If it is difficult to win Victoria’s State League Division One Championship, and it is, then it is twice as hard to do it again in successive years and we should cherish back-to-back premierships even more. I’m not certain that we were really capable of celebrating with double the gusto that we did at the end of last season, but a few of us gave it a pretty decent try. A 12th Division One pennant has been hung from the rafters at Napier Park and, as we said last season, this type of success NEVER gets old!

Assistant coach and club legend David Clarkson was a magnificent stand-in manager during Phil’s absence and how fortunate we are to have people like him and experienced pitching coach Lee Hogan to keep the foundations of our success in a stable condition. It can be disruptive to lose anyone, let alone a manager, during a tough finals campaign yet the focus of the team hardly wavered when Phil had to return to the USA after our Game One victory. GO CLARKO! GO PHIL! GO HOGES!

‘Clarko’ commented in his speech at the end of the presentations about how Baseball Victoria should be complimented for the introduction of the best-of-three finals series formats and, after witnessing such tremendous Semi-final and Grand Final series, I can only agree with him. Mind you, after we had secured Game One, then lost Game Two, my support for the concept was wavering as I’d have much preferred to have the Premiership in the bag at that time!

We’d have much rather been celebrating at Napier Park on Sunday than to be making a return visit to Altona for a do-or-die battle with a hungry and determined Essendon ballclub in Game Three. According to that well worn saying, there were those yet undiscovered tribes hiding in the dwindling Amazon rain forests that knew the deciding game would be a last man standing affair. The quality of the two teams, who supplied the bulk of the Claxton Shield Championship Victorian Aces team, would always dictate that a hard fought contest was on the cards. If that’s what we wanted, then we were never going to be disappointed. In similar fashion to last season’s championship game this one went right down to the wire and the one run margin was also identical to last year’s battle royal.
 

Left: Adam Blackley dominating for Waverley once again. With our batting star Scott Wearne alert at third base in the background. The man who once again took the ball for Waverley was the indomitable Adam Blackley who wrote another chapter for himself in Waverley baseball folklore. I mentioned after his sterling semi-final game victory over Blackburn that it would be nearly impossible for Blackley to perform any better and, while this remains true, his second win in the Grand Final series was a performance of MAMMOTH courage and immense importance to his team.

We can pay no higher regard for Adam Blackley than to recognise his major role in our dual Premiership success from his two seasons at Napier Park. It has set a standard for him that will be impossible to maintain forever, yet you can bet your life savings that he will be trying his hardest to hang a few more of those precious premiership medallions from his own neck and the necks of his Waverley team mates. Proud father Lance, a Cheltenham Life Member, referred to Adam as a “little champ” in a SMS message after the game... I wouldn’t agree with “little” but I’d certainly agree with “CHAMP”... Adam Blackley, you are a CHAMPION of the ‘Waverley Nation’. GO BLACKERS!

Adam didn’t need any help from the Wildcats bullpen to make our 3-2 advantage in the game stand up, but he did require the backing of a brilliant Waverley defence on this occasion. This time it was our corner outfielders who produced two really decisive moments of brilliance in support of Blackley when he needed them most in another epic complete game.

Super slugger Andrew ‘Rusty’ Russell is also very useful with the glove and even more threatening with the menace of his right throwing arm. His Victorian team mates at Essendon should have been well aware of his bazooka, yet they still tested him with a runner attempting to score from second on a sharpish grounder into right. Yes, sure, in most instances you would expect the runner to score but not in the event that ‘Rusty’ Russell is the man coming up to throw the ball. It may have shocked the base runner to see the throw arrive ahead of him at home plate, but it definitely didn’t surprise any faithful Waverley or Victorian fans. It was a BIG moment in a skin tight game. GO RUSTY!

No more spectacular, but at a more dramatic time, was the game-ending catch taken by left fielder Adam ‘Willy Mays’ Bonaddio who tracked a sharp hit liner into centre-left field to spear a ball that was surely headed to the deep outfield fence until he intercepted it. His two-out, finger-tip effort at full running speed quite clearly saved the winning run from scoring with runners on the move from both first and second bases. It snatched a dramatic victory from the Bombers and it sent the premiership pennant back to Napier Park. GO BONNAS!

