YOUNG relief pitcher Trent Pantalleresco came to the rescue of the Werribee Giants in a stirring come-from-behind 8-7 win over finals contenders Mulgrave Rebels in the Baseball Victoria summer league division 2 on Sunday.
Pantalleresco was called in from the bullpen with the Giants on the rack, trailing by five runs in the sixth and in desperate need of a commanding arm.
For the next three-and-one-third innings, the rookie provided just that, eventually passing the ball to closer Wade Balzer with a ninth-inning lead.
The Giants held on for a memorable win first-up after the holiday break.
“It was a rather satisfying win for us against a team that was sitting third on the ladder,” Giants coach Earl Byrne said.
The Giants have an abundance of youth at their disposal.
There is talent aplenty in the clubhouse, but it is raw.
Through the lack of experience, there is also an element of second-guessing within the team.
Byrne feels that Sunday’s stunning comeback over a team entrenched in the top four will have massive psychological benefits.
“We’ve beaten one of the top teams [Williamstown] twice, led [ladder leader] Newport in the ninth and now we’ve beaten the third-placed team,” he said.
“It’s going to give the guys a lot of belief and that’s what we’ve been trying to instil in them since day one.”
Chris Webb started confidently on the mound for the Giants before hitting a wall in the fourth.
The defence was partly to blame for Webb’s demise with a couple of errors snowballing into hefty deficit.
Byrne plugged himself into the game and got the last out of the fourth, but he, too, would give up a run in the next.
That’s when Pantalleresco went to work and the bats started to warm up.
The Giants went on the offensive in the sixth with Lewis Weldon, who was talked into a return to baseball after focusing on softball for most of last year, smashing a two RBI double to centre field to send home catcher Oliver Box and Balzer.
Byrne got a hit to send Weldon home and the Giants held a lead that wasn’t usurped.
The Giants (5-9) will visit to Moorabbin (5-9) on Sunday.
