Springvale won direct passage through to this year’s Grand Final after a 7-0 Semi Final win over the Bombers while Essendon had to do it the hard way, backing up for this past weekend’s Preliminary Final where they would defeat Doncaster 19-9.
Finishing the season with a 14-2-4 record, the Springvale Lions have been the form team of this season’s competition. Defeated only twice this season (once to Essendon), the two teams have also drawn on three occasions with Springvale’s Semi Final win over Essendon giving them a slight head-to-head edge on the Bombers 2-1 (with three draws).
Led by the veteran Jade Hough who’s hitting .524 on the season, the Springvale line-up packs plenty of punch with seven Lions hitters record 20 or more hits on the season.
Pitching is also a feature of the Lions games with Simone Wearne (2.03 ERA) a chance to get the start for Sunday’s Grand Final with a bullpen packed full of quality arms in support.
For the Bombers, it’s been Bronwyn Gell that continues to be Essendon’s toughest out. Hitting .577 on the season and with a .703 OBA with 14 stolen, keeping her off the bases will be key if the Lions are going to win this game.
Expect young gun Abbey Kelly to be named as the Bombers starter with the right-hander having a knack for performing in big games. She’ll be on a tight leash though with Bronwyn Gell and Emma French ready to go in relief.
If you’d like to get out and support the women, the game is scheduled for 4PM on Saturday March 4th at Melbourne Ballpark.
After 27 regular season games, our Division-2 semi-finalists have been decided.
The two best-of-three game series will kick off on Wednesday night, with teams competing for a place in next week's Grand Final series.
After 20 wins and two draws on the season, Sunshine enter this year's finals series as favourites. The Eagles, who earned earned automatic promotion into Division-1 for next season after finishing the season as Minor Premiers, will have no easy task against an in form Williamstown outfit.
The Wolves are arguably the form team of second half of the season, storming into contenting with 9.5 wins from their past eleven games.
The Eagles have been led at the plate this season by Lewis Wheldon, hitting a team leading .455 with three long balls and 26 RBIs but he's not alone and has plenty of offensive support. Rory Meddick (.333), Brent Davis (.329), Jordan Young (.319) and Jared Van Hoon (.304) round out an extremely dangerous hitting line-up but despite the firepower, Sunshine's pitching has been their biggest asset this season, conceding just 62 runs on the season, 36 less than second placed Upwey FTG.
Jared Van Hoon's six wins and 1.01 ERA in 53.1 innings has been superbly supported by Griffin Weir who holds a 1.70 ERA through his 58.1 innings of work this season.
For Williamstown to win this series they'll need the bats to fire and they have the cattle to do it. The Rogers boys, Jarryd and Kile are hitting .381 and .369 respectively. Look for the Williamstown baserunners to build pressure throughout the series with speed a feature of their game, combining to steal 89 bases as a team in 2016/17.
In the other series it's Werribee taking on Upwey FTG. Werribee's start to the season had them leading the division for the majority of the season only to finish third. Werribee have been a powerhouse Division-2 Club for a number of years and will continue to push for a Division 1 berth with veterans Oliver Box and John Curnow leading the charge for the Giants. Box has turned back the clock this season with his five home runs leading all comers in Division 2. Add to that his .378 batting average and 35 RBIs and Box shapes as arguably one of the most dangerous hitters this finals series.
Upwey FTG's strength comes from their ability to hit one through nine with eight hitters recording 20 hits or more this season and seven of those eight hitters recording a .300+ batting average. Look for Upwey build pressure of Werribee's defence by putting a lot of balls in play. Jarrod Turner (1.55 ERA) is likely to get the nod as Upwey's Game 1 starter in what's shaping as a fascinating series that will be packed full of offense.
One of the most recognisable faces in Austrailian baseball
hung up the cleats at the end of the 2015 ABL season, but for former MLB-er and
Australian star Trent Oeltjen, the temptation of representing Australia for the
third time at a World Baseball Classic was simply too great.
