Last Saturday saw Doncaster cap a remarkable return to A-grade with a triumphant 12-0 victory over GMBC in the premier competition’s showpiece.
Doncaster opened their account with a single run in the first inning, then added-on in each of the fourth through seventh to tally 12 runs in total, while keeping their formidable opposition scoreless.
Dragons pitcher and club coach Daniel McGrath was extremely impressed with his team’s performance, noting their previous loss against GMBC earlier in the finals series.
“The team went absolutely awesome. Monty (GMBC) beat us comfortably two weeks ago, we had to go out last week and really battle against North Balwyn who put up a really big challenge towards us. We came back this week and were able to put runs up early and really just settled the team down and went from there,” he said.
McGrath also explained his team’s mental approach to taking on the pressure of the occasion.
“We really focused on trying to stay within the at-bat and winning each at-bat one at a time, rather than focusing on winning the game. That really helped the guys today in terms of being able to concentrate for the whole 7 innings and going from there,” McGrath said.
“It always happens where people feel a little bit more pressure, but that’s where you want to embrace it; this is the way you play, this is why you want to be here. I can’t say enough about the team, they did a really good job grounding themselves and just having good at bats.”
In the other match played this week, Essendon capped an impressive season with a 12-8 win over St Kilda in the B-grade grand final.
In a post to Instagram the club reflected on their stellar season.
“We’re very proud of everyone’s commitment this season. Only losing one game in the regular season for the 1s and every senior team making finals,” they said.
The A and B-grade grand finals bring to a close the 2023 Melbourne Winter Baseball League season, with premiers in all divisions now decided. Visit www.mwbl.com.au/results for a full list of winners and results.