WILLIAMSTOWN Wolves clicked into overdrive in the eighth inning to record a somewhat flattering 17-6 win over St Kilda in the Baseball Victoria summer league division 2 at Greenwich Reserve on Saturday.
Seemingly headed for a thrilling climax with the Wolves having their noses in front by a run in the eighth, the Saints made a call to the bullpen to relieve wearying starting pitcher Anthony Cerafice and the Wolves took full advantage of the visitors’ lack of pitching depth.
They ran riot to record 10 runs for the inning and, at one point, managed six doubles in a row.
The dagger in the heart of the Saints was a bases-clearing hit from new Wolves recruit Michael Pollock.
“We thought the game was going down to the wire,” Wolves player-coach Dean Marnell told the Weekly.
“Then we went bang, bang, bang. It was unbelievable.”
The Wolves got the jump in the early innings to take a 5-1 lead, but the margin was slowly eroded by the Saints’ hitters.
With little to separate the batters for the best part of the game, it came down to a pitching battle.
Cerefice, the Saints US import, settled after a nervous start. With the Saints’ bullpen options limited, he was vital to their cause.
“He was trying to find his location and once he got that going, he was really effective,” Marnell said.
Conversely, the Wolves had a slew of options. Veteran ace David Asp was limited to 30 pitches after a heavy recent workload. So Marnell turned to last year’s starter, Jason Lester, for a further 30 and new reliever Josh Lee for another 20.
Cerefice snapped under the weight of the workload and the Wolves cashed in with a 10-run eighth inning to kill off the game.
Meanwhile, the Newport Rams charged to their fourth consecutive win, pummelling Chelsea 16-6 on the road.
Baseball Victoria
Division 2: Williamstown 17 St Kilda 6; Chelsea 6 Newport 16
Division 2 reserves: Williamstown 15 St Kilda 4; Chelsea 3 Newport 9
Division 2 thirds: St Kilda 22 Williamstown 6; Newport 0 Chelsea 0
Division 2 fourths: St Kilda 9 Williamstown 9; Newport 17 Chelsea 1
