It is well and truly Tiger time after the orange and black snatched the Mount Gambier and District Baseball League Division 1 premiership from Centrals’ grasp in an upset few saw coming.
Despite Centrals heading in as the overwhelming favourites, Tigers brought its A game to the party and outplayed the reigning premiers in every discipline.
The orange and black’s performance on the big stage was so complete and ruthless, they sealed the deal at on Saturday evening with one game to spare in the three-match series.
After few gave them a chance, Tigers coach Karl Ransom could not believe what his team achieved when he spoke to the SE Voice in the aftermath of the win.
“I am so proud,” he said.
“You always need belief and at our best we knew we could beat anyone.
“We knew we had to be at our best for these two nights and that is exactly where we were and we now have the chocolates.
“I cannot fault any of the boys, so it is time to party.”
The fight for the Darryl “Sid” Hosking trophy was touted as a David and Goliath battle with the form guide suggesting there was little in Tigers’ favour.
After Centrals collected last year’s premiership in convincing style, the side only appeared to improve as each week passed by.
The team lead by league best and fairest Dylan Chuck had not only won every single encounter against Tigers, but also cruised through the entire summer undefeated.
There appeared to be no weakness in Centrals’ armor with Chuck joined by other big names such as Koby Chant, Alex Ridding, Dylan Gull and Ethan Chuck to form a near complete side.
But Tigers sensed an opportunity with the extra week of game time having progressed through after a hard fought preliminary final last weekend when the Centrals players put their feet up.
The boys in orange and black built up some confidence with the bat when overcoming South Indians and used that to their advantage when it mattered.
With both sides enjoying plenty of depth on the mound, each team had to make every safe hit count.
The thrilling best of three battle began under the Friday night lights where Tigers first showed its hand.
Despite the mystique of facing the relentless pitching of Centrals coach Dylan Chuck, the Tigers batters showed no fear.
The likes of Jesse Foster, Tyler Horrigan, Alex Reppin, Ransom, Brayden Morton and Brodie Foster all struck safe hits to get the underdogs off to a flying start.
Their efforts helped Tigers cross home plate four times to build a strong lead.
The steady blows compiled the pressure on Centrals to score throughout the game and Kyall McLean, Ridding and Koby Chant delivered with safe hits.
But only one of them could score as Tigers pitcher Alex Reppin tied them down.
The big-name midseason recruit proved his worth restricting Centrals to just a single run across the nine innings.
Reppin’s fine efforts helped Tigers enjoy a dream start to the finals campaign.
Ransom said his boys showed their enthusiasm for the contest by starting strong with a big batting performance.
“To get the early win is always key because you always sleep a lot easier on the Friday night after winning,” he said.
The 4-1 win gave Tigers plenty of confidence and belief heading into Saturday evening when the fate of the trophy was decided.
As the teams settled into the game it was difficult to pinpoint who had the momentum until the third dig where the orange and black landed a killer blow.
With two runners already on base, Garth Ransom smashed a huge hit deep into left field which sent the crowd into raptures.
It allowed Hayden Jones and Jesse Foster reach home safely to put one tiger claw on the trophy.
Desperate to stay alive, the Centrals batters built up the safe hits with Jordan Aston and Koby Chant collecting three and two respectively.
By the fifth inning mistakes started to creep into the Tigers’ game with a missed catch followed by a walk, while Koby Chant got home to put Centrals on the board to make things interesting.
Despite Centrals eventually recording double the amount of sale hits and being one run away from levelling the scoreboard in the closing stages, its hopes faded quickly.
Keen to wrap up the series as soon as possible, Tigers coach Karl Ransom rose to the occasion to smash a critical safe hit which allowed Brodie Foster to cruise home and effectively seal the triumph.
Coach Ransom said he always believed Centrals were beatable and credited them for a classic fight.
“We had to have belief and we had it all year,” he said.
“Every time they beat us, we knew they were a week closer to that loss.
“But they are a hell of a ball club and we were never safe for nine innings.”
Not only had Karl Ransom struck the killer blow to wrap up Saturday’s contest, he also played a critical role on the mound restricting the big-hitting Centrals side to two runs in as many games.
For these efforts he was rewarded with the Jeanette Burner Memorial award as the Series MVP and the coach said winning the medal meant the world.
“When I grew up Mrs. “Burner was my neighbour across the road and she got me into baseball,” Ransom said.
“She passed away out of the blue at a young age, but if it was not for her I probably would never of played.
“This means more to me than the flag.”
