UWA v BAL 18-6

28/02 Round 17 In 1993, in what should have been the dying days of the Labor Government, John Hewson and the Opposition front bench taunted Keating for not having the courage to go to the polls early and put his government out of the nation's collective misery. Keating responded with the taunt that he "wanted do you slowly!" And sometimes it is those victories where you are not given a chance which taste the sweetest of all. University PR1 took the field against Balcatta, a team that had solidly beaten them twice this season and regularly in recent years, and a team which stood with daylight in front of them on the ladder . Like the 1991 World Cup Wallabies, a collection of veterans, retreads and unheralded young pups took the field with clear underdog status in a desperate attempt to keep their season hopes alive. Ryan Eldred, the base-stealing machine, lead off with a double and discipline, patience and compact swings from the ensuing hitters meant University went into the bottom of the first with 4 runs to their credit. Adam Barrell, the consummate rehabbing retread, took command on the hill and although he gave up 6 runs throughout the day, he also scattered Balcatta's hits and struck out 7 with impressive variation in speed and control. Chris Wescombe and Michael Smith (the all Randwick front row) formed a powerful and youthful middle order punch, collecting 6 hits, 7 RBIs and 2 Home Runs between them. AJ Ewers (the quiet Farr-Jones style leader) kept up the steady work in the batting box and kept masterful control of the game from behind the plate. Veterans Andy McDonough and Shaun Major (the loose forwards Coker and Poidevin) reeled in the years and formed the backbone and leadership class the team needed with 6 hits, 4 RBIs, 1 Home Run and a pair of steals. The 18-6 result reflected the dominance displayed by University in all facets of the game and like the ALP in 1993 and the Wallabies in 1991, it really was a win for the ages.

UWA v KAL 16-7

21/02 Round 16 At the Dawn Service each year we recite the ode of remembrance "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them." Sunday was Veterans' Day at PR1, with the emigration for Ben Pascoe's wedding bringing a more mature flavour to the PR1 line-up as well as a completely different look and feel. And like most veteran events, it may not have been pretty but at least it was effective. Al Reid took the hill for his first PR1 start since the 1999 Grand Final (which made it more like Diehard Night as so many of the other players were still in high school when this dramatic win took place in the southern wastes of Rockingham) and pitched far more effectively than has end of game statistics show. Justin Mann and Liam Sullivan joined departing slugger Nathan Rogerson in the outfield and combined to keep a lid on Kalamunda's scoring opportunities. Justin also lit up the batting box with 3 hits and a couple of RBIs. Perhaps in honour of the Veterans, the rump of the team was sluggish and struggled to really stamp their authority on the game. They did, however, improve upon previous weeks by showing more discipline in the batting box and successfully converting scoring opportunities when they presented themselves. With the end result at 16-7, following a successful innings of relief by Goldenboy himself, and with favourable results elsewhere in the League, the team's destiny is once more back in their own hands.

UWA v CUR 3-4

14/02 Round 15 The original St Valentine's Day Massacre took place in Prohibition Chicago in 1929, Irish and Italian gangs squabbling over their share of the bootleg alcohol profits produced one of the bloodiest days of the era. Battling Curtin University to stay in the hunt for a place in the post-season, Ryan Eldred stood up to be counted in the last innings, spearing a diving infield line-drive catch and sparking a triple play that got University out of what was brewing to be a blow-out innings. (The team's first in 10 years, and coincidentally with the same first baseman.) In the first LOTR movie Cate Blanchett talked about small things affecting your ability to stay on the path, and if you stray but a little all things will fall. And that was perhaps the best reflection of UWA's efforts and the team ultimately falling 1 run short against a team they had owned all year. Both teams were evenly matched throughout with Dave Stivey and Dean Swan giving dominant performances on the mound. Both scattered baseruners throughout the seven innings, both defensive line-ups conceded only a single error each, but while UWA out-hit their opponent Curtin proved more adept at stringing theirs together with existing baserunners. Ultimately, Swan was difference and he held UWA out for a 4-3 loss.

