Baseball Victoria, Author at Baseball Victoria

Cheltenham 10, Blackburn 7

Three hits each from George Callil, Mitch Holding and Ben Leslie helped the Rustlers down the host Orioles, 10-7. Cheltenham scored two runs in each of the first two innings and then added a couple more in the sixth to take a commanding 6-2 lead. Blackburn responded with five markers in the bottom of the sixth to inch ahead but their lead didn’t last long as the Rustlers tied it with a lone run in the seventh and secured the victory with three runs in the top of the ninth.

One of Leslie’s hits was a home run and he knocked in four. Andrew Gribbin had two doubles and Dylan Trevorah scored three runs, slugging a double (and RBI) amongst his two hits.

The win keeps the Rustlers (13-8-1) in second place in their conference, 2.5 games behind Melbourne with two games in hand. The loss drops third place Blackburn to 13-11 on the season.

Springvale 3, Doncaster 2

The Lions’ Sammy Drummond willed his team to victory, going 2-5 with two runs scored in this über-tight contest. Freddy Flores, Mackenna Hura and Glenn Mascoll had the other hits for visiting Springvale; Hura had the lone RBI.

Across the diamond, Scott Carr starred for the Dragons, registering two hits and a run scored in a losing effort. Travis Cutt and Marcel D’Avoine each had doubles and Rhys Aldenhoven had the game’s only home run.

Now 10-14 on the season, Springvale sits fifth in their conference. Doncaster (5-15-2) is last behind the Lions.

Newport 2, Sunshine 0

In a well-pitched game, timely hitting also played a key role in this contest between two struggling squads. The Rams got contributions from up and down the lineup, with six of their nine starters—Heath Black, Mathew Lawman, Dean Malthouse, Scot Malthouse, Gabriel Sandersius and Zac Seipolt—each recording one hit. Lawman had Newport’s only extra base hit (a double) and Sandersius knocked in both runs.

Essendon 12, Preston 5

A fast start—seven runs in the first two innings—and a resilient seventh inning propelled the host Bombers to a resounding win. The Pirates didn’t make it easy, scoring single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, before plating two in the seventh to cut their deficit to two. Four runs in Essendon’s half of the seventh put the game away. The Bombers added one more in the eighth to provide the winning margin.

With the victory, the Bombers (17-6-1) stayed atop their conference, while the Pirates (9-14-1) dropped a half game behind third place Sandringham.

Sandringham 2, Geelong 1

Speaking of the Royals, they bested the visiting Baycats in a hard-fought, nip-and-tuck tilt. Geelong started the game well, tallying their lone run in the top of the first. Their pitching held strong until the fourth when Sandringham broke through with two runs on RBI by Declan Ferguson and Jake Wonnacott.

That productive inning proved enough as neither team could push across another run.

Wonnacott led the Royals with two hits while Ryan Morris, Jake-Cole Sinclair, Anton Cevec and Jordan Barnett had the other knocks.

Despite the loss, Geelong is still sitting pretty with a 14-9-1 mark, good for second in their conference, trailing only Essendon.

Waverley 5, Melbourne 4

So close. The Demons almost completed an impressive comeback, but their ninth inning rally fell one run short. Down 5-1 after two, Melbourne scored once in the fifth and twice in the ninth to provide the final margin. Nathan Aron again starred at the plate, going 3-5 with a double and RBI, while Matthew Blackmore (2-4) and Kyeongmin Kim (2-4) also contributed to the cause.

The Wildcats win pushes them above .500 (11-10-1), just a game and a half back of the third place Orioles. Despite the loss, the Demons remain a robust 18-4-2 on the season.

One of Leslie’s hits was a home run and he knocked in four. Andrew Gribbin had two doubles and Dylan Trevorah scored three runs, slugging a double (and RBI) amongst his two hits.

The win keeps the Rustlers (13-8-1) in second place in their conference, 2.5 games behind Melbourne with two games in hand. The loss drops third place Blackburn to 13-11 on the season.

Springvale 3, Doncaster 2

Now 10-14 on the season, Springvale sits fifth in their conference. Doncaster (5-15-2) is last behind the Lions.

Newport 2, Sunshine 0

Essendon 12, Preston 5

With the victory, the Bombers (17-6-1) stayed atop their conference, while the Pirates (9-14-1) dropped a half game behind third place Sandringham.

