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31 May 2008
Phil Box gets umpiring guernsey for Women's World Cup
GBA Umpires' Coordinator and senior Victorian umpiring identity Phil Box has recently been appointed by the IBAF to umpire in the Third Women's World Cup, to be held in Matsuyama, Japan, from 24-27 August this year. Well done, Phil!

31 May 2008
Ricketts accepts four-year college offer
Currently in his sophomore (second) year with Fort Scott Community College, former Geelong and Lara pitcher Joel Ricketts has taken up a four-year offer from Washburn University that will enable him to further his studies and his playing career from early next year. Full story.

30 May 2008
Vaqueros fall just short of "World Series" title
Those legions of Geelong baseball supporters following Josh Spence's progress with Central Arizona will be disappointed to learn that the Vaqueros are out of contention after going down 8-7 to Grayson Community College. Spence threw the whole game to give up just eight hits and amass a career-best 17 strikeouts, while his team picked up thirteen - but made four costly errors - in trailing throughout the game but finishing with two in the last to come up just short. All the latest on the JUCO website. Randy Huggler reports.

30 May 2008
Geelong names its squad for Senior Provincial Carnival
Geelong has named the following squad to contest the Victorian Provincial Championships in Ballarat over the Queen's Birthday Weekend: Shaun Moore (Head Coach), Stuart Forbes (Assistant Coach), Matthew Jones, Brad Jones, Sean Talbot, Josh Lee, Cameron Brown,  Nick Spence, Liam Vicary-Lovegrove, Aaron Green, Tom Shaw, Stuart Barnes, Dean Barker, Steve Wilson, Brad Egan, Cameron Lyons, Darryl George, Simon Murry, Roland Stott (Manager) and Leanne Gibbons (Scorer). Draw, results and reports will be posted on the Ballarat Baseball Association website as available.

 26 May 2008
Vaqueros still in hunt for "World Series" title
The legion of Geelong baseball fans following Josh Spence and his Vaqueros will be pleased to hear that Central Arizona are still a chance of taking the NJCAA World Series, although another loss would spell the end. The Vaqueros rebounded from a narrow first-game loss with a thumping 20-7 win over Johnson County Community College, followed by a 10-5 win over Walton State Senators and a remarkable 28-19 smashing of Iowa Western Reivers in nearly four hours (yes, folks, we are using aluminium bats!). The Vaqueros are down to the final six clubs in contention, with Spence rested and ready to go in the next day or two. All the latest on the JUCO website. Randy Huggler reports.

25 May 2008
Saints down Lara: Guild challenges for second
While it is just seven weeks into the season, we may have already have seen an A Grade Grand Final preview for 2008.

Saints and Lara fought out a classic contest at Pioneer Park this afternoon, with the home side coming home with a rush to blast three runs in the eighth for a 6-4 win in a game that had just about everything. In front of a large crowd (including some local football identity looking for tips on how to win), the sides went head and head with neither able to gain a break until the late Saints surge. Brad Egan and Aaron Green were equally terrific for their clubs (both may have been left in a fraction too long - but that's baseball, folks).  Both offences were superb, with the ball being hit cleanly and the outfielders surely earning their weekend pay cheque (it's in the mail).

Now at nine and one, Saints have assumed flag favouritism at the Grovedale tote, with Guild (extra game played) challenging for second on match ratio with Lara, who went winless for the weekend after a split result with Guild on Saturday. The vagaries of the draw have Saints meeting the Wildcats again next Saturday in what should be another ripper. Regardless of the outcome of that match, the Wildcats have some big names to come back - in the form of Holmes, Marnell, Hammer and Ricketts - and they might not be quite at their best for a few weeks yet.

While it's all happening for the glamour sides, there are others who will have plenty to say in the shaping of the finals series. The Guild youngsters are playing a terrific brand of baseball, Bacchus Marsh are always a tough ask and the Brewers are on the improve, while Deakin, Werribee and Bellarine will win their share. Scores. Match Reports as available. Ladders.
 

24 May 2008
Follow Spence and Vaqueros in the Junior College World Series
***   UPDATE   ***
The Vaqueros dropped their first game 4-6 against Iowa Western, with Josh Spence going the distance (8 innings) in a tight contest that saw both sides equally productive in offence but with the Vaqueros giving up two unearned runs that proved the decisive factor. The team's next game will be on Monday, with the loser eliminated. Details on the JUCO website. Reports and video via Colorado News. 

