Fifths

2010

Round 10

Report to follow.

Round 9

VS Wheelers Hill
An undermanned GMBC fronted up for Round 9 against the Warriors on their home turf on the weekend and the result was a tied game. Not bad considering we were one man down. Had we been at full strength the result would never had been in doubt.
So with most of the regulars at a Baseball carnival and Jimmy out injured with a broken toe nail, it was up to the seniors and the late inclusion of Jimmy’s mum “the Tab” to attempt the improbable.
Sandy took to the mound and started well before dropping his bundle in the 3rd and allowing the Warriers back into the game. Col stepped into close out the game and put in a serviceable performance which wasn’t helped by some sloppy fielding and missed opportunities.
Our bats were swinging well in the early stages of the game, but found it difficult to get any purchase on the slow looping pitches tossed by “Magoo”. That’s what his team mates were calling him so i’m going along with that. We managed to get a few home through the first three innings before levelling the game at eight a piece at the top of the fourth. The tactics of “the Tab” were genius. Just stand at the plate and make the pitcher throw strikes. On two occasions this tactic worked brilliantly. Magoo and their closer crumbled under the pressure of simply needing to throw strikes when they knew she was not even going to think about swinging the bat. Amazing! Unfortunately shortly after this incredible turn of events things turned ugly. The Warriors turned into the other one that starts with “W” as they showed an ugly side we can only hope we don’t see again. Being a timed match, the game was heading for a draw which appeared to upset the hosts no end. Being the good spirited, good sportsman types, we agreed to bend the rules and allow the opposition to bat out the innings and give them every opportunity to win the game. All they needed was to get one home. They failed to do so and we rose to the challenge by putting in a dazzling final inning to force the draw.
A big thanks to “the Tab” for stepping in to make up the numbers. She managed to get on base twice and even scored a valuable run. It looks like Jimmy might have to earn his spot back in the side.

Round 8

Report to follow.

Round 7

This round went pretty much as expected, with the team regrouping to stamp our authority over the hapless La Trobians. There was a mad panic before the first pitch was even thrown as Charles “hotdog” Utting went missing just minutes before game time. Much too the relief of everyone involved he was spotted heading to the kiosk to get his trusty pre game hotdog and coke to wash it down. It was with this we knew we’d be in for a blinder. The match was all but over by the third inning when it became clear that our pitching was simply too strong thanks to the relegation of Reevesy. His presence on the mound could be likened to a gentle giant throwing grapes at monkeys. His bag of tricks memorised the opposition as they swiped hopelessly at everything he threw. Well, they did manage to get a couple of hits and score twice but it was very uninspiring.
La Trobes pitching was erratic at best and began with a “sidey” spraying them everywhere but over the plate. We had to dodge and weave the filth that was being tossed at us until finally he was relieved by someone that could throw a strike or two.
The bats were back to there trusty old selves with most of us getting on and scoring throughout the afternoon. A few good hits by the young guns Jimmy and the Masonator were promising signs that there’s alot more good things to come as the season progresses, provided we can keep poaching pitchers to prop us up.
Col was up to his usual tricks, politely requesting the umpire “speak up” on his calls and then questioning the integrity of the very calls he just asked to hear. It turned out to be a great tactic as he managed to un nerve the poor kid enough to ensure he didn’t have a strike called on him for the rest of the match.
Other mentionable plays was Jimmy’s don’t shit me attitude at 2nd as he muscled a bloke twice his size of the plate and a few pretty catches by the rock solid outfielders.
The team will be bolstered next week with the return of “hamstrings” Reid for a top of the table battle with Bundoora.

Round 6

Report to follow.

Round 5

No report submitted.

