Cougars climb to third

By Gavin Staindl
AFTER an emphatic 23-0 home win over Waverley, the Berwick City Cougars cling to third place on the Division 2 ladder for the first time since the competition was divided up three years ago.
After losing the opening three games of the season, Berwick rattled off 12 wins from 14 games to sit half a game ahead of fourth and one game behind second place.
Berwick’s vast improvement this season can be traced back to round six when it was beaten by a similar-looking Waverley outfit 3-2 over 13 innings.
Compare that with the 23-0 blow-out against the same team recorded at Cyril Molyneux Reserve last Sunday and it’s obvious why Berwick coach Mick Poole is getting excited.
Similar to last week, Berwick again got off to an ideal start, plastering seven runs on the board from four hits in the first dig.
When the heat rule was enforced after one hour Berwick led 11-0, and when it re-entered the diamond an hour later Berwick kept the heat on.
Matt Rossman, Ryan Phillips and Matt Chilcott all pitched shut-out innings and Sam Beasley led the hitting department with four clean hits.
“I dare say this is the first time (in Berwick’s history in division two) that we’ve been in third place,” Poole said.
“The aim at the start of the year was to finish above .500 but we’ve exceeded that and the next goal is to make finals.
“Half the team is 15 or 16 and the kids have been up for a long time so I do expect a form slump at some stage … but right now they’re scoring at will against the pitchers,” Poole said.
Last week also became the first time that all Berwick teams from the firsts to the fifths had a win on the same weekend.
“At the moment there is a good atmosphere around the club,” Poole said.