Sandringham 2, Geelong 1

That productive inning proved enough as neither team could push across another run.

Wonnacott led the Royals with two hits while Ryan Morris, Jake-Cole Sinclair, Anton Cevec and Jordan Barnett had the other knocks.

Despite the loss, Geelong is still sitting pretty with a 14-9-1 mark, good for second in their conference, trailing only Essendon.

Waverley 5, Melbourne 4

The Wildcats win pushes them above .500 (11-10-1), just a game and a half back of the third place Orioles. Despite the loss, the Demons remain a robust 18-4-2 on the season.

For Team Australia supporters, the World Baseball Classic Qualifier is an opportunity to watch the Southern Thunder take on some of the best players in the world on home soil. However, for those who can’t make it to Blacktown, all Team Australia games will be broadcast live ensuring you don’t miss a second of the action.

World Baseball Classic Inc. (WBCI) announced today the broadcast schedule for the Sydney Qualifier, which will show every Team Australia game. ESPN Pac-Rim, a long-standing partner of MLB International, will carry each game either live or on delay for fans in Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, New Zealand, Palau, Western Samoa and Tahiti. The games will also appear on Solar Sports in the Philippines.

Fans in the United States and Puerto Rico will be able to watch the Final of the Qualifier on MLB Network live at 10:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 14^th as well as three additional games, including the first game of host Team Australia. In addition, all six games will be available live and on-demand at no charge on WorldBaseballClassic.com for fans in the United States and Puerto Rico. Gameday pitch tracking will allow fans around the world to follow every pitch and see up-to-the moment stats and have access to complete coverage including video highlights and select
pre- and post-game press conferences.

Following is the complete broadcast information for the Sydney Qualifier.

QUALIFIER 1: Sydney, Australia
Game Date	Local	ET	Match-up (Home team in bold)	Broadcast Information
Thu, Feb 11	1:00pm	9:00pm†	South Africa vs. New Zealand	ESPN Pac-Rim: Live
Thu, Feb 11	7:30pm	3:30am	Philippines vs. Australia	MLB Network: Live ESPN Pac-Rim: Live
Fri, Feb 12	1:00pm	9:00pm†	Philippines* vs. TBD	ESPN Pac-Rim: Live
Fri, Feb 12	7:30pm	3:30am	Australia* vs. TBD	MLB Network: Live ESPN Pac-Rim: Live
Sat, Feb 13	6:30pm	2:30am	TBD vs. TBD	MLB Network: Live ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 12:30pm on Feb 14
Sun, Feb 14	2:00pm	10:00pm†	Finalist 2 vs. Finalist 1	MLB Network: Live ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 11:00pm

* Teams will play at listed game time regardless of whether they win or lose their opening game.
† Game is played previous calendar day ET

Tickets are still available for all games in the schedule and can be purchased here

Team Australia will have their final hit out before their opening game of the Qualifier, tonight against local Sydney side Blacktown Workers.

Keep up to date with the latest Team Australia information on our website, and by following us Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Following is the complete broadcast information for the Sydney Qualifier.

QUALIFIER 1: Sydney, Australia

Game Date

Local

Match-up (Home team in bold)

Broadcast Information

Thu, Feb 11

1:00pm

9:00pm†

South Africa vs. New Zealand

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Thu, Feb 11

7:30pm

3:30am

Philippines vs. Australia

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Fri, Feb 12

1:00pm

9:00pm†

Philippines* vs. TBD

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Fri, Feb 12

7:30pm

3:30am

Australia* vs. TBD

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Sat, Feb 13

6:30pm

2:30am

TBD vs. TBD

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 12:30pm on Feb 14

Sun, Feb 14

2:00pm

10:00pm†

Finalist 2 vs. Finalist 1

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 11:00pm

QUALIFIER 1: Sydney, Australia

Game Date

Local

Match-up (Home team in bold)

