Taking to their home ground, Kings Park Reserve, Eastern Hill won the toss and elected to bat first.
What followed was one of the Eagles’ best innings with the bat to date, led by opening batsman Brayden Speechley (30) and tail order batter Ben Bryant (45).
After looking in trouble early – quickly falling to 5-46 – Bryant’s innings in particular pushed the Eagles to a respectable total of 132, with Kilmore bowling out the home side with three balls to spare.
Kilmore's attack was led superbly by all-rounder Josh Buttler, who quickly snared the scalp of Matt Collard (0) with the first ball of the match.
Dallas Bergowicz (9) soon followed his teammate back to the clubhouse, sending Eastern Hill to 2-11, before Buttler finished his work later in the innings to wrap up the tail end of the order and finish his spell with 5-25.
Despite setting a defendable total, Eastern Hill’s chances of winning the game quickly diminished with Kilmore's Marcus Davern producing a standout innings with the bat, finishing with 63 not out.
Fraser Lewis and Jake Sutherland spearheaded Eastern Hill’s attack, finishing with two wickets each, but it wasn’t enough to stop Kilmore in their tracks, the visitors reaching the Eagles’ total with six wickets in hand and 13 overs to spare.
With two-day matches kicking off this weekend, Kilmore will return to their home ground on Saturday to face reigning premiers Tallarook, while Eastern Hill will continue its hunt for a drought-breaking win when they face in-form Yea Tigers at Kings Park Reserve.
