Baseball Victoria, Author at Baseball Victoria

In a national first, Australia’s leading baseball players and officials are heading to Jakarta to establish a multifaceted sports diplomacy project featuring baseball, anti-domestic violence and mentoring programs for Indonesian women and girls.

The new sports diplomacy program is called Diamonds in the Rough and is funded by the Australian Government through the Asian Sports Partnerships small grants fund.

Diamonds in the Rough aims to foster and promote both sport and social development in targeted Indonesian communities as part of the Australian Sports Diplomacy Strategy.

The project will be conducted by 15 leading Australian female baseball players and officials who will teach Indonesian women and girls how to play baseball while mentoring them on leadership and self reliance and exposing them to a culture of confidence and team work.

The Australian contingent will also play exhibition games against men’s and boys’ teams and host cultural events as part of the NOMORE campaign, which underpins the project.

The NOMORE campaign, founded by esteemed Northern Territory sports presenter Charlie King, has been instrumental in changing the culture of domestic violence in the Northern Territory through sport. Originally targeted at indigenous men, the NOMORE campaign has spread across sporting codes, States and countries.

Diamonds in the Rough is multi-partner collaboration and will be led by project manager Simone Wearne, one of Australia’s leading and most capped national baseball players, a World Series champion and coach of the national team, the Emeralds.

Wearne said she is very proud to be leading such a ground-breaking project. “Diamonds in the Rough will allow Australia’s leading female baseball to share their sporting and social skills with Indonesian women and girls and have fun doing. The project will promote health, well-being and leadership, respect for women and cultural tolerance. And we get the opportunity to do this while creating a women’s baseball base in Indonesia. It’s a win-win.”

Diamonds in the Rough’s highly-skilled consortium includes:
·      Baseball Australia, the lead organisation providing financial and governance oversight;
·      Aussie Hearts International Women’s Baseball, concept creators and project managers, undertaking participant management, logistics and promotion;
·      The Hit Factory (THF), in-country partner identifying, promoting and recruiting girls and women to participate and to provide the facilities and coaching services
·      CAUSINDY (Conference of Australian and Indonesian Youth) alumni, connecting with Jakarta schools, politicians, community members, participants and Indonesian domestic violence organisations
·      NOMORE, delivering anti-domestic violence engagement and promotion strategy

Below is the final list of those who will be travelling to Jakarta in May to deliver the sports diplomacy program Diamonds in the Rough:

Olivia Bannon (NSW)
Kaila Borgomastro (WA)
Tabitha Callander (WA)
Amy Collins (NT)
Bronwyn Gell (VIC)
Narelle Gosstray (NT)
Brittany Hepburn (NSW)
Shae Lillywhite (VIC)
Kim McMillan (NSW)
Tammy McMillan (QLD)
Sharon Moss (QLD)
Laura Neads (NSW)
Lisa Norrie (QLD)
Simone Wearne (VIC)
Kate West (QLD)
Grace Zylstra (QLD)

Diamonds in the Rough aims to foster and promote both sport and social development in targeted Indonesian communities as part of the Australian Sports Diplomacy Strategy.

The Australian contingent will also play exhibition games against men’s and boys’ teams and host cultural events as part of the NOMORE campaign, which underpins the project.

Below is the final list of those who will be travelling to Jakarta in May to deliver the sports diplomacy program Diamonds in the Rough:

Baseball Victoria is pleased to announce both a Junior Girls and Women's Baseball Academy that will operate during the 2016 winter season.

The programs will run for 8-10 weeks and by Victoria’s leading coaches and senior players.

The Junior Girls academy welcomes any Victorian under 16 girl who is looking to develop their baseball specific skills.

While the Women's senior academy is available for any player aged above 16 who is looking to excel their skills through a high intensity baseball academy.

Both academies are designed to support participants through a clear developmental player pathway, and will address all areas of the game.

