Werribee Giants overcame Essendon using a makeshift pitching crew in Baseball Victoria’s women’s division 2 at Boeing Reserve on Saturday.
With ace Emma Pastowski unavailable, the Giants rolled out Emma Lowe for three tight innings, building up a big lead against the bottom-of-the-ladder Bombers then sharing the mound duties for a 17-11 win.
Giants’ coach Tony Culph told Star Weekly it was a good opportunity to get some extra innings into depth pitchers.
“It could’ve been a bigger margin, but once we were in front we swapped things around a bit,” he said.
“It was a chance to give a couple, who won’t normally get to pitch, a go. You concede a few runs when you do that, but with the win-loss ratio in our competition, runs for and against don’t matter.
“Whether you win by one or whatever, it doesn’t really come into it.”
Lowe conceded just two of the 11 runs in her three innings. Janina Culph and Emma Fairbrother had the relieving duties.
Lowe was also busy with the bat, finishing with two hits. Culph and Narelle Griffin led the way with three hits apiece.
The Giants remain equal top of the ladder with Springvale, with an 8-3 record, two games clear of third-placed Melbourne.
“You just want to make the finals,” Tony Culph said. “If we happen to finish one or two and get a double chance, that would be great.”
The Giants welcome back Pastowski for Saturday’s trip to Melbourne, where they can create an even bigger buffer between second and third.
The Giants (10-4) will travel to second-last Malvern on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Werribee Giants have slumped after back-to-back losses in the men’s division 2, blanked 2-0 by Fitzroy at Presidents Park on Saturday.
