The reigning premier comfortably accounted for Leitchville-Gunbower in the grand final re-match by 57 runs on Sunday.
While Echuca may have lost several stars from last season’s side, coach Jon Varcoe said they’ve welcomed some quality additions to the club.
“It’s always nice when you can get off to a winning start,” he said.
“The girls came ready to play and it showed from the first ball. The surface is quite quick at Victoria Park and I thought we were able to take advantage of that when we did bat.
“We’ve got a few younger girls in our side and they’ve already shown us they are going to be more than capable at this level.
“The message is going to be the same as last season in the fact we are going to be looking to improve every week.”
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Echuca was able to overcome the loss of opener Sharon Henson for a duck as two players would eventually retire after facing 30 balls.
One of those included young gun Grace Moyle who picked up where she left off in last season’s grand final to top score with 35 after coming in at four.
Danielle Garden, who came in at first drop, was equally as impressive scoring 22 runs of her own.
Varcoe said he was impressed with his side’s batting performance as they reached 6-120 from their 20 overs.
“We’ve given Grace some extra responsibility this season and it’s great to see she is taking it in her stride,” he said.
“Last season she batted a little lower down the order but we always thought she had the ability to come in earlier if required.
“Danielle was a solid player for us last season so this innings should give her a lot of confidence.
“Delaney Laffy (who scored 21 runs) was also very good. She worked hard on her batting in the off-season so it’s exciting to see it pay off.”
In the run chase, Leitchville-Gunbower put themselves in a strong position to get revenge on Echuca thanks to a 38-run stand between Macey Brereton and Lauren Dehne for the second wicket.
But when Brereton fell for 23, the visitors went onto lose their next eight wickets for just 20 runs.
The Echuca coach said his side’s pressure in the field was the difference between the two sides.
“Three run outs showed that our energy levels were up,” Varcoe said.
“We pride ourselves on our ability in the field and for it to come together in the first game of the season is really pleasing.”
ELSEWHERE, Lockington-Bamawm United started its season on the backfoot after going down to competition newcomers Beechworth Wanderers.
After winning the toss and electing to field, Beechworth was able to put a massive score of 1-133 on the board with the home side’s top three retiring.
In response, BLU struggled to get going as both openers were removed for ducks.
Amy Fitzgerald (nine off 30) and Bree Styles (25 off 30) provided some stability in the middle order but their efforts were eventually not enough.
Styles was the only other player to reach double figures for the visitors.
In the division’s other match, Kyabram Fire Brigade defeated Shepparton United.
Echuca will face KFB on Sunday while BLU host Shepparton United.
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