The academy will be run at three different locations; La Trobe (North), Springvale (South/East), and Altona (West).

Participants will be expected to attend one training per week for a total of 8 sessions.

Expressions of interest are currently being sought to give Baseball Victoria a better idea of numbers that will help determine the cost of the academy.

By filling out the link below, you will be put on the list to receive more information at a later date.

If you are wanting to express interest for the junior girls academy please click here.

If your are wishing to express interest for the senior high performance academy please click here.

For any additional questions please contact Bronwyn Gell on 8360 9371.

The Werribee Giants, a Division 2 club in the Victorian Summer Baseball League, is seeking a head senior and assistant baseball coach to commence in August 2016.

They currently field four senior men's squads.

For additional information about these vacancies please see the attached PDF.

Jells Park, Wheelers Hill welcomed over 200 baseball players over the weekend for the 2016 Little League Championships where the 500 strong crowds were witness to an outstanding showing of baseball skill, sportsmanship and fair play.

Friday morning started the tournament with six fields in play, opening the Little League All Stars, Little League Development Shield and Girls Charter Competitions with a bang.

The development shield hosted two teams from the Athletics charter (Green and Gold teams) and the Mariners (Blue and White), up against a single team representing Diamondbacks. This competition offered players a firsthand look at the tournament structure and offers a clear pathway to future Little League programs. It also allowed budding umpires a chance to showcase and extend their skillset in a tournament.

In a fantastic new program, four charters were represented in a Girls Competition. The Mariners, Athletics, Diamondbacks tested their skills against an Invitational team made up of players from other charters. After two games each, all four Girls Charter teams were deadlocked at 1 win and 1 loss each - showing just how even the teams were.

The fantastic facility at Waverley Softball Association allowed for a night game to take place, but prior to that, Baseball Victoria welcomed all 17 teams, major sponsor Fielders Choice and Councillor Robert Davies of the City of Monash who threw out a first pitch to officially open the tournament and mark the beginning of the Home Run Derby.

After 10 swings each, the competition was taken out by Lili Cavanagh of the Southern Mariners with a massive 27 points. (3 homeruns, 3 triples, 3 singles) Lili collected a new bat courtesy of Fielders Choice and narrowly missed winning a new glove after hitting the "fielders choice prize ball" into the base of the home run fence.

While the Southern Mariners, Northern Diamondbacks and Sunraysia Giants played two games earlier in the day, the Friday night game pitted the Eastern Athletics against the Geelong Baycats, with the Eastern Athletics taking the points and made for an interesting Saturday morning game against the also undefeated Mariners team.

Saturday morning marked the start of the Minor League competition where the Southern Mariners (Blue and White) were to play against the Diamondbacks in a three team participation round robin. The Minor League competition is an extension of the many minor league competitions that run throughout the Summer and was a chance for the players to try a little league style competition.

Saturday Night was the Girls Semi final between the Southern Mariners and Northern Diamondbacks, with a spot in the final at stake, both teams played terrific baseball. Highlight after highlight prevailed and it was the Mariners who outlasted the Diamondbacks for a close win in what was a great representation of baseball.

The Little League Allstars competition finished the round robin and the Athletics secured a spot at Nationals and in the final by being undefeated with the Diamondback and Mariners to play Sunday morning for a spot in the final, and the Baycats to play Sunraysia for a spot in the 3rd place playoff. The Mariners scored 4 runs in the bottom of the last inning to scrape by the Diamondbacks who were to play the Baycats after they avoided the improving Sunraysia team.

After a fantastic day 1, the Minor teams were back for day 2 and didnt miss a beat. As the confidence grew, the level of play skyrocketed and teams could have mistaken for the Allstars at some stages, with the Mariner White team heading the standings after two complete rounds.

Sunday was finals day for all other competitions, and after three long days of baseball (for coaches and players), the Mariners White faced off with Mariners Blue in the Development Shield and it was the Blue who took out the intracharter rivalry game.