The Junior College World Series hits off this weekend, with Geelong's Josh Spence sure to be among the action as the Central Arizona Vaqueros stake their claim in this prestigious event. The series is the subject of massive media coverage in Colorado. On arrival in Grand Junction (host city), Spence described the media attention as "crazy" (juuuust marginally more frenetic than Geelong baseball winter league). Check the young man out as he works an Aussie-crazed media.

22 May 2008
Length of games in B Grade
Following extensive consultation with clubs, Pennant Committee and the GBA Board, it has been decided - from Round 8 of the GBA winter season (IE 1 June) - that all B Grade games will be of two hours and twenty minutes duration, with a 5-minute Rule.

21 May 2008
Local boys heading to Japan for World Championships
As noted in these pages earlier, several local youngsters have been selected to play in upcoming “Rubber Ball” Championships in Australia and abroad. Harry Levy, James Edwards, Tyson O’Keefe, James Wood, Keegan Davies (all Geelong Giants) and Matthew Howe (Werribee summer) have been selected in a team to contest the IBA World Championships in Japan during July. Keegan has been forced to withdraw, unfortunately, because of injury.

The players and their families are hoping to raise enough money through Geelong Baseball Club fund-raising to offset some of the boys’ expenses for this baseball trip of a lifetime.

A Fundraising Evening featuring the “Hip Cats” - will be held on SATURDAY 28 JUNE (not 5 July, as earlier posted),, starting at 7.00 pm.

The Geelong Racing Club has kindly donated the venue for the night and will operate a bar on the premises. Silent auctions of a variety of items will be available. An entrance of around $ 15 will be charged, hopefully with a door prize linked to the entry cost. Tickets will be printed as soon as possible and sold prior to the evening to ensure sales 

All baseball supporters – summer and winter – are encouraged to attend what should be a terrific night that is supporting a very special group of young players taking their first steps at elite baseball level. 

Tickets can be arranged through the parents of any of the GBC players.

21 May 2008
Geelong Baseball Club appoints Nathan Holmes as Head Coach
The Geelong "Giants" Baseball Club has confirmed the appointment of Nathan Holmes as Head Coach for the 2008/09 season. The club is looking to an exciting season in its 25th year of existence and it invites expreessions of interest from enthusiastic persons interested in becoming part of its coaching and management staff in support of Nathan's efforts. Phone 0425 737556 or email. Full story at Geelong Baseball Club website.

19 May 2008
Under 14 VPBL Championships (Sale, 24/25 May)
The Geelong Baseball Association has named the following squad to contest the Victorian Provincial Baseball League Under 14 Championships to be held in Sale next weekend: Dylan Allitt, Zac Buhrmann, Tyson Foreman, Matthew Howe, Aiden Lester, Alistair Lovelock, Cameron McNish, Evan McPherson, Andrew Medew, Matt Morris, Jacob Patterson, James Patterson, Sean Pengelly and  Jeremy Young. Coaches are Peter McNish and Craig Durston, Executive Officer is Leanne Gibbons, the Scorer is Kaylene Pengelly and Bat Boy is Lachlan Medew.

The Geelong association extends its congratulations to all players and wishes the squad the very best for a great weekend! We will attempt to keep this site updated with scores and other reports over the weekend. Under 14 VPBL page. Anyone with information or images relevant to the series is invited to email us for posting.  

18 May 2008
Brewers leave Bears cold: Guild gets past Deakin: Saints win two: Lara hold second
Ballarat Brewers smacked Bellarine 11-4 in miserable conditions at Wallington Reserve on Saturday, with Ross Hipke throwing his first full game for the visitors. The final scoreline flattered the home side somewhat as they scrambled three runs in the last.

Guild and Deakin played out a quality contest that had neither side score until Guild's single in the bottom of the seventh. A further four in the eighth made the margin appear comfortable, although Deakin would be well pleased with the enthusiasm and spirit of its young squad. Nathan Warren had a great game at third for the Blues, Jacob Harper picked up a couple of hits, while Manager Craig Malthouse showed the way with some interesting innings on the hill before injury. For Guild, Stuart Barnes was terrific in going eight for a handful of hits and Mitch Miller picked up two RBIs from his two hits.

In a game dominated by the pitchers, East Belmont Saints produced some timely hitting to pip Bacchus Marsh 3-2.

Backing up from its Saturday win, the league-leading Sainters crushed a lethargic Brewers outfit 9-3 on Sunday, in a game that offered a great deal but delivered little as a contest after Saints smacked three in the fifth. With Dean Barker dominant into the ninth dig, the Saints produced some ominous offensive form, highlighted by a three run Matt Ryan bomb in the seventh and valuable contributions by Ernstzen, Poulter, Lee and Jeffery.

