Tara Murray
After a slow start to the Baseball Victoria summer league division 2 men’s season, the North Western Titans are now feeling at home.
After being promoted in the off-season, the Titans were thrown a challenge right from the start.
Now having found their feet and with a couple of wins on the board, the Titans are feeling confident at this level.
Coach Andrew Fielden said they were exceeding the expectations that they had set pre-season.
“It’s a massive jump going from division 3 to division 2,” he said. “A lot of the club’s have American pitchers which is something we’ve had to get used to.
“There’s been a massive improvement from the first seven games. All the goals we set at the start of the season stat wise are going really good.”
Fielden said getting a couple of wins on the board had been a massive confidence booster for the side.
In the last match before Christmas, they beat Bonbeach 10-3, taking the two teams to the same amount of wins.
“The last seven weeks before Christmas we were going in the right direction in the ones,” he said.
“It was important to win those games, after being close to winning games earlier on.
“Now we have the momentum, hopefully we can have a lot more wins hopefully in this half of the season.”
The Titans sit bottom of the table, but not much separates them and Bonbeach, which sits above them.
Fielden said the aim was to ensure they remain in division 2 next season.
“We want to consolidate our spot in division 2 and go into division one in years to come,” he said.
Fielden said the men’s division 2 side wasn’t the only one to take massive steps this season.
All three of their other men’s sides have gone up grades this season.
“We’ve got a lot of juniors coming through the second side,” he said. “We’re developing the younger players.
“It’s not so much about focusing on wins and losses. We’re moving in the right direction.
“The thirds and fourths have been a massive difference as well.”
The club’s top women’s side which was promoted to division 2 this season sits in ninth spot, while their division 3 women’s side sits in seventh.
Fielden said both sides were enjoying the challenge, with plenty of junior players getting opportunities.
“Everything is going really well for the club,” he said. “It’s been really positive and we’re headed in the right direction and building on what we’ve been doing in the next few years.”