Once again we cannot overlook the splendid game-calling and defence of our catcher Grant Karlsen who maintained his tremendously consistent and high standard throughout a long domestic season which included a log-jam of games for the Victorian Aces. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the incredible competence of Grant behind the dish sometimes causes us to forget how difficult that job can be. I’m sure all the pitchers at Waverley realise what a luxury it is to see Grant Karlsen ready to receive their pitches and to block just about anything that might be wayward. GO GRANT!

Plus our double-play combination of experienced Glenn Mascoll at short and whiz-kid Jacob Sheldon-Collins at second were rock solid under intense pressure. As it happens Mascoll was also one of Waverley's only three safe hitters in a low scoring game. GO FERRET! GO JAKE!

Like he has done so often again this season Scotty Wearne proved to be the spark plug for the Wildcats in a big game. His leadoff single to start the game, followed by Jarrod Hodges safe hit, allowed him to open the scoring in the top of the first on Anthony Reinke’s RBI ground out. Then his leadoff double in the third inning resulted in our second run when he crossed the plate on another infield ground ball. GO WEARNEY! GO HODGO! GO REINKS!

The third and decisive run came for Waverley in the top of the eighth after Essendon’s gallant American starter Whigham finally ran out of gas. Wearney nailed his third leadoff hit, followed by Hodges who singled again. It was Hodgo who scored, after Wearney was erased at third on a fielder's choice, when he was eventually driven home by Evan Phillips' timely sacrifice fly. GO EVO!

Before we round off this final game report for the season we will spare a thought for Joshua Hendricks who missed the game though injury after contributing a lot during the season. GO JOSH! Also our professional AROOS star Jimmy Beresford who, as always, had to return to the US for Spring Training before the finals. GO JIMBO! And, we must make special mention of our other two main pitchers who have thrown most regularly for the Wildcats this campaign in Donavon Hendricks, who won 13 games during the regular season, and Lee Hogan, who was 4-1, 0.83ERA with three saves. GO DONNIE! GO HOGES<again>!

While we bask in the glory of three Premiership wins from the past four seasons, we can still spare a moment to reflect on the unfortunate plight of the mighty Essendon Bombers baseball club who have been our gallant opponents on each of those occasions. We know what it is like to lose multiple grand final games at Waverley as we did during our own recent premiership drought that mercifully ended in 2007. I can clearly recall Matty Sheldon-Collins leading Upwey to successive premiership wins over Waverley in the double-elimination days and also a recent upset defeat by Geelong.

It is in no way gratuitous to say that we do feel for the Essendon club and, while we will always enjoy our own victories, we almost wish that someone else could be on the receiving end for a change. We know and respect the fact that so many of the Essendon guys teamed with several Waverley players to secure success for Victoria this season. The Claxton Shield triumph, the Division One Club Championship and the Minor Premiership represents another fruitful season for Essendon even if the big prize may have eluded you. We fully expect the Essendon Bombers to be bringing it on even harder and better in coming years and we hope to be ready for it... such a healthy rivalry and such quality baseball can only be good for the game... Well done Essendon... remember that success can be fleeting but talent is permanent!

Finally, we always understand that baseball is a team game at Waverley and, while I will produce a 2009/10 Player Report Card later, here is some due recognition for the other players not already mentioned who contributed to the Premiership success throughout the long season.

GO Kerry Gassner! GO Taylor McEvoy! GO J.J O’Connor! GO Danny Reeman! GO Ian Geduld! GO Tommy Shaw! GO Brett Flemming! GO Chipper Maurer! GO James Darcy! GO Tommy Rynberk! GO Daryn Cassidy! GO Cody Hams! GO Mitch Hayes! GO Tyler Dale! GO Cal McConnon, GO Tim Knowles! GO Jamie Papanicolaou! GO Mitch Kennedy!

Once again, and for one last time this summer... these things NEVER get old... GO WILDCATS!
 

For historical purposes I’m not going to try to pretend that this report was written immediately after the game because, in truth, the result of the three game series was known before I found the time to produce this. Anyway, here goes with what I might have written at the time...

Ever since the unexplained, and in my view disappointing, abandonment of the old “double elimination” finals system I have often been heard to bemoan the fact that our important State League senior finals have recently reverted to one game contests. After this Game Two of our Grand Final series against Essendon you may not hear me say this aloud! The whole problem lies in the fact that that my beloved Waverley Wildcats were sadly unable to record a 2-0 series sweep.