On the back of quality pitching, the Eastern Athletics Girls moved into the final over the Northern Diamondbacks during the morning game. In the 3rd place playoff, the Invitational Stars flexed their offensive muscles and poured on some runs to take out the bronze. In similar circumstances, the Mariners had the pitching and the bats to secure the first title and collect the trophy.

And so it was down to the final two games of the tournament to see who would represent Victoria at the National Championships. After a hot start by the Baycats, the Diamondbacks wrestled back the lead and ran out eventual winners to punch their ticket.

With all other games completed, the crowd built for the Allstars final and what a final it was. Quality arms on both teams, fantastic defense, a Grand slam and two teams who played together and represented themselves, our sport, their charters and their parents in a very positive way.

In a game that went all the way to the wire, the Mariners made it a clean sweep for the week and handed the Athletics their first loss for the tournament.

Congratulations to all charters on the baseball they played over the three days. Coaches, scorers and EOs, a heartfelt well done on the product that was delivered.

A special thank you to the parents and supporters of all teams who created a fantastic atmosphere for the players.

By Nina Zimmerman

FLORIDA, USA – Two weeks and approximately 16500 kilometers later, 26 young Australian athletes are further along their path to professional baseball, after completing an MLB-backed exhibition game tour of Spring Training.

“Our main aim was to be professional on and off the field and respect the magnitude of the opportunity,” said Glenn Williams, Baseball Australia’s Head of High Performance and the Executive Officer for the team. “The players lived up to those lofty expectations and we had very positive feedback from MLB, the clubs we played against and the hotels and restaurants we went into.”

The team’s 6-3 victory over a Boston Red Sox side in the third game of the tour served as one of the key highlights for the boys and for the sport’s growth Down Under.

“To beat a professional club was an excellent result and provided credibility for our programs and will make people take notice of what we are achieving in Australia,” Williams said.

Throughout the trip, the players had the opportunity to meet with past and current Australian baseballers, including former MLB All-Star Grant Balfour, former Major Leaguer John Stephens and Detroit Tigers prospects Warwick Saupold and Zac Shepherd.

“Highlights of the trip were the Aussie contingent based in Florida coming to eat with us and spending time with our boys when we went to their professional homes,” Williams said. “It was a blast to see so many Aussies over there and great to catch up with them.”

In addition to giving the players a sense of what lies ahead on the pathway to the professional ranks, the tour also served as a barometer for Baseball Australia’s High Performance programs, according to Williams.

“The velocity on the pitchers we faced was often mid 90’s, which highlighted an area where we need to improve,” Williams said. “Measures are being taken now to design programs that will assist in improving velocity.”

Here are the results and game recaps from the team’s final four games in Florida. For more photos of the tour and game-by-game box scores, visit Baseball Australia on Twitter (@BaseballAust).

Game 4: Twins 11, Australia 3

Australia took an early 3-0 lead over the Twins’ Extended Spring Training squad, led by Victorian Jarryd Dale’s two-out, two-run single in the top of the fourth inning. However, the Twins rallied in the later frames, capped off by a five-run seventh inning that allowed them to cruise to an 11-3 win. Max Barrett (VIC) had a solid start in the loss, tossing five innings of three-hit baseball and allowing one earned run while striking out five batters.

Game 5: Orioles 2, Australia 0

Lefty Alex Wells, who represented Australia at the U18 Baseball World Cup in Osaka last year, pitched a gem for the Orioles Extended Spring squad and led them to a close shutout win over Australia. Despite the loss, the Aussie hitters showed maturity at the plate, working deep into the count, and the defence was significantly improved from a four-error day in the team’s previous game against the Twins.

