Dean Malthouse slides into base for Newport on Sunday. 88523_04 Picture: MATHEW LYNN
By ADEM SARICAOGLU
THE Newport Rams remain undefeated in Baseball Victoria’s Division Two competition after easily accounting for battlers Port Melbourne on Sunday.
Much like the Rams’ opening two games for the summer, Sunday’s clash was a fizzer soon after the first pitch, with the final scoreboard reading 12-0 in favour of the home team.
Head coach Grant Weir admitted it was tough to glean much out of such a lopsided contest, but there were plenty of good signs.
“It is hard to judge performances from a day like today, but our defence was good and our pitchers didn’t throw any walks,” Weir said.
“Our pitchers weren’t throwing any walks and we didn’t make too many errors, which are some of our indicators that we look at.
“Those two things were rock solid today, regardless of the opposition.”
Weir said it was good to give young players an opportunity to learn new roles within the team, including up-and-coming pair Jeremy and Jordan Young.
“We speak about concentration and we talk about being prepared to do what you need to do at the time you need to do it,” Weir said.
“Today we were 9-0 up after three innings, so it’s a good chance for guys to work on some things and concentrate on some of those individual efforts.
“We’ve got (the Youngs) playing outfield for the first time even though they’ve been infielders for all their lives.
“They’re only 19 and 17, but they’re playing outfield so it was good for them to work on that as well.”
Newport’s smooth start to the year has buoyed the club for big things this summer, and with a wealth of talented players slowly making their mark on this season, Weir says it was good to have numerous contributors on Sunday.
“Dean Malthouse got three hits and drove in some runs, so he was probably our better player,” he said.
“Liam Vicary-Lovegrove got a couple of hits and pitched as well, and we welcomed back Griffin Weir, who was away overseas with study.
“We even had Matthew Lawman pitch for us. He plays in the Czech Republic over the off-season and he’s been there four years now.
“He’s one of our best players.”
With no injuries and a full squad to choose from, the Rams will go into next Sunday’s clash away to Chelsea confident of producing another big win.