Oeltjen’s first foray back into top-level baseball was
Australia’s 2016 Honkbalweek campaign, where Oeltjen was one of the team’s top
hitters, as well as taking home the ‘Most Popular Player’ Award at a tournament
where Australia took home a bronze medal.
“Getting back on the field with the guys was fantastic,”
Oeltjen said.
“Honkbalweek was a great way to get back into the swing of
things, and everything since then has been geared to get back to the World
Baseball Classic. It’s great to be back in the national team setup.”
Between running a successful coaching business with fellow
Team Australia star and best mate Ryan Rowland-Smith, Oeltjen has been
preparing for the Classic under the watchful eye of one of the best hitters
Australia has ever produced, David Nilsson. Oeltjen has been an impactful
player on a Brisbane Bandits team lead by Nilsson that has won 13 out of 19
games with Oeltjen in the lineup.
Speaking about his storied career and the upcoming Classic,
Oeltjen reflected on his Olympic career, and the balance of youth and
experience on the 2017 roster.
“The two things I’ve always wanted to do is win an Olympic
medal and make the big leagues, and I’ve been lucky enough to do both,” Oeltjen
said.
“Putting the green and gold on is always an amazing feeling,
we’ve got a lot of MLB experience on this roster, and with some of the best
young talent we’ve had in a long time, the balance is great and I’m excited to
see what we can do.”
Oeltjen knows that at a World Baseball Classic there are no
easy games, but anything can happen in tournament play.
“Any pool at a World Baseball Classic is tough, but you
never know what can happen in tournament play,” Oeltjen said.
“Everyone is confident and looking forward to the challenge
of taking on the best in the world.”
Baseball Australia is pleased to announce Mr Cam Vale as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Vale is a seasoned sports administrator; having held executive positions in both AFL and NRL, and most recently as CEO of Hockey Australia.
Vale’s appointment has been welcomed by Baseball Australia Chairman David Hynes, who said Vale was the standout choice in a very competitive field.
“Cam is a strategic-thinking leader who comes to baseball with a great reputation for driving change and setting and successfully implementing the strategic goals of an organisation,” said Hynes.
“Cam has proven himself as an outstanding administrator across various sports and brings with him a wealth of experience across commercial, government relations, community engagement, international growth strategies, stakeholder management and governance.”
“It is an exciting time for baseball in Australia, with the men’s national team about to take on the world’s best at the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo in March and baseball’s recent reinstatement to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”
“Furthermore, participation in baseball is on the increase and the Australian Baseball League (ABL) has never been healthier, with Baseball Australia and our member states now 100% owners of the league.”
“The entire baseball community welcomes Cam and his family to baseball and we look forward to working collectively together to move our sport forward.”
-CLICK HERE TO WATCH CAM DETAIL HIS VISION FOR AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL-
As Chief Executive Officer of Hockey Australia Vale oversaw the successful implantation of Hockey’s 5 Year strategic direction “Hockey’s Winning Edge”, as well driving a ground breaking commercial relationship with Hockey India and further enhancing Hockey’s international strategy with Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand.
Currently there are almost 60,000 Australians playing organised club baseball and a further 135,000 engaged by the sport. Australia has a proud history of developing elite athletes and in baseball has produced 33 Major Leaguers (MLB, USA) and has seen hundreds of Australians play in the Minor Leagues (MiLB, USA) and in leagues throughout Asia, South America and Europe. International growth, particularly through the Asian region, remains a focus of Baseball Australia and Vale’s experience in delivering international partnerships will be a particular focus of his leadership.
Vale’s experience in managing a National Sporting Organisation, coupled with his time in Australia’s leading commercial codes (North Melbourne, AFL and Melbourne Storm, NRL) made him the ideal candidate to lead baseball through this next exciting phase.
“I am very excited to be joining Baseball and driving the growth of the game in Australia,” said Vale.
