Holy Trinity wins NMCA Jika Shield premiership in thrilling grand final finish

Holy Trinity is on top of the North Metro mountain for the first time, claiming a nerve-racking grand final victory over Preston Baseballers.

For the first time in club history, Holy Trinity is NMCA Jika Shield champions.

In their first crack at the top-flight flag, the Knights claimed one of the most thrilling deciders in recent memory, snatching a two-run victory over Preston Baseballers at Fairfield Oval.

Baseballers, the reigning two-time premiers, needed 11 runs from the final over and Jed McDonald nearly delivered but Trinity captain Marcello Manteit kept his cool with the ball to clinch a historic win.

“It was a great game of cricket to be a part of and it was very satisfying to be on the right side of the ledger,” Holy Trinity coach Cale Volitakis said.

“We’ve been in those situations a handful of times and we felt match-hardened for pressure-cooker finishes, which held us in good stead.

“By hook or by crook you can’t give up the runs.”

Aaron Shackelford was awarded the grand final medal as best afield, hitting 54 to top-score with the bat before dismissing both Preston openers and finishing with 2-22.

Defending 148, Holy Trinity looked in trouble with Baseballers surging to 2-85 before Manteit intervened.

Manteit (4-45) dismissed Jacob Walker (31) to break a dangerous 73-run partnership with Preston skipper Michael Sortino.

He then removed his counterpart Sortino for a well-made 52 to leave Baseballers 6-118 and the game on a knife’s edge.

McDonald almost pinched the flag with a strong finish after coming in with just four balls remaining but it was the Knights’ day.

“I remember thinking at the time that 148 was a winnable score but internally it might not be enough,” Volitakis said.

“When we took that first wicket, I thought ‘OK, you never know’ because funny things can happen in finals.

Marcello Manteit bowled Holy Trinity to victory.

“(Shackelford) was the bed rock. He was instrumental.

“He’s the oldest bloke on the ground, besides maybe the umpires, and it meant a lot to him. He was saying it had been 30 years between premierships for him.

“He’s so comfortable in his role, an experienced head, skilful and just a great team man. I find I get a lot of confidence seeing Shack on the field and he was the first person I embraced.

“Marchy has become one of those guys that wants to handle the dicey situations at the end.

“He was fantastic, he went for 45 but I don’t think that’s an accurate reflection. All those boundary balls were nicks that beat the keeper and ran away.”

The match also saw brothers Cale and Tate Voliatkis go head-to-head.

Tate scored six and had 0-20 with the ball, while Cale finished with 10 runs and 0-26 and bragging rights.

“Tate bowled a few balls to me early in the game but we’ve bowled to each other tens of thousands of times in the backyard,” Cale said.

“There was obviously more on the line and the stakes were higher but it was a lot of fun.

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“I bowled a big full toss late and he gasped like ‘that was the one’ because he would have hit it for 30 if he’d got onto it and I knew I’d gotten away with one.

“He’s got his two flags so it was my turn.”

In the Quick Shield, Camrea returns to Jika Shield with a four-wicket win over Lalor Warriors thanks to a brilliant spell from Roshane Warnakulasuria (6-13).

And in the Kelly Shield, Holy Trinity was denied a premiership double by Strathewen, which claimed a 77-run victory.