Sunshine held its nerve late in the game to get the Vic Summer League women’s baseball season off to a winning start at the weekend.
In a high-scoring and entertaining match, Sunshine looked to have the game in the bag late, leading by three runs going into the final innings against Sandringham … but then the fight was on to take the points.
Leading 10-13 at the start of the fifth and final innings, Sunshine could do little to stop Sandringham clawing back two crucial runs.
And it looked like their opponents might steal the win, as they set themselves up for more with players on bases set to score again. But some level-headed play from captain Andrea McKenner resulted in a Sandringham run-out at the home plate off the next play.
Then a hit to second base and another throw home saw a repeat run-out at home base, clinching the 13-12 win for the home side.
Earlier, it was a run-scoring frenzy as both sides added to the tally during the early innings. This was despite some strong pitching from both.
McKenner led off on the mound for the home side, and was probably the pick of the pitchers before Michelle Dugdale came in as relief in the third innings, and closed out the match.
On the batting side, Amy Fairbrother was the best at the plate, with two good hits that brought runners home – two crucial runs in the final analysis.
The game was tied at 2-2 after the first innings, but broke open over the next two, as Sandringham added seven runs and Sunshine ran in 10 times, setting up what proved to be a match-winning lead. It was tight over the fourth innings before the dramatic finale.
In the end, Sunshine was too strong when it counted, and McKenner was relieved to get an early win on the board.
“It’s always good to get a win in the first game,” she said. “We weren’t really expecting to win this one.
“Luckily, we were able to come away with a win too, which was excellent.
“Hopefully, we can get a few more this season.
“We’ve got high hopes for the summer with some great talent in the team.”
Ewen McRae