Broadcast Information

Thu, Feb 11

1:00pm

9:00pm†

South Africa vs. New Zealand

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Thu, Feb 11

7:30pm

3:30am

Philippines vs. Australia

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Fri, Feb 12

1:00pm

9:00pm†

Philippines* vs. TBD

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Fri, Feb 12

7:30pm

3:30am

Australia* vs. TBD

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Sat, Feb 13

6:30pm

2:30am

TBD vs. TBD

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 12:30pm on Feb 14

Sun, Feb 14

2:00pm

10:00pm†

Finalist 2 vs. Finalist 1

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 11:00pm

QUALIFIER 1: Sydney, Australia

Game Date

Local

Match-up (Home team in bold)

Broadcast Information

Thu, Feb 11

1:00pm

9:00pm†

South Africa vs. New Zealand

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Thu, Feb 11

7:30pm

3:30am

Philippines vs. Australia

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Fri, Feb 12

1:00pm

9:00pm†

Philippines* vs. TBD

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Fri, Feb 12

7:30pm

3:30am

Australia* vs. TBD

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Sat, Feb 13

6:30pm

2:30am

TBD vs. TBD

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 12:30pm on Feb 14

Sun, Feb 14

2:00pm

10:00pm†

Finalist 2 vs. Finalist 1

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 11:00pm

QUALIFIER 1: Sydney, Australia

Game Date

Local

Match-up (Home team in bold)

Broadcast Information

Thu, Feb 11

1:00pm

9:00pm†

South Africa vs. New Zealand

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Thu, Feb 11

7:30pm

3:30am

Philippines vs. Australia

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Fri, Feb 12

1:00pm

9:00pm†

Philippines* vs. TBD

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Fri, Feb 12

7:30pm

3:30am

Australia* vs. TBD

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Sat, Feb 13

6:30pm

2:30am

TBD vs. TBD

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 12:30pm on Feb 14

Sun, Feb 14

2:00pm

10:00pm†

Finalist 2 vs. Finalist 1

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 11:00pm

QUALIFIER 1: Sydney, Australia

Game Date

Local

Match-up (Home team in bold)

Broadcast Information

Thu, Feb 11

1:00pm

9:00pm†

South Africa vs. New Zealand

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Thu, Feb 11

7:30pm

3:30am

Philippines vs. Australia

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Fri, Feb 12

1:00pm

9:00pm†

Philippines* vs. TBD

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Fri, Feb 12

7:30pm

3:30am

Australia* vs. TBD

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Sat, Feb 13

6:30pm

2:30am

TBD vs. TBD

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 12:30pm on Feb 14

Sun, Feb 14

2:00pm

10:00pm†

Finalist 2 vs. Finalist 1

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 11:00pm

QUALIFIER 1: Sydney, Australia

Game Date

Local

Match-up (Home team in bold)

Broadcast Information

Thu, Feb 11

1:00pm

9:00pm†

South Africa vs. New Zealand

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Thu, Feb 11

7:30pm

3:30am

Philippines vs. Australia

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Fri, Feb 12

1:00pm

9:00pm†

Philippines* vs. TBD

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Fri, Feb 12

7:30pm

3:30am

Australia* vs. TBD

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Live

Sat, Feb 13

6:30pm

2:30am

TBD vs. TBD

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 12:30pm on Feb 14

Sun, Feb 14

2:00pm

10:00pm†

Finalist 2 vs. Finalist 1

MLB Network: Live

ESPN Pac-Rim: Delay to 11:00pm

* Teams will play at listed game time regardless of whether they win or lose their opening game.
† Game is played previous calendar day ET

Tickets are still available for all games in the schedule and can be purchased here

Team Australia will have their final hit out before their opening game of the Qualifier, tonight against local Sydney side Blacktown Workers.

Keep up to date with the latest Team Australia information on our website, and by following us Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Please see the attached release for more information.

At the Annual General Meeting held on 9 February 2016, two board members were re-elected to their posts and two others had their casual vacancy appointments ratified.

Please see the attached release for more information.

At the Annual General Meeting of Baseball Victoria held on 9 February 2016, the members unanimously endorsed the recommendation of the board that Julie Jones be awarded Life Membership of Baseball Victoria.

“On behalf of the Victorian baseball community, I congratulate Julie on being awarded Baseball Victoria’s Life Membership,” President Myles Foreman said. “From her tireless devotion to Baseball Victoria and the exponential growth of the Winter Championships under her watch, Julie has shown a remarkable commitment to the betterment of baseball for all Victorians. She is very deserving recipient of our highest honour.”

