SUNSHINE’S first outing for the 2013/14 Summer League Division One baseball season began in shaky fashion on Saturday with a 9-4 loss to Preston.
The Eagles, led for the first time by new coach and club stalwart Earl Byrne, struggled to contain one of the league’s better clubs in windy conditions at Sunshine’s Barclay Reserve.
Import pitcher Chris Prokupek started for the Eagles but his welcome to Division One baseball was not the one he, nor Sunshine, would have been hoping for, with Preston’s Jason Blejwas blasting a three-run score in the first inning of the game.
Justin Huber then followed up with another run in the second, setting the tone for the day and forcing the Eagles onto the back foot for its entirety.
Sunshine barely avoided relegation at the end of last summer and will be hoping it can bounce back quickly in round two this Sunday at home to Geelong.
SYDENHAM Hillside barely survived in its NWMCA Luscombe Shield season opener on the road against Strathmore Heights on Saturday.
After choosing to bat first in the one-dayer at Boeing Reserve, the Storm stumbled their way to an all-out 112 from 38 overs in the middle.
The innings looked to be in serious trouble at 4/23 and then 5/44, but the Storm’s middle order saved the day.
Peter Bailey (26), Alex Hassett (18) and Malshan Gunasinghe (17) all chipped in with handy runs while everybody else around them fell for single figures.
Luckily for Sydenham Hillside, Strathmore Heights didn’t fare much better in their chase, falling 16 runs short of victory after just 26.4 overs.
Hassett was the star with the ball, claiming 4/27 and two maidens from seven overs while Gunasinghe took 3/12 off five.
This Saturday the Storm will host local rival Kealba Green Gully in another one-dayer.
WILLIAMSTOWN has appointed Andrew Collins as head coach for the 2014 season.
Collins joins the Seagulls from South Australian Football League Club West Adelaide where he coached the Bloods for six years.
In that time he took the club to a grand final as well as achieving success in the Foxtel Cup.
He has also previously coached Sandringham, Box Hill and Coburg in the Victorian Football League.
Collins, who has signed a two-year deal, replaces Peter German.
The appointment was announced at Williamstown’s best-and-fairest night last week.
“Andrew has had a long coaching record and it stacks up really well,” Williamstown CEO Brendan Curry said.
“He has done an outstanding job over the last six years at West Adelaide. He took over a club that had won a couple of wooden spoons or it might have even won three in a row. So to get them up to be one of the powerhouses in the SANFL … was a great effort.
“I think he is highly respected in the football world and has great knowledge of football players from all around Australia and I think he we will be a great person to help us recruit the top end talent that we have to do as well.”
AFTER a brilliant year, Cameron Lockwood won the Gerry Callahan Medal, presented to Williamstown’s best player, while Ben Jolley and Willie Wheeler finished second and third respectively.
Lockwood was a picture of consistency throughout the 2013 season and was named in the Seagulls’ best players eight times from his 20 matches.
He also finished with seven goals for the year.
“Cam is our longest serving player and I think it is an outstanding result,” Curry said.
“He is a local Williamstown junior product, he won two Barry Round Medals with the Western Jets. It was only two years ago I think he only played one or two games for the whole year after two hip operations.
