UNDISCIPLINED Williamstown Wolves were rocked 5-1 by a fearless Werribee Giants, spearheaded by young starting pitcher Chris Webb, in the Baseball Victoria summer league division 2 at Greenwich Reserve on Saturday.
For the past six weeks, new Wolves coach Dean Marnell has demanded patience in the batters’ box and a team that values keeping the ball in play above all.
But too often at the weekend they swung recklessly for the fences and it cost them dearly at crucial times.
In three separate innings, the Wolves had bases loaded and failed to get runners across the line.
“It was disappointing not being able to get those runners in,” Marnell said.
“We didn’t hit to our strengths.
“Offensively, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Marnell hopes it’s a one-off — an aberration.
He has been nothing but impressed with the attention to detail of his players during the preseason, describing them as “sponges” for information.
But he won’t turn a blind eye to a game he said was “one that got away”, despite acknowledging the tremendous performance of Giants’ left-arm starter Webb.
“All credit to him, he pitched well,” he said. “When someone is throwing well, it is the batter’s job to make adjustments.
“He controlled the game.”
Speaking of pitching, the Wolves have an abundance of quality arms to turn to this season.
The rotation got even stronger in the past week with the signing of Josh Lee from the Geelong Baycats. Lee came in at relief and was strong in a short stint on the mound.
New recruit David Asp has produced two quality outings as the Wolves’ starter.
Jason Lester is another top-line pitcher awaiting his turn for a start.
“We’ve probably got the best pitching depth in the competition,” Marnell said. “We can call on about six pitchers.”
The Wolves, widely touted as a title contender, will be tested when they travel to Fitzroy on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the magic number for the Newport Rams is 14.
The young team, coached by Grant Weir, has won its opening two games and scored a massive 14 runs in both outings.
On Sunday, it was a 14-3 thrashing of the Moorabbin Panthers on the road at AW Oliver Reserve, which leaves the Rams as one of only three undefeated teams after two rounds.
They can extend their streak when they host winless Port Melbourne at KC White Reserve on Sunday.
Division 2
Firsts: Williamstown 1 lt Werribee 5; Moorabbin 3 lt Newport 14
Reserves: Williamstown 7 d Werribee 2; Moorabbin 4 d Newport 0
Thirds: Williamstown 9 d Werribee 5; Newport 20 d Moorabbin 2
Fourths: Williamstown 11 lt Werribee 18; Newport 6 lt Moorabbin 12
Division 3
Firsts: Ormond Glenhuntly 6 d Footscray 3
Reserves: Ormond Glenhuntly 6 lt Footscray 15
