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South SOUTH AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE INC

2014/15 ANNUAL REPORT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Elected Board Meetings Attended

Mark Snelgrove President 2014 11

Vacant Marketing - -

Tony Catt Youth 2014 7

Ben Dixon Finance 2013 9

Lawrie Moore Player & Coach Development 2013 11

Mark Brougham Operations 2013 9

Kevin Shepherdson Affiliations 2014 8

STAFF

Nathan Davison Chief Executive Officer

Renae Roach Business Development Manager

Matthew Williams Player Pathway and Development Manager

Jessica Sneath Administration / Operations

Andrew Scott Operations Manager

Laura Bond Administration / Events

PATRON Terry Evans

VICE PATRONS Dr Roger Capps Howard Norman

Ron Wright Ken Wesslink

HERITAGE COMMITTEE Alan Waldron , AM (Chair) Robert Laidlaw (League Historian)

Ron Chandler Gordon Penhall

Phil Burgess Doug White

1 South Australian Baseball League Inc. INDEX President Report...... 7 Chief Executive Officer Report...... 8 Finance Director Report...... 11 Business Development Manager Report...... 17 Player Pathway & Development Manager Report...... 20 Hall Of Fame Inductee...... 27 SA Winterball Association Report...... 29 Player, Coach & Development Report...... 33 Operations Report...... 35 Youth Director Report...... 37 Affiliations Director Report...... 38 SA Scorers Association Report...... 39 BUASA Report...... 42 Heritage Committee Report...... 43 State Team Reports...... 44 Little League Team Reports...... 59 Junior League Team Reports...... 65

2 South South Australian Australian BaseballBaseball League Inc.Inc South

STRATEGIC INTENT

REDUCE FINANCIAL BURDEN ON CLUBS:

Reduce SABL overheads by reviewing all costs. Implement cost savings. Increase outside revenues through sponsorship events, donations, grants.

PROVIDE VALUE FOR MONEY PRODUCT:

More Junior and Senior games played. Development programs. Venue and Training facilities.

IMPROVE:

Improve club to league and league to club interaction. Provide even better Governance from Board. Increase our service levels - League. Improve the level of responsibility - Clubs.

SUPPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE:

Invest in affiliations, scorers. Invest in affiliations, umpires. Refine integration.

RULES AND CONDITIONS:

Conduct an overview of the current playing rules and conditions. Review, replace and or change By-Laws. Implement policies and procedures.

INCREASE AWARENESS:

Within our local geographical regions. Within our country geographical regions. Through brand alignment with BITE.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:

Grass roots awareness programs. Implement BBA (Bite Baseball Academy). Increase MLBAAP and College Athletes. Innovative Coaching programs.

3 South Australian Baseball League Inc. South

PROUD SUPPORTERs OF BASEBALL IN AFFILIATIONS:

CORPORATE PARTNERS:

CHARITY OF CHOICE: SPONSORS: South

LIFE MEMBERS

1922 Geo Chapman* 1994 - 95 Bert Haynes* 1922 Claude Ewers* 1995 - 96 Gordon Penhall 1922 Frank Ewers* 1995 - 96 Alan Waldron AM 1922 Rue Ewers* 1996 - 97 Peter Dixon 1926 Syd Smith* 1998 - 99 Hugh Franke* 1930 Norrie Claxton* 1999 - 00 Ron Chandler 1932 Wally Buchanan* 1999 - 00 Lionel ‘Nobby’ Clark* 1937 Len C Poole* 2001 - 01 Kevin Jennings 1938 Perce Doolan* 2001 - 01 Peter Kemp 1938 Paddy Ohlstrom* 2001 - 02 Paul Begg 1938 Bill Wiles* 2002 - 03 Peter Fischer 1944 Charles Catt* 2003 - 04 Bob Abbey 1948 Alby Bartless* 2003 - 04 Arthur MacDonald 1949 Ron Sharpe* 2004 - 05 Greg Bradshaw 1950 Fred Mann* 2004 - 05 Ron Harvey AM 1951 Martin Kriewaldt* 2005 - 06 Brian Addison 1956 Ron Scott* 2005 - 06 Jim Wilton 1958 Henley Jones* 2006 - 07 David Mundy 1959 Andy Buchanan* 2007 - 08 David Hutton 1960 Byron Ascione* 2008 - 09 Norm ‘Chalky’ White 1961 Laurie LeCornu* 2009 - 10 Bob Neiswander 1963 Bill Stephens* 2010 - 11 Brian Cakebread 1965 Alan Branstrom* 2010 - 11 Ken Kobayshi 1966 Claude Thorpe* 2011 - 12 Kevin Greatrex 1967 Bill Moody* 2012 - 13 No one Elected 1969 - 70 Roy Page* 2013 - 14 Phil Alexander 1970 - 71 Stan Scarman* 2014 - 15 Robert Laidlaw 1971 - 72 Bob Finn* 2014 - 15 Barry O’Brien 1972 - 73 Max Stone* 1973 - 74 Max Galloway* *Deceased 1974 - 75 Kingsley Wellington 1975 - 76 Jim Garrick* 1976 - 77 Lou Bressler* 1978 - 79 Arthur Rathbone* 1979 - 80 Don Klaebe* 1980 - 81 Gordon Ross* 1981 - 82 Brian Brooks* 1982 - 83 Tom Rice* 1983 - 84 Claude Pearce* 1984 - 85 Harry Hunt* 1985 - 86 Warren Charles 1986 - 87 Colin Rowe* 1987 - 88 Ms Pat Beatty* 1988 - 89 Ray Thorne* 1989 - 90 Ken Wesslink 1990 - 91 Dave Roberts 1991 - 92 Don Rice* 1992 - 93 Ron Wright 1992 - 93 Max Puckett* 1993 - 94 Ron Morgan*

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CAPPS MEDAL WINNERS 1936 - 2015 YEAR WINNER CLUB

1936 Charlie Puckett* Prospect 1983 - 84 Greg Elkson Glenelg 1937 Clem Scott* Goodwood 1984 - 85 Jeff Fiechtner Kensington 1938 Geff Noblet * Glenelg 1985 - 86 Jeff Fiechtner Kensington 1939 Phil Brideoake* West Torrens 1986 - 87 Tony Harris Woodville 1940 Fred Catt* East Torrens 1987 - 88 Greg Elkson Goodwood 1941 Garth Burton* Kensington 1987 - 88 Brian Farley Central Districts 1988 - 89 Brian Farley Central Districts 1942 - 1945 (War Years) 1988 - 89 Barry Lunnon Sturt 1989 - 90 Greg Elkson Goodwood 1946 Jim Puckett* Prospect 1990 - 91 Brian Cakebread Port 1947 Phil Brideoake* West Torrens 1991 - 92 Barry Lunnon Sturt 1948 Phil Brideoake* West Torrens 1992 - 93 Barry Lunnon Sturt 1949 Ian Leahy* Prospect 1993 - 94 Phil Burgess West Torrens 1950 Barry Wiles* Adelaide 1994 - 95 Russell Dart Henley & Grange 1951 Bill Fuller University 1995 - 96 Ian Reval Glenelg 1952 Doug Othams University 1996 - 97 Mark Born Port Adelaide 1953 Colin Watts Glenelg 1997 - 98 Scott Marshall Port Adelaide 1954 Des Vaughton* West Torrens 1998 - 99 Scott Marshall Port Adelaide 1955 Phil Brideoake* Glenelg 1999 - 00 Craig Watts Sturt 1956 Doug Othams University 2000 - 01 John Challinor Goodwood 1957 Peter Box* Goodwood 2001 - 02 Ryan Simunsen Adelaide 1958 Peter Box* Goodwood 2002 - 03 Darren Fidge Goodwood 1959 Jim Tamlin University 2003 - 04 Darren Fidge Goodwood 1960 Jim Cocks* Sturt 2004 - 05 John Challinor Goodwood 1961 Don Rice* Glenelg 2005 - 06 Darren Fidge Goodwood 1962 Don Rice* Glenelg 2006 - 07 Andrew Scott West Torrens 1963 Don Rice* Glenelg 2007 - 08 Michael Ewart Kensington 1964 Ian Glover Kensington 2008 - 09 Tyler Levin East Torrens 1965 Neil Davey Port Adelaide 2009 - 10 Daniel Wilson Glenelg 1966 Kevin Greatrex Port Adelaide 2010 - 11 Todd Langman Port Adelaide 1967 Don Rice* Glenelg 2011 - 12 Nick Talbot Kensington 1968 Don Rice* Glenelg 2012 - 13 Nick Talbot Kensington 1968 David Hutton Sturt 2013 - 14 Andrew Davis Port Adelaide 1968 - 69 Ron Chandler Adelaide 2014 - 15 Nick Talbot Kensington 1969 - 70 David McLoud Goodwood 1970 - 71 Kevin Greatrex Port Adelaide *Deceased 1971 - 72 David Mundy Port Adelaide 1972 - 73 Kevin Greatrex Port Adelaide 1973 - 74 Neil Page Goodwood 1973 - 74 Les Behrendt Woodville 1974 - 75 Colin Alexander Glenelg 1975 - 76 Kevin Greatrex Port Adelaide 1976 - 77 Don Masters Northern Districts 1977 - 78 Mark Peters Woodville 1978 - 79 Greg Elkson Glenelg 1979 - 80 John Galloway Woodville 1980 - 81 Gary Challen* Henley & Grange 1981 - 82 Phil Alexander Glenelg 1982 - 83 Greg Elkson Glenelg

6 South Australian Baseball League Inc. PRESIDENT - REPORT

Baseball SA oversaw a number of significant administrative changes during 2014/15, the largest being the appointment of Nathan Davison as our CEO. BSA and ABL entered into a memorandum of understanding to fully realise the integration and our commitment to infrastructure support that in return would be able to leverage on the brand and profile of the Adelaide BITE as it is resonates as a tangible investment in this State.

We assumed the philosophy of dividing our business into Service side (BSA) and Product side (BITE) and to embrace an “all of one” approach towards Baseball in South Australia. The joint CEO/GM appointment enhances our position and will allow us seek opportunities to grow and further increase our reach in grass roots participation. The appointment will build the foundation for delivering a sustainable and attractive interactive game for all associated. Our focus has and will continue to be on strengthening our serviceability and communications to our members, this is in line with our identified deliverables contained within our strategic intent.

The addition of the Diamond Sports venue is an exciting time for all associated with Baseball in this State as it is officially opened on Oct 2nd with an inaugural game between Woodville and Kensington. The project hasn’t been without its challenges and has thrown us a few curve balls along the way, the end result will be a fantastic venue. The Baseball specific diamond has been built with Musco MLB AAA rated lighting that has the infrastructure in place to take it to International HD TV rated. Full cut-outs, 380 spectator stand with new seating, submersible dugouts spanning 18mt, a new brick backstop with 10mt high pole-less netting and 3 wide ball pens. A full electronic 6mt x 3mt scoreboard and a home fence 320mt right and left field foul lines, dead centre measuring 387mt, and a 5mt warning track. When completed the diamond will be a fantastic addition to the baseball calendar and will be the field for all baseballers to enjoy.

Sustainability is a word I have used and will continue to use, as we focus on not only providing new opportunities for young existing players but attracting new members, volunteers and supporters to our game to make sure it remains healthy on every level. To do this, the spot light is on the way we maximise the return on the monies we collectively spend each year. BSA is focusing on investing in the future of our sport as we continue to implement strategies through a “review and recommend” process to our key stakeholders.

As we move forward, the game in it is pure form remains robust, attractive and delivers for its entertainment value and player satisfaction. But to remain affordable and to be able to compete against other similar tiered sports, collectively we all need readjust our short term commitment and implement long term strategies.

I am thankful for the many club volunteers whose passion and commitment each day continues to make Baseball an enjoyable sport for all participants. I would also like to recognise and acknowledge our affiliates that assume roles of officiating and scoring our games.

Congratulations to all award winners, milestone achievements and condolences to those that have been lost to the game.

I would like to thank our staff who have worked hard to deliver a level of service to our members that is in line with our high expectations. Finally to my board, who have been relentless and supportive in our drive to take our game forward with a positive intent.

This an exciting time for our game, demonstrated by the genuine passion of so many in our sport. We have strengthened government support, obtained diverse corporate involvement, showcased local talent, provided opportunity to further advancement and we have welcomed returning resources. It is the responsibility for all associated to continue to build, support and enhance our offer so we can all prosper in the game we all love.

