Bacchus Marsh’s grip on fourth place in Central Highlands Bowls division 1 was loosened even in victory on Saturday as the Marsh beat Gisborne by 11 shots.
The 14-95 to 4-84 win keeps Bacchus Marsh (63) fourth while Kyneton (60) closed the gap from fifth with its 16-102 to 2-89 win against Trentham.
PICTURE GALLERY: Kyneton v Mt Cottrell
Bacchus Marsh’s top skip, Dylan Filuk, suffered just his second defeat of the season, with Gisborne’s Graeme Quaife winning by 32-22.
But big wins on other rinks, particularly Amy Gloury’s 29-10 against Barry Wylie, swung the margin in Bacchus Marsh’s favour.
Lancefield flexed its muscle at the top of the division with a 29-shot win over fellow top-four outfit Woodend.
The 16-106 to 2-77 win increased Lancefield’s lead at the top of the ladder after second-placed Kyneton Golf edged past Romsey by three shots.
Lancefield (94) leads the division from Kyneton Golf (80), with Woodend (74) third.
Woodend’s league-leading skip, Matthew Bacon, would not be denied, winning his rink 25-23 against Lancefield’s Michael Linehan.
But that was Woodend’s only success for the day as John Bamford beat Jim Lefevre (24-16), Mark Godbolt beat Ian Matthews (27-22), and Peter Linehan beat Mark Smoljo (32-14).
At Kyneton Golf, visiting Romsey continued its run of bad luck in close games as the home team won 14-97 to 4-94.
Elsewhere, Kyneton 16-102 beat Trentham 2-89.
In division 2, Mt Cottrell challenged Kyneton seconds but ultimately fell, 16-109 to 2-94. Woodend seconds maintained top spot with a 15-102 to 3-82 win against Diggers Rest; Macedon held second with its 16-120 to 2-79 win over Kyneton Golf, and Bacchus Marsh 18-114 beat Gisborne 0-64.
PICTURE GALLERY: Kyneton v Mt Cottrell
In metro bowls, Melton slipped out of the top four in Saturday’s pennant division 1, section 2 with a 36-shot loss to Lalor.
Yarraville-Footscray’s Wayne Roberts and Colac’s Rebecca McMahon are the Victorian Open champions after winning the men’s and women’s divisions at Shepparton Park last week. Bundoora RSL’s Josh Corless and MCC’s Dean O’Neill won the men’s pairs, while Bundoora RSL duo Jody Nevill and Pauline Skinner won the women’s pairs.