UWA v ROC 5-5

07/02 Round 14 The Irish Playwright Sean O'Casey wrote that "All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed". With the departure of acting coach and self-reputed best kisser in the world Matte Dompe and the recent return of Shaun Major from the mystic east this dictum was always going to apply to the University PR1 Team in their attempt to keep their season alive. Nuke LaLoosh borrowed the phrase "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes it rains" but even he was wrong; sometimes you draw. And this was also due to another rehabilitated pitching revelation, Adam Barrell. Given the circumstances, a 5-5 result was a phenomenal effort by the team, and the first points they have taken off a team above them on the ladder (other than Curtin). Intermittent discipline at bat kept putting runners on base but it was only one innings where we converted. A lead off walk to Rogerson, back to back hits from Wescombe and Ewers, walks to Stivey and Eldred produce all 5 runs when Symes came up with a base clearing 2 out clutch single. Barrell scattered three hits throughout the day. but 4 errors and Rockingham's ability to convert runners into runs, however they came by them, saw them claw their way back into the game despite the pitching brilliance. Still confidence was high after that effort and the destiny of this season is still very much in this team's hands.

UWA v EH 15-1

24/01 Round 12 UWA Baseball PL1. From the start of the game we were in control. Stivey was impressive on the hill with good command and too much pace for the Eastern Hills players (6K 4IP). Offensively everyone contributed and it was great to see our hitters have a good approach in the box facing guys that were struggling to throw strikes at times. Barrell had his first PL1 outing on the mound shutting Eastern Hills down in the last 2 innings and striking out 4. Kelmscott next week and we will have to make sure that we keep our current form going

UWA v BAL 7-15

17/01 Round 11 Game Report Coming Soon

UWA v CUR 10-7

10/01 Round 10 UWA Baseball PL1. Dompe took over for Major as coach of the PL1 and came through with the goods. Dave Stivey pitched a great game but came into trouble in the last inning as he started to tire. Smith (Chunky) then took over with the bases loaded and none out and kept the damage to a minimum. The fielding was sound throughout the day with Ricky Bobby doing a great job behind the dish and 2 double plays turned. Offensively we were on the ball with everyone contributing with the bat. Big game against Balcatta this week as a win could see us jump into the top 4.

UWA v KAL 20-2

13/12 Round 9 The Army of the Peninsula, the men that had stood their ground at Vittoria, who captured an Eagle at Talavera, who stormed the terrible walls at Badajoz, who marched across the Pyrenees to the fortress city of Toulouse, was much the same army that crouched on the reverse slopes of Mont St Jean just south of a Belgian village called Waterloo. Hard-bitten veterans of some of the toughest campaigns of the age, they were the thin red line, the leavings of England's jails and the scrapings of her gutters, drunks, thieves, poachers, adventurers and the fallen, they stood when all others had fallen. Surveying his army before the battle, Wellington commented, "I don't know about the French, but they scare the hell out of me!"

Standing at first base on Sunday the same thought ran through my mind as we faced a surprisingly depleted Kalamunda. Michael Smith continued on from last week on the mound and overpowered the Kalamunda hitters despite struggling with off-speed control; with the result the field had little to do. Ricky Fang was tenacious behind the dish as a late replacement, and also came up with two clutch hits. Ryan Eldred, Andrew Symes and Brendan Buckley did likewise, with Matt Dompe and Nathan Rogerson not as impressive but just as effective. Like The King's German Legion at La Haye Sainte, this team refused to take a backwards step and kept up the pressure on Kalamunda all day. A target was set after the first innings and the team rose collectively to the occasion, reaching 20 runs with less than a minute to spare in a 20-2 victory. In a Ripkenesque moment, I was privileged to watch the team do it around me and the moment pass by with grace. Now if only someone could sing "Over The Hills & Far Away" like John Tams.

UWA v CAR 1-5

6/12 Round 8 On the morning of 1 July 1916 the British Army and its allies walked out of their trenches near the Somme River in France with victory in the Western front in sight. By nightfall 60,000 of them would be casualties. Mid-morning the 1st Newfoundland Battalion, fishermen's sons and the entire generation of an independent province that was not yet part of Canada, was ordered to urgently attack the nearest section of the line. The Newfies elected to jump from their reserve trenches and pass through the British wire before for traversing a further 300 yards across to the German positions. Displaying great courage and resolution, the Newfies did as they were ordered and were massacred. The British wire became choked with their dead and wounded, but those that survived the killing zone pressed home their hopeless attack in the enfiladed futility of No Man's Land.

