With just four matches left in the Baseball Victoria summer league season, every side in division 2 is still trying to figure out how to topple Sunshine.
The Eagles have been outstanding in defence for all 24 rounds of the season, conceding just 40 runs for the year.
This puts the side miles ahead of its competition with third-placed Werribee next best at 76.
Not surprisingly, Sunshine coach Earl Byrne has been rapt with his side’s ability to maintain scoring pressure on the opposition.
“We have got guys that can play multiple positions and I think that has been our strength this year,” Byrne said.
“Having those guys that can play anywhere and everywhere is great for us. We have four pitchers who can pitch quite well, which I didn’t have last year.”
At the forefront has been starting pitcher Rory Meddick, who joined Sunshine in 2010 from rival club Essendon.
He played with the Eagles for three years before a shoulder injury which led him to move back to his home club at Ballarat last year to play in a lower grade.
Now fully fit, Meddick rejoined Sunshine this season and hasn’t missed a beat.
“I love the way he goes about it. I’ve wanted to coach him for years,” Byrne said.
“He knew the club and knew what the club was all about. I have got out of him what I expected from him.
“He is a gamer, he really takes his pitching seriously and he takes the whole game seriously. He has just got that competitive, want-to-win attitude. He has proved that every time he has pitched for us.”
Sunshine hasn’t had any trouble scoring runs either. Once again the Eagles are light years ahead of the opposition, holding a 21-run lead over nearest rival, Malvern.
Meddick said the balance between offence and defence had been one of the main reasons for the club’s success.
“Our defence and the pitching have always been fairly strong at Sunshine.
“The last few years, getting runs at bat has been a little bit of a struggle. This year everyone has just pulled together and is scoring runs.
“Our pitchers and defence are pretty much holding teams to less than five runs each game. It is great to be working well as a team and getting the wins.”
With the finals fast approaching, Sunshine will have the chance to guarantee itself a place in division 1 next season, if it can finish on top of the division 2 ladder.
The Eagles are 10 percentage points clear of Werribee with four matches to play.
“Earl made it pretty clear that our main goal is to have one season back in division 2, regroup and then get back to division 1 and play the best ball in Victoria that we can,” Meddick said.
