just a middle side.
Wolves’ player-coach Jarryd Rogers has honed in on his side’s next two games, in particular, against western rivals Sunshine tonight at Barclay Reserve and Werribee at President’s Park on Saturday, as being “incredibly important”.
“We’re pretty excited to be playing against these top teams like Sunshine and Werribee,” Rogers said. “It’s going to give us a good chance to see where we’re at.
“We’re pretty confident we can get wins against these teams, and it will put us in a better spot on the ladder.”
Williamstown will need to move on from Sunday’s 10-7 loss to Upwey-Ferntree Gully at Greenwich Reserve in a hurry.
The game played out similarly to others this season, with the Wolves’ batters getting hot, only to be let down in pitching and defence.
Starting pitcher Daniel Chircop had the Wolves in a strong position, but the bullpen let the side down. The fielding performance was also a touch off on the day.
“Our hitting is doing really well, we’ve been happy with that,” Rogers said. “We found that most of the time this season it’s just come down to whether our defence can last nine innings.
“We made a few mistakes on the mound and a few mistakes in the field, and they were very opportunistic. We were disappointed to concede that many.”
Despite going winless in three games – they had an 8-8 mid-week draw with Doncaster. The Wolves are sixth on the ladder and doing everything to bridge the gap on the top four.
“We’ve beaten some good teams, and lost some other games we probably should’ve won,” Rogers said.
In division 1, Newport Rams enjoyed a 3-2 victory over Cheltenham for their fifth win of the season. The Rams, fourth in the west, travel to Waverley, third in the east, on Sunday.
In division 3, Footscray crushed bottom of the ladder Ormond Glenhuntly 9-2. The Bulldogs travel to face Chelsea on Sunday in a meeting of two three-win sides.
Lance Jenkinson
