Pakenham Pumas played some solid baseball on the weekend but had mixed results with a couple of teams losing despite out-hitting their opponents. Here’s how an exciting round in the Dandenong Baseball Association played out.
A1
Pakenham Pumas A1 suffered a loss despite out-hitting Frankston. Even though Pakenham collected seven hits to Frankston’s five, they still fell 5-1 on Saturday at Pakenham Pumas Baseball Club. Kyler Rinehart led the Pumas with three hits. A double play put Pakenham Pumas A1 on the board in the bottom of the first. In the top of the seventh, Frankston broke up the tie with a single, scoring two runs. Then a double followed to extend the lead to 5-1.
Kengo Oka took the loss for Pakenham. The pitcher went three innings, surrendering two runs on three hits, striking out five and walking three. Luke started the game for Pakenham Pumas giving up two hits and one run (zero earned) over four innings, striking out five and walking five.
A2
Pakenham Pumas A2 hosted Frankston on Saturday for the first home game of the season.
The game took off with a hot start seeing Frankston jump out to the lead scoring four runs in the first and Pakenham returning fire scoring two off the back of solid hitting and base running. The next two innings saw no runs scored for either team, with the Pumas showing strong defensive work as Matthew Mills made three great catches at centre field and Cooper Porter showing his skills with two ground outs at shortstop. Frankston capitalised with one additional run scored in the fourth. Rhys McKenzie was the starting pitcher for the Pumas. The hurler showed incredible maturity on the mound, going the whole six innings, surrendering five runs on five hits, striking out an impressive 10 and walking four. McKenzie and Felicity were a one-two punch in the line-up, as each drove in one run for Pakenham. Felicity led the Pumas with two hits in three at bats, with Will also bringing in one hit. Pakenham was sure-handed and didn’t commit a single error. Mat Howden made the most plays with 10. Final results showed Frankston taking the tight game 5-2. A lot of maturity and focus showed in the weekend, coming off the back of great skill and hard work. The Pumas look to next weekend as they welcome Cheltenham on Saturday for their next game.
B1
Pakenham B1 hit off to a solid start against Mornington scoring two runs in the first inning, off the back of solid hitting from Chris Appleby. Defensively Brad Jones allowed only one runner, who over ran second on a steal attempt and was promptly run down trying to avoid the tag. The second inning saw the Pumas unable to capitalise on a double from Brad Bugeja, not adding to the score. The Pirates then scored a run to cut the deficit in half. An arm wrestle ensued with both teams exchanging good defensive plays and trying to make the most of single base hits to force a run over the plate. In the sixth inning with the game tied, the Pumas made the most of a lead-off walk with Luke Billing at second base and two outs, with two strikes on the batter, Billo stole third, while Brock hit a single to third and Billo continuing around the corner to take the go-ahead run. Entering the defensive half of the seventh inning and with Brad Jones continuing a strong effort on the mound, the Pirates got a runner on the corners and managed to scramble the tying run to the plate. With two down, the batter hit a grounder back to Brad who made the play and ended the game at five-all. A well fought draw. It was an excellent team effort from the Pumas, with some new and young faces in the squad. Chris Appleby was the most dangerous hitter with three hits and Connor Mills unusually finding himself in the infield at second base looking fantastic with a number of defensive plays.
B2
Pakenham B2 travelled to Mornington and jumped out to a handy lead in the top of the first inning after Travis Hough doubled, scoring two runs. Shaun Fahy singled down the left field line, making the score 5-0. Pakenham also scored seven runs on five hits in the top of the third inning. Greg McCormick doubled, scoring one run, Travis Hough hit into a fielder’s choice, with two runs scoring, Luke Billing singled, scoring one run, Brock singled, scoring one run, Kyle Peck drew a walk, scoring one run, and one run scored on an error. The Pumas extended the lead scoring six runs on seven hits in the top of the sixth inning. Travis Hough singled, scoring one run, finishing up with an impressive four runs batted in, Brock singled, scoring one run, an error scored two runs, and Andrew Mayberry singled scoring two runs. Pakenham collected 20 hits for the game in total. Andrew Mayberry led the offence with a single in the first, second and sixth inning, then going around again in the sixth inning, hit a double, tallying five hits from six at bats. Whilst Travis Hough, Brock Edwards, Greg McCormick, Brad Jones, Shaun Fahy, and Luke Billing each collected multiple hits. Kyle Peck showed his exceptional eye getting on base with three walks; there were six walks in total for the team. Scott Dale started on the mound for Pakenham again this round and only gave up two hits with zero runs over four innings, striking out six and walking one. Shaun Fahy came on and threw two innings keeping Mornington scoreless in relief.