Game 6: Twins 8, Australia 0

The team’s second-to-last game in Florida saw them face off against another familiar pitcher, Twins’ No. 30-ranked prospect Lachlan Wells. Minnesota put five runs on the board in the first inning and added another run in the second to take an early 6-0 lead. Ben Tsui (NSW) and Ulrich Bojarski (WA) tallied Australia’s lone two hits of the day, and the game was a great learning experience for the Aussies, as they faced pitchers who threw in the upper 90s over the course of the nine innings.

Game 7: Tigers 7, Australia 1

The team was joined by Craig Shipley, Andy Graham and Zac Shepherd for the game, and, boosted by the extra support, were more aggressive at the plate than in previous games. Ulrich Bojarski (WA) had a monster day at the plate for Australia, going 3-for-4 with a double and a solo home run to left-centre field in the fourth inning that represented Australia’s lone run of the day. The team’s pitching, led by a four-strikeout performance from starter Mitch Neunborn (WA), also finished the tour on a strong note.

By Nina Zimmerman

The team’s 6-3 victory over a Boston Red Sox side in the third game of the tour served as one of the key highlights for the boys and for the sport’s growth Down Under.

“To beat a professional club was an excellent result and provided credibility for our programs and will make people take notice of what we are achieving in Australia,” Williams said.

Here are the results and game recaps from the team’s final four games in Florida. For more photos of the tour and game-by-game box scores, visit Baseball Australia on Twitter (@BaseballAust).

Game 4: Twins 11, Australia 3

Game 5: Orioles 2, Australia 0

Game 6: Twins 8, Australia 0

Game 7: Tigers 7, Australia 1

By Nina Zimmerman

26 of Australia’s best young talent continue to impress at Spring Training in Florida.

The team won their opening two games against the European All-Stars. Starting pitcher Max Barrett allowed one hit in his five innings on the mound as Australia shut out Europe 7-0 in the first game. The Aussie side continued to dominate the European All-Stars in the second game, winning 7-3. Western Australian lefty Josh Hendrickson struck out six batters in five innings of one-hit shutout baseball, and NSW's Ben Tsui led the offence with a two-out bases-loaded double in the eight inning that put the game out of reach for the Europeans. The Aussie Young Guns were rained out of Game 3 against Canada.

A days rest saw the opportunity to catch up with several Australian MLB Alumni - including All-Star closer Grant Balfour and current Detroit Tigers prospect Warwick Saupold - over dinner (pictured), providing the U18 team with a great chance to learn from Australia’s best at how to prepare yourself for the Big Leagues.

Then the highlight of the trip so far, Game 3, resumed with a trip to Fort Myers to take on the Boston Red Sox Extended Spring Training squad. With several pitchers throwing 95 plus mph, Australia jumped ahead to an early 3-0 lead by the fourth inning. WA's Mitch Neunborn got the starting nod for the Aussies, tossing six shutout innings and allowing two hits while striking out seven batters.

On the mound for Australia, Neunborn, Josh Robins, Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis and Jack O'Loughlin allowed just five combined hits and walked none over the course of the nine-inning ballgame. In the end the Young Australian side grafted out a 6-3 win in a gritty display.

To view full score sheets and other game updates, follow Baseball Australia on twitter @BaseballAust.

Fresh off a very successful summer season, the focus of the Victorian baseball world now shifts to the juniors and their premier tournament: the Little League State Championships.

The first pitch of the annual extravaganza takes place at 10 a.m. on Friday 1 April and concludes with the Grand Final at 2.15 on Sunday afternoon.

In between there will be 18 teams competing—ranging from the minors, development shield, girls and all-stars—in 52 games on eight different diamonds over the three days. And there will be a home run derby!

All games will be contested at the Waverley Softball Association in Jells Park.

The top three teams will move on to compete in the 2016 Australian Little League Championships in New South Wales in mid-June.

For more information on the Little League championships—including results, rosters, schedule and photos—please visit the Baseball Victoria website.

The EBC Committee is delighted to announce that Peter Giles has re-signed as EBC Club Coach for the 2016/17 Summer League season.

