AN astonishing unravelling in the final inning of the match has seen the Mitchell Majors fall to the Heathmont Penguins in the A3-grade of the Melbourne Winter Baseball League on Saturday.
After being washed out last week, the Broadford-based side were keen to build on a convincing win over Knox and move into the top four.
Key cogs of the team Ben Owen and Lachlan Ruyter were both unavailable, but the rest of the team picked up the slack and were clearly the better side through the first few innings.
With Eden Hardy on the mound leading the way, the Majors made light work of the Penguins’ batting lineup while also putting runs on the board.
As per usual, it was Tom Flannery who did a power of work in the batter’s box. He drove in the first run of the match with a double to centre field, and followed it up with two more doubles later in the match.
Making the most of every opportunity, the Majors skipped out to a 7-2 lead heading into the final inning.
With light fading quickly, Hardy stepped up looking to secure the last three outs of the game, but Heathmont wasn’t going to let a chance to move to first on the ladder slip.
The Penguins’ batters connected on several hits over the infield, and slowly whittled away the lead.
Unfortunately for the Majors, their fielding standards dropped significantly as the pressure of losing what seemed to be a comfortable win brewed a series of errors.
The score became locked at seven-apiece before a Heathmont player hit a double over second base to record a famous 8-7 win for the club and relegate the Majors to sixth on the ladder.
Earlier in the day, Heathmont’s A4-grade side cruised to an 11-run victory over the Majors, who continue to search for their first win of the season.
Baseball returns to Minnitt Park in Broadford this Saturday as the Majors welcome North Balwyn in what will be an exciting matchup.