General Manger Ashley Blair:

“I’ve always enjoyed working with Julie, especially during the winter state championships. Her unflagging energy, impressive attention to detail and amazing baseball knowledge have all served her very well in all the varied baseball roles she has played. Congratulations on this amazing accolade.”

Julie has been active on Baseball Victoria’s Winter Championship committee since 2009 and has been its chair since 2012. Since then, she has attended every state winter championship—20 in total—and has assisted Baseball Victoria in the running and administration of these tournaments.

Because of this unparalleled success, Baseball Victoria has appointed Julie as tournament director for numerous competitions. She has also been a Bendigo Baseball Association (BBA) delegate to the Victorian Provincial Baseball League (VPBL) for the past 12 years and regularly attends meetings on behalf of that league.

Prior to the committee appointment, Julie was on the Victorian Provincial Baseball League board for 12 years (1996-2008) where she shepherded VPBL Carnivals from their infancy to what is now widely knowns as the winter championships and organised the representative teams that competed at the national level.

During the years 2008-15, Julie was part of the executive committee in charge of winding down the VPBL.

She first became involved with baseball in 1987 when her children began playing with the Falcons Club, a member of the BBA. Soon thereafter Julie could be seen regularly at training sessions, at junior games, umpiring and even running the canteen. Scoring then became her passion as she was selected as the scorer for the Falcons’ Legends Team from 1984-93.

Recently she has established a scorers’ club in Bendigo which meets regularly, with Julie teaching and assisting those who want to learn how to score. She has scored nearly every year for the past 15 for Bendigo representative teams, as well as served as the first division tabulator for Essendon over the last decade.

Julie became the secretary of the Bendigo Baseball Association in 1997, holding the post for nine years. During her tenure, she earned a reputation as being an exceptional organiser and statesperson, who quickly developed a deep and thorough understanding of all things baseball.

After resigning from the secretary role she took the role of BBA registration secretary, which she has done for the last 16 years. Additionally Julie has been secretary and president of the Falcons Baseball Club and was bestowed Life Membership in 2002. The BBA Hall of Fame opened its doors to her in 2011.

Julie also played for the Falcons women’s team and appeared in C grade men’s team contests. When not on the diamond or in the scorer’s box, she is very involved at every level of the Falcons Baseball Club and has given more of her time to the BBA then any who came before.

When her two boys, Paul and Casey, began playing baseball for Essendon, Julie took a more active role with the club. She became club secretary in 1999 and still holds that post 16 years later. She received Life Membership with Essendon in 2007.

For all the above reasons plus many more, Julie Jones is a very deserving recipient of a Life Membership from Baseball Victoria. Congratulations!

A new tradition is coming to Australian baseball. From April 1-3 at the Waverly Softball Association in Jells Park, the first-ever Girls Charter State Championships will take place. This inaugural event will run concurrently with the Little League State Championships.

All girls under age 15 will have the opportunity to play with and against other junior girls, gain valuable tournament experience, acquire new baseball knowledge from established coaches and managers, and—most crucially—enjoy a dynamic and fun weekend of baseball.

The tournament will also provide a clear pathway for future opportunities, preparing those participants for the Youth Women (under 16) National Championships next year.

If you are you interested or becoming a player or coach, please register your interest now. The date is fast approaching so you don’t want to miss out.

It’s a great time to be a female baseball player in Australia. The game is growing fast and Victorians continue to shine: they represented very well at the Youth Women’s National Championships and five young athletes have been selected to represent Australia in the Women’s Under 18s and the Phoenix Cup in Hong Kong next month.

If the charter system is unclear, please do not hesitate to contact Baseball Victoria for clarification. Ideally all charters will enter a full team but if that falls short, the plan is to combine charters to ensure no young lady misses out on this exciting new opportunity.

Don’t wait to get your registration submitted. And please stay tuned to Baseball Victoria’s website and social media channels for updates about trials and other relevant information.

Another two victories by the Southern Mariners (A) squad highlighted this slate of six games between the Under 12s in the Little League Charter & Junior League Charter Academy.

Southern Mariners (A) 12, Eastern Athletics (Green) 6

The top-of-the-ladder Southern Mariners (A) squad picked right up in the new year where they left off at the end of 2015. After ceding four runs in the top of the first, they stormed back to score five in the bottom half, four more in the second and three in the last of the third to provide the winning margin.

