The Division 2 GGCD Dodgers took out the Division 2 Rolly Vaughton Premiership on Saturday March 17 2012 defeating last years champions Kensington 4-2 in 11 innings. A huge crowd of Dodger fans assembled early in the morning to witness what would be a very entertaining game of baseball.
With the game tied at 2 all leading into extra innings this grand final was going to be a heart breaker for someone, lucky enough Michael Sharp made sure it wasn’t the Dodger boys that went home empty handed.
With 2 out and nobody on in the 11th Brandon ‘George Clooney’ Diplock drew an important 11 pitch walk, fighting off several tough pitches to set the stage for the hero of the day. With the count at 3-1 and firmly in his favour Sharpy sent the next pitch sailing over the centre-left home run fence to put the good guys up by 2 with 3 outs to get.
The win would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the efforts of the old war horse Mr Clooney himself. Dip had thrown 8 innings in each of the first two finals and with arms in the pen the plan was to get him through 6. However with his pitch count down and a his curve ball on song Dip once again went 8 strong striking out 7 along the way. He was relieved by Jaryd Hardman in the 9th who did an outstanding job of keeping the game tied for 3 innings and collected the win for his efforts.
There were plenty of standout plays all day in defence that kept the game in reach. Jake Mitchell’s diving catch up the middle saved a hit, Scott Charlton made several tough catches while Dave Pettman made a big scoop at first to keep the go ahead run from being at the plate in the 11th, however, no play was bigger than Bodie ‘Vulture’ Williams’ game saving bare hander in the 8th. With the game still tied at 2, 2 out and the bases loaded Kensington had their best chance to take the lead and all but seal the Dodgers’ fate. The batter took an almighty hack at one of Clooney’s offerings but just nicked the top of the ball sending it rolling slowly down the third base line. The Vulture swooped in and reached out his right talon to field the ball cleanly and fire a strike to first saving a run and the game.
Along with outstanding defence there were plenty of hot bats too. Michael Sharp collected 3 hits to go along with his frozen rope shot while Danun Manson and Dave Pettman came through all game with 3 hits a piece.
The finals series where all games were played away saw another extra innings win over Goodwood, 9-8 in 10 innings and a huge 7-4 win over Glenelg (can anyone remember the last time we beat Glenelg???) during both games the Dodgers trailed 4-0. As was the case all season it was an all-around team effort where everyone played their part and should be proud of what we have accomplished together.
The division 2 team would like to thank all the fans that turned up at that early hour and helped get us over the line and all the division 1 boys for being there for us on the day and all season long. There are many people that do a lot for our club that may go unnoticed so a special thank you to all the coaches, committee members, canteen & bar staff, grounds crew (best field in the league Laurie), scorers and team managers… we couldn’t do anything without you guys! Shoeless
Check out all the pics HERE
2011/12 Division 2 Premiership Line-up; Mark Chandler (Coach), Joel Mazurek (CF), Dave Pettman (1B), Bodie Williams (3B), Brandon Diplock (P), Michael Sharp (C), Scott Charlton (RF), Matt Phillips (2B), Danun Manson (LF), Jake Mitchell (SS), Jaryd Hardman (P), Sam Bawden, Reed Brown, Chris Horne, Jake Shotton, Brenton Watkins (Team Manager), Ngaire Watkins (Scorer) |