“Baseball is one of the most played sports in the World and the opportunity for Australians to compete on the world stage are huge, and I am very much looking forward to continuing to support the growth of our national program.”
“However, it is grassroots baseball and participation, particularly through school programs, is where some of our greatest opportunities exist. We have established programs in Little League and the ABL is performing well, but it is developing the ‘pathways’ to connect all these together that needs specific focus.”
“Over the coming months I look forward to engaging with State Bodies, Associations and clubs to best understand how we can collectively grow the sport of Baseball in Australia.”
Vale will commence the role of Baseball Australia CEO in late April.
BASEBALL Victoria is saddened this morning by the news of the passing of Life Member Graeme Ainscough.
Graeme was awarded Life Membership of the Prahran Baseball Club in 1970 and then the Victorian Baseball Association (now Baseball Victoria) in 1988, after 17 years as Vice President and more than 34 consecutive years of service to the sport of baseball.
Graeme’s journey in the sport began when a lunchtime hit around at Melbourne High School prompted a classmate to invite him down to Prahran Baseball Club practice after which Graeme said he was instantly hooked.
His playing career spanned 28 years and more than 600 games with both Prahran and Cheltenham Baseball Clubs.
Throughout his playing career and post his years as a player, Graeme remained active off the field volunteering his time in various capacities with his achievements including:
- Prahran Baseball Club Secretary between 1967 – 1971
- Elected Club Representative on VBA Council in 1969
- Elected VBA Vice President in 1970
- Assistant Secretary of Prahran/Cheltenham Baseball Clubs between 1973 - 1975
- Organised and conducted 17 consecutive Awards Nights between 1970 and 1987
- Cheltenham Baseball Club President (Winter) in 1975 and Vice President from 1976 – 1982
- Cheltenham Baseball Club Board Member for 28 years
- Assisted in the development of Melbourne Ballpark
- Introduced T-Ball to Cheltenham Baseball Club in 1982
Graham was awarded an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 for services to baseball and was again acknowledged for his services to baseball in 2013, a year which marked 60 years of continuous service to the sport.
The thoughts and prayers of Baseball Victoria and the wider baseball community are this morning with the Ainscough family.
FUNERAL DETAILS
8 Essendon defeated Geelong 5
No Game Report Provided
Don’t underestimate Lachlan Wells.
The left handed pitcher may not look like a stereotypical
baseball player, but if you delve a bit deeper into Wells, you’ll see he’s one
of Australia’s brightest young baseball prospects.
Wells is coming off one of the standout seasons from an
Australian in the US Minor Leagues, finishing with six wins from his 12 starts
at the Class-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. Wells’ ERA of 1.77 was by far
the lowest among the four starting pitchers at Cedar Rapids, and considering
Wells was the youngest starting pitcher by nearly two years, the future looks
bright for the Novocastrian.
After spending some time over the Australian summer back in
Sydney checking out the action at the 2017 National Youth Championships, Wells
is currently in the US at Spring Training, but will head to the World Baseball
Classic after a selection that shocked even Wells.
“I couldn’t believe it at first when I got the call,” Wells
said.
“I wasn’t expecting to be on the team, but I’m looking
forward to being in the clubhouse with all the guys.”
Wells will be the youngest member of the Team Australia
squad that will take on the best in the world, but the 19-year-old is expecting
good things as Australia take on Cuba, China and #1 ranked Japan.
“We’re going to have a good tournament,” Wells said.
“I think we might shock a couple of teams, it’s going to be
great to be around the calibre of guys that we have. It’s going to be great to
learn and take it all in.”
Wells and
Team Australia head to Korea later this week for a weeklong camp and a highly
anticipated warm-up game against the #3 ranked Korean team on 28 February.
Australia’s first game of the World Baseball Classic takes place on the 8th
of March at the Tokyo Dome against host nation and world #1 ranked Japan.
Use the
hashtag #NoCompromise to join the conversation about Australia’s World Baseball
Classic tour.