After a strong start against Tongala, Rochester cruised to a nine-wicket victory against Leitchville-Gunbower in round two at Gunbower Recreation Reserve.
Winning the toss and electing to bat on its home deck, L-G got off to a rocky start as star batsman Tyler Jones was knocked over by Sean Williams in the third over for five.
Liam Keath and Jasper Hare made a good account of themselves, navigating until the 19th over before the former was caught for 24.
Hare and Jason Keath dug in and developed a nice little partnership before Rochester captain Angus Martin proved energy in the field could change a game, running both of them out 11 overs apart for 11 and 30, respectively.
Only Simon Tatt (27) provided any scoring punch the rest of the way as L-G batted out its 50 overs and finished 7-141.
With a relatively small target to chase, Rochester swallowed up the runs in 31 overs.
After carving up L-G’s bowlers and raising the bat for his first half-century of the season, Sean Williams departed for 52 after being caught by Kaleb Quinn off Tatt’s bowling.
Rochester proved it may have one of the deepest batting line-ups in the competition, as Brandon Byrne also reached a half-century and then some (making 64 not out).
Tim Bubb at number three also assisted Byrne and added 17 runs unbeaten before his side chased down L-G’s total.
Fourteen-year-old Judd Cuttriss made his A-grade debut in round two for Rochester, bowling five overs and recording figures of 0-19.
With two wins in the bank in as many games, Rochester will come up against Echuca South side at Windridge Oval in round three.
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