MARK SNELGROVE President

7 South Australian Baseball League Inc. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER - REPORT

As we close in on our first full year roll out of our “integrated” model, some of the achievements we proudly relay include:

• Breaking ground on our first ever baseball specific venue and creation of Diamond Sports • Hosting the most successful 3 game series in history during February for the ABL Championship Series • Competing in the first ever Australian Junior League Championship with the Waves finishing a creditable third • Staffing changes and turnovers, Andrew Scott as Operation Manager, Bianca Smith as Competition and Membership Manager, Landon Hernandez as State Director of Coaching. Matt Williams changing roles to Player and Official Pathways Manager and Renae Roach resuming the role of Business Development Manager. • Baseball SA winning the award for “State Association of the Year” at the Baseball Australia Diamond Awards.

Baseball remains in a very exciting period of opportunity and growth.

National participation numbers continue to rise, coincident with our national competition being in effect.

There still remains many challenges we will encounter as we move forward, none more so than the need to continue to work towards self-sustainability. The Government, through the Australian Sports Commission, have been a supportive as well as significant funding partner for all that we do. We are very grateful for their contribution, and understanding that the grants we have won are not donations but in fact means for us to build infrastructure, employ capable labour resource, invest in development and inclusion programs and run the business of baseball to fund itself. The Board and staff are very aware of the increased pressure on our member clubs and will continue in an inclusive manner to support, offer advice and counsel, along with implementing strategy and direction for baseball.

I would like to thank the Board, led by President Mark Snelgrove, for all of their effort and guidance. We will continue to work together, challenge, and strive for improvement in all facets of our governance.

While in thank you mode, I would also like to thank the staff who work tirelessly day in and day out, often times out of normal hours, but always with the best interest of baseball at heart and the passion and excitement that comes with working in a sporting environment.

The Bite had a memorable year.

Off field the team continue to live in a sporting landscape that requires meticulous planning, as well as coordination and access to new baseball friendly supporters and partners.

On field the team excelled in every category other than the biggest prize of all, the .

From the Helms award winner Aaron Miller, to best pitcher in Morgan Coombs, best , Rookie of the year also being Tols, best hitter another Bite star in Miller, best photographer in Ryan Schembri and best media coverage from Tom Biddington of the Advertiser, the Bite scooped the pool at the Baseball Australia Diamond Awards.

8 South Australian Baseball League Inc. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER - REPORT (CONT.)

Locally we saw the dynasty continue as Leigh Norman led Kensington to their fifth premiership in the past six seasons and star player Nick Talbot winning his third Capps Medal along with Grand Final Most Valuable Player.

Our representative teams continue to work towards improvement. Our Junior League team, the Waves finishing 3rd in their first attempt, and both of our Little League teams showed improvement and now will venture along the pathway to Juniors League, Big League and later Senior League as Baseball Australia continues to adopt the charter basis of representative baseball.

As mentioned earlier, baseball is in a period of growth, and with growth comes change.

Some initiatives to keep in mind for the coming season include:

- Roll our of new fee structure and payment system - Further enhancement of the IMG Database management system fully utilizing its many functions - Australian Masters Games to be held at new facility - A new Womens Baseball League to be run in 2015/16 season - Bite Elite Academy offering scholarships for up and coming youth players - Bite Youth and Little League Academies to run preparing players for season 2015/16 - Increased focus on need for Accredited coaches, scorers and umpires - Tee-Ball SA to fully encapsulate total number of players

Baseball remains in a healthy and enviable position and will continue to strive to fulfill its desired position as the sport of choice for everyone.

NATHAN DAVISON Chief Executive Officer

2014/15 ADELAIDE BITE AWARDS:

The Bob Finn Memorial Award MVP - Brandon Dixon

Bite Pitching Award - Josh Tols

BIte Hitting Award - Aaron Miller

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ADELAIDE BITE SQUAD - 2014/2015

PITCHERS: INFIELDERS:

Tyler Brunnemann Brandon Dixon

Morgan Coombs Tyrone Hambly

Colin Feldtman Corey Lyon

Darren Fidge Chan Moon

Kyle Hooper Simon Wark

Wilson Lee

Connor Little Austin Wobrock

Will Mathis

Troy Scott CATCHERS:

Josh Silvi Chris Adamson

Craig Stem Rocky Gale

Josh Tols Landon Hernandez

Virgil Vasquez Craig Maddox

Tony Vocca Connar O’Gorman

Matthew Williams William Thorp

OUTFIELDERS:

Tom Brice

Mitch Dening

Ben Lodge

Aaron Miller

Michael Miller

Angus Roeger

10 South Australian Baseball League Inc. FINANCE DIRECTOR - REPORT

Year ended 30 April 2015

Our net profit of $78,029 for the year ending 30 April 2015 was a pleasing result as we had budgeted for a net profit of $11,403.

INCOME

Our total income of $809,800 was in line with budget. For the first time in at least 7 years we have yielded a net profit from hosting the Capps Medal. This has proven to be a challenging undertaking so well done to the team at Baseball SA for making it happen.

EXPENDITURE

Our total expenditure of $724,670 was below our budgeted spend of $798,397. We had budgeted to spend $40,000 on Diamond Sports Expenses but only expensed $6,880 and $20,000 being an arms-length loan to Diamond Sports SA Inc.

BALANCE SHEET

Our Trade Debtors as at 30 April 2015 was $67,786 and this is the lowest it has been on Year- End Date since 30-Apr-10 notwithstanding we had written off bad debts totalling $11,861 during the year.

This time 2 years ago our Debtors Days was 61 days but for the year ended 30-Apr-15 it took our customers an average of 37 days to pay our bills – an improvement of 24 days which is great for cash flow.

Our cash position on 30-Apr-15 is $95,815 more than at the same time last year so a good year all round.

BEN DIXON Finance Director

11 South Australian Baseball League Inc. 12 South Australian Baseball League Inc. 13 South Australian Baseball League Inc. 14 South Australian Baseball League Inc. 15 South Australian Baseball League Inc. 16 South Australian Baseball League Inc. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER - REPORT

What an exciting year it has been in baseball.

Sponsorship: This year we welcomed back Commonwealth Bank as the major sponsor of the 2015 Little & Junior League teams. Their partnership has been valuable to our sport and developing grass root programs. We thank Jodie Heard, Craig Brooke and their team for the support. We also welcomed Viv Sports apparel to our team of partners designing and supplying all state team merchandise. This has allowed us to refresh designs and create a new modern look for the little league teams. We thank Viv Chauhan and this team for their assistance. Copyworld Toshiba has been a proud partner of our sport for the last two years. David Morris and his team continued this season to be a wonderful contributor to the school holiday and buddy programs run at and we thank them for this. Paxton wines continued to be a great partner in providing wines/gifts throughout the season. All their wonderful products can be found within our shop on our website. Our Capps Awards night would not be complete without the support of James Thredgold Jewellers as the major partner for this great event. James, Derek and their team provide the wonderful medallions and giveaways on the night. Their lovely range of jewellery can be seen at their Norwood or Burnside locations. We were proud to have Diamonds Camera, Video & Digital as a new partner this season. They were the sponsor behind the photo competition throughout the season, providing monthly prizes and also the overall winning prize at the 2015 Capps Awards Night. We thank Ian Leggatt and Nicholas Diamantis for their valued support of this great competition. Congratulations to Andrew Vidale for entering and winning the overall competition. Without the league sponsors we would be unable to host some of the great baseball events in SA, so we thank them dearly for their donations to our sport and ask all our members to support these great businesses.

Government Funding: This season we were very fortunate to once again be successful in three government grants to support our sport from; sustainability (opening to door), Development officer and our High Performance program (Bite Academy). These grants have been crucial to the development and running of camps, clinics, school programs and coach recruitment. We are still working hard to obtain a location for our T-ball program commencing in 2016, but are steps closer in having this occur. We were very fortunate to be successful with the Women’s league grant at the end of this financial year. We look forward to this team taking shape and the growth of this new program. We continue to welcome all baseball avenues in schools across Adelaide. This season we have been working closely with the Salisbury Council developing programs within their catchment area. This program and others like it we hope to continue rolling out across all Metropolitan & Regional areas. There were a number of club incentives announced this season from facilities grants to Active club equipment and programs. We encourage all clubs to take advantage of these opportunities to better the sport and welcome new members to our clubs. Please feel free to contact myself or our Office of Recreation and Sports Advisor, Damien Jennings (08 7424 7767) for information on upcoming grants. 17 South Australian Baseball League Inc. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER - REPORT (CONT.)

Merchandise: This season we created an online store on our website for parents to order state merchandise. This allowed parents to pay via credit card and purchase at any time of the day. Whilst with anything new there are teething issues, the overall success was pleasing. At the beginning of the season we hosted a “name your team” competition to provide names to all little and junior league teams. The following names were selected and the winners taking away an Adelaide Bite cap, congratulations to the members below; U13’s South – Adelaide Seahawks (named by: Sean Burns) U13’s West – Adelaide Rays (named by: Gary Brinkworth) U13’s North – Adelaide Marlins (named by: Alice Wark) U15’s South – Adelaide Waves (named by: Bailey Short) U15’s North – Adelaide Pirates (named by: David Jucha) All uniforms were designed and provided by Viv Sports and well received by the children involved in the state programs.

Finance: Baseball SA continues to work towards our strategic goal of being a self-sustainable sport, not relying heavily on government funding. Being self-reliant we are able to stabilize our business and not react to market changes and funding reductions. With this in mind this season we were able to invest funds into long term investment providing a more positive position for the league. This also allowed us to keep club levies from being increased and other budget areas consistent. In 2014/15 the Australian Sports Commission reduced funding to baseball nationally and again for this coming season 2015/16 another $266,000 was cut. To enable our business to continue striving forward, it is imperative that we as a league continue to invest in our grass root programs to increase new participation. This will in turn enable us to increase the ASC support. This becomes an important matter with member registrations; ensuring that all members, playing and non-playing volunteers are registered in our IMG system across metro and regional areas. At the end of the 2014/15 year, I introduced a new fee structure to the league; a user pay system. This is something that is already represented across other states in baseball and sports. This process allows us to accurately determine playing and volunteering numbers to the ASC, but also reduce the financial burden on clubs trying to capture player payments and pay club levies to the league. This new system will be rolled out at the end of July 2015 with metro and regional visits.

We look forward to a challenging but rewarding year ahead in the great sport of Baseball.

RENAE ROACH Business Development Manager

18 South Australian Baseball League Inc. 2014/15 SEASON DIAMONDS PHOTO COMPETITION OVERALL PHOTO COMPETITION WINNER

Photo Credit: Andrew Vidale

November Winner: December Winner: January Winner:

February Winner: March Winner: PLAYER PATHWAY AND DEVELOPMENT MANAGER - REPORT

Little League The 2015 State Little League Championships was held in April at West Beach. At a club level, additional teams participating in the local competition required a restructure of charters, with a new charter forming. With 3 Adelaide Charters (Adelaide Rays, Adelaide Marlins, Adelaide Seahawks) and Mount Gambier, the State Little League Championships expanded to a 9 game schedule. Each team played a minimum of 4 games over the 3 day event, with some great baseball being played all weekend. Following on from last year, a Development competition was run concurrently, with teams from the 3 Adelaide charters allowing another 30+ juniors to experience tournament baseball. The Development competition has proved an excellent opportunity for the younger players to showcase the upcoming talent in the state.

Junior League The first year of the newly expanded pathway lead to the creation of the State Junior League Championships, held in February. Three teams competed over a 2 days tournament, with Adelaide Waves, Adelaide Pirates and Mount Gambier all competing for 2 places in the National Championships.

Country Development Baseball SA are continuing their support of the Sunraysia Baseball Academy, run throughout the winter in Mildura. A significant number of players from this area participate in both club and state level baseball in Adelaide over the summer months. Port Pirie formed a junior baseball program after a successful Come and Try day. Training and playing games under the supervision of senior players and coaches, the program is looking to provide an opportunity for juniors in the region to play and ultimately move into senior competitions.

Schools This year saw the dissolution of the Active After Schools Program after a number of years. The program, while excellent at exposing children to sport, had limited success in converting players to club baseball. The ASC are currently rolling out a new program to replace Active After Schools.

