Pakenham Baseball Club added silverware to the town vault on Saturday after the Pumas scored a memorable victory over Cheltenham Rustlers Blue in the Dandenong Baseball Association (DBA) Under-15 Winter Season grand final.
The young Pumas produced a dominant display, winning 11-3 to take home the shield and medals.
The news wasn’t so good for the B2 and women’s team, who went down swinging with pride against tough opposition.
Here’s how a premiership weekend played out.
UNDER 15
PUMAS CLINCH DBA GRAND FINAL IN DOMINANT FASHION
Pakenham Pumas capped off their season in magnificent fashion on Saturday with a commanding 11–3 victory over Cheltenham Rustlers Blue in the Dandenong Baseball Association (DBA) grand final.
Cheltenham got on the board in the first inning after they singled, scoring one run.
Ollie then singled down the right-field line, which helped the Pumas tie the game at one each in the bottom of the first.
Cheltenham briefly regained the lead in the third, but the bottom half of that innings saw the momentum swing decisively in Pakenham’s favour!
Pumas flipped the game on its head; scoring five runs to take the lead, 6-2.
Hunter singled to get the runners advanced, but the biggest blow in the inning was off an error after a hit from Ollie that drove in two.
Coadhey doubled to get another two runs scored with the fifth run coming off a wild pitch allowing him to scamper home.
Top of the fourth saw Cheltenham scoring a single on an error, but the bottom of the innings saw the Pumas scoring another five runs from four hits.
Liam doubled, scoring two runs, Junior grounded out, scoring one run, Dane drew a walk, scoring one run and Ollie singled, scoring one run; pushing the score to 11–3 and effectively sealing the win.
Coadhey earned the win for the Pumas on the mound.
The starting pitcher surrendered three hits and three runs (two earned) over four innings, striking out eight and walking one.
Timmy tossed one inning of no-run ball for the Pumas in relief.
The hurler gave up one hit, striking out two and walking none.
Hunter and Ollie were a force together in the lineup, as they each collected two hits for the Pumas, with Ollie leading the Pumas with three runs batted in.
The infielder went 2-for-3 on the day, while Julia paced the Pumas with two walks.
Overall, the team had patience at the plate, amassing six walks for the game.
This has been a fantastic end to the season and a great reward to the hard work that the team has put in with their coaches.
So much thanks go to coaches Mouse and Huffy for all the help and guidance they gave the team. Many thanks too to Tania for scoring the games and also to Christine and Mark who also helped with the scoring.
There’s a short break now until the summer season starts and we hope to keep most of the team together as we move onto the summer competition.
The future looks bright for the Pumas juniors into the 2025/26 season.
B2
Pakenham Pumas fought hard in their preliminary final on Saturday but fell short against Bonbeach going down 4-1.
Bonbeach opened the scoring early, but Pakenham kept themselves in the game with strong pitching from Shaun Fahy.
Fahy went the distance on the mound, striking out six and giving up no earned runs across seven innings.
At the plate, Wayne Porter, Travis Hough, Scott Dale, and Justin Mazurek all collected hits.
Dale also drove in the Pumas’ lone run, finishing 1-for-3 on the day at the plate.
Although the result brought the winter season to a close, the Pumas showed plenty of fight.
The team now turns its attention to the summer season, ready to go again with confidence and determination.
WOMENS WHITE
Pakenham Pumas Women’s White put up a determined fight but couldn’t keep pace with the hot bats of Dingley, going down 15-6 on Sunday at Kingston Heath Reserve.
The Pumas opened strong in the first inning, with Karlee Brady grounding out to bring in the first run of the game.
But Dingley immediately answered back in the bottom half, stringing together key hits to jump into the lead.
Dingley continued to pile on across the second and third innings, capitalising on timely hitting and patience at the plate.
On the mound, Emily Williams started for the Pumas, striking out one across two innings.
Felicity Clissold came in for the final innings, working hard on the mound for the Pakenham Pumas.
Despite the scoreboard, the Pumas showed plenty of grit.
Emily Devine was a standout with three hits in as many at-bats, while she and Brady drove in two runs apiece.
The Pumas were aggressive on the base paths, swiping 11 bags, with Devine and Clissold each recording multiple steals.
While the result didn’t go their way, the Pumas Women’s White showed resilience and flashes of brilliance, particularly in their aggressive base running and middle-order batting.
Even though their finals came to an end, the Pumas showed their growth as a team throughout their season and the importance of hard work and team spirit.
JOIN THE PUMAS – COME AND TRY DAY
If you’ve ever wanted to give baseball a go the Pakenham Pumas have ‘Come and Try’ days coming up on Saturday 13 September and Sunday 21 September…with Juniors from 11am to 12noon, Women from 12:30 to 1:30pm and Seniors from 12:30 to 1:30pm.
Pakenham Pumas are located at Toomuc Recreation Reserve behind Cardinia Life Pools.
Even if you’ve never played before we’d love to have you down.
-James Kinsella and Jessica Moulding-
