WET conditions and poor fielding have put a dampener on the Mitchell Majors hot streak, going down 13-3 to Footscray in the Melbourne Winter Baseball League’s A3-grade on Saturday.
Coming in off three straight wins, the Majors hosted Footscray in a decisive battle for finals positions as both teams entered with only two losses for the year.
Rain threatened to delay the start of the game, but things cleared just in time and star pitcher Eden Hardy took to the mound.
He quickly got through the first inning unscathed, but the home side couldn’t put run pressure on when it came their turn to bat, and things were locked at 0-0 entering the second innings.
That’s when the game and the weather both took a turn for the worse for the Majors. Errors across the infield plagued the usually clean team, and Footscray capitalised putting on seven runs in quick time.
There was a short pause for a rain delay as it started pouring down, and when the sun eventually showed its face the home side were able to bring in their first run of the day through Stuart Partridge.
But it didn’t change the tide enough, and Footscray was able to extend its lead as the game wore on.
The absence of club coach Lachlan Ruyter certainly didn’t help the Majors, and neither did the hamstring injury to Steve Bertucci which forced several changes in the field.
The 10-run loss marked the worst result for the Majors this season. Three runs is the least they have put on the scoreboard, and 13 is the most they have conceded this year.
The Majors now slide down into fifth position on the A3-grade ladder.
Fielding errors also cost the Majors’ A4-grade side who fought back valiantly to put 12 runs on the board. It wasn’t enough to match their opponents, ultimately going down 18-12.
The Majors have a week off for the King’s Birthday long weekend but will return the following weekend to face first-placed Knox who lost its first game for the season on Saturday to Greensborough.