By Lance Jenkinson
Sunshine has been the yo-yo team of the Baseball Victoria summer league for more than a decade.
One year the Eagles would be playing in division 1, the next they would head straight back to division 2.
This summer, they have bucked the trend.
After comfortably maintaining its place in the top flight, Sunshine clinched a finals berth weeks ago.
Extra cream on top came on Saturday when the Eagles clinched the minor premiership.
Sunshine’s nailbiting 3-2 win over Berwick City Cougars at Barclay Reserve sealed the
No.1 finals ranking.
It was all confirmed when news filtered through that previous ladder leaders Geelong Baycats had lost their final-round game to Waverley Wildcats.
Sunshine’s achievement is huge in its first season under coach Stuart Clayton.
“We’ve had a really good run in the back half of the season,” Clayton said. “We’ve sort of been on a roll.”
If you had said back in round five that Sunshine would be minor premier, you would have been laughed at.
The Eagles were 1-4 and ace pitcher Tayler Rowe was ruled out indefinitely with a knee injury. Rowe made a successful return from that setback last Saturday.
Photo Gallery: Sunshine vs Berwick.
Since round five, Sunshine has gone 16-3 with three draws thrown in.
The big factor for Sunshine has been starting pitcher Jeremy Young.
He was absent in the first month as he tended to Australian under-23 duties, but since he returned, the Eagles’ prospects have improved significantly.
“When he [Young] came back, he took over the role of our No.1,” Clayton said. “All the other guys like Adam Irons and Griffin Weir have been working around him, too.”
The win over Berwick City on Saturday was a typical Sunshine win.
The Eagles put up three runs and let the pitchers go to work. They conceded only two runs in a game that went a marathon 18 innings.
While pitching is the key, Clayton is confident that Sunshine has enough quality batters in the side to produce winning scores. The Young brothers, Jordan and Jeremy, and big-name player Allan de San Miguel are hitting in excess of .300 averages.
What is also apparent is the fight within the side to eke out runs at important times.
“We’ve been getting runners on and getting hits at the right time,” Clayton said.
“Lately, we’ve had some games where we’ve been three or four runs down in the late innings and the boys have not given up and come back and won.”
The addition of de San Miguel, a Melbourne Aces star, has been massive for Sunshine.
“He plays with the Aces each week, but now they’re finished, he’s back with us,” Clayton said. “He’s fantastic – great around the club, helping out with the juniors and helping me with my first year of coaching.”
Clayton can sense excitement in the air at Sunshine ahead of the play-offs.
The Eagles will face Geelong Baycats in a best-of-three semi-final series starting tomorrow (Wednesday) night.
“They’re a young group and they’re ready to go for our first final,” Clayton said.
MORE BASEBALL NEWS
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