Round 4

Round 5 was the turning point for the fifths as they dined out on yum cha and handed league leading Forest Hill only their second loss of the season in an emphatic 10-9 win!
Our pitching was bolstered this week with the addition of “Big Man” Josh, who steeped it up on the mound, throwing straight and hard to hold our competitors to just a handful of hits and a few runs, until his arm started to look like an uncooked sausage and forced him to take a rest. This made the way Sam to close out the game in stylish fashion with 2 strikeouts in the last to hold off a strong finishing Forest Hill.
The bats were swinging effectively very early with a sweetly timed longball for Josh in the first, followed shortly after by another one belted by Nick “Monas” Monaghan that was wrongly called a double. Col was finally pulled up on the use of his “toy” sized bat resulting in him having to dust off the rusty old fence post he calls a bat. Clearly disgusted by the umpires call on the bat, he proceeded to take his anger out on the next pitch by crushing a line drive to left field and scoring a much needed run for the inning. The ever consistent bats of Jules and Jimmy continued their white hot form by knocking in multiple runs throughout the match.
Other mentionable plays were Mason’s incredibly accurate throw to home in the last to stop the tying run getting in and the general tidiness of the infield in getting ground balls swiftly to first for the out.
GMBC have now firmed as serious contenders, sitting in second place on percentage thanks to their Round 4 pounding of North Balwyn.

Round 3

No report submitted.

Round 2

No report submitted.

Round 1

No report submitted.

2009

Round 17 VS Research

No report submitted.

Round 16 VS Westgarth

G.M.B.C. 7 Westgarth 8.
Weather wise, it was a dismal day for Baseball at Westgarth’s outer ground. Sam was pitching into a very strong, cold wind and considering that this was only the third game of baseball that he had pitched, he did a very good job. Defensively I believe the team played well. Jock was a little unfortunate at short stop. After covering two ground balls he copped two terrible bounces one nearly taking off his head. Jock is our best defensive player and should even one of these balls bounced true I am confident that he would have made the out which could have lead to a different outcome in the game. But, you know what they say. “If your Aunty had you know what’s she would be your uncle.” Paul Brown came in for Sam with two down and struck the hitter out to retire Westgarth. In the 4th Westgarth’s Rob Bates hit a home run with one on to put Westgarth in the lead by 4 runs. We did come back at them in the top of the 5th scoring 3 runs but this left us one run short and with the 5 minute rule expired, time and game was called. We did have our chances during the game but unfortunately our hitting let us down leaving 10 runners on base and this hurt us in the end. There is no doubt that as a team, our baseball has improved especially over the past three weeks. Sam has done an excellent job on the mound which allows us to use Jock at short stop. This really helps with the balance of the team and we are stronger when we have Paul Brown behind the plate. Our enjoyment level has definitely lifted as well over these past three weeks.
Many Thanks to Chantal Tolevski for scoring
Hits 2: Alan Phillips. 1 Gary McQuiggan, Paul Brown, Josh Kerr, Sam Thompson, Brett Petrou, Matt McQuiggan.

Round 15 - BYE

No report.

Round 14 VS Research

G.M.B.C. 14 Research 7
After Sam’s success the previous week on the mound we started him again. This time he was off to a very good start striking out the Research’s second, sixth and seventh hitters to retire the side. Research did however score one run in this innings. We failed to score in our offensive first innings and then with some good defensive plays and Sam hitting the mark we shut them out in the second. In our second innings at the plate we found our bats and managed 7 hits, scoring 8 runs. This set us up for the rest of the game. Sam shut Research down again in the third where we scored another 4 runs. Research came back at us in the 4th scoring 6 runs but with Sam feeling pretty, good we left him on the mound to finish the game. A very good game from Sam as well as Jock O’Connor who went four from four on the day. I would like to thank Josh Lucas who was down from Sydney and helped us out. Not only did he make up the numbers, Josh went two from three both being doubles. A very enjoyable team effort by all.
Many Thanks to Chantal Tolevski for scoring
Hits 4: Jock O’Connor. 2 Josh Lucas, Gary Mack. 1 Geoff Prideaux, Alan Phillips, Josh Kerr, John Booth.

Round 13 VS Knox

G.M.B.C. 6 Knox 7
A very good game of baseball where we carried on the positive trends from the previous week. With our Starting pitcher Jock’s arm a little worse for wear we started Sam Thompson. This was Sam’s first start on the mound. He had only ever relieved for one innings before this. Sam started off a little shaky with Knox getting 3 hits in the first innings and scoring 2 runs, but he quickly settled to throw and excellent game. I would also have to say that this was one our best defensive game. Our outfield performed particularly well with John Booth taking a couple of very good flies at right to shut Knox down. I must make mention of Geoff Prideaux’s excellent leadership throughout the game. He was instrumental in helping to raise the confidence of some of our team mates which, I believe, greatly assisted them and improved their performance.
Thanks again to Teddy for Umpiring and Chantal for scoring
Hits 2: John O’Connor, Paul Brown. 1 Geoff Prideaux, Josh Kerr, John Booth, Chris Tolevski.

