After 10 years, Essendon Baseball Club is excited to announce the opening of Chris Lane Field at Boeing Reserve.
The official opening will be held on Saturday 17 February, with three teams competing in a round-robin event and plenty of family fun all night long.
Mark your calendars and join the EBC community for an awesome day of baseball honoring a beloved Victorian baseballer.
Please note games start at 2pm and the official opening will get underway at 6pm with speeches and an appearance by Australian artist David Bromley with an incredible art display of Chris Lane, which you can read more about in The Age.
Play Ball Pioneers are back in Term 1! We had 170 registered kids join us in the first session from October to December, and we look forward to more baseball fun at Brookdale Reserve.
BV Development Officers will lead players through an introduction to baseball focused on running, hitting, throwing, and catching skills. Sign up online for free with a $5 per session fee payable on-site (no commitment required).
Contact development@baseballvictoria.com.au for more info.
The U18 Victorian State Team took out the gold medal at the 2024 Australian Youth Championships while the U16 side secured bronze.
Our U18s led the tournament with Jack Ratcliffe earning back-to-back MVP honours and Ryder Wilson winning the Golden Arm Award.
Congratulations to our 2024 Victorian State Teams and thank you to all the officials, groundskeepers, and families for the support.
Head to baseball.com.au for the latest recaps and check out photos and videos on Facebook.
Victoria's U18s are national champions after a thrilling finish at #AYC2024!
The 2024 Australian Youth Championships came down to the wire with a final decider between U18 VIC and WA on Tuesday night. VIC needed the win to secure gold, while a WA win with three or more runs would give SA the title after a 2-0 win over NSW in the afternoon.
They had to do it the hard way, but Victoria are your 2024 Australian U18 National Champions.
Addison Bishop-Worn’s RBI triple in the fourth inning completed a four-run comeback on a base hit that sent the ballpark into bedlam.
Western Australia raced out to an early 4-0 lead, and put South Australia in pole position to win it all.
But Victoria’s comeback win secured them a 3-0 record in the second round, and a national title.
Had Victoria lost this game, they would have finished with the Bronze.
Victoria made their move in the third inning. A Jayden Kim single, followed by a slew of walks and wild pitches, allowed Victoria to score four and tie it up.
Then, the Addison Bishop Worn triple. Bedlam.
Ben Howard also starred for Victoria, collecting three hits in the win.
Jai Hewitt had a booming 2-RBI double for WA.
Jack Ratcliffe consolidated his incredible tournament performance by pitching out the final two innings of the game, holding WA scoreless. He won the tournament MVP.
Under 18
1. VIC (3-0)
2. SA (2-1)
3. WA (1-1)
4. NSW (0-3)
VIC def NSW 5-2
SA def WA 3-1
VIC def SA 1-0 (extras)
WA def NSW 5-4
SA 2 def NSW 0
VIC 5 def WA 4
Medal Round got underway on Day 5 of the 2024 Australian Youth Championships, with Victoria's U16 and U18 teams putting on amazing displays of baseball.
All 10 games were close as the #AYC2024 action included a no-hitter, multiple complete game shutouts, many comebacks, epic defensive plays, extra innings thrillers, home runs, and teams who booked a spot in Tuesday’s Gold Medal game.
Check out highlights below and stay tuned to socials for the latest updates from the U16 and U18 tournaments.
AYC U16 Day 5 - Medal Round
Victoria 4 def Western Australia 3 (8 innings)
It was a Mitch Langworthy special as Victoria sensationally stormed back from three runs down to defeat Western Australia in extras.
Western Australia seemed in control after scoring three early runs. Leanard Golding hit a solo shot for WA and Victoria were left stunned.
In the bottom of the fourth the game started to turn. Langworthy collected the first of three hits on the day, when he cranked a double to the wall to score the first run for Victoria.