Bite Academy The 2014 Bite Academy saw 70 junior players participate in a training environment conducted by some of the best coaches SA has to offer. Additionally, 2 teams were entered into SA Winter Baseball League, with a focus on development and learning to deal with a challenging environment. Both teams experienced games against teams that were significantly older and more experienced, and performed above expectation. With the new facility at West Beach, an expanded Academy will allow for more on-field activity and greater opportunities for player and coach development.

The focus for the upcoming season is the transition of tee ball players into the baseball pathway. The retention of players in this age group is the key to sustainable junior and senior player numbers. The continual expansion of the Little League International pathway provides an opportunity for more players to play tournament and representative baseball.

MATTHEW WILLIAMS Player Pathway and Development Manager 20 South Australian Baseball League Inc. South

JUNIOR AWARDS

SA BITE UNDER 16 MVP - Alex Smith (Goodwood) SA BITE UNDER 18 MVP - Charlie Goldsworthy (West Torrens)

Don Klaebe Memorial Award SA BITE, Most Consistant: Troy Chandler (East Torrens)

SA BITE Under 16 Greatrex Sporting Award, Most Improved: Thomas Norley (Gawler Rangers)

SA BITE Under 18 Greatrex Sporting Award, Most Improved: Jordy Grose (Woodville)

Brewers Masters Baseball, SA Future Player Award: Ky Hampton (Sturt)

Harvey / Kobayashi Youth State Coaching Award: Mark Haylock (Goodwood)

Athlete of the Year: Mason Pickard (West Torrens)

Junior Club of the Year: Sturt Baseball Club

Under 11 South, Ron and Jill Chandler League: Cooper Pratt (Goodwood)

Under 11 North, Ron and Jill Chandler League: Aiden Lucas (Northern Districts)

Under 13 Little League Division 1, Ron MacBeth League: Jacob Scott (West Torrens)

Under 13 Little League Division 2, Ron MacBeth League: Matthew George (Northern Districts)

Under 15 Junior League Division 1, Kevin Greatrex League: Mason Clavell (Glenelg)

Under 15 Junior League Division 2, Max Puckett League - Alan Waldron Medal: Jack Jenkins (Northern Districts) 21 South Australian Baseball League Inc. JUNIOR AWARDS

Don Rice Leagu, Claude Pearce Medal: Tyson Arnold (Glenelg)

Under 17 Division 1 Greg Elkson League, Len C Poole Medal: Tomohiro Sassa (Henley and Grange)

Under 17 Division 2 Greg Elkson League, Len C Poole Medal: Rob Gill (Gawler Rangers) SUCCESS

The harder you work...

The luckier you get.

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SENIOR AWARDS PERPETUAL AWARDS:

State Under 25, Most Improved: Simon Wark (Kensington)

State Under 25 MVP: Jackson Brebner-Russ

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE MVP’s:

Division 7 MVP, BUASA and SABA Medal: Daniel Connor (Port Adelaide)

Division 6 MVP, John Tyson Medal: Matthew Pace (Adelaide)

Division 5 MVP, Graham Fisher Medal: Brian Pickett (Adelaide)

Division 4 MVP, Max Galloway Medal: Rick Mitchell (Goodwood)

Division 3 MVP, George Chapman Medal: Dave Carter (Goodwood)

Division 2 MVP, Ron Sharpe Medal: Sam Siddall (Northern Districts)

Under 19’s MVP, Don Rice League Claude Pearce Medal: Tyson Arnold (Glenelg)

DIVISION 1 AWARDS:

Gordon Ross Golden Glove Outfielder: Patrick Inglis (Southern Districts)

Gordon Ross Golden Glove Infielder: Jeremy Cresswell (Goodwood)

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SENIOR AWARDS

Batting Champion - Batting Average Award: Tom Fiebig (West Torrens)

RBI Champion: Leigh Chenoweth (Kensington) Vinnie Fayard (Woodville)

Earned Run Average Award: Colin Feldtman (Sturt)

Rookie of the Year Award: Mitchell Lightbody (Sturt)

PLAYER MILESTONES

200 Games Dylan Child (Woodville) Liam Huppatz (Woodville) Jackson Lodge (Woodville) Nathan Nicholson (Woodville)

300 Games Damian Wall (Woodville) Shane Lodge (Woodville)

400 Games Greg McCall (East Torrens)

500 Games David Lodge (Woodville)

600 Games Simon Galpin (Goodwood)

700 Games Garth Lodge (Woodville)

24 South Australian Baseball League Inc. THE OHLSTROM SHILED Woodville Baseball Club

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD Steve Eads MEDIA AWARD Tom Biddington

PHOTO OF THE YEAR AWARD Ryan Schembri 2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE - JOHN GALLOWAY

DOB: 14/08/52 From: South Australia Nomination Category: Playing / 1968 – 1988

CLUB:

John’s life-long baseball career from juniors to masters began at Unley Primary School before joining the at 7 years of age. 1969/70 saw his A grade debut with Kensington as shortstop before moving to catcher which remained as his main position. John played 209 games with Kensington, including 88 A grade games prior to his move to East Torrens from the 1973/74 season for the following six years in which he played in two premierships and took out another 147 A grade games. John began his three year stint as playing coach at Woodville in the 1979/80 season which saw him playing in yet another premiership game and ending his time at Woodville with a further 79 A grade games. Moving to Victoria in 1982/83 until his retirement from A grade baseball, John was coach of the sunshine club, captain/coach of three premierships, playing in five Masters premierships, coaching Upwey Ferntree Gully Baseball Club in 1997/98, playing winter baseball for Werribee and Bacchus Marsh and playing in the 2000 premiership with his sons Kane and Chad.

STATE:

John’s state career began in 1969, representing South Australia in the under 18s squad. He continued representing SA as a catcher between 1973-82 in the Claxton Shield state team which included two championship teams in 1976 and 1980. In 1985-86, John managed the Victorian Claxton Shield team, leading them to win the 1984 and 1986 championships. His Victorian baseball career saw him as the 1985/90 coach of the Monarchs, Assistant Coach to the Claxton Shield Diamond Anniversary All-Star team and under 18 coach from 1998-2000.

27 South Australian Baseball League Inc. NATIONAL:

On a National level, John has represented Australia on a number of occasions. As a player, he played in the 1975 Asian Series in Seoul, 1977 against Nippon Korean, 1978 World Amateur Series in Italy, 1979 Asian Series in Japan/Korea, 1980 Honda team and Korea at Norwood Oval and 1981-82 Korean, Norwood Oval. In 1985 he was the Australian Senior Assistant Manager, the Australian Senior Coach in 1989 & 1990 and the Australian under 19 team for three years, 1986-1988 (USA, Canada and Mexico).

INTERNATIONAL:

John Galloway was a baseball scout for the for nine years.

AWARDS / TROPHIES / RECOGNITION:

Throughout John’s baseball career he has won a total of 9 MVP awards, was a member of seven premierships, won the 1980 Helms Award and was the recipient of the 1979/80 Capps Medal. In 2000, John Galloway was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for services to baseball. He is not only a Sunshine Club, Vic, Life Member and Hall of Famer but was in 2013 was inducted as a Club Legend.

28 South Australian Baseball League Inc. SA WINTERBALL ASSOCIATION - REPORT

It has been my pleasure to act as the President of the SA Winter Baseball Association since 2008- I came into the role after a request was made to me by Hugh Franke as there was a vacancy during the 2008 season. I have enjoyed being involved in the administration of the competition after playing in it for over 20 years.

The season was well conducted and participated by teams with fair and sportsmanlike conduct. I would like to thank the two hundred odd people for participating and the team organisers and coaches that make this competition possible. I would also like to thank the umpires who make time to officiate these games, an often thankless task that is essential.

There was only one tribunal session held during the year with both teams given severe reprimands over their unsportsmanlike behaviour. However apart from this one incident the season did progress it a very sportsmanlike manner all season and is testament to teams playing in this competition.

I’d also like to congratulate the following teams for their grand final victories.

DIVISION WINNERS:

2014 Hugh Franke Premier Division: Bears (defeated Bite Blue 15-2)

2014 Division 2 North Jim Beare League: Frosticals (defeated MAD (16-4)

2014 Division 2 Central Mick Beech League: Flinders University Blue Wave (defeated Tigers 8-5)

2014 Division 2 South Martin Foster League Wild Bulls (defeated Socia-Bulls 14-6)

2014 Division 3: Varsity Korea (defeated Denron Angels 13-2)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS FOR THE GRAND FINAL :

Div 1: Jai Sanderson (Bears) Div 2N: Josh Lands (Frosticals) Div 2C Matt Miles (Flinders Blue Wave) Div 2S Josh Tindall (Wild Bulls) Div 3C Chul Park (Varsity Korea)

29 South Australian Baseball League Inc. SA WINTERBALL ASSOCIATION - REPORT (CONT.)

The following new initiatives were implemented for 2014 included;

- Addition of a Facebook page which was well utilised upon its creation and allows for better communication to players and team managers from the competition organisers - Addition of Division 3 – this provided better opportunity for novice players in the competition and create a more even competition through the divisions

Its also very pleasing to see an increase in teams for 2014 and early indicators are that there will be another increase in teams for 2015 which is a great sign for the competition and proof that we are heading in the right direction.

I would like to also thank the Winter Baseball Committee for their time in managing and administering this competition, especially Peter McGeary the Vice President, Ryan Barmby the Secretary (who does an incredible amount of work) and Trevor Dunn the Treasurer. Thanks also to Christopher Shaw, Martin Foster, Ditmar Guehrer, Josh Gloede, Jim Beare and Jamie Coombs. This committee has great representation from a number of clubs across the spectrum of the competition.

Thankyou also to you the clubs who organise and players, umpires and grounds every week – you are the competition.

Finally I have had to take a leave of absence from the committee due to personal reasons- I definitely intend to return to work on the committee and the competition but for 2015 will need to make sure that my family has my undivided attention.

MATTHEW MILES

30 South Australian Baseball League Inc. 2014/15 GRAND FINAL - SPORTS REPORT

WOODVILLE BC VS KENSINGTON BC

28TH & 29TH MARCH 2015

Brice walk-off seals the deal Kensington Cardinals wrapped up back-to-back - and five in six seasons - premierships with an exciting extra inning walk-off home run by Tom Brice, to beat Woodville Senators 3-2 in game two of the division one baseball grand final at Erindale yesterday. A three-run home run by triple Capps Medallist Nick Talbot in Saturday’s first contest, staked Kensington to a 5-3 win, with yesterday’s excitement-packed game sealing the deal.

Chris Salamida for the Cardinals was in a tough pitching duel with Woodville’s Wilson Lee on Saturday, until the bottom of the seventh frame, when with two men on, Josh Tols for the Senators came on in relief and served up Talbot’s crucial smash. Trailing 2-0 in the second game, Woodville’s Troy Weinert belted a home run in the seventh inning, while in the ninth, Wilson Lee a RBI single to level the contest. In the bottom of the ninth, Chris Doyle threw Kensington runner Ryan Murphy out at home plate to force extra innings. Weinert looked like being the hero when he hit another long ball at the top of the 11th frame, which Cardinal left-fielder Angus Bills managed to bring back into play for an out, with Brice leading off the bottom of the 11th with his winner. Talbot and the Senators Jackson Lodge pitched complete game for their respective sides.

ROBERT LAIDLAW

31 South Australian Baseball League Inc. 2014/15 GRAND FINAL RESULTS

2014/15 GRAND FINAL - RESULTS

GAME ONE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 RUNS

Woodville 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Kensington 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 X 5

Woodville 000 102 000 - 3 Kensington 000 020 30x - 5

Kensington Hits - Wark 3 (hr), Bills 2 (hr), Talbot (hr), Onofrio, Brice, Murphy Woodville Hits - Weinert 3, Child 2, B. Lodge 2, Fayard, Turner (hr), Wyatt WP: C. Salamida; LP: W. Lee

GAME TWO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 RUNS

Woodville 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Kensington 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3

Woodville 000 000 101 00 - 2 Kensington 000 200 000 01 - 3

Kensington Hits - Talbot 2, Murphy 2, Wark 2, Salamida, L. Chenoweth, Brice (hr), Nooij (hr), Bills Woodville Hits - Weinert 2 (hr), Fayard, B. Lodge, Lee WP: N. Talbot; LP: J. Lodge

32 South Australian Baseball League Inc. PLAYER COACH & DEVELOPMENT- REPORT

Baseball SA is still working to continue to develop and build a pathway for our baseball players, This is by providing a clear pathway for our athletes to progress from State to National and International representation. A major part of this pathway is “The Bite Academy”

The Baseball Academy : Run again with the Bite Academy the two groups Group 1: 13-15 Years of Age Group 2: 15-19 Years of Age

Again we used Gillespie Sports Centre as an opportunity to gain more game time . Two sides were entered into Div 1 Winterball competition.