Nope, sorry my fellow members of the ‘Waverley Nation’, the brooms have been returned to the closets at Napier Park and there will be no celebrations at the clubrooms tonight... deflate all those balloons and pull down the steamers for at least another day. I’m disappointed to report that we copped a dose of our own medicine from Game One and, after taking a tough 7-9 loss, we will have to trek back to Altona for a deciding Grand Final Game Three tomorrow.

When I say “a dose of our own medicine” I’m referring to the somewhat unusual similarity in the game flow that, in this case, saw Waverley grab an early 2-0 lead, only to see a big inning snatch the ascendency away from us, just like we had done to the Bombers in Game One. This time our Wildcats led 2-0 and then 5-2 before Essendon’s six-run uprising in the bottom of the fifth caused a body blow from which we could never quite recover. When we finally rallied to score a run with the bases loaded and still none out in the top of the ninth we could only narrow the gap to the final score of 7-9.

Even allowing for Essendon’s damaging big inning, it did feel like a game that had got away for Waverley fans and not just because of the irrelevant advantage of 15-10 hits that we never really got to enjoy. Maybe more annoying was the fact that our early 2-0 lead was gifted back to the Bombers by courtesy of two unearned runs that really didn’t help our starting pitcher Donavon Hendricks as it gave the dangerous Essendon offence a rather generous foothold into the game.

I reckon ‘Donnie’ would agree with me that it was far from his most effective start this season, even though he had the mental strength to battle for the team and to keep a tough Essendon lineup chasing the game until the bottom of the fifth. Even in that agonising frame Hendricks had worked to two outs and he had still not allowed a single earned run until the dam walls burst in a big way.

Five successive hits from the middle-to-lower part of the Bombers’ lineup saw six runs plated and Waverley’s three run lead had been transferred to the bottom half of the scoreboard. It looked to me that the Essendon lads had decided to attack early in the count and it certainly worked for them. It sent Donavon for a relatively early shower on a rare occasion this season. He has been GREAT!

After struggling in Game One due to some personal off-field problems that he had kept to himself, evergreen Lee Hogan was back more like the ‘Lights Out Lee’ Hogan we had come to expect so often since his return to Waverley this year. ‘Hoges’ pitched very well to halt the momentum shift and to make sure that the gap was not extended until he was tagged for just one “insurance run” in the bottom of the eighth. Lefty Brett Flemming was entrusted with what turned out to be the final out for Waverley when Essendon was not required to bat again in the ninth.

For the second straight game Adam Bonaddio and Scott Wearne were the key offensive men for Waverley in the heat of finals baseball. Both registered three hits again but ‘Bonnas’ grabbed the team MVP by finishing a home run shy of hitting for the cycle and for delivering three big RBIs. ‘Wearney’ also tripled in the fourth inning but this was to become just one of the TWELVE runners we left stranded on the bags for the game... that hurts!

Andy Russell and Evan Phillips were our other multi-hit men with two each, while ‘Rusty’ drove in a run and ‘Evo’ was also plonked by a pitch. Teen tyro Jake Sheldon-Collins was on board three times via a hit and two walks to compliment his middle infield partner ‘Ferret’ Mascoll who hit and delivered a sacrifice fly for his vital two runs driven in.

In the wash-up, it doesn’t really matter who held leads during the game, who recorded most hits and who left how many on base... the only thing that mattered from a Waverley perspective was the overriding reality that we lost the ballgame. And, the only reasonable thing you can do in those circumstances is to credit the play of the opposing team; Essendon.

In any case, if we are being honest, the results throughout this season almost demanded that this Grand Final series between the two very best teams in the competition could not be decided via a two game sweep. This would have been truly unfortunate for either team and, for those not allied to either of the teams, it does provide the Victorian baseball community one more great game of quality baseball.

Personally, I would have rejoiced a 2-0 series sweep, but what would you expect from any loyal Waverley fan? At this point I’ll gladly accept a 2-1 Championship win by any means we can secure it! GO WILDCATS... it's all down to this!
 

Not to take anything away from the fighting spirit of the Essendon Bombers, as we would expect nothing less from them, but this was a game that Waverley nearly “coughed up” after quite clearly taking the foot from the accelerator with a 10-2 lead late in the game. This, as baseball will usually remind us, can be a very dangerous thing to do and, once the snowball starts gathering momentum rolling down the hill, it can be a very difficult thing to stop.