Buoyed by a strong starting outing by Cameron Forbes, Lara rolled Werribee 6-2 to hold second placing behind Saints. The 'Cats struggled to shake off their close neighbour, though, as Craig Knight's off-speed offerings caused some issues and Daryl George conjured up another serviceable performance.  Scores. Match Reports as available. Ladders.

ALSO IN BRIEF.......
*   Brewers' evergreen catcher/utility Jamieson Burrows broke his wrist in Saturday's game against Bellarine and will be sidelined for up to seven weeks.
*   Guild's Dwayne Davenport threw a 6-innings no hitter (his first ever) in his side's B Grade win over Corio.
*   While a number of association guns will miss the next two games (Australian Provincial Championships in Darwin), the word is that Lara has signed former U.S. professional, Claxton League player and Cheltenham Club Coach Shawn Miller to bolster its winter ranks.

16 May 2008
Spence effort helps Vaqueros storm into "World Series" berth
Geelong's Josh Spence has thrown another pearler in his stellar college baseball career, this time to help guide Central Arizona Vaqueros to a college NJCAA World Series berth. Going nine innings in his side's 5-1 win over Southern Nevada, Spence scattered eight hits, conceded one walk and struck out thirteen. Proving that the side was by no means "Spence-centric", the white-hot Vaqueros completed the play-off sweep by crushing Trinidad State 12-1 and then 6-1.  Statistics. Randy Huggler reports for the Casa Grande Dispatch.

13 May 2008
Local players join "Rubberball" trips
A number of Geelong and regional youngsters will again be participating in upcoming "Rubberball" tournaments in Australia and Japan. A series will be held in South Australia over the weekend of June 7 - 9, another in Queensland from 29 June - 11 July, while a squad will be travelling to Japan for its series from 18 - 31 July.

The Geelong Baseball Association congratulates the following players and wishes them great enjoyment and every success during these exciting trips. As always, we are keen to report on the progress of our younger players. If you have news or images that you would like posted on this site, please email us.

James Edwards (Guild, heading for Japan), James Wood (Guild/Japan), Harry Levy (Guild/Japan), Tyson O'Keefe (Guild/Japan), Matthew Howe (Werribee/Japan), Keegan Davies (Guild/forced out of Japan trip with injury), Alex Gouveia (Werribee/Gold Coast), Sayuran Singh (Werribee/South Australia) and Jacob Gale (Lara/Werribee Summer/South Australia).

12 May 2008
Geelong Giants seek expressions of interest for coaching positions 2008/09
About to enter its 25th year, the Geelong "Giants" Baseball Club views the 2008/09 summer as a landmark season where the club can redefine its objectives and ambitions.

The key focus is for the club to become even more professional in the way it manages all aspects of its activities. As a response to the club's post-season "Continuous Improvement" review, the GBC Boad is seeking Expressions of Interest from skilled baseball people keen to become a part of the senior on-field and support coaching staff.

If you are interested in joining the Geelong Baseball Club coaching panel, please contact the President, Larry Meager, before 20 May 2008 (0409 921700 or email).

10 May 2008
Wildcats and Brewers split points in 1-1 thriller: Saints, Tigers, Blues sneak home
A drawn result was the most fitting outcome for a classic pitchers' duel at Prince of Wales Reserve this afternoon.  Lara's Aaron Green and the Brewers' Ross Hipke were superb over six hard-fought digs each, with the Brewers scoring in the bottom of one and the Wildcats not plating a run until the top of six. Both sides had their chances as strategy and "small ball" became the order of the day in an uncompromising and sometimes heated contest between two fierce rivals of the past few seasons. The closers in Adam Irons (Brewers) and Cameron Forbes (Lara) were not too shabby either, with both showing poise under intense pressure. While both sides played great defence, Lara's Cameron Brown was a shining light in making a series of stunning outs from the hot corner.

For the second week running, league-leading East Belmont Saints came up with a 2-1 win, this time over Bellarine Bears, who were terrific in defence and had a chance to snatch the game in the last dig but stranded three runners on base. It was equally tense down at Masons Lane, where the Tigers recorded an important 2-1 home victory against the Guild Lions.

While much of the focus was on the spirited A Grade leonine clash, the curtain-raiser produced a serious highlight for a popular Geelong sporting identity. Guild's Jason Peoples - who set a Geelong Cricket Association record individual score of over 300 last summer -  demonstrated his penchant for the "big innings" by smacking a grand slam to help Guild get over the line in A Reserve.