At the National Level: U25’s played in Cairns QLD. Peter Kitchingman was Head Coach of this team. Unfortunately the team finished 4th, just missing out on a bronze medal going down to QLD 5 def SA 4

U18’s & U16’s again played against Bob Williams USA touring party at Woodville Baseball Club in December in the Goodwill Series. Again this is an important part of our planning to lead into the National Championships in January .

U16’s National Youth Championships were played at Blacktown in Sydney. Mark Haylock was Head Coach of this Team. After all the hard work done by this group of players, 7th place wasn’t the result we were hoping for.

U18’s National Youth Championships also played at Blacktown in Sydney. Damien Norsworthy was Head Coach of this team. Unfortunately a 7th place wasn’t the result with this group of players

No women’s team competed this year, mainly due to change in tournament dates being moved from Easter weekend to January. We were unable to nominate a team.

To all the players, coaches & executive officers, scorers, & umpires, who were involved the Bite Academy and state teams, thank you for the support & commitment to these programs.

33 South Australian Baseball League Inc. PLAYER COACH & DEVELOPMENT- REPORT (CONT.)

COACHING & ACCREDIATION: With the growth of Little League teams across all age groups the need for a large pool of accredited coaches is “increasing “

Baseball SA is working to increase our number of accredited coaches. As a coach you have a “Duty of Care” to all players under his or her care

From T- Ball to junior grades & senior coaches , it is mandatory that ALL coaches at least to complete the online assessment of the Australian Sports Commission Coaching General Principles Duty of Care

I would like to thank the volunteers within the baseball community across the state, for the intense & passionate commitment for developing the game of baseball.

In closing I would like to thank all the staff at Baseball SA, and the other board members for their work throughout the year .

QUOTE: “Baseball is a lot like life: It’s a day to day existence, full of ups & downs. you make the most of your opportunities in baseball as you do in Life.” -Ernie Harewell

LAWRIE MOORE Player Coach & Development Director

34 South Australian Baseball League Inc. OPERATIONS DIRECTOR - REPORT

Operations this year, saw another year of change, we decided to extend the Division 3 and 4 competition to 14 and 13 teams, respectively. This proved scheduling and ground allocation easier, and simplified the program, meaning that the 3s could follow the 4s each and every week.

This now means, that once the Division 1 program is finalised, it will give Divisions 2-4 access to a schedule far earlier than in years previous. It is at this time that I would like to thank each and every club for their support of this present scheduling format.

I would like to congratulate all of the Premiership teams, and medal winners on their year. Congratulations to the Kensington Baseball Club on their continued success this year, retaining the Coopers Division 1 Trophy.

Division 1 stayed a 30 round competition – however next year, something new and exciting to unfold at the new home of Baseball in South Australia, The Adelaide Shores Diamond Sport Complex, where we will move to a 3 round competition, wherein each team will compete against each other in a best of 3 game series. This will see us playing under lights for the first time, at our new home and we are hopeful to schedule games at Adelaide Shores for Social Divisions, in the years to come. Kensington and Woodville will contest the first game under lights, on the 2 October in a rematch of last year’s Grand Final.

Season reviews are currently underway, the Operations Committee, are discussing several matters at hand. These are to include, The Heat Rule, “Wash Outs” and possible rescheduling of these games as required, also being discussed is the scheduling for the coming season, coaching accreditations, and finals qualifications of all grades.

To the delegates, that attend each and every meeting their time and input into these meetings is greatly valued. To Paul Begg, Kevin Jennings, Jim Wilton, and Peter Dixon, your time spent on the tribunal this season, is greatly appreciated. The Tribunal only sat on a few occasions this year, which is pleasing to see.

In closing, I would like to welcome Andrew Scott, to the role of Operations Manager. He brings with him a wealth of experience in Baseball, and has already proven his worth this year. Lastly, I would also like to thank Jess Sneath, for all the tireless work she has done for Baseball SA, during her time. Jess leaves us for opportunities in Melbourne and we wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

Yours In Baseball,

MARK BROUGHAM Operations Director 2014-2015

35 South Australian Baseball League Inc. OPERATIONS MANAGER - REPORT Continuing to enhance and develop our pathways and programs for our youth players to be able to perform at the highest possible standards are still of high priority. Sub par performances from our National youth teams tells us more attention to detail and preparation is needed to develop our players to a consistent competitive level. The early appointment of U/16, U/18 & U/25 coaches is the first step in the process.

The scheduling of the Don Rice League to a Wednesday short season twilight competition allowed for the clubs elite junior players to play extra games in a week and help out with adding depth to clubs senior ranks. It was promising to see future Division 1 players, playing with current young Division 1 players at some clubs. The Grand Final played between West Torrens and Golden Grove Central District was a quality game won by GGCD in front of a strong vocal crowd.

A step towards increasing accredited coaches amongst our clubs saw a positive number completing the Community Coach Certificate which is the first stage to being an accredited coach.

A draft has been release for Division 1 for season 2015/16 which includes 3 full rounds and games being played at the new Baseball field at Adelaide Shores West Beach. Having our own field is a long time coming but an exciting time for Baseball in SA and a place we can call ours to show case this great game.

ANDREW SCOTT Operations Manager

36 South Australian Baseball League Inc. YOUTH DIRECTOR - REPORT Being my first year in the role, this season has been a learning curve and I appreciate all of the clubs support in my journey over the last 12 months.

One of the most significant changes this season was the move to 3 Little League Charters and the start of the Junior League Charter competition.

From a League perspective, these Charter based teams add enormous value to baseball in this State. Without question one of the distinct benefits of this style of competition has been watching the clubs work together towards a broader goal. The amount of cross fertilisation of coaching and use of facilities has been fantastic to watch.

With the added team in Little League there was no question it weakened our overall competitiveness on the National stage but the upside is worth it. More kids participated in the State Based tournament, more coaches were involved, the Development competition was fantastic and well supported this year and the competition over that weekend was much more intense than in previous years.

Thanks to all the Little League coaches and their staff for their hard work and efforts throughout the process to bring their teams to the State playoffs and to the Nationals. Also thanks to the parents, volunteers and the players to make this a fun time for all. Many thanks to Matt Williams and the Baseball SA staff for organising the Little League State Championships and to my fellow Directors and volunteers assisting them on the day to ensure another successful and fun filled tournament.

A special thanks to Jim Manning for providing the audio system and his expert announcing of the play by play calls for all games. It really made for a professional event. The kids love the commentary!

We are certainly looking forward to what the new facility at Adelaide Shores will do for Junior Baseball in this state and I think it will significantly and immediately enhance our kid’s development. More games, more trainings, better facilities – add up to better players.

The other stand out success this season was the Under 19 competition that was run midweek. The support for this concept from all clubs was fantastic and we look forward to growing this again in 2015/16.

Our Youth Medal Night was held at the movies for another successful night of showcasing our Youth players who polled well in their divisions and for those that represented the state or charter. Our Baseball SA staff once again did a superb job of putting this together for the enjoyment of all.

Thanks to all the clubs who attended the Youth Delegates meetings. Honest feedback is important at all times. The SABL and the clubs need to embrace a positive, can do culture while understanding that it is ok to have some tough conversations at times. I think this group does that well and I look forward to working with you all further in the coming season.

We will be rolling out a number of new initiatives at Under 11s, Under 9s and Under 7s in the coming seasons and I look forward to growing the game at these levels to ensure a clear baseball pathway for the baseballers of tomorrow.

Once again, thanks for a great season.

TONY CATT Youth Director

37 South Australian Baseball League Inc. AFFILIATIONS DIRECTOR - REPORT

This year saw another successful country carnival held at Glenelg with participation numbers increasing in the lower age groups. The Umpires and Scorers also get involved by not only providing their services but running coaching and accreditation clinics for the country areas. The League office has also visited a number of country centres introducing the IMG registration system.

In the local competitions the umpires along with club accredited umpires ensured all games were officiated and scorers again did a wonderful job keeping stats up to date and providing live scoring for at least one game per week. More scorers are being trained in the operation of the live scoring process so we hope that more games can be live scored next season.

Congratulations to umpires Ian Reval and Paul Haynes and scorers Lorraine Dunn and Steve Eads who were the All Star team’s umpires and scorers.

Winter Baseball has just started their season with a record number of teams mainly due to the persistent effort of President Peter McGearey who now has all winter competitions affiliated with the Winter Baseball Association and all players registered and more importantly insured. One other feature this year will be when all Grand Finals will be played at Diamond Sports at West Beach. What a day that will be!!

The Brewers continue to compete in Masters Games and won back to back Gold at the Pan Pacific Games at the Gold Coast last October and will field two teams in the Australian Masters Games in Adelaide this October.

On a more serious note. More games schedules at Diamond Sports next season will put the pressure on the umpires and scorers to provide their services in addition to the current program that has been around for the past few years. Clubs will have to step up and provide a number of people to attend accreditation as umpires or scorers. Clubs, please give this a priority before next season.

KEVIN SHEPHERDSON Affiliate Director

38 South Australian Baseball League Inc. SA SCORERS ASSOCIATION The South Australian Baseball Scorers Association (SABSA) promotes the art of baseball scoring through encouraging, educating and representing scorers associated with SABL. We strive to ensure uniform interpretation of the Australian Baseball Rules through participation in a national accreditation program established by the Council of Australian Baseball Scorers (CABS).

SABSA updates teaching strategies and learning resource support materials for scorers. Members are informed of rule variations and changes in accepted interpretations at our meetings, through email and via the SABSA website: www.sabsa.baseball.com.au. Nationally accredited scorers are required to maintain a log book of their scoring activities. In order for Level 3 scorers to maintain their accreditation, we require an annual revision session based upon information gathered through monitoring of current senior scoring practices and exams. This we combine with our Annual General Meeting and encourage all scorers to come along to share in the learning.

In 2014/15 SABSA conducted scoring clinics for Levels 1, 2, 2IT and 3. Thank you to the efforts of experienced scorers including Steve Eads, Lorraine Dunn, Enza Henty and Carol Burns we now have five level 1 and two level 2 nationally accredited scorers. In addition to the accreditation levels there were “Introduction to scoring” clinics held at various clubs at the beginning of the season.

It is extremely important that clubs support and encourage their scorers to attain suitable accreditation, this is particularly so when scoring division one games; it is a Baseball SA requirement for a minimum accreditation of level 2. The person currently scoring may well be experienced in all aspects of the game however unless they have participated in clinics facilitated by accredited scorers and followed this with a practical / theory exam to gain appropriate accreditation there is a real concern games scored may not be interpreted appropriately and player statistics will not be accurate. Clinics of all levels, including beginners can only be facilitated by an accredited scorer, someone who is aware of changes to rule interpretations and method to record, we would like to avoid the teaching of poor practice.

As in previous years there have scoring opportunities for SABSA members outside of their regular club responsibilities. During the October long weekend the Country Carnival held at the and the Goodwill Series held in December at the Woodville Baseball Club continue to be opportunities that offer all accredited scorers an opportunity, including newly accredited scorers to gain experience in a relaxed and friendly environment. Representing SABSA at the National Under 25 Championship, Cairns, September 2014 was Lorraine Dunn and at the 2014-15 National Youth Under 16 & 18 Championships, Sydney were Carol Burns, and Enza Henty.

Subject to availability of scorers with IT accreditation and internet capabilities, BSA Division 1 games could be uploaded live or if not, game detail uploaded soon after. Most games of the final series were captured live or results posted soon after the match, the popularity of accessing game day information caused the web link to crash. Huge thanks to Steve Eads for preparing links for the season and final series; particularly in preparing a fix ensuring the SA baseball community were able to the view the Grand Final series.

