Newport – Mid-Week – 9-2
The Doncaster Dragons have headed into the Christmas-New Year break in their best form of the season after beating Newport on Tuesday night for their fourth consecutive win.
The Dragons finished off a brilliant December with a 9-2 away win over the Rams after overcoming an early 2-0 deficit. Since dropping consecutive one-run games to Geelong and Werribee, Doncaster has outscored their past four opponents by a combined 28 runs.
With nine hits, nine walks and a hit by pitch in seven innings, the Dragons had no shortage of base runners. And they took full advantage, scoring multiple runs in three innings.
Matt Josselyn continued his fine recent form with another strong performance on the mound. Coming on in relief of Mitch Ellis to start the third inning, Josselyn pitched five innings, allowing no runs on two hits and one walk.
“Matt just knows how to pitch. We gave him a lead and he went right at them,” coach Brendan McDonald said.
“He’s been a workhorse for us this year but we’ve also managed to give him some rest over the past couple of weeks. He’s only thrown 10 innings since November so hopefully that sets him up for a strong second half.”
After being held scoreless through the first two innings, the Dragons got busy in the third. Nic Unland led off with the first of his three walks, then Brian Chen walked and Billy Findlay was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After a passed ball, Luke Utting and Derek Medlin each singled, giving Doncaster a 4-2 lead.
Things would only get better after that, as the Dragons added three runs in the fifth inning and another two in the seventh.
Catcher Dakota Gibson led the offence with three hits and a walk, while Chen, Utting and Medlin each had two hits.
“The results weren’t going our way early this season – we’ve lost four games by a run – but we’ve shown all year we’re good enough to succeed in this league,” McDonald said.
“Different guys are standing up each week and there’s competition for spots in the lineup.
“We’ve set a pretty high bar over the past month and have put ourselves in a position to play meaningful games at the end of the season. We’ll look to start the second half like we finished the first.”
The Dragons now have a three-week break before the season resumes with an away game against Williamstown on January 11.
Essendon – Saturday – 8-7
In a high-quality game with a nail-biting finish, the Doncaster Dragons came away with an 8-7 win over Essendon at Deep Creek on Saturday.
In stark contrast to Doncaster’s previous two games, which ended in 10-run winning margins, this one was tense and tight throughout, featuring strong pitching, clutch hitting and controversial umpiring decision.
The final play encapsulated the game as a whole, with right fielder Aimon Dowling taking a catch and producing a great throw to third base to complete a double play on a close call. A run scored on the play, but that meant nothing as the Dragons celebrated.
The ninth-inning excitement was set up by an equally dramatic eighth, which began with the Bombers taking a one-run lead on a wild pitch.
The bottom of the inning started with an infield hit by Brian Chen and a walk to Billy Findlay. Jean Alvarado was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Dakota Gibson hit what he thought was a foul ball at the plate but the umpire ruled was in play, allowing Chen to scamper home with the tying run.
Derek Medlin then put Doncaster back in front with a clutch hit to right field that scored two runs.
“We twice erased two-run deficits and hit straight back after falling behind in the eighth [inning],” coach Brendan McDonald said.
“The guys kept pushing all day. It was a really impressive effort against a quality opponent.”
Earlier, Medlin had played a valuable role as a relief pitcher, allowing just one run in 2.1 innings after Chen had pitched the first two.
Matt Josselyn did the bulk of the work on the mound, coming on in the fifth inning and striking out seven in 4.2 innings while allowing two runs on four hits and one walk.
Alvarado led the offence with three hits, driving in three runs and scoring two. Chen and Medlin were strong contributors with the bat, each with two hits. Findlay also had a great day at the plate, reaching base four times with a double, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and three runs scored.
“A couple of guys are swinging the bat really well at the moment but we had contributors across the board,” McDonald said.
Can the Dragons make it four wins in a row? We’ll find out when they take on Newport at the Graveyard on Tuesday night in the final game before the Christmas-New Year break.
Reports by John McDonald
Doncaster Baseball Club 