By Tara Murray
The North Western Titans fell agonisingly short of their first win in the Baseball Victoria Women’s division 3 west season.
Playing in their second season, the Titans have shown dramatic improvement this season.
On Saturday, they were in front for most of the game against Geelong Blue.
Scores were tied at 13 apiece at the end of the fourth innings. Geelong Blue scored three late runs to win, 16-13.
Titans president Danny Haymes said it was disappointing not to come away with the win.
“We were up for most of the game,” he said.
“We made a couple of crucial errors in the last innings which cost us.
“The players were really disappointed we didn’t get there.”
Haymes said the conditions were less than ideal to play baseball in, with a strong wind playing havoc.
Pitcher Kim Borg, along with Tess Warner and Tracie Williams, all had strong games in the win. Haymes said while the result was disappointing, the way the group has been going about it has been fantastic.
PHOTO GALLERY: North Western Titans vs Geelong Blue
He said the difference between 12 months ago when they were just starting out and today was massive.
“There were a lot of promising signs,” he said.
“There’s a mixture of experience and new players and they are still trying to work each other out.
“They are playing a lot better and hitting the ball well. They are fielding better too.”
The group has 15 players this year, ranging for 16 year-olds to more than 40.
Half of them have never played before, with Haymes saying they were picking it up quickly.
He said those who played in the club’s winter team were also benefiting from that extra game experience.
Haymes said they thought their first win wasn’t too far away and once they got one, it would increase the confidence in the group.
“We’re in games and are being competitive,” he said. “We’ve learned a lot and are still learning even more.
“It’s a matter of time before they click.”
The Titans men’s side recorded their first win for the season on Sunday.
Getting closer to full strength, the Titans beat Ormond Gold 22-4. The Titans got out to an early lead, with early runs on the board.
They continued to score throughout, with seven runs in the sixth innings.
Stuart Tierney did the job on the pitchers mound for the Titans, striking out seven batters and allowing just four hits and four runs.
Peter Boyd had four hits from five attempts on the plate, to lead the way.
It was a good weekend for the Titans’ junior side which got its first win of the season.
The club is starting up a tee-ball program in the next couple of weeks, to give some more younger players an opportunity.