Round 12 VS Waverley

G.M.B.C. 8 Waverly 14
While the outcome was not what we would have liked, we combined much better than we had in the previous weeks. Paul Brown certainly strengthens our defense, not only through his physical catching ability, but also through settling our pitchers. Matthew McQuiggan started for us pitching the first 2 innings and conceding only 2 runs before he had reached his pitch count. It was an excellent effort from Matt who also struck out two of Waverly’s hitters. Waverly hit the ball for most of the day but did the damage in the 5th innings where they had 7hits scoring 7 runs. Up to that point it was a very close encounter and unfortunately we couldn’t match them with the bat in the back part of the game. Overall, I believe we played well and again, while we were not happy with the outcome, we were able to take something positive away from the game.
Thanks again to Teddy for Umpiring and Chantal for scoring
Hits 2: Paul Brown, Gary McQuiggan, John O’Connor, John Booth. 1 Geoff Prideaux, Josh Kerr, Gary Mack, Chris Tolevski.

Round 11 VS Ringwood

Ringwood 19 G.M.B.C. 1
Not a good game at all for us. I think we all left our fielding gloves at home. It looked as though no one really wanted the ball hit to them. We managed 10 errors on the day. My sympathies were with Jock who, in the face of adversity, simply continued to throw strikes. Our batting let us down as well were we only managed 7 scattered hits on the day. A little better than the previous week but still not up to the standard we had displayed earlier in the year. The big plus on the day though, was that this was Matt McQuiggan’s first senior game of baseball. I know he, and his Dad, had been waiting all year for this week to come around it’s just a pity that it couldn’t have been more memorable from a result perspective. I am sure that Matt will meet with much greater success as he continues through his senior years. All the very best Matt from all the team.
Many Thanks to Chantal Tolevski for scoring
Hits 2: A Phillips, G Mack. 1 Geoff Prideaux, G McQuiggan, J O’Connor

Round 10 VS La Trobe

La Trobe 16 G.M.B.C. 2
Unfortunately we were placed a little behind the 8 ball in this game when our starting Pitcher or I probably should say only pitcher went to the wrong ground. Jock thought we would be playing at Doncaster, our home ground, as we had played an away game the previous week. To make thing just a little harder, Jock’s mobile phone had run out of charge so we could not contact him so the game was underway when Jock finally arrived. Geoff Prideaux started but was unable to contain La Trobe’s hitters who managed 6 hits and one walk in the first innings and scored 6 runs. Jock came into pitch half way through the game and managed to contain La Trobe to 2 runs but only after they had scored 14 in the first half. We had no real highlights with the bat either during the game with us only managing 3 scatter hits. Still, the game was played in good spirit from both sides. Speaking of spirit, I think a lot of that was consumed by Teddy Sedgman who had attended one of his famous “card nights” the night before the game. Teddy’s support was a little mixed between the two sides on the day as he had many friends playing on both sides but I think he favored us being the underdogs.
Many Thanks again to Chantal Tolevski for scoring.
Hits 1: G McQuiggan, G Mack, J Booth

Round 9 VS Westgarth

Westgarth 6 G.M.B.C. 14
Wooooo Hoooooo 2 in a row. Things are looking up. This was a very enjoyable game of baseball played in the right spirit by both teams with an enormous amount of sledging happening, mainly amongst ourselves. I think I have worked out who the main instigator is as well,,,,, Jock O’Connor. It wasn’t really hard and I’m sure most in the team had already worked it out. It was great to have Jock back. We don’t only miss his ability to play the game but his, let’s say, unique sense of humor is also missed. Full credit to Westgarth who, while having a few players who would no doubt feel the aches and pain the next day, like myself, also had a number of juniors who played very well, just to mention 2, their Catcher, Noah Armarb and their starting pitcher Josh Loveridge. One of the highlights of the game had to be our catcher Paul Brown’s attempt to catch a foul fly. He tripped over the only blade of grass on the ground but when he hit the ground and got his roll up there was almost no stopping him. Prideaux said, “the only thing missing was the carnival music. On a more serious note there was some excellent fielding by Sam Thompson and what made this more special is that the first ground ball he attempted to field kicked up and hit him in the chest. Way to hang in there Sam. The hitting was shared through the team with a number of players recording 2 hits. Now lets seeeeeeeeeee, I think that covers it, is there anything else I need to mention, no I don’ think so, no, I am sure I have left something out?????????? Oh that’s right, John Booth hit a home run his first time at the plate. Well done John and considering that this is only your 6th game of baseball, that makes it more “SPECIAL”.
Many thanks to Tania for scoring.
Hits 2 Geoff Prideaux, Paul Brown, John Booth (including 1 home run) Gary Mack 1 Jock O’Connor, Josh Kerr, Sam Thompson,

