Sunshine’s Rory Meddick has been in superb form. 73334 Picture: DAMIAN VISENTINI
By MICHAEL ESPOSITO
SUNSHINE has set up a top-of-the-table clash in the last round of Baseball Victoria’s Division 2 men’s competition on Saturday, after defeating Newport 6-2 on the weekend.
But Sunshine and Mulgrave are playing for much more than the minor premiership – the winner will be promoted to Division 1 next year.
Sunshine is sitting just behind Mulgrave, and a win will secure top spot and a promotion.
Sunshine benefitted from the wet weather on Saturday, playing the only Division 2 game that was not abandoned.
If the Eagles finish the home-and-away season as runner-up, they can still be elevated to the top division by either winning the grand final, or advancing to the grand final if their opponent is Mulgrave.
Sunshine’s recent good form, which has involved several lopsided victories, has more to do with team discipline than any stand-out performances, according to coach Shaun Moore.
“Everyone’s dedicated to how we want to go this year and we’ve really been playing great team baseball,” Moore said.
“We’ve been doing the little things like moving the runners over, getting everyone into position, getting the base distances right, the boys are really on fire at the moment.”
Sunshine pitchers Adam Irons and Rory Meddick have been tremendous all season, producing a number of shut-outs and taking the pressure off the batters.
But instead of being content with just eking out a victory, Sunshine’s hitters have run rampant.
“Even if someone’s looked in to hit, they’re driving in runs, they’re getting a walk, getting on base so we can move it around. That’s the kind of team baseball we want to be playing. “You don’t need a team of superstars to score runs, you just got to do the team things and you’ll score runs every day of the week.”
Moore said the Eagles would be in a much better position to be competitive in Division 1 than they were in the 2010/11 season, when they were demoted. “We’ll be a lot stronger as a club. Our under-18s made the grand final with only eight players, our twos just got knocked out of finals by Newport, and finished third.
“It’s been really pleasing for the club this year, having a lot of teams play in finals.
“The kids are really starting to come through, they’re starting to develop, they’re getting a bit stronger.”
