The Dandenong Baseball Association has taken home their fourth consecutive U14 State Winter Championships after a rain interrupted final day of play in Frankston.
After a full weekend and 15 games of high intensity baseball, the finals were scheduled as:
Unfortunately for all of the players, parents and supporters that made the trip to Frankston, rain intervened and made all grounds unplayable.
As a result, final positions were based on the standings after the five pool games, gifting Dandenong another U14 State Winter Championship.
Congratulations to the team MVP award winners in: Thomas Yuile (Dandenong), Jimin Lee (Diamond Valley), Phoenix Beck (Ringwood), Hayden Peoples (Geelong), Jackson Malycha (Sunraysia), Austin Bauer and Darcy Cumming (Latrobe Valley).
PHOTO – Genevieve in action during the 2016 National Little League Championships.
After leading the Southern Mariners to the Little League State Championship in 2016, Gen was back in 2017 to lead the Mariners to a second State Championship in as many years. Pitching in the final game of this year’s tournament against the Eastern Athletics, Gen was dominant, pitching 5.0 innings and striking out 14 in the process.
VIDEO – Genevieve pitching during the 2017 Little League Championships Final
She was subsequently selected in the Victorian Women’s Youth team to compete in the 2017 National Youth Championships where she was the youngest member of the team at just 12 years old, returning home with a silver medal.
While a green and gold cap may not have been on her radar at the beginning of the year, her selection into the Australian team is certainly something she’s earned. It’s been a whirlwind year for the budding young left-hander turned frequent flyer and we can’t wait to see her on the world stage in August.
Congratulations Geneveive!
Story by the Sunshine Baseball Club
Jared Van Hoon came to Sunshine last season as our import and left an indelible imprint on the Club. It is with great pleasure we announce that Jared will be leading "The Shiners" into the 2017/18 season.
Jared's love for the game and passion to make others better is evident in the following comments:
"Baseball is my pride and passion in life and I strive to get better every day. My work ethic is extremely high and I push myself to limits that I know I can reach with hard work. To me, it is all about sacrifice and perseverance to be successful and I have demonstrated both throughout my career and continue to every day."
"My leadership on and off the field has always been a plus throughout my career and I believe that leading by example is much more effective than words. I believe that I can make a positive impact on any team with my skills and knowledge of the game as well as making my teammates around me better."
Sunshine is also extremely happy to announce their Assistant Coach and Pitching Coach to lead them into Division 1 next season as Jordan Young (Assistant) and Jeremy Young (Pitching) both step into roles with the club. Both boys have come through Junior Elite Programs as both Players and Coaches and through their immense knowledge of the game will be the perfect accompaniment to Jared.
Sunshine believes that through this fresh young team we have the perfect mixture to produce a fun, winning culture at the Division 1 level.
Lismore will reap the benefits of a world class baseball facility thanks to funding received under a joint NSW and Commonwealth Government tourism program, Member for Lismore Thomas George and Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan announced last week.
Lismore City Council in partnership with Baseball Australia and Far North Coast Baseball will receive $1 million to upgrade, revitalise and construct new infrastructure at the Albert Park Baseball Complex.
Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said this project was one of the successful proposals under the $6 million allocated to NSW in the Tourism Demand Driver Infrastructure (TDDI) program for 2016-17.
“Tourism is one of the State’s strongest growth sectors, and this program delivers much-needed funding injections to help drive tourism in rural and regional NSW,” Mr Marshall said.
Member for Lismore Thomas George said the project has enabled Baseball Australia to commit to hosting events, competitions and training camps for the next five years.
“Albert Park will put Lismore on the world stage as home to Australia’s premier Baseball Hub which will be a terrific draw card for visitors to the region,” Mr George said.
Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan said this is another example of The Nationals delivering for the residents of Page and the North Coast.
“This project is a massive infrastructure investment for Lismore which will drive huge demand for the local tourism industry,” Mr Hogan said.
“Once the re-development is completed, it is estimated that Albert Park will generate over $9 million each year in the local economy and provide over $45 million in economic return over a five year period,” Mr Hogan said.
Baseball Australia spokesman Clinton Bown welcomed the news.
“Baseball Australia (BA) has been working with state and local government over several years to realise the first phase of this important funding announcement,” said Bown.
“Moving forward, BA will continue to work diligently to realise the full potential of the Albert Park Baseball Complex, appreciating the important role sports tourism plays for the Lismore region.”
Baseball Australia is proud to announce the team that will represent Australia at the Cal Ripken World Series in Branson, Missouri later this year.