In the bottom of the sixth Langworthy blasted a triple to the wall to cut the lead to 3-2. He scored on a sacrifice fly from Sam Walk on the next at bat. Tie ballgame.
Off to extras we go…
Liam Puncher induced a 1-2-3 inning of Western Australia in the top of the eighth.
Langworthy struck again – with a bunt single in extras to bring the winning run to third who was later scored on a bases-loaded walk.
Prisov, Golding and Samukawa had the RBIs for Western Australia.
Records: Victoria (1-0), Western Australia (0-1)
Victoria 3 def Queensland 2
Money Mitch Langworthy does it again – with the bat AND on the mound. Victoria had to comeback from multiple runs down to win again!
Queensland scored first off a sacrifice bunt and RBI groundout in the bottom of the third to lead 2-0.
Then Victoria made their move with five singles in the fifth.
The biggest of all was with bases loaded. Down 2-0, Mitch Langworthy knocked a 2-RBI single into the outfield to tie the game. Jordan Ellis followed and drove in the eventual winning run.
Ellis and Jake Bertucci finished the game going 3-for-4 from the plate.
Cooper Busch pitched 6.2 innings for Victoria, striking three while allowing no earned runs.
In the bottom of the seventh, with two runners in scoring position for Queensland and two outs, Mitchell Langworthy induced a flyout to centre field to close the game.
Crotty, Duncalf, and Pearce each recorded a base hit for Queensland.
RECORD – Victoria (2-0), Queensland (0-2)
AYC U18 Day 5 - Medal Round
Victoria 5 def New South Wales 2
A combined no-hitter for Victoria as they take the game from a late-game surge.
New South Wales were the first to get on the board with an RBI groundout from Lucas Stancic in the bottom of the first.
A fielding error by NSW with two outs in the top of the fourth allowed Victoria to capitalise on back-to-back, two-out walks to tie the game.
RBI singles by Will Kent in the top of the sixth and Matthew Johnston in the top of the seventh highlighted a two-inning, four-run surge by Victoria.
Will Kent also made the play of the game in the bottom of the seventh with an impeccable catch and throw to first off a hard-hit ball to keep the no-hitter alive.
Tane Graham pitched 3.0 innings in relief for Victoria, striking out four. Jack Ratcliffe completed the no-hitter with a 1.0-inning, two strikeout performance.
RECORDS – Victoria (1-0), New South Wales (0-1)
Victoria 1 def South Australia 0
Victoria walk it off in extra innings to punch a ticket into the gold medal game.
It was a day for the pitchers.
Ryder Wilson pitched an 8.0-inning shutout for Victoria, striking out four while only allowing four hits and a walk. Amazing.
Alistair Tanner started for South Australia, allowing just two hits and two walks as he struck out three. He also hit a top speed of 94mph.
Will Couzner pitched 3.1 relief innings, allowing only two hits and two walks as he struck out four.
Jayden Kim led Victoria on the offensive end, going 2-for-4 with a double.
Matthew Johnston’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eight scored the game-winning run. He finished the game 1-for-2 with a walk.
Altamura, Lucas, Thomas, and Hodges all recorded a hit for South Australia.
RECORD – Victoria (2-0), South Australia (1-1)
Read the full report on baseball.com.au.
Photos: @trent.schwarz/@baseball.com.au
Day 4 of the 2024 Australian Youth Championships saw Victoria's U16 and U18 teams advance to the Medal Round after strong performances.
Check out highlights below and stay tuned to socials for the latest updates from the U16 and U18 tournaments.
AYC U16 Day 4
Victoria 4 tie South Australia 4
South Australia and Victoria record the first tie of the U16 AYC.
Victoria’s Brandon Elton pitched 3.0 scoreless innings in relief, allowing just a single hit and two walks while striking out four.
Victoria had a balanced offense, with five players each recording a base hit, including a double from Jake Bertucci.
Read the full report on baseball.com.au.
