Baseball Victoria is excited to announce the 2022/23 VSBL Award Winners following another fantastic summer season.

This year, the Baseball Victoria Board confirmed a new format for presenting BV Awards at club presentation nights.

“We’re excited to bring these awards back to the clubs where they belong, so winners can celebrate with their peers and share their success with the team and wider club community,” Baseball Victoria CEO Chet Gray said. “We look forward to highlighting these achievements and thank everyone involved for an awesome summer of baseball.”

New State Service Awards are currently under consideration and will be presented at the next AGM.

Congrats to all winners on their outstanding performances!

Most Valuable Players

• Division 1 - George Heron Medal: Kurtis Smith – Melbourne and Jarrod Turner - Upwey Ferntree Gully (18 votes)
• Women's Division 1: Abbey Kelly – Essendon (32 votes)
• Division 2 - Robert Hindson Medal: Rusty Huber – Port Melbourne (40 votes)
• Women's Division 2: Dominique Williams – Melbourne (19 votes)
• Division 3: Tim Bellerby – Pakenham (27 votes)
• Women's Division 3 East: Lauren Romanin – Malvern (24 votes)
• Women's Division 3 South: Jessica Adkins-Barber - Springvale (16 votes)
• Women's Division 3 West: Brooke Sadler - Geelong (21 votes)
• Division 4 East: Stephen Hill – Waverley (33 votes)
• Division 4 North: Corey Dennehy – Mitchell Majors (15 votes)
• Division 4 South: Daniel De Sachau – South East Warriors and Bradley Jones - Pakenham (19 votes)

Club Champions

• Division 1 Club Champion – Peter Dihm Shield: Upwey Ferntree Gully (323 points)
• Division 2 Club Champion: Newport Rams (327 points)

Individual Awards

• Volunteer of the Year Award: Alan Morris – Port Melbourne
• Coach of the Year Award: Donavon Hendricks – Upwey Ferntree Gully
• Umpire of the Year Award: David Mackie

Women's Division 1

• Pitching Award: Simone Wearne – Springvale (0.6 ERA)
• Batting Award: Amy McCann - Doncaster (.646 BA)

Division 1

• Home Run Award: Tyler Luther-Wilson – Geelong (5 HR)
• Pitching Award (Harry Douglas Trophy): Mitch Lines – Blackburn (1.50 ERA)
• Batting Award: James Wood – Geelong (.442 BA)

Division 2

• Home Run Award: Tom Dicker – Fitzroy (8 HR)
• Pitching Award: Dennis Neal – Williamstown (1.01 ERA)
• Harry Douglas Batting Award: Rusty Huber – Port Melbourne (.514 BA)

Division 3

• Home Run Award: Joshua Villanti – Sandringham (2 HR)
• Pitching Award: Tim Bellerby – Pakenham (1.87 ERA)
• Batting Award: Matthew Dunn - Mornington (.609 BA)

Baseball Victoria is pleased to confirm coaching staff for the 2023 All-Girls Development Team, which will play in the Little League State Championships at Knox as well as the Division 2 Little League Nationals.

Leah Trebilcock will serve as head coach with Shae Lillywhite and Sophia Stenholt as assistant coaches.

“I am incredibly proud to be part of fielding the first all-girls LL team to compete at the National Championships,” Leah said. “My goal for the team is to be able to observe and quantify improvement in the girls over the course of our training program and competitions.”

“I am stoked we are able to bring such high-quality talent into the coaching team to help these girls grow. Shae and Sophia bring a wealth of baseball knowledge and experiences. They are excellent role models for the next generation to look up to.”

Leah and her fellow coaches hope the girls come away from the tournaments with a deeper love of the game and excitement for the future.

“I see this team as the first step on the pathway that Baseball Victoria and Australia are building for these women, including the Barclay Cup, Australian Youth Championships, and Open Women’s Championships.”

The 2023 Little League State Championships are set for 21-23 April at Knox, while the Australian Little League Championships will take place from 7-12 June.

Stay tuned for more tournament updates in the coming weeks.

Upwey Ferntree Gully won the VSBL Division 1 Firsts Premiership for the second year in a row while Newport claimed the flag in Division 2 Firsts to close out a huge weekend of baseball at Melbourne Ballpark.

The Tigers took a 1-0 series lead on Tuesday night after beating Waverley 3-1, but were challenged on Saturday as the Wildcats prevailed 7-4, taking it to game three.

Eager to lock in back-to-back premierships, the Tigers brought their A-game on Sunday, finishing 6-3 in front to seal the deal.

Jarrod Turner was awarded the Harry Wonnacott Medal after throwing the full nine innings, with 22 first-pitch strikes and a 1.22 WHIP.

Jack Ratcliffe led the team at the plate, going 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Donavon Hendricks, Josh Hendricks, Andrew Kane, and Ryder Wilson picked up hits too.

