It was around this time last year that I
reported a quiet conversation I had with our manager
Phil Dale during our 2009 Premiership celebrations where
he mused about how difficult these premierships are to
win and how we really should enjoy the moments when we
can. ‘Big Phil’ was unfortunately unable to stay in
Australia long enough to witness our back-to-back
triumphs this weekend, but I’ll guarantee you that he
would be pretty chuffed about this latest conquest for
the ‘Waverley Nation’.
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.
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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.
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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!
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