Baseball Victoria, Author at Baseball Victoria

At the 2016 Victorian Little League Championships, Baseball Victoria will introduce numerous competitions to run concurrently at the Little League All Star Tournament in April.

From April 1-3 2016 at Jells Park, there will be

Little League All Stars State Championship

Little League Development Cup

Little League Minor Challenge

Girls Charter Competition

Club Tee Ball Gala Event

For more information on the teams, please contact your charter directly or Baseball Victoria.

The Baseball Australia Hall of Fame, established in 2005, recognises excellence in the categories of:

1. Playing
2. Managing /Coaching.

Inductees must have had a prolonged impact on the game of baseball at the highest level available at their time, they must be of good character and not be deemed to have brought baseball into disrepute, and statistical information is taken into consideration.

There are seven eras of classification:

· Pre 1900, 1900 to 1918 (when the game expanded rapidly after regular interstate competition)

· 1919 to 1946 (the start of the Claxton Shield and American Influence)

· 1947 to 1967 (post war American influence)

· 1968 to 1988 (Asia influence)

· 1989 to 1999 (first Australian Baseball League)

· 2000 to date

· There is also a Special Classification for players who have had outstanding International careers and made contributions to the game primarily outside of Australia.

The Class of 2016 will be honored during an on field ceremony at the upcoming Australian Baseball League Championship Series, February 6 at Holloway Field, the home of the Brisbane Bandits.

The class of 2016 includes:

· Philip Clifton Brideoake (dec), South Australia
Category - Playing 1947-1967

· Ernie George Bolton, Victoria
Category - Playing 1947-1967

· Peter "Yowie" Vogler, Queensland
Category - Playing 1989 -1999

· Micheal Nakamura, Victoria
Category - Playing - Outstanding International Career

Baseball Australia extends our congratulations to Philip, Ernie, Peter and Micheal, you join the ranks of Australian Baseball greats.

Australian Baseball Hall of Fame Honor Roll

The Australian Baseball Hall of Fame has inducted some of the most influential figures in the history of Australian Baseball, bestowing them with the highest playing or coaching honor an individual in our sport can receive. This year is no exception, as Baseball Australia announces the Class of 2016, and inducts four new members in the Australian Baseball Hall of Fame. Baseball Victoria is very proud to acknowledge that two Victorians, Michael Nakamura and Ernie George Bolton, are members of this years class. Both of these men represent the best of Victorian baseball and Baseball Victoria is extremely proud that they are being recognized as Australian Baseball greats.

· Michael Nakamura

Michael Nakamura represented Australia at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic games as part of the Australian Olympic Baseball Team. He played for the Minnesota Twins and the Toronto Blue Jays in MLB and was drafted in the 4th round of the 2004 draft by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. He struck out more batters than innings pitched, and did not give up a single run in the second half of the season. In his second year Nakamura made 39 saves, setting a new Pacific League single-season record, and the Fighters won the Japanese championship series. Nakamura pitched in 4 Japanese championship series games, and did not give up a single hit. Nakamura retired as a member of the Saitama Seibu Lions after the conclusion of the 2012 season. He threw sidearm and relied mostly on two types of curves and a fastball around 90 mph.

· Ernie George Bolton

Known as “Smiler,” Ernie was an outstanding personality on the mound and in the batters box. As a rookie in 1956 Bolton handled his first game like a veteran. Ernie hated to throw walks and his ability to spot the ball and change speeds made him one other games greatest pitchers. In the opening game of the 1959 Championships Ernie had the distinction of throwing a no-hitter. In 80 recorded innings of Claxton Shield over 6 series, his ERA was a minuscule 1.12. He was a member of the Diamond Anniversary Claxton Shield All-Star team as a result of representing Victoria with such distinction. Ernie Bolton had the ability to vary the pace of the ball to such a degree that he is acknowledged as one of the game’s greatest ever pitchers. An All-Australian player, he pitched a no-hitter in the opening game of the 1959 Claxton Shield series. In 80 recorded innings of Claxton Shield over six series, his ERA is an incredible 1.9.

The Class of 2016 will be honored during an on field ceremony at the upcoming Australian Baseball League Championship Series, February 6 at Holloway Field, the home of the Brisbane Bandits.

The Victorian Baseball community extends a massive congratulations to both Michael and Ernie as they join the ranks of Australian Baseball greats.

Leading Team Australia in the Qualifier, Manager Jon Deeble who will serve in this capacity for the fourth time during WBC play.
“ I am really looking forward to getting the team into camp and getting underway”, said Deeble. “ After a great ABL season, it’s now our chance to dig in and get after it, and show the Aussie fans what we have got."

