The rot set in early for Newport Rams in a disappointing 8-3 loss to the Preston Pirates in Baseball Victoria’s summer league division 1 at La Trobe University on Sunday.
Young Rams starting pitcher Griffin Weir had an outing he’d rather forget, giving up seven runs and six walks.
Weir lasted just 3.1 innings before he was pulled from the game and relievers Jeremy Young and import Travis Bass were called on to provide a calming influence over their shellshocked teammates. The pair locked down the Pirates for the most part, issuing two walks and conceding only one run, but the damage had been done.
Too many obstacles stood between the Rams and a meaningful comeback.
“It was a tough day to be playing catch-up baseball,” Rams assistant coach Gavin Young told the Weekly.
“The wind was blowing and the calibre of pitcher [Bubbie] Buzachero on the hill for Preston didn’t help.
“We also made a few errors.”
It was a “scrappy” performance from the Rams.
The pitching was ugly at times and the defence was hindered by the tough conditions.
The only positive came from the performances of Young and Bass in relief.
“They virtually stopped them from scoring,” Young said. “Those two shut them down and did their job.”
The Rams batters had a nice duel with Buzachero, who threw a complete game.
And although Buzachero claimed the honours, the Newport batters made him earn it.
“We hit him; we ended up with five hits for the day, but the difference was we left guys on base and didn’t capitalise,” Young said.
“They made the outs at critical times, we made errors at critical times.
“We didn’t execute, where they executed better in key situations. That was the difference.”
Dean Malthouse came up big for the Rams in the batters’ box with two from three.
Jordan Young finished with two from five and sent a runner home, while Matthew Lawman got the other hit.
The Rams face Sandringham twice in three days, away on Sunday and then in a midweek clash at the Melbourne Ball Park on Tuesday.
Young is confident the Rams can handle the heavy workload, and they will need to with their season at an early crossroads.
“I think we’re capable. We’ve got the depth to do it.”
