Armstrong Creek have made it six in a row, holding on to second spot after surviving a spirited run chase by Barrabool at Ceres Reserve on the weekend.
The Titans set the agenda in the one-day contest, winning the toss and batting first to make 3/299, with the Bulls falling 30 runs short of their target to make 5/268 in reply.
The victory sees Armstrong Creek maintain its position in second, three points behind top side Anglesea and ahead of third-placed Barwon Heads by the same margin.
The Bulls, meanwhile, have lost even the mathematical chance of sneaking into third place and are now even on points with fifth-placed Jan Juc.
Titans senior coach and A1 captain Daniel Maclean said the result was “massive” for his side given the context of the season, which has just three rounds of two-day cricket remaining.
“Coming up to finals you want to just keep banking wins, and we’re going really well with that at the moment,” Maclean said.
“And you especially want to be beating teams that are around you, on similar points or in the top four, that’s always good.”
Openers Chris Marsiglio and Clay Mulgrew set the tone early, belting 126 and 58 respectively, while Ben Norgrove made a valuable contribution of 69.
Bowlers Lachlan Grigg, Lachlan Brown and James Fisher each took a wicket for the home side.
The Bulls’ chase was blunted early by Jason Robertson (2/45), who took the wickets of Barrabool openers Shane Stevens (1) and captain Michael Kelson (51).
Kane Pickering made a valiant 95 from 87 deliveries before being bowled by Adam Trevean (2/53).
Maclean said while his side set a big total for the Bulls, he was keenly aware the pace of the outfield meant any result was possible.
“We were fairly confident but we knew the ground was really, really quick; it was a dot or four all day, with fairly short square boundaries as well,” he said.
“We knew we still had to bowl well to defend the total, so it was a bit nerve-wracking at times.
“(Robertson) was massive, he got the big wicket of Kelson, who looked like he was going to take the game apart at one stage. He’s a very hard hitter of the ball, so that was a very valuable wicket.”
BARWON Heads recorded its seventh win of the season away against Drysdale. The visitors made 5/209 after being sent in to bat by Drysdale, with Brent McMinn leading the run scoring with 72 runs. Harry Melzer was decisive with the ball, taking 5/48 in his first bowling performance for the Seagulls all season and playing a big part in restricting Drysdale to 158 runs.
QUEENSCLIFF narrowly prevailed over Ocean Grove at home, making 9/176 and bowling out the Grubbers for 173 in the final over. Frank Mileto made 54 for Queenscliff, with Zac Jones taking 3/32 for Ocean Grove. Ned Stephens (5/16) was best with the ball for Queenscliff.
LADDER leaders Anglesea defeated Jan Juc in dramatic fashion, with Sharks number 11 Jake Hewitt needing a six off the last ball but instead being bowled by Dylan Taylor for a golden duck. Simon Umbers was top scorer for the victors with 79 runs, while Michael Thornton took 4/24.