C
Pumas C Grade held on to a narrow victory over neighbouring Berwick in a tight contest. Both teams came in looking for redemption after tough games in round one, which definitely showed. It was neck and neck from the offset, each team picked up early runs. Pakenham did a lot better offensively this week, putting the ball in play and then moving base runners around to capitalise on the scoreboard. Young Lance led us off on the mound and was fantastic for three innings, before being relieved by Anthony Clissold. Our Pumas managed to pick up a handy three-run lead in the third, which was just enough to hold off the fast finishing Dodgers. While we did give up a couple of errors and some unearned run, everyone put in where it counted both with the bat and in the field. Great win 10-9.
WOMEN’S WHITE
In a game that had just about everything – from pitching changes to bases-loaded walks and daring steals of home – the Pakenham Pumas Women’s White team staged a thrilling comeback to edge out Frankston 14-12 in a high-scoring affair on Sunday. Frankston came out of the gates swinging, posting a massive five-runs at the top of the first inning, highlighted by doubles from C. Ames, O. Richardson, and K. Moody. Walks and wild pitches allowed runners to advance at will, and the visitors quickly capitalised. By the time the dust settled, they led 5-0, putting early pressure on the Pumas. But Pakenham wasn’t fazed. The Pumas exploded for seven runs in the bottom half of the inning, powered by clutch hits from M. Byrne, K. Van Weeghel, and D. Wilson. Timely walks and a hit-by-pitch helped load the bases repeatedly, allowing Pakenham to seize a 7-5 lead by the inning’s end. Frankston fought back again in the third, capitalising on five walks, a hit-by-pitch, and two key singles to reclaim the lead 12-9. Yet, the Pumas once again showed resilience. In the bottom of the third, smart base running and continued pressure allowed Pakenham to tie the game. K. Walton stole home, and M. Byrne drove in another to knot things at 12-all. With the crowd on their feet, the Pumas pushed two more across before the inning was done, taking a 13-12 lead. The Pumas added an insurance run in the fourth when D. Wilson drove in J. Moulding with a single, sealing the 14-12 final score. With the win, Pakenham continues to demonstrate their resilience and depth, bouncing back from early deficits with poise and teamwork.
WOMEN’S WHITE
Pakenham Pumas Women’s Black fell 10-5 to Dingley on Sunday at Chelsea despite out-hitting the opposition six to five. Christine Sculley and Carni Dowsett each collected two hits for Pakenham. We opened the scoring in the first inning after Christine Sculley singled, scoring one run. Dingley then took the lead, 2-1, in the bottom of the first thanks to two ground outs. Pumas were able to take back the lead in the top of the second inning after Carni Dowsett doubled to left field, and Dingley committed an error, each scoring one run. Dingley scoring six runs on one hit to take the lead, 8-3 was the biggest blow. Emily Williams started the game for Pakenham. The hurler gave up two hits and eight runs (two earned) over two innings, striking out three and walking five. Olivia Garcia provided pop in the middle of the line-up, and led Pakenham with two runs batted in. The infielder went 1-for-3 on the day. Christine Sculley stole two bases. Pakenham tallied four stolen bases for the game.
UNDER 15
Pumas Under 15s headed out to Frankston on Saturday and got off to a flyer scoring five in the first off the back of a Brock double. Ollie got the start and battled out of a jam to keep Frankston scoreless. The Pumas couldn’t take advantage of loading the bases in the second and Frankston replied with two before Ollie closed it out. The Pumas piled on five more in the third before Ollie struck out the side to secure the win. This was a great team effort with everyone swinging the bats well and displaying solid fielding.
