A top-of-the-table clash between Las Panteras and Aries and a first-time meeting between sister teams Spitfires and Bombers provided this week’s action. Who would break away at the top? And would the Spitfires get their first win?
Las Panteras vs Aries
Diamond Two saw League leaders Las Panteras take on current League champions Aries, the first time the two teams have met this season following a rain off in Week Five.
Both teams were on equal points going into the game with Las Panteras’ fewer runs against separating them in the tie-breaker.
The game got off to tight start as the score was tied after the first and then fourth inning. Both teams scored three runs in the first inning, then Aries took the lead in the second inning with a further two runs as they held Las Panteras to zero runs in the same innings.
After both teams score one run each in the third inning, it was Las Panteras’ turn to shut Aries out and score two runs themselves.
Aries pulled ahead again in the fifth inning, again by a margin of two runs, as they scored three runs and held Las Panteras to one. It was the sixth inning, however, that would prove to the be the turning point in the game.
Aries extended their lead to four with two runs scored in the top of the sixth, however Las Panteras found runs when they needed them most with the biggest half-inning score of the game. Over-the-fence home runs to right field by Hannah Sheratt and Dean Tomlin helped Las Panteras score six runs and give them their first lead of the game, by two runs.
Las Panteras restricted Aries to one run in the top of the seventh which gave them the victory with a half inning to spare.
Las Panteras’ victory sets up an interesting final game of the season – the aforementioned catch-up from the rain week in Week 5.
Las Panteras need to avoid losing to Aries by 16 runs or more to reclaim the League title they last won in 2016.
Check out full Las Panteras vs Aries stats here.
Spitfires vs Bombers
Diamond One saw sister teams Spitfires and Bombers take each other on in another first-time match up. Bombers were hoping to overtake Dodgers for fourth place in the league table while Spitfires were still gunning for their first victory of the season and as a team.
Bombers got the game going with a three-run first inning and holding the Spitfires to no score. It was Spitfires’ turn to do some shutting out as they held the Bombers to no runs for the next two innings while scoring two runs in each themselves.
Both teams scored one run each in the fourth innings, however the Bombers retook the lead in the fifth, outscoring Spitfires three to one and giving them a one-run cushion.
Spitfires tied the game up in the sixth inning, scoring one run in reply to Bombers’ zero runs.
Heading into the seventh inning, both teams were well aware of each other’s rookie runs. The Bombers had two, whereas the Spitfires (whose roster is full of new talent) had five. This effectively gave the Spitfires a three run lead going into the last inning.
The Bombers did what they needed to and negated Spitfire’s advantage by scoring four runs, demanding the new team work for their victory.
The Spitfires were up for the challenge, however, as Jesse Januszkiewicz scored Fiona Mounsdon to bring home the tying run and Gary Matthews hit a walk off single to give the Spitfires their first ever victory. Well done guys!
Next week the two teams with face off again, this time deciding who will finish fifth in the league and who will finish bottom….