Alfredton has won its way through to the Geelong Baseball Association B grade grand final.
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The Eagles won a tense preliminary final against Bacchus, getting home by a run, 4-3.
Alfredton had beaten Bacchus all four times over the course of the season, with an average winning margin of 10 runs, but Saturday was a lot closer.
A big reason for this was the fact the Eagles played a man down given it had five players unavailable. The unfortunate circumstance nearly proved hugely costly, but Alfredton managed to get the win.
It led for the whole match, holding a one-run buffer for much of it.
Captain-coach Nathan Yates said he was excited to surpass the stage that the side’s season came to an end last year. Yates and fellow pitcher Dan Hamilton shared the time on the mound and did a good job in limiting Bacchus to just three runs.
“We played the whole day one down, so it made it a little bit more special,” Yates told The Courier.
“We’ve been a regular in the finals, but once you get there it’s whoever is best on grand final day.”
Its opponent will be Sunshine, which has been the standout team for the entire season.
Sunshine beat Alfredton three times throughout the season as well as in the semi-final, although the two-run loss in the semi was the closest the Eagles have come.
Yates believes his side can cause an upset, saying it would have to be in fine form with the bat and make minimal mistakes in the field.
“In our semi-final, we lost by two, but we probably should’ve beaten them.
“We made a couple of crucial mistakes out in the field which cost us and gave them a bit of momentum.
“We’ve got to hit the ball, that’s our strength.
“We can’t afford to be making mistakes in the field.”
Yates expected those players that missed the weekend’s final to return on Saturday.