Debutant Sam McGlynn took three early wickets to give Ocean Grove the upper hand in its A1 Grade round five match against Inverleigh.
McGlynn’s opening, and only, spell netted him 3-16 from eight overs. The young seamer pushed into the breeze and looked right at home at the top level.
Inverleigh was bowled out for 142, but lost four wickets for no runs after being 0-22.
Kobe George rescued the innings for the away team with a mature 56 from 141 deliveries while Locke Perrett played an important role with his 25 from 62.
Spinners Rob Rutley and Paul Jubber picked up two wickets each while Mick Thornton, Dan Roddis and Bailey Le Maistre grabbed one each.
The Grubbers are four without loss going into this weekend with Shaun Fankhauser and Jake Taylor surviving a tense two overs before stumps.
Noah Brooks, 13, also made his A Grade debut for Ocean Grove.
Ocean Grove made 205 in B1 Grade with David Turner top scoring for 32 and six batters scoring between 18 and 26.
Turner and Adam Arnold (26) put on 68 for the opening partnership.
Jason Wood snared four scalps for Port and youngster Jackson McGrath three.
Portarlington is 5-101 in B2 Grade and will continue its innings on day two.
The Demons will have 28 overs at their disposal to try and push past 200 before Ocean Grove has its turn at the crease.
Off-spinner Troy Wiseman has three of the five wickets to fall while Anthony Travers will resume on 25 for Port.