In order to input game day data for Division One games in a timely manner we require clear coloured copies of the score sheets to be forwarded to Baseball SA. Thank you to Division One scorers, Club Secretaries for ensuring this occurred. I will also use this opportunity to remind scorers of the importance of neatness and correct recording of changes, this makes the reading and interpreting games so much easier. 39 South Australian Baseball League Inc. SA SCORERS ASSOCIATION There continues to be some discussion at a National level as to the most suitable option for scoring via an electronic device. The TABS IT package is one that SABSA use for division one games and long used at National Youth Nationals. There is however a push to introduce Game Changer which would require viewers to pay to access game scores; it may be user friendly but it is imperative the user has appropriate accreditation to score.

A highlight for SABSA was the selection of Steve Eads and Lorraine Dunn as team scorers for the SA Allstars Team 2014/15 and the announcement of Steve Eads as the Volunteer of the Year. Congratulations!! Steve’s knowledge of technology and passion for scoring has been a major contributor to SABSA being able to support the live games.

SABSA again has representation on the CABS Technical Commission with Steve Eads (SA) and CABS National Coordinator, Lorraine Dunn.

Our challenge continues to be the development of accredited scorers to fulfil increasing demands from Baseball SA and Baseball Australia as well as providing scorers for the national professional competition of the Australian Baseball League (ABL).

I also wish to thank the SABSA committee for their work and support: Vicki West, Vice President, Carol Burns, Treasurer, Enza Henty, Secretary, CABS and Accreditation Coordinator and Lorraine Dunn. Thank you Steve Eads for your tireless input in preparing the SABSA Website and preparing the numerous links to ensure the IT framework is in place for the TABS and Datacaster programs.

Thank you also to Kevin Shepherdson for his continued support of our association, attending all meetings and for sourcing the donation of goods from Officeworks.

It is hoped the IMG software will be further developed for the 2015/16 season to support the distribution of the official result sheet which ensures the correct spelling of player names and the SMS of results which assists with instant result updates.

Also, sincere thanks to all of the scorers and their supporters who have contributed their time and skills to promoting South Australian baseball.

CAROLYN SMITH President South Australia Baseball Scorers Association Web Site: http://www.sabsa.baseball.com.au

Join SABSA for the Best Seats on Ground!

40 South Australian Baseball League Inc. South

UMPIRING AWARDS

BASEBALL SA AWARDS: Paul Begg Umpire of the Year Award: Paul Haynes

Andrew Bell Junior Umpire of the Year Award: Lachlan Rees

Most Improved Umpire: Paul Sowter

Baseball SA All Stars Plate Umpire: Paul Haynes

Baseball SA All Stars Base Umpire: Ian Reval

BUASA AWARDS: Michael Peacock Memorial Umpires Choice Award: Mark Wilson

Claude Peace Memorial Umpires Award: Ken Wesslink Life Membership: Noone Elected

RECOGNITION OF CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Little League National Championships Gold Coast 2014: Payne Sowter and Jack Tredrea

Under 25 National Championships Cairns 2014: Ian Reval and Hugo Von Alpen

National Women’s Championships Canberra 2015: Hugo Von Alpen

Under 18 AAA National Championships Sydney 2015: Payne Sowter Under 16 AA National Championships Sydney 2015: Noone Elected

Junior League National Championships Gold Coast 2015: Danny Symons and Hugo Von Alpen

Little League National Championships Lismore 2015: Russell King

GAME MILESTONES:

Most Games 2014/2015 Peter Ditrich

100 Games Craig Ottaway

Paul Sowter

Richard Webb

400 Games Kym Smith

500 Games Hugo Von Alpen

1000 Games Jim Davidson

2500 Games Ron Kennealy

41 South Australian Baseball League Inc. BUASA CHAIRMAN - REPORT

Umpiring numbers were steady this season with 26 active umpires covering 1,044 appointments. Whilst all games are umpired, there is a positive trend of having more and more games officiated by a BUASA umpire. We are also attracting more people once they scale back their club commitments, which show that umpiring can be a rewarding pastime. Although we still need to work harder to convince the entire baseball fraternity of this.

This season we welcomed Terry Fitzgerald and Zak Trevaskis. Congratulations to Andrew Hollands on umpiring his first Division 1 game and to Paul Sowter for being appointed as the plate umpire to his first Division 1 game.

We celebrated the retirement of Mark Wilson this season, not just from the ABL panel but also from baseball umpiring. Mark has reached the top of his career in a relatively short period, after his potential was not uncovered in another state. We will miss Mark, not just because he is a great mentor to many junior umpires, but for his amazing ability to make umpiring just so much fun.

Unfortunately the country finals series aligned with the SABL schedule, meaning we were not able to cover as many of the country finals series we had over past seasons. Thanks go to Peter Ditrich and Hugo von Alpen, Kym Smith, Payne Sowter, Russ King, Terry Fitzgerald and John Tretola for covering some games and to Port Pirie, Riverland and Mount Gambier for their hospitality. We hope that the programming issue can be rectified for future seasons as we quite enjoy the hospitality that they provide.

Once again, Andrew Bell, Mark Wilson, Neil Poulton, Paul Haynes and myself umpired the ABL games here in Adelaide. Congratulations to the Adelaide Bite for winning the right to host the Championship Series but unfortunately SA must wait at least another year to bring home the Claxton Shield. The crowds at this series were amazing. Congratulations to Neil Poulton for being appointed to the Championship Series umpire panel and the plate umpire in game two.

In memory of the late Michael Peacock, our members vote for their favourite umpire that reminds us the most of the amazing person that Michael was. This season, his peers selected Mark Wilson as their favourite umpire. Mark has been a regular recipient of this Award which shows the amazing person he is both on and off the field. Mark has taken a number of new umpires under his wing and helped to accelerate their growth and BUASA will forever be grateful of this.

The Association recognised the amazing career of Ken Wesslink by presenting him with the Claude Pearce Memorial Umpires Award for his service to not only umpiring, but baseball in South Australia. In Ken’s 60 year career, he has basically done it all including umpiring every grade from Under 12s up to the Claxton Shield, coaching national state teams and also in China, and volunteering wherever he was needed such as for the , Adelaide Bite and in the Baseball SA office.

I would like to my fellow BUASA Committee Members: Kym Smith, John Tretola, Jim Davidson, Paul Haynes and Ian Reval. Getting things done is much easier when we have good support around us.

Finally, I would like to thank all of you who give up your own free time to officiate in games throughout the season and especially to the families that let us do it We do it as we enjoy having the best seat in the house for the greatest game in the world.

BLAKE HALLIGAN BUASA Chairman

42 South Australian Baseball League Inc. HERITAGE COMMITTEE - REPORT

“In the beginning”

The first recorded mention of Baseball being played in South Australia occurred in 1885 when the Gawler Bunyip Newspaper commented that Baseball was demonstrated at the Exhibition Grounds for the children of the Gawler Model School.

This was followed in 1888 by an Australian Tour between two American teams - the All Americans and the Team. Three games were played at the Adelaide Oval in December 1888. The Tour was sponsored by Al Spalding who owned the Chicago team and was part owner of the Spalding Sporting Goods Company. The South Australian Baseball League was formed in 1889 but went into recession until 1908 due to lack of interest. This is the heritage of Baseball in South Australia and is the motivation for your Heritage Committee to preserve our History.

I commend for your interest a Book entitled “The Early Years” which was jointly written and produced by our Historians Robert Laidlaw and Gordon Penhall. This is the first part of a four part series which will trace our History from its humble beginning to the present time.

Our activities over the last year include the following; - Identify and support Nominations for Life Membership for Baseball SA and Baseball Australia. - Identify candidates for Baseball Australia’s Hall of Fame. - Identify and nominate additional Candidates for Sport SA Hall of Fame as requested by them.

Work in progress on the following projects includes the following; - Prepare for the celebration of the 80th Anniversary of the Capps Medallion at the 2016 Annual Dinner. - Prepare a display of baseball items for our new headquarters at West Beach and for Sports SA’s proposed museum on North Terrace. - Constantly upgrade our database in preparation for the release of our Heritage Web Site at this years Annual General Meeting in July.

We would like all clubs and associated bodies throughout South Australia to advise us of your nominated historian or if you don’t have such a person we can help you by providing assistance to get you started. This will create a 2 way communication within the baseball network for the sharing of heritage information which will broaden our base and create more interest in our history.

In conclusion I wish to acknowledge the commitment of your Heritage Committee for their dedication and enthusiasm in preserving our history. I believe we have achieved a great deal in preserving our past but their still remains a lot more to be done. To Ron Chandler, Gordon Penhall, Robert Laidlaw, Phil Burgess, Doug White and Jamie Bushell my admiration for your enthusiasm and professional approach to this project is surpassed only by the pleasure your efforts will bring to the baseball fraternity in general.

Alan Waldron AM Chair - Baseball SA Heritage Committee

43 South Australian Baseball League Inc. STATE UNDER 16 - REPORT

The U16 team performed admirably with the highlights being a 1-0 win over the eventual bronze medallist Qld and a one run loss in the last inning to eventual gold medallist Vic. We were competitive against the best but our lack of depth saw us finish equal 4th and miss out on play offs by 2 run, run difference. Our depth meant a good number of first year players represented, all of whom will be well prepared for next years’ championships.

Nearly all players had good highlights from the tournament and with the experience gained, all will be better players. Our award winners were MVP Alex Smith (Goodwood) and Most Improved Tom Norley (Gawler), congratulations and well deserved. Some other individual stand-out performances came from Ky Hampton, Mason Clavell, Nick Platten, Jack O’Loughlin and Wade Chant but the big highlights were our performances as a team where the combined effort of the squad brought good results and excellent learning experiences.

Congratulations go to ALL players (including reserves) for their effort and dedication and also for their exemplary behaviour, attitude and teamwork. They all did their families and State proud.

The exclusion of baseball from the Olympics and thus the Institute of Sport programs and funding, has left us with much to do for the development of our youth. Baseball’s new facility will be a great kick start and with new programs in place, things are looking up. Still much work to be done but we are on our way. Looking forward to next year!

I wish to offer many thanks to assistant coaches Andrew Scott and Richard Olson and EO Lee Martin on a great job. Appreciate your time, effort and expertise. Also, many thanks to all the parents for their support of the players and the team with special mention to the country based families.

MARK HAYLOCK Head Coach State U16

44 South Australian Baseball League Inc. STATE UNDER 18 - REPORT

Notable mentions; Charlie Goldsworthy, Team MVP, a well-deserved award for someone who could not have tried harder day in and day out, was constantly finding ways to get better and always tried to execute any advice given. Jordy Grose, Coaches Award, was absolutely remarkable on and off the field and is one of those players that you always want on your team and provides such enthusiasm and energy. Jordy’s contribution and development was extremely noticeable and deserves the recognition of those efforts. Troy Chandler, Don Klaebe Award, deserving recipient for his contribution and efforts to the U18 Bite team from tryouts to tournaments end. Many people would not have seen the work put in by Troy, but we certainly did and hence deserves this award. Congratulations to Mitchell Lightbody for winning the Tournament Gold Glove award and to the boys who will be developing their baseball skills and IQ at the MLB Academy this year.

Thank you to Baseball SA for their assistance throughout the program both on and off the field. Can it be said that although finishing lower in the final rankings than in 2014, the U18 Bite team of 2015 performed better and showed much more of the SA Baseball attitude…well it can because I just did, but is it a true statement?

Well I think so…and am certainly very comfortable in the way things are progressing with State baseball and was very proud of the efforts of this team.

We certainly could not have started the tournament any better this year with a win over Victoria Blue, one which has not occurred for many years I was told. The pleasing aspects of this victory was the determination and drive to not give up and come from behind to take the win. 4-0 down going into the bottom of the 6th we needed something and managed to pick up a run, to only give it straight back, but in the bottom of the 8th, the boys did all the right things, put pressure on the defence and scored 6 to lead 7-5. Young Rooster coming in and shutting it down. We certainly knew things were only going to get harder and had to be prepared for this but coaches had a very good plan in place to ensure optimal opportunity to win baseball games.

Things didn’t start as well as anticipated in game 2 against New South Wales and small errors and some poor decisions led to a 6-3 loss. From our perspective however it showed that we certainly could match it and if we were able to tighten our pitching and defence up we would be able to put ourselves in a position to win every game. Continue with the plan and see what day 3 brings. Then the rains hit…

I guess all well laid plans can change at any time and certainly our plans had to be reviewed. 2 days of entertaining 16 and 17 year old boys was challenging and the uncertainty around when our next game would be, made management quite challenging. We were able to get some indoor training in and tried our best to keep the psychological impact of the rain delays to a minimal but were uncertain how it would affect them.