No greater analogy can be found to reflect the courage and perseverance shown by UWA against Carine. The original Newfie, Michael Smith took the mound for his first PR1 start and withstood an artillery pounding from the Carine batters, while seemingly invincible Uni hitters around him struggled and ultimately fell. The University attacks were raggedly pressed home but consistently fell short of their objective. Three hits scattered through the line-up combined to produce a single run. Defence was shaky, as it can be in an all-out attack, with the few bright spots coming from Chris Wescombe throwing out a runner at third from centrefield, and AJ catching another stealing third. It was left up to Smith, though, to manfully hold his nerve and restrict a strong Carine line-up to only 5 runs. The flower of a generation may have fallen 93 years ago but their spark of courage still lights the way. Time will tell if this will be the same for PR1.

UWA v ROC 12-15

29/11 Round 7 To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, "to lose once to Rockingham may be considered unfortunate; to lose twice looks like carelessness". And yet, like Dorian Gray, we looked good. The restored infield held its nerve despite some signs of rustiness and Ryan Epstein slotted smoothly into third following Matt Dompe's premature departure. Ricky Fang gloved the ball sweetly all day behind the dish and in the batting box we carried on our consistency and focus. Andrew Symes kept scratching his way on to first, and Matt Dompe and Nathan Rogerson did what they always do and batted in runs, and we welcomed back Michael Smith to the batter's circle. The offensive highlight, however, was Clint Leighton's three run home-run which put us in front for the first time since the first inning.

Unfortunately, like poor Dorian, once we stepped away from the mirror we were not as good as we first appeared. The outfield struggled throughout the day in a strong swirling breeze and too much haze, Dave Stivey on the hill struggled to contain a strong and very combative Rockingham line-up, and we lost three runners on base in key situations. In the end not even Smith, doing his best Lord Goring/Rupert Everett impression was enough to save the day and contrary to Wilde's script Rockingham as Mrs Cheveley managed to triumph 15-12.

UWA v KEL 16-2

15/11 Round 6 In reviewing their audacious plan to assassinate Winston Churchill in The Eagle Has Landed Oberst Kurt Steiner tells the devil-may-care-Irishman Liam Devlin that it should go like a Swiss watch, to perfection. Devlin gently reminds his German colleague what happens to Swiss watches when the tiniest piece breaks down. In the story and the movie, it did, of course, although I shan't spoil the ending for those who haven't read or seen it. The PR1 ending on Sunday was not quite so dramatic but it was at least as satisfying as our Swiss watch ticked to almost perfection in a 16-2 victory. Despite not being Nordic enough for the Fallschirmjager, and Shaun Major doing only a passable impression of a much older Michael Caine, we maintained a steely resolve, discipline and focus throughout the game.

Dave Stivey demonstrated the power of throwing strikes and getting on top of hitters early in the count, keeping the Kelmscott hitters constantly on the back foot. Every time they pressed to score the defence, on what is one of the most uneven surfaces in the league, came up with something special - from a diving catch by Matt Dompe at short, through repeated towering pop-ups to Michael Smith at third, to a fly ball caught in the next suburb by centrefielding Brendan Buckley. It was in the batting box and on the basepads where we kept the command and the aggression that have been the hallmarks of our game this year. Nathan Rogerson collected 3 RBIs again and Tony Hyams laced a couple of balls for extra bases, but once again it was a solid team effort that kept contributing and piling on runs through the game. Now if only I had someone on the team with a good Irish accent or a Donald Sutherland smile

UWA v EH 16-12

15/11 Round 5 The strains of Vangelis could be heard on the early sea-breeze throughout the PR1 game against Eastern Hills, and this was one of the few attractive things in what was otherwise a very dour and ugly 16-12 win for UWA. A club single game record of 18 bases were stolen, with Matt Dompe swiping 4 and doing a fair impression of an earnest Englishman attempting to run around the Trinity Great Court in the time it take for the clock to strike 12. We struggled, though in the field and on the mound. Two uncharacteristic errors and ongoing struggles to throw reliable strikes repeatedly put the team behind an undermanned and surprised Eastern Hills. So it was left to our offense to repeatedly dig us out of trouble of our own making. Most of the line-up collected hits, but it was the grunting Nathan Rogerson with two doubles who lead the way, ably supported by Shaun Major who drove in the tying run and debutante catcher Ricky Fang who's two-out clutch hit took the win and held it. As Dave Stivey toiled solidly in relief, the wind died and ACDC's "Jail Break" became our closing anthem.