Zac Dawes started for the visiting A’s; he was relieved by Tyler Evans and Koby Lyon. Austin Thorn and Kynan Jones shared the catching duties. For the victors it was Angus Newman on the bump first, followed by Luke Anson, Genieve Trendbeacon, Mitchell Johnston and usual catcher, Millar Kuhl. In Kuhl’s place, Balin O’Callaghan donned the tools of ignorance.

Eastern Athletics (Gold) 4, Southern Mariners (B) 2

This was an impressive, textbook win. The A’s (Gold) did everything right: they scored first (two each in the first two frames), had excellent starting pitching and played solid defense. The result was their most impressive victory in what has been an up-and-down season.

James Richardson started for the winning side before giving way to Austin Neave, Keeley Ronalds-Greatbatch and Patrick Gawith. Blake Mitchell and Will Stone both took turns behind the plate.

For the Mariners B squad, the hurlers consisted of James Lynch, Cooper Williamson, and Mat Kaplan. In Pudge-like fashion, Tahj Rossell caught the entire game.

Northern Diamondbacks (Orange) 12, Geelong Baycats 8

What a game! Back-and-forth the entire four innings, it featured three lead changes with the visiting D’Backs eventually hanging on for the 12-8 triumph. The winning side scored two in the first, one in the second, five in the third and another four in the fourth to secure the victory. Offensively they were ridiculously balanced, getting hits from seven—Mitch Nolan, Jimin Lee, Jaycob Pascuzzi, Darcy Broom, Adam Jirik, Addison Bishop-Wom and Lachlan Davis—of their starting nine.

Lee, Davis and Pascuzzi also pitched as Nolan caught the entire game.

Across the diamond, the Baycats also did well at the plate, recording six hits. Two came from Hudson Carter. The sole knocks were curtesy of Jordan Baumann, Hayden Peoples, Brooklyn Barker and Marton Sherry. Harper Rickard caught extremely well while Peoples, Cooper Tipping and Barker deserved better pitching fates.

Southern Mariners (A) 8, Eastern Athletics (Gold) 6

Building on their early morning win, the Mariners again fell behind early only to rally in triumphant fashion. Down 5-2 after one, they tallied five times in the bottom of the second and then traded runs in the fourth to consecrate their second victory of the day. O’Callaghan started and was relieved by David Pillinger, Dylan Williamson and St Kilda Saint Ferris Sulka. Johnston and Millar, Sulka’s club teammate, split the catching duties.

Lachie O’Connor caught the entire game for the A’s, giving signals to Bronson Neave, Blake Mitchell, Jack Romanin and Will Stone.

Southern Mariners (B) 8, Eastern Athletics (Green) 2

An excellent bounce-back effort, the B side scored once in the first, five times in the second and twice in the third to win their first game of 2016.

The Mariners were led by the superb starting pitching of Tyler Ellis and a capable relief corpsa: Tom Connolly, Josh Tribe and Lachlan Smith. Ben Campbell did yeoman duty behind the dish.

For the A’s, Finn Weichard started and threw 58 pitches. Nick Parton (22 pitches) and Ewan Jones (seven) also took the hill. Charlie O’Connell was stalwart behind the plate.

Geelong Baycats 12, Northern Diamondbacks (Green) 8

Down one in the bottom of the last (third) inning, the Baycats exploded for five runs to salvage a split against the Diamondbacks’ squads. Led by Noah Brennan’s two hits, Peoples, Sherry, Aspen McGovern and Hudson Carter all contributed big hits while Rickard and Carter were excellent on the mound. Baumann and Brennan each caught a good game.

For the D’Backs, Zac Gorman, Billy Kolyniuk, Campbell Hutton, Angus Stals and Joshua Dawson all had hits. Kolyniuk, Stals and Denzel Pelelopeti pitched, all to Gorman, who caught the entire game.

Here is how the comp stands after the fourth round: https://sportsdesq.imgstg.com/portal/index.cfm?fuseaction=competition&competitionID=10393&OrgID=16724&clubOrganisationId=0#ladder. Next week the Under 14s are back in action. Check back here for a full report of all six games.