The match, originally scheduled for round nine on December 8, was moved to a 5.30pm start on Thursday after illness prevented Rochester from fielding a side on the previous date.
The game in hand had been a boon for Echuca, who could have drawn level with Shepparton Youth Club United in third and been only half a game back from Nagambie in second, if it had scored the win, but Rochy had other ideas.
Echuca won the toss and batted, with openers Gillian Noelker and Maisy Byrne in the middle for the first ball.
The normally composed pair was a little too eager to get the scoreboard moving as first Noelker (6) and later Byrne (15) was run out, Chloe Moyle (5) departing in between.
It left the game in the balance at 3-40.
Captain Jessica Cox kept the scoreboard ticking over, but began to run out of partners after a devastating Alice Caldow spell.
In the ninth over, Caldow attacked the stumps with ruthless efficiency, taking three wickets in four balls, two bowled and one lbw.
Her side suddenly 6-47, Cox moved the scoreboard on to 56 before she too was back in the sheds, departing for an innings-high 19.
The remaining three wickets yielded only 14 additional runs as Echuca was all out for just 70, its lowest completed innings total of the season.
Caldow’s devastating over was paired with economical line and length throughout her spell, taking 3-6 from four overs.
Cadence Major, Taya Munro, Keely Major and Rebecca Wade all contributed a wicket each to Rochester’s tally.
After her damaging performance with the ball, Caldow took the game into her own hands in the run chase, setting the tone with a boundary from the first delivery.
Echuca briefly kept Rochester within reach, snaring the wickets of Cadence Major (7) and Sadie Martin (2) to reduce the host to 2-27.
However, Caldow and new batter Miranda Crawford weren’t to be denied. Caldow continued to attack for 44 not out from 27 deliveries, while Crawford rotated the strike well with a run-a-ball 15 as Rochy reached the total in under 11 overs.
Jessica Cox (1-22) and Sophie Good (1-12) made the breakthroughs for Echuca, but it was Rochester’s day.
Only half a game ahead of Moama, Echuca risks dropping out of the top four should it drop more points over the final three rounds.
Ahead are back-to-back meetings with Kyabram, first in a T20 this Sunday and then a 35-over contest the following week, before Echuca concludes the season against title hopefuls Nagambie.
Moama is also back in action on February 2, with an opportunity to close the gap to Shepparton Youth Club United at home.
The Game
Echuca 70 (Jessica Cox 19, Alice Caldow 3-6) lost to Rochester 2-73 (Alice Caldow 44 not out, Miranda Crawford 15 not out, Sophie Good 1-12)