To complete a remarkable round of close contests in A Grade, Deakin Blues scored their third win of the season by pipping Werribee 5-4. Player of the match Sean Talbot starred for the Blues on the hill and with the bat, smacking a two-run bomb among his three hits. Daryl George started well for the Giants, who outhit the Blues 8 to 6 but couldn't quite string them together when it mattered.

A 1-1 draw, and three one-run results with no side scoring more than five runs augurs well for the remainder of the season. No club has established a clear ascendancy, and any one can beat any other on its day!  Scores. Match Reports as available. Ladders. 

10 May 2008
"We got Spenced": Vaqueros take series in two

Geelong pitching ace Josh Spence (left) has further enhanced his reputation in NJCAA baseball by leading the white-hot Central Arizona Vaqueros to a first-game ten run win over college nemesis the Yavapai Roughriders in post-season play. Going seven innings for nine strikeouts, Spence was too smart and too slippery for the Riders in Game One of the Regional Play-Offs. Full report by the Daily Courier. Randy Huggler for Casa Grande Dispatch. In Game Two, Central Arizona again came out firing and were never headed in an 8-6 win that takes them a step closer to the college World Series. Daily Courier report.

7 May 2008
Carnival Coaches urgently required: Under 16 and Under 12
The Geelong Baseball Association is seeking suitably qualified and enthusiastic coaches for its VPBL Under 16 and Under 12 Carnival teams, as a matter of some urgency. The Under 16 carnival will be held in Mildura over the weekend of 21 and 22 June; the Under 12 series will be at Boneo over the weekend of 19 and 20 July. Please consider helping out if you are available. Expressions of interest should be forwarded to Fiona Lambrick as soon as possible (during the next week for Under 16). Fiona's contacts are 0417 310628, email flambrick@iprimus.com.au OR fionala@deakin.edu.au.

3 May 2008
Saints down Brewers in pitching duel: Wildcats maul Deakin: Guild strengthens grip
Saints handed Ballarat Brewers their third loss in four games with a 2-1 win in a thrilling contest that lasted for just on two hours at Prince of Wales Reserve this afternoon. Two of the league's best in Dean Barker (Saints) and Ross Hipke (Brewers) produced dominant performances reflected in numbers that saw both going for seven innings, with Barker picking up 8 strike outs and Hipke eleven. Barker scattered three hits and Hipke five.

The early deadlock was broken when centrefield Matt Ryan doubled for the Sainters in the fourth and Mick Alldis drove him in with a single to centre that capped a quality time at bat. In the fifth, Saints made it doubly hard by scoring on a tricky infield play. The Brewers had their chances - with Barker giving up five passes - but they struggled to get runners past second. Until the bottom of nine, when a lead-off Hamish Burrows bomb gave the Brewers some belated hope against Saints' reliever Josh Lee, who settled and did his job by closing out the dig.

Saints hold top placing with a miniscule percentage break over Lara, who delivered a reality check to Deakin with a 10-0 drubbing. Although the game was relatively tight early, it began to unravel for the Blues as Lara's "older heads" applied the pressure behind Aaron Green and Cameron Forbes, both of whom had terrific outings. Seemingly light on for playing depth early in the season, the triple reigning premier continues to build its season, while the young Blues will lick their wounds and put this one behind them.  They have already shown enough to suggest that they will continue to be competitive, with short-stop Darcy Eales a standout with the bat and in the field today.

Guild Lions strengthened their position in the leading group with a 12-1 "mercy rule" result over Bellarine. Pat Moulton threw a blinder for the Lions, who spanked the ball hard and often - with Adam Barnes, Jones and Spence among the more productive hitters.

Although details are not to hand, it seems that Werribee notched its second success of the season, with an upset 4-3 result over Bacchus Marsh, who cling to fourth placing while the Giants join Brewers, Deakin and Bellarine at 2 and 4.  Scores. Match Reports as available. Ladders. 

3 May 2008
"Gutsy" Spence nails Game One thriller: Vaqueros win through to next round
While not producing one of the best outings of his stellar college career, Geelong's Josh Spence did enough to lead the Central Arizona Vaqueros to a thrilling 5-4 win over South Mountain in Game One of the Region 1 NJCAA play-off. Elated, also, with his lower order hitters, Coach Wendt said of the nine innings Spence outing, "It was one of the gutsiest performances I've ever seen from a pitcher."

The Vaqueros followed up with a thumping 10-2 win in Game Two to win through to the next round of Regional play-offs from Thursday until Saturday next week. Randy Huggler reports on Game One. Game Two Report.  Stats and Results for both games.