Round 8 VS Forest Hill

G.M.B.C. 22 Forest Hill 8
Simon Fitzmaurice once again threw and excellent game giving up just 4 hits and he was well supported by Paul Brown behind the dish. Paul also came in to finish the game when Simon hit his pitch count. While I know you are only as good as your last time on the mound, Simon deserved this win considering the excellent job he did against Knox. Simon has displayed some excellent consistency which is a real quality considering his age. Like in most of our games, we still manage to have that one bad defensive innings that allows our opposition in. When we cut this out we will be real finals contenders. It was good team work though to finish off Forest Hill when the score was 8 to 10 going into the last innings. We managed 9 hits and scored 12 runs in this innings to put the game beyond doubt. There was some excellent hitting by a number of players. Gary McQuiggan batted 1000 with 4 hits while Simon managed 3. I must make mention of Chris Tolevski who, for the first time managed 2 hits in the one game and played well at third base.
Thanks again to Teddy for Umpiring and Chantal for scoring
Hits 4 Gary McQuiggan 3 Simon Fitzmaurice, Gary Mack 2 Josh Kerr, Chris Tolevski, 1 Alan Phillips, Paul Brown, Sam Thompson, John Booth.

Round 7 VS Knox

Knox 7 G.M.B.C. 6
This was a very good game of baseball due to the excellent pitching of Simon Fitzmaurice. Simon kept Knox, who was undefeated at this stage, to just 4 runs when his pitch count ran out. He threw some great spots keeping the ball away from their hitters as well as moving it around and keeping them guessing. Unfortunately we missed a couple of opportunities when Simon picked off 2 runners at first base but we made errors which allowed them to remain on base. Simon also hit a good line drive to right field late in the game to keep our chances alive. We relieved with Sam Thompson who was a little unlucky. While Sam threw a few walks he was always around the strike zone not missing by much and with a little work could develop into a handy relief option. Josh Kerr continued his hitting spree batting 1000 with 2 hits and a walk. All in all the team played well to take it up to Knox. I must make mention of Knox’s relief pitcher Paul Wilcox. While Paul was a little erratic when he first started off he quickly settled down and threw very well to contain our batters.
Many thanks to Chantal Tolevski for scoring
Hits 2 Josh Kerr 1 Gary McQuiggan, Simon Fitzmaurice

Round 6 VS Northcote

G.M.B.C. 2 Northcote 16
I must confess we were lacking a little in the pitching department this game. Unfortunately we were forced to conform to the rather ridged youth policy Monty had imposed on us so I had to start Quiggo. That’s not Quiggo junior but Quiggo senior. Yes, a very spritely 48 year old took to the mound like a Duck to hot tar. Actually, considering Quiggo had not pitched since starting for the General Motors 9 to commemorate the launch of the FJ Holden, he did an excellent job. While Nothcote did get their hits he only threw 2 walks and a tighter defense on our behalf would have helped. Again, sticking to the youth policy imposed, we wheeled up our relief pitcher. That is not a play on words, we actually had to wheel him up. You guessed, it was me. Yes, we replaced a spritely 48 year old with a decrepit 57 year old. The question in everyone’s mind was not how long my arm was going to last but how long will it stay attached to my body. I hadn’t pitched since starting for the Noah’s Ach 9 to commemorate the finishing of the boat and I was lucky to secure passage. Paul Brown was heard to mutter something like ambition getting in the way of ability or something like that but, I believed, yes, I believed. Now, all I have to do is believe that this pain throughout my entire body will at some stage ease. I wish I had a dollar for every time my wife has said, “serves you right”. On a more serious note Steels Davey played a great game turning 3 doubles and batting 1000 with three hits including one triple. In summary, boy, do we miss Jock and Simon.
Many thanks to Ted Sedgman for Umpiring and Chantal Tolevski for scoring.
Hits 3 Steele Davey 1 Paul Brown, Gary McQuiggan, Brett Petrou.

