Sunshine is entrenched in the Baseball Victoria summer league division 1 top four – but coach Grant Weir wants more.
The Eagles have taken care of the business everyone expected of them so far, beating all the sides below them on the ladder.
But a concern for the Eagles is the lack of a win against a side above them on the ladder.
The 8-0 drubbing of Ballarat mid-week was nice, as was the 4-1 win over Bonbeach at home on Saturday, but the Eagles are yearning for a big scalp for validation of their contender status.
“It’s not a bad start except the three losses have been against the teams that are ahead of us,” Weir said.
“We’ve beaten everyone below and lost to everyone ahead of us. That’s the tale of the tape at the moment.
“I’m sure we can match it with the three other teams in the top four.
“We’re going to need to, because the goal for everyone is to finish on top and get that automatic entry back into division 1.”
Sunshine seems to have the most balanced line-up in the league.
The Eagles are far and away the best pitching and defensive side in the competition, conceding a stingy 2.30 runs per game.
They are ranked fourth for runs scored – solid to this point, but also an area Weir believes can be improved dramatically in the second half of the year.
“Sunshine is probably the hardest ground in the competition to hit at because the wind just blows in,” he said.
“You’re hitting against the wind the whole time, so our batting averages are always going to be a little bit lower than everyone else’s.
“On the other hand, I actually still think we’ve got a lot of improvement to go in regard to our hitting.
“Everyone is struggling a little bit with the bat. It’s a weak link at the moment.”
What is unquestionable is the strength of Sunshine pitching department.
The Eagles were already potent with Grifin Weir and Tayler Rowe on the mound, but the addition of a third front-liner – import Jared Van Hoon – has provided even more firepower.
“I couldn’t rave about our pitching and our defence enough,” Weir said.
“The three of them have kept us in every game and have got a very low earned-run average.”
Van Hoon’s pitching has been a handy bonus.
The American was targeted for his work as an infielder, but his pitching has proven too good to leave him in the field.
It has given Weir more flexibility in terms of his pitching staff – and their arms should be a lot fresher come the second half of the year.
“That allows us to reduce the load,” Weir said. “All three of them haven’t been over-worked at all.
“They can get to 70 or 80 pitches and we can get them out of the game … there’s plenty left in the tank for our three pitchers going into the second half of the year.”
Sunshine, third on the ladder, will face a stern test against the Williamstown Wolves tomorrow (Wednesday) night at Barclay Reserve, followed by another home game against lowly Port Melbourne on Sunday from 3.30pm.