UWA v BAL 9-14

8/11 Round 4 In "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" Eric Bogle sang "so they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed, and they shipped us back home to Australia. The legless, the armless, the blind and insane, those proud wounded heroes of Suvla." Dennis Winter called the battle "the inevitable tragedy", and both were right, both about Gallipoli and the PR1 game against the old enemy Balcatta. For an hour and a half we dominated the game, despite carrying a bewildering array of injuries. Dave Stivey powered and finessed his way through the line-up and we held our nerve in the field each time that Balcatta threatened to score. Batting efforts from Ryan Eldred, Andrew Symes, Tony Hyams, a monster home run from Brendan Buckley, and two more stolen bases to Eldred, put us into a commanding 8-0 lead. Unfortunately Balcatta proved what a dangerous club they are by exploding all over our pitching late in the game to seize the win. Matt Dompe looked good in relief but was unable to stem the green tide, and it took Tom Nelligan to get us out of worsening trouble. Like Gallipoli, the 14-9 loss left us bloodied but unbowed. A series of heroic efforts that ended in glorious failure, the only difference was that everyone got to go home at the end and there were no New Zealanders for us to write out of the narrative.

UWA v KAL 12-10

1/11 Round 3 At the end of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Duke of Wellington surveyed the carnage and declared it to be "a very close run thing". Had he sat on his horse and watched PR1 against Kalamunda he probably would have said the same. Ryan Eldred and Andrew Symes got hit in the first inning and promptly managed to score giving us a 2-0 lead after the first inning. A batting explosion with 2 out in the second saw us jump out to a 10-0 lead before some shaky pitching let Kalamunda back into the game at 10-7. Michael Smith relieved Tom Nelligan in the bottom of the second and pitched well enough to hold out lead and was perhaps a little unlucky to be returned to the outfield in the fourth inning holding a 11-10 lead. After doing a superb guest catching role, the club's favourite nuggety veteran, Andy McDonough came into relieve and pitched 2 superb innings to hold scoreless and preserve our lead. An additional run scratched out in the fifth inning pushed University to a deserved 12-10 victory. Highlights of the day included Smith collecting his first PR1 pitching win, McDonough's gritty save, Eldred's 3 stolen bases, Shaun Major collecting 3 hits, and Matt Dompe and Brendan Buckley 2 each. Still lots of good signs for thisteam but greater consistency will be needed across the diamond when we play the stronger teams in this league.

UWA v CUR 8-4

25/10 Round 2 In 1933 HG Wells published a speculative novel entitled The Shape of Things to Come. This best sums up the PR1 game against Curtin. Ably led on the mound by American pitching debutante Matt Goldman (6 Innings, 9K2, 2BB, 0ER), the team boasted a new look infield that showed flashes of brilliance and leaned towards fulfilling much of the individual potential of its young and imported stars (in particular the middle infield pairing of Ryan Eldred and Andrew Symes) and a recycled outfield lead by default by Shaun Major that managed not to disgrace itself too badly beneath the pitching and infield glory. While Goldman may have held them extremely well through six, and Dave Stivey may have held on to the win in the last, it was in the batting box that the team once again showed its ability. Working counts to their advantage, choosing good pitches to hit and clutch hitting to take advantage of runners on base. While hits were scattered between 7 of the 9 batters, star of the day proved to be El Presidente, Mostyn McNeil, going 3-4 with a couple of RBIs. Roll on Kalamunda!

UWA v ROC 10-11

18/10 Round 1 To describe the game as a heartbreaker would be to understate the ebb and flow of the game and the positive and negative signs that popped up throughout. We fell behind early against an undermanned Rockingham, but managed to look electric on the basepads for most of the game, with stolen bases to Ryan Eldred, Matt Dompe and Shaun Major, and aggressive baserunning from AJ Ewers, Tony Clack (the obligatory guest appearance) and Chris Wescombe.

We jumped all over the Rockingham pitching in the second inning and string together five runs with two out which was a testament to the capability of this team. We rode our luck in the field with some instinct catches (Raffaele Bellomi) and lighting back-up plays (Ryan Eldred again), but although we only made one error our execution of the key plays at the death perhaps let us down. We had our chance to win with one out and the tying run at second, but our aggressive energy finally failed us and we went down 10-11.