It was a game in two parts for Sunshine, turning around a poor start to comfortably beat Ballarat in Vic Summer League baseball action on Saturday.
The final scoreline of 13-4 only told part of the story … Ballarat led for much of the contest before a change in the visitors’ hitting approach gave the Eagles an avalanche of late runs and a comfortable win.
With the wind howling straight out over home plate, making for good hitting conditions, Sunshine struggled for the third game in a row to connect with the ball, much to the frustration of coach Grant Weir.
“We didn’t look like scoring after four innings,” Weir said. “I think we had one hit after four innings – on a really good hitting day – which was frustrating.
“We were able to adjust in the second half of the game, but I hate making those adjustments that far into a game, we need to learn to adjust sooner,” he said.
“That’s three weeks in a row we’ve struggled to hit, and it’s right through the line-up, so it was good to go smash towards the end of this game.”
Sunshine opened the scoring with a run in the first innings, but Ballarat was able to hit back almost immediately.
A series of Sunshine throwing errors in the fourth innings meant the home side ran home three runs to take a strong lead midway through the contest.
But Sunshine were able to adjust when the home side changed pitchers, making better selections on which pitches to swing at, as they connected for 14 hits over the final five innings, running home 11 batsmen.
“Our pitchers were fantastic all game for us, too,” Weir said. “Griffin Weir started and threw five innings, and Jared Van Hoon did four … to only give up one earned run on a great hitting day was outstanding.
“I think our mindset with the bat had to change in the second half because we saw the wind, and I think everyone just wanted to hit the ball out of the park. We stopped swinging at high pitches and hit hard line drives … it was pretty simple baseball, really.”
Sunshine faces a stern test this weekend against a strong Werribee side, with Sunshine set to welcome back star pitcher Tayler Rowe.
“Tayler’s a guy who signed professionally a few years ago with Colorado, so it will be nice to have him back,” Weir said.
“Werribee is Tayler’s old club, which spices it up even more, and Werribee is going really well, so it will a good test for our boys.”