There was also some uncomfortable shuffling among the ‘Waverley Nation’ early in this contest after Essendon had snatched a 2-0 lead from our unfortunate starter Adam Blackley, who was once again a major factor for the Wildcats. An unearned run in the third inning was doubled in the sixth when a wild pitch later saw a run scored on an infield ground out. At that stage it looked like a mountain to climb as Waverley had struggled to get the better of Bomber import pitcher Dave Whigham through the first six innings. Blackley once again proved himself a big time star in a big game for Waverley.

Somewhat like the Frankenstein monster receiving a jolt of lightning, a dormant Wildcats’ offence suddenly sprung to life with nine hits, two walks and a catcher’s interference all coming in a hurry during a frenzied the top of the seventh. When the dust had settled on the mayhem Whigham’s quality start had been dashed and Waverley had seemingly secured an unassailable 10-2 command of Game One. A ten-spot for the seventh inning was a massive offensive outburst for any game, let alone a grand final game!

While it always sounds a ridiculous notion, it is a fact that a lead of this magnitude can often be more difficult to manage than a slender one. With a deciding game to come on the weekend it would always be tempting to preserve as much pitching as possible and, unfortunately for Waverley, once ace reliever Donavon Hendricks was lifted, Essendon certainly enjoyed a massive pressure release.

Evergreen ‘Altona Assassin’ Lee Hogan unusually struggled for location and, as the momentum shifted, both Brett Flemming and Tom Shaw found it tough to hold back the tide. Enter from stage right the versatile talents of utility fielder and leadoff hitter Scott ‘Everywhere’ Wearne who grasped the ball and he finally snuffed the last out to leave Essendon just one run short of an unthinkable comeback victory.

Scotty Wearne must have enjoyed his weekend off... I don’t think... courtesy of a suspension that I still can’t afford to comment upon. Yet, if it did give him a chance to re-fuel his desire, then he definitely hit back hard with three hits, a stolen base, three RBIs and his closing effort as a pitcher. Quite frankly it’s hard to remember what life was like before ‘Wearney’ came across to the ‘Waverley Nation’ because it feels like he has been performing like this with the Wildcats for ages!

Another guy who really has been around for a good while, with some holidays in between, is Adam Bonaddio. ‘Bonnas’ is hardly in the veteran class, yet he has long been a star player at Waverley from his junior days. He won a Junior Club Champion award, shared another with Simon Beresford and then won a Senior Club Champion award in 2005. Following his grand tour of Europe Adam hasn’t yet recaptured some of his ability as a front-line pitcher, but this hasn’t stopped him from climbing all the way back to his former high quality as a hitter and outfielder. It is a credit to his determination and competitive nature that he has re-established himself in Division One baseball this season and he is hitting top form at just the right time. His 3-5 with a double and a run batted in was an outstanding offensive effort for Waverley in this major final.

The only other player with more than one hit among Waverley’s tally of 14 safe knocks was teenage prodigy Jacob Sheldon-Collins who seems to be thriving on the pressure-cooker of the senior finals atmosphere. Anyone who might have thought that his game winning hit in the first semi-final game may have been a one-off event can think again. Young Jake seems determined to grasp his opportunity to play at this level with both hands and he has no intention of making it easy for anyone seeking to replace him. His former junior coach and Waverley icon David Warren has always extolled his defensive virtues but I reckon even Mr. Warren would be pleasantly surprised about his premature emergence as a clutch hitter in senior company.

Andrew Russell was a bit like the kid in the lolly shop wanting a bit of everything with a hit, a walk, a hit by pitch and a stolen base for a busy and slightly painful evening, while his “bash brother” Anthony Reinke hit and walked twice to keep the bases company often enough.

Well, my fellow members of the ‘Waverley Nation’, we might have been a fraction subdued after nearly witnessing a landslide victory slither from our fingers but, in the cold light of day, we should be content that our objective was achieved. A 10-9 win, or any win for that matter, was always going to be an acceptable outcome from this game and we’re going to accept it gratefully. Our team performed well when it needed to and, really, not too much should be taken from Essendon’s belated comeback other than a reminder of how this game can turn around.

With that in mind we now have two chances to secure back-to-back Premierships this coming weekend when the Grand Final series resumes at Melbourne Ballpark at 4:00pm this Saturday 27 March... and then again on Sunday at the same venue for a decider, if required. A 1-0 advantage is nice to have but the deal is yet to be sealed and we know that the Essendon team will not roll over and let us take it without a heck of a fight.