Waverley fell just short despite a great day at the plate for Mohi Kahui, collecting three hits and scoring two runs. Mitchell Homfray also had multiple hits.

Earlier in the day, the Division 2 Firsts Premiership was decided in a 4-0 shoutout as Newport defeated Williamstown in a thrilling battle of the burbs.

The Rams took game one 7-4 on Thursday night, but the Wolves brought their big bats on Saturday, winning 17-9.

It was a much closer contest on Sunday as Newport's David Tongue threw a complete game shutout, giving up just two hits with four strikeouts.

Williamstown got on base in the ninth with a Justin Gourlay single, but the Rams shut down the threat to secure the victory.

The Rams only had two hits themselves, with Ben Howard and Aaron Robson leading the charge as a four-run sixth inning made all the difference.

Congratulations to Upwey Ferntree Gully and Newport on their hard-earned premierships!

Well done to everyone on a fantastic summer season!

Team Australia made history this week, advancing to quarterfinals at the World Baseball Classic for the first time ever. Although they lost a heartbreaker 4-3 to Cuba, Australia put together an incredible run and proved they belong with baseball’s best.

Congrats to all involved on such an amazing tournament, and a special shoutout to our six BV Performance Pathway alumni on the team: Darryl George, Dan McGrath, Jon Kennedy, Liam Spence, Blake Townsend, and Jarryd Dale, plus BV High Performance Officer Damian Shanahan who was part of the coaching staff.

Relive Team Australia’s journey HERE.

With the summer season wrapping up this weekend, winter clubs are getting ready to hit the field.

Please feel free to send come and try day information to us for our Club Ads page and remember that all players, coaches, and volunteers need to register.

Please view winter registration links HERE to get signed up for winter ball.

It was a huge weekend for baseball in Victoria as 2022/23 VSBL Premiers were crowned across juniors and senior competitions.

We hope everyone enjoyed another awesome summer season, and a huge shoutout to all the players, coaches, officials, and volunteers who make our great game possible.

View grand finalist photos here: https://www.facebook.com/VicSummerLeague/

Stay tuned for Division 1 & 2 Firsts Grand Finals this weekend.

What a fantastic finish to summer ball for Women’s Division 1, 2 and 3!

Congrats to the new premiers, and well done to everyone on a successful season!

• Women’s Division 1 – Springvale defeated Essendon 12-2
• Women’s Division 2 – Newport defeated Springvale 13-1
• Women’s Division 3 East – Waverley Black defeated Waverley Red 17-10
• Women’s Division 3 South – South East Warriors defeated Chelsea 13-1
• Women’s Division 3 West – Fitzroy defeated Werribee 17-8

Head to facebook.com/VicSummerLeague for the latest updates.

Baseball Victoria is excited to announce a new partnership with Field of View Sports Photography for 2023.

As an official partner of baseball in Victoria, Field of View has joined the BV Diamond Partnership Program at the Home Run level. Their passionate sports photography team will provide coverage of this year’s Little League State Championships and State Winter Championships, plus BV Performance Pathway training and representative teams.

Field of View previously covered the 2021 Little League State Championships and has worked with many grassroots clubs to capture individual and team photos. Through this partnership, Field of View will supply high-quality images to Baseball Victoria for promotion of our great game, with tailored photo packages available for purchase via their website.

“Thank you to Field of View for stepping up to the plate and coming onboard as a Home Run Partner,” BV CEO Chet Gray said. “We are excited to have such an experienced photography team lined up to capture our exciting tournament season and BV Performance Pathway programs. We encourage parents and supporters to check out photo packages, and we also recommend Field of View to local baseball clubs for high-quality photography coverage.”

“As a sports photography business with 15 years’ experience, we are excited to bring our expertise to the table and partner with Baseball Victoria across their premier tournaments and Performance Pathway programs,” Field of View Director Jo Fairy said. “We also look forward to working at the club level to offer gameday coverage, team photos, and personalised baseball cards amongst our other services. We sponsor a number of local sporting clubs and are keen to extend this sponsorship to the many member clubs within Baseball Victoria.”

Field of View has hit the ground running with photo sessions at U12 Futures East and West training sessions this past week. U14 Futures will have their photos taken next week.

Learn more about Field of View Sports Photography HERE and stay tuned for more info on photo packages for 2023 teams and tournaments.

Best of luck to Team Australia as the #WorldBaseballClassic2023 gets underway at Tokyo Dome.

Australia faces South Korea first, with six BV Performance Pathway alumni on the roster - Darryl George, Dan McGrath, Jon Kennedy, Liam Spence, Blake Townsend, and Jarryd Dale. BV High Performance Officer Damian Shanahan is part of the coaching staff.

First pitch is at 2:00pm Melbourne time and the game will be broadcast on ESPN, Foxtel, Fetch and Kayo.

Head to www.baseball.com.au/wbc23 for more information.