Finally the council said play ball and games were back on. The schedule had been amended and this meant a double header straight of the bat. Starting with Queensland, the boys did a great job however one inning giving up 6 runs made the challenge difficult. To their credit they fought back eventually losing 8-5. More positive, but certainly highlighted some psychological areas we needed to look at.

Game two again started positively, but a couple innings where the mental side of the game was exposed saw a one sided score line. 45 South Australian Baseball League Inc. STATE UNDER 18 - REPORT (CONT)

The question was could we bounce back and what could we do as coaches to support that. ACT was the next assignment, who had been playing some very good baseball and was showing some signs of a top 4 finish. The game was certainly very exciting and we were able to lead 8-5 going into the 7th, but another big inning saw us eventually lose 10-8.

Western Australia, definitely one of the strongest teams was up next and unfortunately we lost 6-5 in what was a game that could have gone either way. For us it is about finding ways in the future to sway the success our way. A solid performance against Victoria White in the last round robin game was a good way to lead into the finals picking up the win 11-1.

Due to the rain out the final round was change to a 2 game set not 4 and meant we would play Victoria Blue, with the winner facing off against either ACT or Victoria White for 5th and 6th position.

You could say giving up 4 in the first inning is not the start you are after, but the offence did its job and meant going into the 6th we were leading 5-4. Another 3 run inning put us on the back foot, followed by a 4 run and then 1 run inning. You can probably see the big challenge for us was stopping those big innings as these were always the difference in the game. The difficulty with tournament baseball is participation and due to this sometimes you need to leave people in the game to meet these requirements. You have some strategies you can use, but generally it is hope the guys can work their way out of trouble. The offence continued to push and scored in the final 3 innings but was unable to close the gap and the score finished 12-9.

The final game was a good opportunity for all the retiring U18 players to get some game time and we were able to finish the tournament of with a win.

The pleasing aspect of the group is that over 50% of this team will be eligible for the 2016 tournament and with this experience under their belt and another 12 months of development, we see a positive future. Like all sports though we can prepare as much as possible but it is what we do on the day that counts, but I have every faith in the boys that they can continue to improve and the U18 program will continue to develop. There is some good direction from the U16 group and this certainly can only benefit the U18 team.

With a trip there are always issues and many of these whilst away were ably handled by the executive officer Blake Armstrong who I cannot speak more highly of and thank him for his efforts. Justin Clark and Brendan Pett are amazing individuals and SA is very lucky to have had them involved and I just hope they can continue to be involved moving forward.

I can talk about a whole range of issues and things we need to do moving forward, what is pleasing that Baseball SA are certainly doing their part to produce a program that will assist in the development of athletes in this state and certainly look forward to being a part of it for years to come. However with that said it comes down to the boys and their determination to be better both mentally and physically.

Yours in Baseball,

DAMIEN NORSWORTHY

46 South Australian Baseball League Inc. 47 South Australian Baseball League Inc. STATE UNDER 25 - REPORT

This year was a very difficult year due to the timing of the tournament and cost associated which struggled to attract a lot of players.

The tournament didn’t start too well with players not used to the fields being so quick and errors were a plenty but some positives came out these tough couple of days with the likes of Brebner- Russ, Henty, Hollis, McGeary and Nicholas shouldering the senior responsibilities and being the team which really brought the team together in a hurry. This started to show some results on the board although not collecting a win pushing the big players in the competition.

Our first win came in the knock out round where we beat Victoria to then have a chance to play for Bronze against Qld and lost a really close game and more importantly after the way the tournament started we gained respect back.

Highlights for me were Brebner-Russ collecting the All-star award, as mentioned before the leadership from the senior players. Wark, Torkington & Hollis all took the next step and became good Div. 1 baseballers for their clubs.

A big thanks to Kristen Webb EO, Leigh Norman & Nick Talbot for helping out and putting the time in.

PETER KITCHINGMAN

48 South Australian Baseball League Inc. DIVISION 1

Minor Premiers - Kensington Baseball Club

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Kensington Baseball Club Inc 30 24 5 1 198 100 98 81.67 49 2 West Torrens Baseball Club 30 21 7 2 198 96 102 73.33 44 3 Woodville District Baseball Club 30 21 8 1 197 62 135 71.67 43 4 30 21 9 0 198 100 98 70 42 5 Port Adelaide Baseball Club 30 19 9 2 176 96 80 66.67 40 6 Glenelg Baseball Club 30 18 10 2 150 83 67 63.33 38 7 Sturt Baseball Club 30 13 17 0 152 202 -50 43.33 26 8 GGCD Baseball Club 30 12 16 2 97 140 -43 43.33 26 9 Adelaide Angels 30 12 17 1 149 149 0 41.67 25 10 Southern Districts Baseball Club 30 10 19 1 105 169 -64 35 21 11 East Torrens Payneham Baseball Club 30 10 20 0 145 201 -56 33.33 20 12 Henley and Grange Baseball Club 30 4 26 0 114 316 -202 13.33 8 13 Northern Districts Baseball Club 30 4 26 0 88 253 -165 13.33 8

Saturday 14th March 2015

Kensington vs West Torrens West Torrens (8) def Kensington (2) Woodville vs Glenelg Glenelg (5) def Woodville (3) Goodwood vs Port Adelaide Goodwood (4) def Port Adelaide (0)

Sunday 15th March 2015

GAME 1 Kensington vs West Torrens Kensington (6) def West Torrens (5) Woodville vs Glenelg Woodville (8) def Glenelg (3) Goodwood vs Port Adelaide Goodwood (2) def Port Adelaide (1)

GAME 2 Kensington vs West Torrens Kensington (10) def West Torrens (2) Woodville vs Glenelg Woodville (6) def Glenelg (4) Goodwood vs Port Adelaide Not Required

Saturday 21st March 2015

Kensington vs Goodwood Goodwood (7) def Kensington (6) West Torrens vs Woodville Woodville (8) def West Torrens (1)

Sunday 22nd March 2015

GAME 1 Kensington vs Goodwood Kensington (8) def Goodwood (7) West Torrens vs Woodville Woodville (12) def West Torrens (2)

GAME 2 Kensington vs Goodwood Kensington (16) def Goodwood (6) 49 South Australian Baseball League Inc.

CONGRATULATIONS NICK TALBOT

Kensington Baseball Club

2014/15 CAPPS MEDALLIST DIVISION 2 PREMIERS

Woodville (14) def Kensington (4)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Port Adelaide Baseball Club 17 14 2 1 147 34 113 85.29 29 2 Woodville District Baseball Club 17 13 2 2 97 49 48 82.35 28 3 West Torrens Baseball Club 19 14 5 0 131 65 66 73.68 28 4 Kensington Baseball Club Inc 18 13 5 0 150 68 82 72.22 26 5 Glenelg Baseball Club 18 12 4 2 117 76 41 72.22 26 6 Southern Districts Baseball Club 20 13 6 1 116 70 46 67.5 27 7 Adelaide Angels 19 12 6 1 119 69 50 65.79 25 8 Northern Districts Baseball Club 18 6 11 1 80 119 -39 36.11 13 9 Sturt Baseball Club 19 6 13 0 97 110 -13 31.58 12 10 GGCD Baseball Club 18 5 13 0 52 151 -99 27.78 10 11 Goodwood Baseball Club 18 4 13 1 66 114 -48 25 9 12 East Torrens Payneham Baseball Club 18 1 16 1 54 123 -69 8.33 3 13 Henley and Grange Baseball Club 19 1 18 0 38 216 -178 5.26 2

DIVISION 3 PREMIERS

Woodville (15) def Glenelg (5)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Henley and Grange Baseball Club 18 15 2 1 159 74 85 86.11 31 2 Woodville District Baseball Club 18 15 2 1 135 64 71 86.11 31 3 Glenelg Baseball Club 18 14 3 1 146 62 84 80.56 29 4 Kensington Baseball Club Inc 17 12 3 2 153 69 84 76.47 26 5 Goodwood Baseball Club 18 12 5 1 154 75 79 69.44 25 6 East Torrens Payneham Baseball Club 18 10 5 3 128 76 52 63.89 23 7 West Torrens Baseball Club 17 8 9 0 91 75 16 47.06 16 8 Port Adelaide Baseball Club 17 7 8 2 108 100 8 47.06 16 9 GGCD Baseball Club 17 7 9 1 90 92 -2 44.12 15 10 Southern Districts Baseball Club 17 7 10 0 100 108 -8 41.18 14 11 Northern Districts Baseball Club 18 3 14 1 69 151 -82 19.44 7 12 Adelaide Angels 18 3 14 1 67 188 -121 19.44 7 13 Sturt Baseball Club 17 1 15 1 63 187 -124 8.82 3 14 Gawler Rangers Baseball Club Inc 18 1 16 1 59 199 -140 8.33 3

51 South Australian Baseball League Inc. DIVISION 4 PREMIERS

Glenelg (6) def Goodwood (1)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Glenelg Baseball Club 16 14 2 0 185 68 117 87.5 28 2 Goodwood Baseball Club 15 11 4 0 143 70 73 73.33 22 3 Henley and Grange Baseball Club 16 11 4 1 106 77 29 71.88 23 4 Kensington Baseball Club Inc 17 12 5 0 173 95 78 70.59 24 5 East Torrens Payneham Baseball Club 15 10 5 0 128 67 61 66.67 20 6 West Torrens Baseball Club 15 8 7 0 126 83 43 53.33 16 7 Woodville District Baseball Club 16 8 7 1 116 84 32 53.13 17 8 Southern Districts Baseball Club 16 7 9 0 101 106 -5 43.75 14 9 GGCD Baseball Club 16 7 9 0 90 98 -8 43.75 14 10 Northern Districts Baseball Club 15 6 9 0 98 113 -15 40 12 11 Sturt Baseball Club 15 5 10 0 97 91 6 33.33 10 12 Adelaide Angels 16 2 14 0 38 210 -172 12.5 4 13 Gawler Rangers Baseball Club Inc 16 0 16 0 31 268 -237 0 0

DIVISION 5 PREMIERS

East Torrens (7) def Glenelg (2)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Southern Districts Baseball Club 14 12 1 1 156 51 105 89.29 25 2 East Torrens Payneham Baseball Club 11 8 3 0 108 58 50 72.73 16 3 Glenelg Baseball Club 13 9 4 0 155 73 82 69.23 18 4 Adelaide Angels 14 9 5 0 152 113 39 64.29 18 5 Sturt Baseball Club 13 7 6 0 106 113 -7 53.85 14 6 GGCD Baseball Club 13 4 8 1 88 96 -8 34.62 9 7 Goodwood Baseball Club 12 4 8 0 54 108 -54 33.33 8 8 Flinders University Baseball Club 13 3 10 0 90 153 -63 23.08 6 9 Playford City Baseball Club 13 1 12 0 52 196 -144 7.69 2

52 South Australian Baseball League Inc. DIVISION 6 PREMIERS

Adelaide (12) def Southern Districts (1)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Adelaide Angels 14 13 1 0 192 68 124 92.86 26 2 Southern Districts Baseball Club 15 10 4 1 156 116 40 70 21 3 Northern Districts Baseball Club 13 9 4 0 144 109 35 69.23 18 4 East Torrens Payneham Baseball Club 14 8 6 0 122 97 25 57.14 16 5 GGCD Baseball Club 13 7 6 0 150 106 44 53.85 14 6 Glenelg Baseball Club 15 5 9 1 138 182 -44 36.67 11 7 Woodville District Baseball Club 14 5 9 0 84 141 -57 35.71 10 8 Kensington Baseball Club Inc 13 3 10 0 108 147 -39 23.08 6 9 Playford City Baseball Club 13 1 12 0 72 198 -126 7.69 2

