Williamstown Wolves have come back down to earth with a thud in Baseball Victoria’s summer league division 1.
The newly-promoted Wolves looked to be one of the surprise packets of the summer with two wins from their first three outings but have been in free-fall ever since, losing six games on the trot and crashing to the bottom of the ladder after Sunday’s heavy 12-2 defeat to Blackburn Orioles at Greenwich Reserve.
Wolves player-coach Dean Marnell isn’t hiding from his team’s predicament.
“We’re really struggling,” he told Star Weekly.
“We’ve been sloppy for the last four or so games and we’re just not competing. I don’t know why but we’ve just lost some confidence.”
There’s no respite on the horizon for the Wolves with consecutive games against Melbourne, one of the premiership frontrunners with a 6-3 record.
“We’re in a massive slump and these teams know that,” Marnell said. “They know we’re down on confidence and they’re not going to give us an easy ride.”
But Marnell is backing his side to snap out of its funk.
“We still think we can compete at this level,” he said. “We need to just get the hands dirty and do some hard work.”
The Wolves got a little pick-me-up last week with the arrival of American import catcher Anthony Armenio.
Armenio was confident behind the plate in his first appearance against the Orioles and will only get better when he becomes more familiar with the strengths of the Wolves’ pitchers.
“He’s a colourful character, so he’s fitting in really well,” Marnell said. “He’s good fun.”
Boom recruit Andrew Russell picked up the Wolves’ only two RBIs against Blackburn, while young batter Nathan Rogers continues to impress.
“He’s a young guy we got across from Essendon before last season and he’s been going really well for us,” Marnell said. “He’d still be playing seconds at Essendon, so he’s getting an opportunity with us and grabbing it.”
The worry for the Wolves is the lack of command of its pitchers.
“Our pitching is not where it should be,” Marnell said. “We’ve had too many walks, too many pitchers getting behind in counts and it’s really hurting us.”
Meanwhile, Newport Rams suffered a disappointing 8-2 loss to Doncaster Dragons at KC White Reserve on Sunday to end their four-game win streak.
