By Lance Jenkinson
Williamstown Wolves import pitcher Dennis Neal would have had the Werribee Giants batters waking up in cold sweats on Sunday night.
Neal’s domination on the mound helped kick-start the Wolves’ 2019 with a 3-1 win over the Giants at President’s Park in Baseball Victoria summer league division 2.
The American threw a complete game, giving up just one run late in the ninth inning.
Williamstown playing president Daniel Chircop lauded the performance.
“All the credit goes to Dennis Neal,” Chircop said. “One unearned run and he didn’t look uncomfortable for a second. He was absolutely dominant.”
Despite his pitch count approaching 120, Williamstown “never contemplated” taking Neal out of the game.
A California native, Neal wanted to go all the way to ensure the Giants were kept at arm’s length and not expose the Wolves’ bullpen.
He threw 12 strike-outs on the most potent offence in the league, with his curveball unplayable at times.
“He was rolling, there was no action in the bullpen – it was his game to win or lose and he earned that,” Chircop said. “He didn’t falter for a second. He finished as strong as he started.”
Williamstown put up three runs on the back of eight hits.
The Wolves had a fairly even contribution in the batters box with Jayde Thorne, Justin Gourlay and Bill Millar each picking up two hits.
Thorne has proven a valuable addition since crossing from the Newport Rams earlier in the season.
“He had a couple of fantastic hits, a few really good at-bats,” Chircop said.
“It’s what you’d expect from someone of his calibre and he brought it today.”
Gourlay turned back the calendar with form akin to 2018.
“He’s our best hitter by a country mile,” Chircop said. “When he has a big day out, we’re not surprised. He’s just a cut above the rest.”
Millar’s strong showing was welcome after a shaky start to the season.
“He’s had a slow start to the season, but looked as good as he ever has today,” Chircop said. “He was really comfortable in the box.”
Despite being two and a half games outside the top four, Williamstown remains hopeful of reaching the finals. The only way the Wolves can achieve that is to win all their series, so the remaining two games of the three-game series with Werribee will be pivotal.
“We knew what we had to do coming into this series and the next series coming up against Newport,” Chircop said.
“If we can win this series, it would really jump-start us into the back end of the season.”
Meanwhile, Newport Rams made a hot start to the new year with a 6-0 thrashing of Mulgrave Rebels at KC White Reserve on Sunday.
The Rams are firmly entrenched in the top four and three wins back from top two Cheltenham Rustlers and Werribee.
MORE BASEBALL VICTORIA NEWS
www.starweekly.com.au/sports/werribee-giants-back-and-blue/