The Cal Ripken World Series is a user pay program, with the team travelling to Aberdeen, Maryland to play a leadup tournament before heading to Branson to compete between 3-10 August.
Peter Bae (NSW)
Jude Barker (SA)
Genevieve Beacom (VIC)
Callum Donnelly (NSW)
Ben Ferencakovic (WA)
Jackson Grounds (QLD)
Ned Hargreaves (VIC)
Elijah Hewett (WA)
Jordan Hodges (SA)
Joel Hogan (QLD)
Nathan Howarth (NSW)
Ethan Martin (NSW)
Brayden Moyle (WA)
Wilson Spinks (NSW)
Bayley Stevens (NSW)
Dean Marnell – Manager
Michael Ibbotson – Assistant Coach
Craig Watts – Assistant Coach
David West – Executive Officer
Player nominations were received from state associations, with further information gathered at the recent Bendigo Bank Australian Little League Championship.
Baseball Australia wishes Nick Gall and Nicholas Parton a speedy recovery from injuries sustained that prevented them from travelling to the Cal Ripken World Series with the team after their initial selection.
To keep up to date with the 2017 Cal Ripken World Series team, click here.
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Baseball Australia is excited to announce Blackchrome as the official compression partner of Baseball Australia and the Australian Baseball League.
Blackchrome Sportswear has over 12 years’ experience in the designing, manufacturing and distribution of customised, made-to-order, sublimated sportswear and will be a fantastic addition to the Baseball Australia family.
Baseball Australia CEO is excited to partner with such a well-respected company with a direct interest in growing the game of baseball in Australia.
“Blackchrome is a company full of ‘baseball people’,” Vale said.
“To have so many passionate advocates for our great game working for a company that provides high quality products is really exciting for us.”
Among many other exciting initiatives, Blackchrome will be providing custom arm sleeves to the Australian U12 World Cup team travelling to Taiwan later this month.
Blackchrome Managing Director Mark Bassett is keen to develop an already strong relationship with Baseball Australia.
“We are very excited about this mutually beneficial partnership with the Australian Baseball League and Baseball Australia,” Bassett said.
“We look forward to seeing the players in Blackchrome’s high quality, customised compression.“
Baseball Australia is excited to announce the team that will represent Australia at the upcoming 2017 U12 WBSC Baseball World Cup in Taiwan.
William Baker (QLD)
Cameron Bieker (VIC)
Cole Buck (NSW)
Lucas Burnell (SA)
Jye Burns (NSW)
Jack Bushell (SA)
Angus Catt (SA)
Joshua Davies (WA)
Jack Hutton (SA)
Oscar Hyde (QLD)
Ryan Langworthy (VIC)
Rorke Miles (WA)
Liam Padovan (NSW)
Finn Ramanauskas (NSW)
Brendan Regan (NSW)
Kyan Roach (NSW)
Hayden Purchase (NSW)
Jett Watson (NSW)
Brian Murphy – Head Coach
Matt O’Neill – Assistant Coach
Shayne Watson – Assistant Coach
Louise Riddell – Executive Officer
The U12 team qualified for the World Cup in January, following a tough qualifier against host nation Guam and American Samoa.
Baseball Australia’s Head of High Performance Glenn Williams is excited to see this team perform on the world stage.
“Baseball Australia is really keen to see how this team performs on the world stage,” Williams said.
“This is a team of talented young men who have come highly recommended by state personnel and the team’s coaching staff. We wish them all the best and look forward to cheering them on at the upcoming world cup.”
Australia will begin their U12 World Cup campaign on the 28th of July against the USA, and will finish their opening round against Nicaragua on the 1st of August.
There will be match reports from all of the team’s games at the U12 World Cup, with a streaming schedule to be finalised in the coming weeks.
Click here for the U12 World Cup Homepage.
Dandenong were the dominant team of the tournament after posting an undefeated record while eventual runners-up Sunraysia would only drop two games for the weekend - both against Dandenong.
Congratulations to all participants on what was a fantastic weekend of baseball, in particular our team MVPs who were:
Shelby Roberts (Dandenong), James Keam (Ringwood), Jaycob Pascuzzi (Diamond Valley), Xavier Woolley (Geelong), James Lynch (Latrobe Valley) and Joel Trevaskis (Sunraysia).
Baseball Victoria would also like to thank our hosts for the weekend in the North East Baseball Association and all of our volunteers and officials that made this past weekend possible.