The 28-man roster features nine players affiliated with Major League Clubs, including right-handed pitchers Sam Gibbons (MIN), Peter Moylan (KC), Warwick Saupold (DET) and Todd Van Steensel (MIN); left-handed pitcher Steven Kent (ATL); catcher Matt Kennelly (ATL); infielders James Beresford (MIN) and Logan Wade (MIN); and outfielder Aaron Whitefield (MIN).

Team Australia Roster
Manager Jon Deeble

Five Victorians will represent Australia as part of the Under 18 team heading to Hong Kong to play in the Phoenix Cup from 19-22 February.

All veterans of the recently concluded National Championships in Canberra, the state representatives for this prestigious tournament are Brittany Cedelland, Sinead Byrne-Connell, Maddy Davis, Emma French and Abbey Kelly.

The youngest of the lot, Cedelland is just 16 and she will be making her international debut. She performed brilliantly at the recently completed national championships, finishing with a sparkling 2.79 earned run average and pitched excellently against New South Wales in the gold medal game.

At 19, French is the team’s veteran. This will be her third time representing Australia at the Phoenix Cup. She played a huge part in Victoria’s silver medal run at the National Championships, registering a crucial win over Queensland.

Kelly, 17, is making her second trip to the Phoenix Cup.

Also 17 years of age, Davis played for her first Victorian Blue squad at the National Championships and will likewise be making her initial trip abroad for Australia.

Last but not least, Byrne-Connell (17) will also make her Phoenix Cup debut after playing very well for the Vic Blue team in Canberra.

“Congratulations to all the girls selected to represent Australia at the Phoenix Cup in February,” said Ashley Blair, Interim General Manager of Baseball Victoria. “This is a fantastic achievement and is the result of a huge amount of hard work and sacrifice you have put into baseball over the years.

“That five girls have been selected again demonstrates the strength of the Victorian High Performance program and everyone involved. We are sure those selected will represent Victoria and Australia to the best of their abilities.”

Supporters can follow their progress at the Phoenix Cup website.

Baseball Australia is pleased to announce the final roster for the Australian Women’s A Roo Development team that will compete in the Asia Insurance Phoenix Cup, Hong Kong, February 19 to 22.

The 2016 International Women’s Baseball Tournament will see the Australian’s up against some baseball powerhouses of the Asia Pacific region, including China, Guam, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and tournament hosts, Hong Kong, as they battle it out for the newly designed Defenders Cup.

Phoenix Cup Head Coach Lisa Norrie, Assistant Coaches Ashleigh Ross and Sharon Moss and
Baseball Australia High Performance staff, utilised the recent National Youth Women's Championship to make final roster selections.

" This years Phoenix Cup team is fairly young in comparison to past teams, however the level of talent and ability that exists in this team is really exciting. The opportunity for these girls to go overseas and play in an open women's international event doesn't come around very often, we are lucky to be able to use the Phoenix Cup to develop the girls from such a young age"
2016 Phoenix Cup Head Coach Lisa Norrie.

The Australian roster boasts the 2016 National Youth Women’s Golden Glove, Golden Arm and Tournament MVP winners, as well as seven returning Bronze Medallists from last year’s tournament

SURNAME	FIRST NAME	DOB	BATS	THROWS	POSITION	STATE
BRENNAN	Kelsey	17/01/2000	R	R	P/C/IF	WA
GORDON	Caitlin	19/06/2001	L	L	P/IF	WA
HAGGART	Meaghan	24/02/2000	R	R	LHP/IN/OF	WA
HUMPHREYS	Chloe	28/06/2000	R	R	IF/P	QLD
KELLY	Abbey Michelle	22/09/1998	R	R	SS	VIC
MCDONNELL	Natassha	10/07/2000	R	L	P	NSW
MOSS	Taneeca	27/08/2000	R	R	IF/OF	QLD
SMITH	Brittany Sarah	24/12/1998	R	R	P/IF	QLD
STEVENS	Olivia	21/05/2001	R	R	C/OF	QLD
FRENCH	Emma	26/09/1996	R	R	P	VIC
CEDELLAND	Brittany	27/04/1999	R	R	P	VIC
BYRNE-CONNELL	Sinead	1/11/1998	L	L	P	VIC
DAVIS	Madeline	27/12/1998	R	R	IF	VIC
WEST	Amy	8/06/1997	R	R	OF	QLD
ZYLSTRA	Grace	8/10/1997	R	R	OF/P	QLD
WATSON	Pheebe	24/10/1999	R	R	C/OF	NSW
RICHARDSON	Jordan	16/06/2000	R	R	IF	NSW
FLATLEY	Emma	12/10/1998	R	R		QLD

Schedules, Results and all Tournament information will be through Hong Kong Baseball Association website www.hkphornixcup.com

For the first time in Australian Baseball history, Country NSW are the U18 National Youth Champions, after the team rallied in the sixth to come from behind, and secure their first ever U18 Title.

