Baseball Victoria is excited to share player selection for the BV Performance Pathway Youth Women's Prospects Program.

This pathway is a step beyond the existing club programs, offering high-performing players the opportunity to further develop their skills and pursue representative opportunities.

The initial training session of the seven-week program took place last Saturday. Samantha Hamilton, the Victorian Women's Head Coach, and Dean Anglin, the Victorian Youth Women's Head Coach, along with their dedicated coaching staff, are guiding these young female athletes to elevate their skills for enhanced competition.

"The trials showcased a remarkable pool of talented players, underscoring the strength and potential in youth and women's baseball across our state," Hamilton said. "We are proud to provide these young athletes with more opportunities to refine their skills and compete at the highest levels. Moreover, we are committed to supporting our coaches within the Baseball Victoria Coaching Panel, ensuring a comprehensive approach to player development."

Congratulations to our 2023 Youth Women's Prospects!

• Ruby Benne
• Jasmine Bentley
• Jessica Brown
• Ruby Dale
• Keeley Harrison
• Kira Jansen
• Eden Neave
• Chelsea Nunn
• Mackenzie Prentice-Evans
• Macy Priamo
• Kendra Rutgers
• Lilly Simpson
• Emma Sullivan
• Maddi Weller
• Amelia Wright

Want to learn how to score?

Victorian Baseball Scorers Inc. for a beginner scorers clinic this Thursday 19 October from 8:00-9:00pm via Zoom.

This interactive, hands-on training session will go through the basics of baseball scoring, aimed at absolute beginners using a scorebook.

No previous experience is required and RSVPs are essential - please register here: https://bit.ly/octoberscoringclinic

Whitehorse City Council awarded Blackburn Baseball Club with Club of the Year honours at their annual awards on Wednesday night, a welcome achievement for the tight-knit Burners community.

This award recognises all the contributions of volunteers and supporters, with Blackburn beating out 250 clubs across Whitehorse. Club Secretary Patrick White, who received the 2023 Whitehorse City Council Volunteer of the Year Award, says it comes after they set out to change the shape and culture of the club.

"It’s honestly recognition for a few years worth of hard work from our committee to re-engage with our members and then have them buy into the direction we want to go," White said. "It’s an awesome feeling to be recognised within our council, particularly where there are so many other fantastic sporting clubs and also to receive it coming from a lower tier sport."

With a "good people first, then good baseball will follow mentality", the club reset its junior program, cutting fees by 200% to eliminate financial stress for families while helping retain kids in sport for their well-being.

After bringing together the senior and junior clubs, Blackburn has seen a 25% increase in player numbers.

"We are the biggest we have been in 20+ years and have close to 20 teams across our club, making us bigger than some of the tier 1 sports we compete with for attention," White said.

The club is committed to supporting players on and off the field, and a partnership with SALT - Sport And Life Training offers mental health programs to participants, parents and supporters.

This supportive environment, coupled with social functions and gameday engagement, such as seniors coaching juniors and juniors throwing out the first pitch at senior games, has brought back the large community feel the Burners are so proud of.

"Ultimately, we are a community of people who enjoy spending time with one another and looking after one another, and baseball is what brings us together," White said.

The Burners look forward to building on this foundation after starting the summer season off strong with the council award.

"We celebrate our 60th year as a club this year with two of our founding members in Ian Burgell and Paul Tierney still involved, so seeing how proud they were to win the award only makes it feel more lovely," President Brooke Tierney said.

"We’ve worked hard to build a better relationship with our council and the Forest Hill Baseball Club crew to ensure as a collective group, we work together to drive baseball and our clubs to a better place. So we really feel like this award is for all of us."

Baseball Victoria is pleased to open tryout registration for the Victorian Women's and Youth Women's State Teams ahead of the 2024 Australian Championships next April.

Please click HERE to register for tryouts.

Our Barclay Cup girls made the most of their time on the West Coast, playing a great tournament and making special memories on and off the field.

Hornets picked up five wins and Dingoes won three as the girls focused on improving their skills and being great teammates and competitors.

We are so glad everyone had fun and we thank all the players, officials, and supporters who made it possible. Also, congrats to Barclay Spirit Award winners Alanah Rose and Ruby Benne - we are so proud of your positivity and spirit of the game!

We know the future is bright for these awesome baseballers, and we can’t wait to see what they do next.

Catch up on the tournament action on our Facebook page and check out team portraits and action photos from our official photography partner Field of View.

Baseball Victoria is pleased to introduce VSBL Player of the Week Awards for the 2023/24 VSBL season.

Each week, a standout player will be recognised for their achievements across senior men, senior women, and junior competitions. Winners will demonstrate exemplary performance, leadership, sportsmanship, and commitment to baseball.

Nominations will be accepted from the Baseball Victoria Board, staff, member clubs, member parents, registered baseball players, scorers, umpires, and anyone else associated with affiliated clubs of BV.

Please submit your nominations at the links below by the EOD Monday for the previous weekend of play. Weekly winners will be announced on the VSBL Facebook page.

• VSBL Senior Men’s Player of the Week
• VSBL Junior Player of the Week
• Aces Sporting Club VSBL Women’s Batter of the Week
• Aces Sporting Club VSBL Women’s Pitcher of the Week

We would also like to acknowledge BV Diamond Partner Aces Sporting Club for their support with the Women's Batter/Women's Pitcher awards, as well as Ausport for giving each winner a $25 gift voucher.

The Lions community came out in support of Fitzroy Baseball Club's Moss-Leake Memorial Game & Mental Health Awareness Day on Sunday 1 October.

Fitzroy's annual memorial game with La Trobe University was combined with an important discussion on mental health. The day started with junior practice games in the morning before the charity game tradition got underway in honour of local club greats and life members Karl Leake and Graham Moss.

"The Moss-Leake Game has been run for over a decade in memory of the two men," FBC Junior Coordinator Ethan Epifanio said. "This year, we wanted to level it up by providing some awareness and education for members."

"As a family club, we appreciate the importance of having a second family via the baseball club and want to continue being strong ambassadors of mental health awareness and literacy."

After the on-field action, the club community welcomed R U OK Day spokesperson Stephen Dowling, who discussed being there for one another, sharing the load, and that it's OK not to be OK.

"Stephen presented and led a great two-way forum with members about mental health, suicide prevention, and how to look out for one another," Ethan added. "We also had a resources booth with booklets, handouts and wristbands for members to take for education."

Well done to Fitzroy and La Trobe Uni on this initiative!

Visit RUOK.org for valuable resources on mental health and supporting family, friends, and teammates.

On Sunday 1 October, Sandringham Royals Baseball Club hosted Victoria Police Baseball for their annual preseason game, which had been on hold since COVID.

It was a fantastic day for baseball as they played a seven-inning game, which Sandringham won. The early hitout for the start of the season featured friendly rivalry with Dingley winter players facing each other.

"Sandringham Baseball Club would like to thank Victoria Police Baseball for coming down to participate in the game," President Nick Stillwell said. "We would also like to thank umpires Andrew Gluth (plate), Gavin Daniels (first base), and Andrea Cormick (third base) for officiating at the game. Thanks also to Cassandra Ward for scoring."

Follow along with Sandringham's summer season on Facebook.

Vic Dingoes and Hornets are ready for action at the 2023 Barclay Cup!

Best of luck to all our awesome athletes taking part in this junior girls baseball tournament at Carine Cats Baseball Club in Perth, WA from 1-7 October.

Follow along with the action on GameChanger and the official Barclay Cup Livestream.