Fresh off the back of the club’s history making, fifth successive Division 1 premiership, Giles’ signing is a clear indication that the club is determined to continue to grow every aspect of its operations.

In announcing the appointment, EBC President Tony Cornish said, “The Committee is determined to ensure EBC’s long term future by having the best possible people around the club in every position. Peter is a key part of our recent on-field success and has helped build a family friendly environment at the club. Together with a dedicated and talented playing and volunteer group we have every opportunity of taking EBC into a whole new era of success on and off the field.”

Joining Giles for their sixth consecutive year at the helm is EBC stalwart, Richard King.

EBC also has much to look forward to off the field with plans well underway for:

· New clubrooms to be built

· Creation of the Chris Lane Field

· New electronic scoreboard being installed this Autumn

· Installation of an automatic sprinkler system on the main field

· Continued upgrade of the second field facilities

“The next two to three years will see a raft of major projects at Boeing Reserve. We have an incredibly supportive local Council and sponsor group that are helping us to achieve our goals”, said Cornish.

Further information please call Tony Cornish on 0411 055 050.

On Friday Baseball Victoria held its annual soirée to fête those who rose above all others during the recently completed Victorian Summer Baseball League season.

Victors were crowned from 12 different clubs, with Division 2 champion Moorabbin outpacing everyone with four awards.

Five-time Division 1 winners Essendon brought home three—including a coveted Life Membership for all-everything Julie Jones—as did Springvale and VSBL-newbie Pakenham.

Fitzroy, who like Moorabbin is set to move to Division 1 next season, nabbed two awards; ditto for Mulgrave from Division 3.

Melbourne, Doncaster, Research, Blackburn, Preston and Sandringham rounded out the clubs with winners.

The night’s highlight was undoubtedly Jones and her heart-warming acceptance speech.

But the two stars were the American pitchers who had perfect seasons: they won their division’s pitching award, were named Most Valuable Player and won championships.

Moorabbin’s Franco Vanderka and Pakenham’s James Mills shone brightest on Awards Night.

But the two stars were the American pitchers who had perfect seasons: they won their division’s pitching award, were named Most Valuable Player and won championships.

Moorabbin’s Franco Vanderka and Pakenham’s James Mills shone brightest on Awards Night.

The other MVPs went to Jake Tuck of Blackburn and a Division 1 Women’s tie had Doncaster’s Belinda Cannington and Springvale’s Victoria Brown share the tremendous honor.

Springvale also had the women’s pitching winner, Simone Wearne, and their very own Mandi Avent took home the coveted accolade as Volunteer of the Year.

Speaking of Lions, Fitzroy was also well-represented with Taylor Eichhorst winning the Division 2 home run championship and—in the toughest race across all competitions—John Peterson was honored as the Baseball Victoria Coach of the Year.

The other home run kings were Tom Dicker from Essendon and trio in Division 3: Travis Hough (Pakenham), Nicholas Thompson (Mulgrave) and Ashley Grove (Research).

Staying at the plate, Dean Marnell from Preston captured the Division 1 batting title. Moorabbin’s Cain Bumpstead led all Division 2 in hitting while Caleb Poole from Mulgrave paced Division 3. Essendon’s Bronwyn Gell took home the Division 1 Women’s highest average.

The Division 1 pitching award went to Sam Street from Sandringham.

The Melbourne Aces also announced their award winners. Offensive Player of the Year went to Tanner Vavra and Defensive POY was won by Logan Moon. Matt Larkins was their Pitcher of the Year and Nick Rossell took home rookie honors.

For his outstanding contributions in every facet of the game, Darryl George was named the Melbourne Aces Most Valuable Player.

The Umpire of the Year went to Taka Matsuda.

And the 2015/16 Club Champions were the Melbourne Baseball Club in Division 1 and—fittingly how the season and night played out—the Moorabbin Baseball Club in Division 2.