Round 5 - BYE

No report.

Round 4 VS Nth Balwyn

G.M.B.C. 9 – Nth Balwyn 15.
This was a good game of baseball played in good spirit by both teams. The game was actually very close, Nth Balwyn 4 and G.M.B.C. 3, up to the last innings where Nth Balwyn broke away scoring 11 runs in the one inning. While our defence could have been tighter in this innings you can’t take it away from our opposition who managed 8 hits and displayed something we are not really use to in the 5ths,,,, speed around the bases. Nth Balwyn is virtually an all Asian team who obviously enjoy their baseball. Their enthusiasm is very apparent which was enjoyed by all associated with the game including us. Their starting picture, Matt Wang did an excellent job keeping us to only 3 hits and 3 runs. He was backed up by their short stop Adam Wang, who made some big plays when they needed it. We managed a retaliation in the last scoring 6 when Nth Balwyn changed pitchers, but they were quick to bring Matt back on who shut us down when the game looked threatened. As stated in previous reports our strength is in our ability to hit the ball and out score our opposition. Full credit to Nth Balwyn who restricted us in this area and while I believe our defence is improving, we still have some way to go.
Some of the highlights: While the score line may not reflect it our pitchers, Jock O’Connor and Gary McQuiggan, did quite a good job. Paul Brown earned his money behind the dish especially with our oppositions speed around the bases. His legs must have been feeling it when Nth Balwyn had 15 batters appear at the plate in the last innings, 9 before we had managed to secure our first out. Paul also had 2 hits on the day. Many thanks again to John Booth who helped us out and managed a hit himself. Steele Davey who made a return and was on base 3 from 4 as well as taking a couple of very good flies in centre field when we needed them. Also Tanya, hope the spelling is correct, who really helped us out with the scoring.
Hits: 2 Paul Brown, Alan Phillips, 1 Steele Davey, Jock O’Connor, Sam Thompson, John Booth.

Round 3 VS Latrobe Uni

G.M.B.C. 13 – Latrobe Uni 33
Well, let’s just say this is one of those games you are better off forgetting. With our pitchers having difficulty finding the strike zone, 20 opposition players on base through either a walk or hit pitched ball, it was always going to be difficult to contain them. Full credit to our guys though we did continue to push on in the batting box and managed 15 hits in 4 innings of baseball.
Some of the highlights; As pointed out by Quiggo after the game, Brett Petrou and Chris Tolevski in only their third game of baseball made, and attempted to make some very good plays. These two guys have made some big improvements in their game and will continue to do so due to their commitment to the team and their desire to improve. Well done to both of you. I would also like to thank Jarod Crivelli for helping us out. Jarod played a great game at short stop and in batting, went 3 from 3. Also, John Booth who helped out while we had a number of players unavailable. Special mention to Scott Dawes and Teddy Sedgman, hope the spelling is correct, for umpiring the game. They did a great job in what can only be described as, “adverse conditions”. Many thanks to Frank Crivelli who spent the game teaching Chantal Tolevski the art of scoring a game of baseball. Chantal has scored 2 of our three games and considering she has never even seen a score book prior to this season, has done a great job. Many thanks Chantal.
Hits: 3 Jarod Crivelli 2 Geoff Prideaux, Alan Phillips, Josh Kerr, Sam Thompson, 1 Gary McQuiggan, Gary Mack, Brett Petrou, Chris Tolevski.