Heading into the Championship, Country NSW had the head to head at 2 and 0 against Vic Blue, but the Victorians came out firing and crossed the plate in the first and took an early 1 - 0 lead. Victoria Blue starting pitcher Matthew Beattie, dominated on the hill with Country unable to record a hit for the first 5 innings.

Jack Bramble's double to left field, fired up the Country line up and when Nick Anderson - Vine followed suit with a single, putting Bramble in scoring position, Jacob Amos finished the rally with a bomb to centre field scoring 2 and Country took the lead. The bats stayed hot in the 7th inning as another 2 crossed home plate to increase the lead.

Mitch Inskip proved the difference for Country in the middle, with the hurler notching up 40 strikes from 50 pitches and holding Vic Blue to 1 hit in the final 5 innings, securing the 4 to 1 Gold Medal win.

Chasing the Bronze Medal, an epic game between Queensland and New South Wales, that saw the teams at 3 a piece until the 7th inning when NSW local hero, Isaac Whaston bombed a triple to centre field scoring James Sammes and winning the game 4 to 3.

Final standings for the 2016 U18 National Youth Championship

1. Country New South Wales
2. Victoria Blue
3. New South Wales
4. Queensland
5. Western Australia
6. Canberra
7. South Australia
8. Victoria White

2016 Award Winners

Golden Glove - Harry Fullerton NSW

FLD% .985

Golden Bat - Jordan McArdle SA

AVG .471, AB 34, H 16, RBI 14, SLG% .706

Golden Arm - Mitch Inskip NSW

ERA 0.00, IP 14.1, SO 5

MVP - Oliver Dunn VICB

Gold Medal Game Replay
Event Photos
Results
Individual and Team Statistics

For the first time in 37 years, South Australia's U16's have taken out the title of 2016 National Youth Champions, after defeating Victoria Blue 7 to 4 at Blue Sox Stadium, Monday 18 January.

Vic Blue had a clear advantage, having beaten the South Australian's twice leading into the gold medal decider, but nothing could stop the power hitting of the SA U16 Bite, with the score at the bottom of the second 6 to 0. Proving their defensive game was as strong as their offensive, they kept Vic Blue scoreless until the bottom of the 5th, which proved enough to secure the victory.

Western Australia dominated Victoria White in the Bronze Medal match up with a convincing 8 to 0 score line to round out the top three placing.

Final standings of the 2016 Under 16 National Youth Championship presented by Rawlings

1. South Australia
2. Victoria Blue
3. Western Australia
4. Victoria White
5. Queensland
6. New South Wales
7. Country New South Wales
8. Canberra

2016 Award Winners.

Golden Glove - Dawson Summers WA
FLD% .905

Golden Bat - Jarryd Dale VICB
AVG .500, AB 36, H 18, RBI 17, HR 2, SLG% .917

Golden Arm - Duane Johannsen QLD
ERA 1.35, IP 13.1, SO 19

MVP - Jarryd Dale VICB

Gold Medal Game Replay
Game Results
Event Gallery
Individual, Team and Tournament Statistics

Ormond Glenhuntly 15, Research 13

There was no bigger game played on Sunday in Division 3 than the tilt between the Hunters and Roadrunners.

Ormond Glenhuntly’s win—at least for now—puts them in the last spot for finals. Now 5-8 on the season they play surging St Kilda at home in a midweek game tonight.

Research (4-7), meanwhile, has the unenviable task of facing Pakenham at their home ground.

Pakenham 14, Footscray 2

Speaking of the Pumas: buoyed by another lightning quick start they scored eight times in the first and one more in the second before the Bulldogs managed to get on the board. Two runs in Footscray’s half of the third, however, was negated by Pakenham tallying four more in the bottom of the inning. One final run in the sixth by the Pumas provided the winning margin.

Pakenham, 11-3, hosts Research this evening while last place Footscray (3-9) travels to top-of-the-ladder Mulgrave.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

St Kilda 10, Chelsea 0

All season the Saints had been waiting for a game like this.

Dominant pitching? Check. Club coach Brett Elliott was masterful on the mound, allowing only one hit in six innings. At one point he struck out four batters in a row.

Timely, consistent hitting? Yup. St Kilda scored runs early-and-often (four in each of the first two innings), getting important hits—many with two outs—and putting pressure on the suspect Dolphins fielding, whose multiple errors extended innings, with aggressive baserunning.

Solid defence? Absolutely. None of the starting nine made a miscue.

All-in-all it was a dominant victory that put St Kilda well within shouting distance for a postseason spot.

Mulgrave was idle this weekend.