DIVISION 7 PREMIERS

Glenelg (10) def East Torrens (5)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Port Adelaide Baseball Club 13 13 0 0 210 18 192 100 26 2 Glenelg Baseball Club 15 14 1 0 225 67 158 93.33 28 3 East Torrens Payneham Baseball Club 15 12 2 1 164 81 83 83.33 25 4 Southern Districts Baseball Club 14 11 3 0 154 107 47 78.57 22 5 Sturt Baseball Club 14 8 6 0 177 143 34 57.14 16 6 Adelaide Angels 14 7 7 0 144 181 -37 50 14 7 Cardinals 12 5 6 1 138 129 9 45.83 11 8 Kensington Baseball Club Inc 15 6 9 0 161 173 -12 40 12 9 Northern Districts Baseball Club 14 5 9 0 98 94 4 35.71 10 10 Henley and Grange Baseball Club 13 3 7 3 101 135 -34 34.62 9 11 GGCD Baseball Club 15 5 10 0 144 175 -31 33.33 10 12 Magpies 13 3 9 1 80 136 -56 26.92 7 13 Gawler Rangers Baseball Club Inc 13 2 11 0 72 158 -86 15.38 4 14 Playford City Baseball Club 14 0 14 0 37 294 -257 0 0

53 South Australian Baseball League Inc. UNDER 15 / 1 PREMIERS

Sturt (1) def Glenelg (0)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Glenelg Baseball Club 13 11 1 1 143 61 82 88.46 23 2 East Torrens Payenham Baseball Club 13 11 2 0 145 68 77 84.62 22 3 Sturt Baseball Club 13 11 2 0 142 42 100 84.62 22 4 Adelaide Angels 14 8 5 1 115 97 18 60.71 17 5 Southern Districts Baseball Club 14 8 6 0 125 102 23 57.14 16 6 West Torrens Baseball Club 14 7 7 0 123 79 44 50 14 7 East Torrens Red Sox 14 6 8 0 96 121 -25 42.86 12 8 Port Adelaide Baseball Club 14 6 8 0 110 125 -15 42.86 12 9 Kensington Baseball Club Inc 14 4 10 0 86 160 -74 28.57 8 10 GGCD Baseball Club 13 1 12 0 74 162 -88 7.69 2 11 Woodville District Baseball Club 14 1 13 0 57 199 -142 7.14 2

UNDER 15 / 2 PREMIERS

Henley & Grange (9) def Gawler Rangers (5)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Gawler Rangers Baseball Club Inc 13 10 3 0 143 66 77 76.92 20 2 Glenelg Baseball Club 13 10 3 0 150 84 66 76.92 20 3 Goodwood Baseball Club 13 9 4 0 158 112 46 69.23 18 4 Henley and Grange Baseball Club 13 9 4 0 159 99 60 69.23 18 5 Northern Districts Baseball Club 14 9 5 0 121 126 -5 64.29 18 6 GGCD Baseball Club 13 5 8 0 107 148 -41 38.46 10 7 Adelaide Angels 13 3 9 1 104 121 -17 26.92 7 8 Southern Districts Baseball Club 14 2 11 1 113 192 -79 17.86 5 9 Sturt Baseball Club 14 2 12 0 85 192 -107 14.29 4

54 South Australian Baseball League Inc. UNDER 17 / 1 PREMIERS

Sturt (8) def West Torrens (2)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Sturt Baseball Club 14 14 0 0 174 39 135 100 28 2 West Torrens Baseball Club 14 11 3 0 129 59 70 78.57 22 3 Henley and Grange Baseball Club 14 9 3 2 110 69 41 71.43 20 4 Adelaide Angels 14 8 5 1 116 66 50 60.71 17 5 Southern Districts Baseball Club 15 9 6 0 130 102 28 60 18 6 Kensington Baseball Club Inc 14 7 6 1 86 85 1 53.57 15 7 Glenelg Baseball Club 13 5 6 2 89 65 24 46.15 12 8 Goodwood Baseball Club 14 6 8 0 88 129 -41 42.86 12 9 Woodville District Baseball Club 13 5 8 0 84 84 0 38.46 10 10 Port Adelaide Baseball Club 13 5 8 0 52 91 -39 38.46 10 11 Northern Districts Baseball Club 14 4 10 0 79 123 -44 28.57 8 12 East Torrens Payneham Baseball Club 15 3 12 0 66 157 -91 20 6 13 GGCD Baseball Club 13 1 12 0 32 164 -132 7.69 2

UNDER 17 / 2 PREMIERS

Gawler Rangers (16) def West Torrens (12)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Gawler Rangers Baseball Club Inc 11 9 2 0 116 44 72 81.82 18 2 West Torrens Baseball Club 10 7 3 0 97 77 20 70 14 3 Sturt Baseball Club 11 5 4 2 98 94 4 54.55 12 4 Southern Districts Baseball Club 12 3 6 3 79 107 -28 37.5 9 5 GGCD Baseball Club 12 1 10 1 87 155 -68 12.5 3

55 South Australian Baseball League Inc. UNDER 13 / 1 PREMIERS

Henley & Grange (9) def West Torrens (3)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Henley and Grange Baseball Club 14 11 3 0 181 61 120 78.57 22 2 West Torrens Baseball Club 14 10 3 1 146 57 89 75 21 3 East Torrens Payneham Baseball Club 14 10 4 0 162 107 55 71.43 20 4 Southern Districts Baseball Club 14 9 5 0 159 99 60 64.29 18 5 GGCD Baseball Club 14 9 5 0 139 99 40 64.29 18 6 Goodwood Baseball Club 14 8 5 1 163 125 38 60.71 17 7 Glenelg Baseball Club 14 8 5 1 129 96 33 60.71 17 8 Sturt Baseball Club 14 8 6 0 133 91 42 57.14 16 9 Southern District Hawks 14 4 9 1 115 179 -64 32.14 9 10 Kensington Baseball Club Inc 14 3 11 0 83 177 -94 21.43 6 11 Woodville District Baseball Club 14 2 12 0 101 216 -115 14.29 4 12 Port Adelaide Baseball Club 14 0 14 0 54 258 -204 0 0 13 Adelaide Angels 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

UNDER 13 / 2 PREMIERS

Northern Districts (9) def Goodwood (0)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Northern Districts Baseball Club 12 12 0 0 158 55 103 100 24 2 Sturt Baseball Club 13 10 3 0 148 93 55 76.92 20 3 Goodwood Baseball Club 13 9 4 0 153 138 15 69.23 18 4 East Torrens Payneham Baseball Club 13 9 4 0 180 132 48 69.23 18 5 Southern Districts Baseball Club 12 7 5 0 144 125 19 58.33 14 6 Henley and Grange Baseball Club 12 5 6 1 141 121 20 45.83 11 7 GGCD Baseball Club 11 4 7 0 126 139 -13 36.36 8 8 Gawler Rangers Baseball Club Inc 13 4 8 1 137 180 -43 34.62 9 9 Glenelg Baseball Club 13 4 9 0 132 180 -48 30.77 8 10 Sturt Saints 13 2 9 2 117 177 -60 23.08 6 11 Southern District Hawks 13 1 12 0 108 202 -94 7.69 2

56 South Australian Baseball League Inc. UNDER 11 NORTH PREMIERS

Henley & Grange Gold

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Henley and Grange Gold 13 13 0 0 185 55 130 100 26 2 East Torrens Payneham Baseball Club 13 9 3 1 124 98 26 73.08 19 3 Henley and Grange Maroon 12 8 4 0 96 72 24 66.67 16 4 Gawler Rangers Baseball Club Inc 13 5 7 1 96 108 -12 42.31 11 5 Northern Districts Baseball Club 13 5 8 0 84 132 -48 38.46 10 6 Woodville District Baseball Club 13 4 9 0 70 131 -61 30.77 8 7 GGCD Baseball Club 14 4 10 0 91 134 -43 28.57 8 8 Port Adelaide Baseball Club 7 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0

UNDER 11 SOUTH PREMIERS

Tigers

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 Tigers 12 9 2 1 135 50 85 79.17 19 2 Indians 12 8 4 0 123 75 48 66.67 16 3 Adelaide Angels 12 5 4 3 110 113 -3 54.17 13 4 Glenelg Baseball Club 12 5 6 1 111 120 -9 45.83 11 5 Kensington Baseball Club Inc 12 4 6 2 111 130 -19 41.67 10 6 Sturt Baseball Club 11 4 6 1 88 124 -36 40.91 9 7 Goodwood Baseball Club 11 1 8 2 84 150 -66 18.18 4

57 South Australian Baseball League Inc. UNDER 19 PREMIERS

GGCD (9) def West Torrens (8)

Pos Team P W L D F A SD WP Pts

1 West Torrens Baseball Club 9 8 1 0 72 24 48 88.89 16 2 Woodville District Baseball Club 10 8 2 0 65 38 27 80 16 3 GGCD Baseball Club 10 7 3 0 67 39 28 70 14 4 Sturt Baseball Club 10 6 4 0 79 38 41 60 12 5 Glenelg Baseball Club 10 6 4 0 67 47 20 60 12 6 Adelaide Angels 9 5 4 0 57 57 0 55.56 10 7 Port Adelaide Baseball Club 10 4 5 1 47 43 4 45 9 8 Southern Districts Baseball Club 10 4 6 0 41 67 -26 40 8 9 East Torrens Payneham Baseball Club 10 2 7 1 31 78 -47 25 5 10 Kensington Baseball Club Inc 10 2 8 0 47 74 -27 20 4 11 Henley and Grange Baseball Club 10 1 9 0 21 85 -64 10 2

58 South Australian Baseball League Inc. LITTLE LEAGUE - ADELAIDE SOUTH - SEAHAWKS

2015 saw the formation of the inaugural Adelaide South Seahawks U13 charter team. The Seahawks consist of dedicated and enthusiastic players from the Adelaide, Goodwood, Southern Districts and Sturt Baseball Clubs. Under the direction of head coach Tony Catt, the 2015 Seahawks commenced tryouts before Christmas 2014 with the final roster announced in February. With a healthy contingent of good young players attending tryouts, the Seahawks also formed an outstanding Development Squad that will ensure a strong pipeline of talent to the Charter Team that bodes well for the future.

Twice-a-week training through February, March and early April aimed to develop both individual baseball skills and the overall baseball nous of these young men. Swing enhancement, glove work and game situation response were particular areas of focus. Repetition leads to reaction memory and the objective was for the players to be mentally aware and prepared to react in all situations should the ball come their way during a game. By all accounts these objectives were achieved in spades.

Of course just as important as skills improvement is gelling as a team and having fun along the way. This was also a success and was epitomized by Tony running the beep test with (and outlasting) the players at the end of each training session.

All the team’s training and prep work culminated in participation in the 2015 State Little League Championships held at West Beach from April 10-12. With a trip to Lismore, NSW to play in the Australian Little League Championships at stake, anticipation was high among parents, players and coaches in the lead up to the tournament.

The Seahawks opened play on Friday night battling the Adelaide North Marlins gamely into the late innings before the Marlins pulled away to open their account.

Saturday afternoon pitted the boys against Mt Gambier in a must win game to write a ticket to the 2nd seed vs 3rd seed semi and a possible grand final tilt. The boys put together a huge seventh inning offensive show to bury Mt Gambier and duly punch that ticket.

The subsequent Saturday night game was a dead rubber loss against the Adelaide West Rays and with both teams already scheduled for a Sunday morning rematch neither team was tipping their hand.

Sunday morning arrived and the game against Adelaide West was for all the marbles – a trip to Lismore for the winner and a consolation game for 3rd place for the loser. The Seahawks fought valiantly against an Adelaide West team stacked with players from top of the Little League ladder clubs. Robbie Brennan pitched a game for the ages with some solid fielding support to keep the game close but a late 3 run homer by the Rays was a fatal blow to the Seahawks aspirations. Unfortunately in a high stakes game such as this, a noble loss is still a loss and it was a painful early life lesson for this outstanding group. The passion the boys had developed for their objective of making the nationals and support for each other was evident in the painful and emotional post game reactions following the loss. Considering where this team started at the beginning of training, to come within a couple runs of advancing to Lismore speaks volumes for their endeavor.

59 South Australian Baseball League Inc. LITTLE LEAGUE - ADELAIDE SOUTH - SEAHAWKS (CONT)

To the boys credit, they picked themselves up and dusted themselves off to play a high quality, low pressure final game together for 3rd place in South Australia. The boys took care of Mt Gambier a second time to claim the 3rd place medal and end the tournament on a positive note.

Ideally the Seahawks experience will inspire these boys continue to strive to make their baseball journey the best it can be. The friendships they have developed definitely makes the season a success regardless of outcomes on the field.

