SUNSHINE has brushed aside its initial teething problems to make a successful adjustment to life in the Baseball Victoria summer league division 1.
The top-flight Eagles made an inauspicious start to the season, losing their opening three games but have since hit back to get on a three-game winning streak.
The Eagles continued their rich form, blanking the Doncaster Dragons 3-0 at the redeveloped Melbourne Ball Park in the first midweek game of the season last week.
Eagles player-coach Shaun Moore told the Weekly his newly-promoted team has settled in the big league after a bumpy transition period.
“We kind of needed some game time together as a group to find out feet in division 1,” he said.
“Once we’d all had a couple of at-bats, we started getting a bit of confidence. Everyone is playing really well at the moment and we’re playing good team baseball.”
Rory Meddick sent down five innings of work for the Eagles. Last year’s division 2 MVP did not concede a run, but was made to work hard for the duck egg.
“He threw more pitches than he would’ve liked,” Moore said. “A couple of their guys hung in there. We had a great defence behind him as well.”
Critical to the Eagles’ victory was makeshift catcher Shannon Hornstra.
Hornstra has donned the catcher’s mask due to the unavailability of No.1 Leigh Ashmore and performed strongly.
“He’s really taken it on board and is doing a great job behind there,” Moore said.
“The catcher pretty much runs the game; he’s calling the shots back there and if he’s having a bad day we all have a bad day, but he’s calling really good games behind the dish for us.”
The Eagles’ win was assisted by an off-kilter Dragons pitcher, Daniel McGrath.
McGrath gave up a run at a vital time with a walk.
Hornstra, so good behind the plate, also got a crucial late RBI to secure the win.
The Eagles played back-to-back games against Preston on Sunday and on Cup Day, after the Weekly went to press.
