Pumas climbto third

THE Pakenham Pumas are sitting third on the Dandenong Baseball Association B1 ladder after running over the top of the always dangerous Carrum Downs Cardinals on Saturday.
Getting the start for the Pumas, coach Travis Hough threw well over four innings to have the game tied up at two-all before handing the ball to Stuart Brunton who shut the Cardinals out over the remaining five innings to take the 9-2 win.
The game started slowly for Pakenham giving up two runs over the first two innings as the Carrum Downs’ lead-off batters got around the bases.
The Pumas were unable to counter until the third innings when Barry Skinner got on base after being hit by a wild pitch.
Skinner stole second before Joey Thorpe and Hough batted him around to reduce the Cardinals lead to one run.
In the fourth innings, with two outs, a regulation fly ball to right field was dropped by the Carrum Downs fielder allowing Greg McCormick to advance to second base, and then moved to third on a hit up the middle from Skinner.
McCormick scored on the ensuing play when the Carrdum Downs pitcher tossed another wild pitch.
With Carrum Downs being unable to buy a run from the miserly Puma pitching, it was only a matter of time before the Pumas took the game away from the Cardinals, and it came in the sixth innings when lead-off batter Justin Mazurek was batted around for a one-run lead.
A further two runs were added in the seventh with some good team batting, before the relieving Cardinals pitcher, struggling with accuracy, had four runs scored off him in the eighth innings. With a seven-run lead going into the final dig, the Pumas refused to allow an opposition batter on base, and secured the win.
In a rain-reduced B2 game, the Pumas were too good for Carrum Downs with a 9-0 win off the back of a dominant pitching display from Ricki Collins.
Collins allowed only two hits for the game and struck out nine batters from his first major pitching assignment of the season.
The Pakenham batters started off strong getting the first four batters across in the first innings, with another three runs scored in the second innings.
A single run was scored in both the third and fourth innings as the defence held strong to secure the win.
The Pakenham B3 team, with only eight players, hosted the more experienced Dingley team, and was beaten 17-5.
Dingley got off to good start scoring four runs in the first innings with Pakenham unable to respond despite having a runner in scoring position with only one out. The second and third innings continued in the same fashion, Dingley outscoring Pakenham, 6-1 and 4-1.
The final innings saw a change in pitchers for both sides with Tristan Hill on the mound for the first time this season.
Despite a nervous start allowing the first three batters to score, the side tightened up and prevented the visitors from scoring again. The Pumas finished on a high, matching Dingley’s three runs with some smart at-bats and good base running.