A special thanks to all parents and caregivers for getting the boys to training sessions and games and supporting the team throughout the season.

2015 Charter Team members: Robbie Brennan, Ty Doyle, Jonas Garcia, Brodie Heeps, Dayton Mitchell, Peter Paech, Coby Peralta, Jack Ramage, Hamish Rees, Nick Rees, Seb Steele, Sam Stewart, Cameron Theron, Bailey Wildman

2015 Charter Team Support Staff: Head Coach Tony Catt, Assistant Coach Rick Mitchell, Assistant Coach Mike Garcia, Executive Officer Dave Stewart, Scorer Stuart Rees

TONY CATT Head Coach

60 South Australian Baseball League Inc. LITTLE LEAGUE - ADELAIDE NORTH - MARLINS

The renamed Adelaide Marlins started our selection process in December with the Charters being realigned we welcomed Kensington into our Charter but had to farewell H&G and Woodville. We ended up with a squad of 26 to choose our Charter and development teams. We trained together for several weeks until we finally made decisions on the team selections. With decisions made we split into 2 squads of 13. A big thanks to Dave O’Brien and Wayne Burzacott for taking on the coaching roles for our development squad at this point.

After weeks of trainings we finally got to the State tournament and won all 3 pool games which earnt us the right to represent South Australia at the Nationals which was our goal from the outset. The highlight was a complete game 64 pitch shutout by Matt George against The Rays. We came up against the Rays in the championship game but unfortunately went down 7-5 in a great game of which we had our chances but didn’t take them. We head away on June 3 to the Nationals and hope to represent the state with pride.

With our boys full of excitement we dominated our first game against Brisbane North 12-0 with some solid hitting and good economic pitching that is a must in tournament play. Game 2 went the same way with an 11-1 win over Yarra Rangers in the first game on double header day. Game 3 we matched up against the winners from last year and were unlucky to lose this one 6-3. The boys played their heart out but fell just short. The big test came in game 4 against a very strong Hills team in which we were out of the game very early. To the boys credit they played great baseball but Hills were a mile ahead of us.

At the end of pool play we were placed in 10th just behind the Rays which is a fantastic achievement considering the caliber of teams up here.

The first play off game we played Yarra again and won 11-6 which meant we faced the runners up from last year Manly. We eventually lost this game 13-8 but kept fighting all day and finished the game off well.

So as I submit this on the eve of our last game The Adelaide Marlins will play The Central Coast Marlins for 11th spot which I think is a fantastic achievement for this group of boys. We as coaches are extremely proud of the way these boys have gone about their baseball over the last 6 months and hope they have had as much fun as we have.

A massive thanks to my coaching staff Craig Powell, Ryan Murphy and Todd Symons who have all worked so hard to pass on theirs extensive knowledge of this great game. Also thanks to Darren Unger for helping out with anything we asked of you. Thanks also to Karryn Przibilla our scorer as well and chief organiser up here in Lismore.

To all the players I say thanks for all your hard work over the journey.

To Matt Williams and the staff of Baseball SA we thank you for all your support.

What we as a state need to do is play more games to help prepare these young men.

STEVE YEATMAN Head Coach

61 South Australian Baseball League Inc. LITTLE LEAGUE - ADELAIDE WEST - RAYS

Try outs started in January and we had approx. 28 kids attend from 4 clubs. West Torrens, Glenelg, Woodville and Henley & Grange. It was great to see so many kids working hard and giving their best. Well done to all the kids. In early March the coaching staff in Mark Bull, Andrew Sperling and myself picked the team of 14 players and 2 emergency players. From then on we went to a 2 - 3 times a week training session for the next 4 weeks up until the Little League State championships at West Beach.

The State championships arrived and the boys were excited to finally represent the West side of Adelaide as the “Rays” team. Game 1 was a Friday night game against Mount Gambier who tried hard. Unfortunately this game was one sided and a mercy rule win came into play. Game 2 on Saturday morning we played the Marlins who outplayed us and made the most of their chances during the game. It was a wakeup call for all the boys and let them all know that we needed to step up to another level. Later that night after an 8 hour break, we came up against the Seahawks from the South. After the Marlins beat the Seahawks earlier, and the young inexperienced Mount Gambier side dropping another game, it meant that this game was a dead rubber, so to speak!!! Our boys fired up and picked up a good win in a confidence boosting game for the Rays boys.

With the Marlins team going through the tournament undefeated, they could have a sleep in and enjoy their Sunday morning. The 10am game saw the battle against the Rays and the Seahawks in fighting for the 2nd place spot. An extremely tight game, saw the Seahawks up early in the game until a 3 run home run for the Rays. Eventually this fantastically, hard fought game by both sides ended a nail biter for all and the Rays ended up victorious. A credit to the Seahawks who never gave up all game. Good job South boys.

This meant we were heading to Lismore on June the 3rd to be one of the 2 teams to represent South Australia at the Australian Little League National championships. The other being the Marlins from the North who were undefeated. The Grand Final game time was at 4pm against the Rays and the Marlins. Our Rays boys were relaxed and were in a good spirit. A great start by the Rays boys with the bat saw us take an early lead which we built on more and more as the game went on. Fantastic defence and pitching saw the Rays team ending up winning the game against the Marlins 7 – 5, and crowned South Australian State Little League Champions. The first time another team’s name other than the Adelaide South team, was present on the State LL Tournament Shield.

Great to see Mount Gambier travel up and each of the Rays, Seahawks and Marlins teams have development sides playing during this weekend. It was also great seeing fantastic quality coaches also coaching these development sides. This LL Championship weekend was a huge success for all the kids and well organised.

Since these championships, we have been training 3 times a week, including Wednesday night games at West Beach Baseball/Softball complex under lights against the North Marlins side. These games have been a very good learning tool for us to experiment with and to show us (the coaches) what areas we have to improve in as a team. Trainings have been ramped up and skill sessions have been the balance between repetitive basic skills, fielding work and the addition of plays. Hitting technique has also been a key focus. Getting the boys to swing harder, themselves knowing and understanding why their failed end results could be fixed and adjust their hitting to better themselves, fixing basic hitting techniques ( grip, bat plane, drive from the bottom half through the legs, head over the ball etc.), pitch selection and picking the pitch up earlier out of the pitcher’s hand.

The players have learnt a lot and have developed their game extremely well. We are looking forward to the challenge ahead in Lismore and we know we will give it our best and do SA proud. Thank you to all the parents for their great support and fund raising efforts. Thanks also to Baseball SA for their support with new equipment, uniforms, walk out gear, internal games, organising West Beach Baseball/Softball complex and in general the administration work.

Our goal now is to bring home an Australian National title for Baseball SA. Fingers crossed hey!!!

Thanks to my support staff: Mark Bull (Assistant Coach), Andrew Sperling (Pitching Coach), Marty Leaker (Executive Officer), Nat Weber & Vanita Barry (Scorers), Darren White (Pitch Count Specialist), Griffin Weber (Support Staff)

BURKE WEBER Head Coach

62 South Australian Baseball League Inc. 63 South Australian Baseball League Inc. 64 South Australian Baseball League Inc. JUNIOR LEAGUE - ADELAIDE PIRATES

Being the first year of charter baseball for the U15’s it was always going to be interesting to see the numbers and depth of talent that would turn up to tryouts from our allocated clubs from the Northern region.

Tryouts started slowly with low numbers, but we had good quality within those numbers. During our 3 weeks of tryouts the majority of players came from 3 clubs. It was disappointing to see only one or two players from most clubs and even none from another. At the completion of tryouts it turned out that 12 of the 14 players selected were all from East Torrens, partly due to the fact East Torrens players made up two thirds of the players that attended. Possibly next season communication of tryouts may be done a little earlier and with direct communication to clubs.

The first task after selecting any representative team is getting them to gel into a team. Due to the make of our team this wasn’t a difficult task and we quickly got down to refining the players game for representative baseball. Their first serious hit out came at the Goodwill Series against a well drilled American team. This tournament was a real wake up call for the players as to the level they needed to lift their game too. Our team was a little depleted due to the holidays and the scoreboard of each game wasn’t too flattering, but the experience for both players and coaches was invaluable as a warm up for the National tournament.

Our next serious hit out came at the SA State Charter Championships. Once again our team were shown the standard needed to be successful with a tough loss against a very talented Adelaide South team. They boys bounced back with two good wins against Mt Gambier to secure their trip to the Gold Coast for the National Championships.

Arriving at Nationals we found ourselves grouped with the teams of Perth Coastal Bay, Brisbane Metro and NSW’s Cronulla. Unfortunately one win against Brisbane Metro from our three pool games was not enough for us to advance into the round of top 8. As fortune would have it (or not) had we had given up one less run we would have made it through, but 29 runs against in 3 games was a little disappointing. Unfortunately our last 3 games were more of the same with only one more win and a lot of runs against.

Overall, for our team, I believe the first National Charter Championships for this age group achieved its goal. Players who may not normally make selection for a state team getting the opportunity to play baseball at a higher level and I am sure all our boys will take positives away with them.

I need to thank my coaching staff for their assistance throughout tryouts, training and tournaments. Both David Sims and Nick Vasic were new to junior baseball and thoroughly enjoyed the experience as I did working with them. I also need to thank Trevor Caskey for volunteering to take on the EO’s role. Being EO is probably the hardest job of all but Trev was up to the task organising to keep everyone under control, getting us to where and when we needed to be as well as keeping us all fed.

I hope that all players enjoyed their experience and took away some valuable lessons from playing at this level. I wish them all the best in the baseball future.

DARREN STEAD Head Coach 65 South Australian Baseball League Inc. JUNIOR LEAGUE - ADELAIDE WAVES

The Junior League National Championships were held on the Gold Coast from the 4th to the 9th of April at the Surfers Paradise Baseball Club.

We arrived on the Gold Coast confident of performing well with 5 players backing up from the U16 National Championships and having prepared as thoroughly as possible. Prior to our arrival and for the first 2 days of the tournament the weather was not kind and had the tournament organisers scrambling for alternate fields to play on which they achieved under trying circumstances.

The tournament structure was 4 pools of 4 teams, playing within your pool for the first 3 games. Top 2 teams from each pool were re-seeded 1-8 with an opportunity to win it all. The bottom 9-16 teams were all playing for final ladder positions only.

We finished in position 1 after the minor rounds having solid wins over our pool rivals Hills, Perth Metro North and Canberra. In the first semi-final we faced up against Brisbane Metro and convincingly beat them 26-1. This win moved us into the final 4 bracket where we would play for the right to go to the Final, we had to face our pool rival in Perth Metro North. Our previous game against them was a tough affair with us coming back from 5-0 down to take the game 9-6 so we knew we had to be at our best. Perth jumped out and scored a run in the top of the 1st, we bounced straight back with 2 of our own but from there our bats were quietened by the Perth pitcher who was outstanding, he also hit 2 home runs so was simply brilliant on the day. We went down 5-3 in the end which left us to play off for 3rd place. We faced Manly in this game who it seemed had spent all their pitching and we convincingly beat them 13-0 to come away with the bronze medal.

Perth Metro Central won the title beating Perth Metro North in the final.

Overall our boys had an outstanding tournament, with a slight hiccup in the semi-final otherwise brilliant. We ended with a 5-1 win/loss record and a 73-13 runs for/against record.

Outstanding performances: Harrison Knuckey - .571 BA, .625 OBP, 12 hits, 12 runs Ky Hampton - .556 BA, .652 OBP, 10 hits, 14 RBI, 5 HR, 0.00 ERA (7 inn pitched) Callum Park - .500 BA, .688 OBP, 0.00 ERA (7 inn pitched) Mason Clavell - .435 BA, 10 hits, 13 RBI, 3 HR Curtis Mead - .421 BA, .500 OBP, 3 HR

We had 5 first year players in the squad this year so the nucleus of the squad for next year looks strong.

A big thank you to my assistant coaches Alex Ditrich and Damian Hutchinson, EO Jeff Kevan and scorer Tracey Marsh.

DARREN BROMLEY Head Coach

66 South Australian Baseball League Inc. DIRECT MAIL CENTRE

CHRIS LAWSON

Address: 1092 South Road, Edwardstown SA 5039 Phone: (08) 8277 7700 Web: www.directmailcentre.com.au