Round 2 VS Watsonia

G.M.B.C. 27 - Watsonia 15
Well, as I said in my last match report, our strength is in our hitting which showed again this week when we managed 22 hits in just 5 innings and while our defence did improve, it still needs a lot of work. I think we may also need St. Johns Ambulance in attendance at our games in the future. It’s getting to the point where the numbers of injuries we are suffering are running second only to the number of hits we achieve. Mid way through the game Alan Phillips came out with a strained Quad leaving us with the bare nine. Shortly after that Gary Mack pulled his hamstring where Paul Brown commented. “How did you manage to do that? A hamstring injury is supposed to be an athlete’s injury and you’re a far cry from that.” Unfortunately I had to agree. Next, Geoff Prideaux twisted his ankles and was jumping around like a one legged kangaroo. Of course there was plenty of sympathy from fellow team mates and words of support like, “come on, suck it up and stop your whinging” and, “somebody get the screen so we can put them out of the misery.” The best though was “that’s what happens when the mind is willing but the body is frail.” I think the term “you’re too old” was in there somewhere as well but that may have some from my wife. I am toying with the thought of a special trophy for the 5ths this year. Most Injured. Geoff Prideaux is leading so far with three injuries in just 2 games. The question everyone is asking,” is he is accident prone or, just soft.”
Some of the highlights; It was great to have Paul Brown return. Paul really strengthened our batting line up and did a great job catching. He batted 1000 getting 2 walks, a hit by pitched ball and 3 hits, including an out of the ground home run, from 6 times at the plate. Quiggo notched up 4 hits and 1 walk from 6 times at the plate. Jock once again was steadfast on the mound, probably throwing around 80 pitches more than he should have had to. We felt he needed the work. A great, heads up play, from Sam Thompson who covered first base when a ground ball was hit to our first baseman Josh Kerr, who underarmed the ball to Sam for the out. I think Jock was too exhausted for a pitchers cover from all the additional pitching he had to do. Geoff Prideaux was solid in defence. In our team if you don’t make an error on the day your, “solid in defence”. Really, Geoff played a good defensive game both at left field and he then had a hand in two of the last three outs when he came into short stop.
Watsonia had a mixture of both experienced and new comers. One of their new comers, a young player named Tom Goulding, came into the game and in his two times at the plate, had two hits, one a stand up double. He also took a good fly in the out field. Our best on the day was Paul Brown who had a great day with the bat and behind the dish.
Hits: 4 G McQuiggan 3 P Brown inc 1 HR, G Prideaux, 2 J O’Connor, S Thomnpson, G Mack, A. Phillips, B Pretrou, 1 J Kerr, C Tolevski

Round 1 VS Ringwood

G.M.B.C. 12 - Ringwood 14
While we didn’t walk away with the points one could say we did put up a good fight, especially considering Ringwood has won the D2 premiership for the last three years. We went into the match with 3 players, Joel Chamberlain, Chris Tolevski and Brett Petrou playing their first game of baseball and all three recorded hits. While our batting through the game was very good with the team recording 11 hits in 5 innings, our defence was a little rusty, well, maybe very rusty, actually, we looked like a ship that has been lying at the bottom of the ocean for about 50 years so let’s say we have something to work on.
Some of the highlights; a double play when Brett Petrou threw to Quiggo at first base who stretched for the first out and then threw the ball back to Brett who laid a tag on the runner trying to take third. Obviously the runner had not observed Quiggos lighting arm from his earlier throws. Another batter hit a low line drive to the second base side of short stop which Gary Mack caught, after stumbling and tripping over his own feet. The runner at second however, had taken off to third and after Gary had finished doing his impersonation of a trout flopping around on the ground, he was as able to crawl over to second and force the second out. We also had one of our new comers use a fungo bat and had fouled one off before it was picked up and replaced with a regulation bat. He then proceeded to get a hit. Mr. Prideaux, doing an excellent job of catching, took one in the groin region and after parading around for 5 minutes looking for someone to rub it better for him, finally went back to catching when he realised, “that just wasn’t going to happen”.
I must make mention of Scott Newman the Ringwood second baseman who defended well and went 4 from 4 on the day. Without a doubt our best on the day was Jock O’connor who batted 1000, pitched extremely well even after we had put him in some difficult situations, and remained positive throughout the match. Overall, I believe everyone enjoyed the day and it can only get better.
Hits: 2 J. O’Connor, J. Kerr, G. Mack, 1 G. Prideaux, J. Chamberlain, G. McQuiggan, B. Petrou, C. Tolevski.