Williamstown Wolves have yet to hit top gear but remain undefeated in Baseball Victoria’s summer league division 2 season.
The Wolves made it three wins in succession with a 12-4 win over Port Melbourne on Sunday.
Wolves manager Dean Marnell described it as a spotty performance.
“A win’s a win and we’ll take it, but we’re not playing that well,” he said. “Thank God it’s not finals time because we’re not clinical, put it that way.”
The Wolves’ batters got hot in two of the nine innings – five runs in the second and six in the seventh – but endured a rough patch in between.
Bill Millar, a new recruit from St Kilda, was the most reliable with three hits. He won the Stan Camov Medal for MVP on the day.
“He’s a local boy so he came down and did a pre-season with us,” Marnell said.
“I liked what I saw. He hits the ball hard, he’s a big strong lad and in his first two games in the twos he was hitting the ball well, so
we gave him his opportunity today and he killed it.
“He got three hits, but he hit four balls on the nose and was the stand-out for us today.”
David Asp started on the mound for the Wolves and was scratchy in the first inning. He got behind in the count with the early batters , with two runs crossing on a drive that bobbled on the surface at first base.
But he came back to provide a solid shift.
Josh Lee was outstanding in relief, albeit on a 30-pitch count, while Jason Lester closed out the game.
In division 1, Newport Rams conceded four unanswered runs in the first three innings and, try as they might, could never bridge the gap in a 6-3 loss to Doncaster at KC White Reserve on Saturday.
Williamstown’s Russ hour
Williamstown Wolves will welcome star import Russell Moldenhauer to the pack this week. Moldenhauer, who hails from San Antonio, is a household name to college baseball fans in his native Texas. He has spent six years in the Washington Nationals minor league system.
Wolves manager Dean Marnell said his side lacked a true home-run hitter, and that’s exactly what he expects to get in Moldenhauer. “Our on-base percentage is really good so if we can get on for this guy and he can drive us in, even better,” he said. “He’s a power hitter, he hits the long ball and we don’t really have anyone at the club like that.”
