Rams fail to capitalise on early lead

The Rockingham Rams D-grade team suffered a two-point loss in the grand final against the Kelmscott Bulldogs.

After jumping out of the blocks early and taking a 3-2 lead after four complete innings, the Rams were unable to carry on with the game and went down 11-9.

In the top of the fifth innings, Rams’ starting pitcher Jason Williams found himself in a jam with loaded bases and two out.

Trying to shut down the innings, the Bulldogs hitter ripped a ball up the first base line and into right field.

The umpire judged the ball fair and the Bulldogs scored three runs.

An error then compounded the call with the Bulldogs scoring the runner from third to take a 6-2 lead.

Heading into the last inning with a 11-4 lead, the Bulldogs appeared to have the Rams well and truly covered, but a multitude of errors and walks gave the Rams more than a sniff, pegging the lead back to just two runs with two out and the tying run at second base.

Rams’ hitter Matt O’Niell hit the ball into left field, hard enough to score both runs, but the ball landed six inches foul only to see O’Niell swing and miss at the next pitch to end the game with a Bulldogs win.

The Rockingham Rams 15.3s side also played in their grand final the previous day and walked away with a 17-4 win against Willetton.

The boys played error-free baseball and were led on the mound by Joel Oakley and Brock Molloy. Willetton made six errors in total and a flurry of walks helped the Rams take an early lead and never looked back.