North Balwyn Stingers defeated St Kilda 13-11, locking away the win in the last innings last Sunday in the Women’s Division-1.
St Kilda started off strong, leading the first innings 3-1 and maintaining that lead through to the end of the third, where the score stood at 5-2.
But the comeback was on when North Balwyn got two runs while holding St Kilda to none in the fourth and fifth, to bring them a one run lead, 6-5.
The Stingers then broke it all open bringing home a whopping seven runs in their final batting inning, making it 5-13 and impossible for St Kilda to catch up.
St Kilda played the game out however, scoring an impressive six runs in to bring the final score to 13-11.
North Balwyn’s head coach, Michael Warwick reflected on his team’s performance.
“I think it went very well – it was a tough game,” he said.
“But I think they hit everything at the right time when there were runners on to score.”
He also commented on the conditions, which were very un-winter-like.
“It was a different kind of mound than we are used to, and some of the lighting and heat as well. Although it’s winter baseball we had the sun shining bright,” he said.
Warwick nominated Leisel Perks for her fantastic pitching and she gave insight to her feelings during the game.
“It took a bit to get used [to the conditions] at the start, but once we got going it went better,” she said.
“I felt quite relaxed towards the end, which helped me a lot.”
Perks also commented on the summery conditions.
“I do love winter baseball and like the cooler temperatures,” she said.
“But it was nice having the sun out and playing in these conditions.”
This weekend, North Balwyn Stingers take on University of Melbourne Blue at home, while St Kilda head north to take on Research Lower Plenty.
Match of the Round is chosen in-advance each week and designed to provide coverage of the entire league across the season. It is produced with support from the MWBL’s communications and content partner, The Content Engine.
