Baseball Victoria Summer League: Malvern Braves sweep Division 2 grand final series against Williamstown Wolves
It’s been a while between drinks but the Malvern Braves are once again champions.
East
Don't miss out on the headlines from East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Malvern snapped a premiership drought that stretched back almost two decades when it swept its grand final series against the Williamstown Wolves to be crowned Baseball Victoria Summer League Division 2 champions.
The Braves won the best-of-three series at Altona’s Melbourne Ballpark in just two games, taking out Game 1, 12-4, on March 12 and Game 2, 15-1, on March 14.
Malvern president Andrew Othen said it had been a long time between drinks for the Braves.
“We won Division 1 in 2004/05 and that was kind off Malvern’s last gasp,” he said. “You can tell it’s been a while, the photo in the frame is starting to fade a bit.
“We did have a bit of a party last Saturday night, that was the last bit of social gathering really.”
MORE SPORTS NEWS
SOUTH YARRA’S PREMIERSHIP BLITZ
The Braves’ campaign received a huge boost prior to the season when it signed the coaching team of Phil Dale and Neil Burke, both with coaching resumes matched by few.
“It was amazing because when we appointed Phil and Neil a lot would say ‘if you don’t get to Division 1 it will be a disappointment’,” Othen said. “We never looked at it that way, we looked at it as a two to three-year journey.”
The Braves will now prepare for a step up to the top flight for the first time in more than a decade.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” Othen said. “We hope we will start in September and our society is back to normal.”
The challenge for the young Braves outfit will be to find their feet quickly and stay in Division 1.
Beyond the first team championship, there’s a lot to celebrate at Wadsworth Field with the club’s depth the strongest it’s been in years, Malvern this year adding a fifth senior men’s side, a masters side and boosting it junior ranks by two or three teams.