AYC U18 Day 4
Victoria 4 def South Australia 2
A three-run inning in the bottom of the sixth keeps Victoria ahead of South Australia in the standings.
Victoria pitcher Addison Bishop-Worn pitched 3.0 shutout innings, allowing just a hit and a walk while striking three. Ryder Wilson struck out two in 2.1 shutout innings, and Aimon Dowling struck out two in 1.1 shutout innings.
Jack Ratcliffe and Ty Daniels each recorded two hits in three at-bats, contributing an RBI each, with Ratcliffe legging out a double.
Read the full report on baseball.com.au.
Photos: @trent.schwarz/@baseball.com.au
Day 3 of the 2024 Australian Youth Championships delivered more awesome baseball action as Victoria's U16 and U18 teams continued their campaigns.
Check out highlights below and stay tuned to socials for the latest updates from the U16 and U18 tournaments.
AYC U16 Day 3
Queensland 9 def Victoria 8
Victoria led 8-2 in the fifth inning, but Queensland pegged four back in the fifth and scored three more in the sixth for a walk-off win.
Victoria spread six hits across the lineup, including a triple by Jake Bertucci and singles to Samuel Land, Harrison Brodie, Buster Vos, Cooper Busch, and Roman Coote.
Victoria 13 def Australian Capital Territory 4
A seven-run inning in the bottom of the second led to a Victoria victory.
Jordan Ellis batted in four runs from a 3-for-4 performance. Cooper Busch and Ned Johnson both contributed by going 2-for-2.
Victoria tallied eleven total hits across seven players while the ACT had eight hits across five players.
Read the full report on baseball.com.au.
AYC U18 Day 3
Victoria 6 def Queensland 2
Queensland was the first on the board in the bottom of the second off an RBI single from Wesley Wilford.
However, a three-run inning by Victoria in the top of the second put them in a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Ben Howard and Jayden Kim both went 2-for-3 with a walk. Addison Bishop-Worn went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple.
Victoria combined for nine hits across six batters, while Queensland had eight hits from four batters.
Victoria 17 def Australian Capital Territory 5
Victoria combined for ten hits and eleven walks as they remained undefeated in the tournament.
Ty Daniels went perfect at the plate for Victoria today, going 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI. Ben Howard added two hits at three at-bats for an RBI.
Six more players added one hit each.
Read the full report on baseball.com.au.
Photos: @trent.schwarz/@baseball.com.au
After an action-packed opening day, the 2024 Australian Youth Championships continued at Blacktown International Sportspark, with Victoria's U16 and U18 teams battling hard for a spot in the medal rounds.
Check out highlights below and stay tuned to socials for the latest updates from the U16 and U18 tournaments.
AYC U16 Day 2
New South Wales 10 def Victoria 4
New South Wales starter Cohen Ryan pitched 5.0 innings, allowing five hits, one earned run while striking out three.
For Victoria, Roman Coote (CF) and Mitchell Langworthy (1B) both went 2-for-4. Both recorded a double, and Langworthy also recorded a triple.
Read the full report on baseball.com.au.
AYC U18 Day 2
New South Wales 4 def Victoria 2
Will Kent and Will Hardy picked up hits while Kent and Jayden Kim had RBIs in a close battle with NSW.
Victoria got up first in the first inning when Kent singled.
Read the full report on baseball.com.au.
Photos: @trent.schwarz/@baseball.com.au
BV School Holiday Camps are back this month! These camps cater to players who want to further develop their baseball skills and participate in fun games/activities. This includes:
- New Year Training Camp West: 11-12 January at Newport Baseball Club
- Junior Summer Defensive Skills Camp: 10 January at Melbourne Ballpark
- Junior Summer Catchers Camp: 17 January at Melbourne Ballpark
- All-Girls Skills Camp: 22-23 January at Newport Baseball Club
- Junior Summer Hitting Homers Camp: 24 January at Melbourne Ballpark
Head to TeamApp for details and to register – spots are limited!