For the Southern Thunder, the upcoming 2016 Haarlemse Honkbalweek is a massive tournament. With the upcoming World Baseball Classic, Honkbalweek is an opportunity for some new national team members to prove themselves, and serves as the perfect preparation for Jon Deeble’s team.
Honkbalweek is a bi-annual tournament in The Netherlands, which pits the Southern Thunder against quality teams from Japan, Curaçao, Chinese Taipei and The Netherlands.
Australia hasn’t competed in Honkbal since 1998, and in that tournament, Team Australia came away with a silver medal after going down in an extra innings classic with Cuba in the Gold Medal Game.
Southern Thunder manager Jon Deeble is excited by the challenge that Honkbal will bring.
“This tournament will give us a good look at our young kids and we will see who has a chance to make the World Baseball Classic team,” Deeble said.
“We’re expecting a tough tournament with Japan and Taiwan being tough opponents but we are looking forward to the challenge.”
Buoyed by the return of long-serving Southern Thunder players Trent Oeltjen and Luke Hughes, and with Wilson Lee, Tom Bailey, Andrew Campbell, Jacob Younis and Aaron Sayers all debuting this tournament, the Thunder bring a blend of youth and experience to this important tournament.
ONE TO WATCH: Mitch Dening
Dening has been plying his trade in Japan with the Ehime Mandarin Pirates. The Shikoku Island League team has thrived with Dening, as the long-time Southern Thunder outfielder lead the league with a .389 average in the first half of the season.
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