The Redlands Rave
Compiled by Dorry Beutel
2018/19 - Issue 2 3 January, 2019
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Little League Rams Win 6 from 8 • Little League Rams Win 6 from 8 By Dorry Beutel • Junior League Rams Dominate Rain, hail or shine, our Rays Little League Rams (pictured • Senior League Rams at the Top below) were excited and ready to play Carina Redsox on the opening weekend of the 2018/19 baseball season. • T-Baller’s’ Break-up Disappointingly, the weather did not “play ball” and after arriving • Rookie Ball Rays at the Preston Rd fields and warming up for their first match of • Rays In Youth Women’s State Squad the season, the heavens opened just as the game was
• Redlands Baseball Academy scheduled to begin and we all went home.
• Rays U20’s Bandits However, once our LL Rays finally got to play some baseball, they excelled and have had resounding wins in six out of the • Team Results & Standings eight games played in the pre-Christmas half of the season. • Calling all Coaches, Managers & Scorers Lennox, Damien and Cooper also contributed to the Rays th - • Redland City Bulleting Articles Junior League Rams 20 October 17 8 win against a much bigger combined junior/senior league Toowoomba Rangers • NxtGen Baseball Camp team when they were asked to play up in the Junior League • Coming Events & Notices team. They also travelled to Toowoomba on 24th November to play in the return match, helping secure an exciting 12-11 win • Our Sponsors against the home team. Great effort, Little Leaguers – keep up the good work! GO RAYS!!
From Left: Aleks Mihajlovic, Aiden Lawson, Nathan Buckby, Noah Marton, Eli Bastow, Luke Simon, Lennox Passfield, Cooper Hokins, Damien Gardner, Bailey Poon, Jaxson Taylor, Front: Denver Marton, Kasey Ball, Ethan Gifford Photo provided by Julie Gardner
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page
Rays Junior League Rams Dominate All But One Team By Marrissa Landers
The Junior League Rams have had a great pre-Christmas season, winning 7 of their 8 games played! Our head coach, club import Brandon Woodland, has been working with the boys, reinforcing confidence and respect in yourself and your team mates, to grow a strong foundation and great team comraderie! With a couple of legacy players from last season, five little league players ageing up and four new faces, it has been a very exciting pre-Christmas season. In our first game we had support from talented little leaguers Lennox Passfield, Damien Gardner and Cooper Hokins who played up to assist us in securing a win over the much bigger combined senior/junior league Toowoomba Rangers team at home. With a final score of 17-8, our boys capitalised on a few wild pitches and plenty of stolen bases that would have made Jackie Robinson proud! Special mention goes to Little Leaguer Damien Gardner, who stole a mammoth 5 bases in 2 at bats to score 2 runs. Congratulations also to Junior Leaguer Alex Landers for achieving 2 MVP points for his work as catcher! In week two, our team faced off against the all-girls Western Bulldogs team at home, securing the win 19-5. With support from Lennox and Damien again, the team performed solidly in the rising heat to maintain great consistency and team work with very few errors in fielding. Special mention goes to Noah Rigney for his very first pick off in 2nd inning of Game 2. However, our star player for this game was Avery Mommsen for his triple to left field, 3 RBI’s, 3 runs scored and 3 strike outs from 4 batters faced! There isn’t much this young man couldn’t do on field and it’s no surprise that he deservedly achieved 2 MVP points for his efforts! Since those first games, our LL Rams have won all their games except one 12-13 loss against the top-of-the-ladder Beenleigh Hawks on 10th November, putting them in 2nd place at 14 points. Great work guys and we look forward to what is shaping up to be a very fun and exciting post- Christmas season!
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 2
Rays Junior League Rams
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 3
Rays Senior League Rams at Top of Their Ladder
Our Senior League Rams have had a great pre-Christmas season with six wins, one loss and one exciting draw against the combined All Stars Rapids team from eight games played. This puts them at equal first place at the top of the ladder at 13points each, with Rays currently sitting in first place after edging out the All Starts Rapids team on runs for and against. Well done, Team!!! It will be an interesting and exciting second half of the season with the ongoing rivalry between the top two teams. GO RAYS!!!
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 4
TTT-T---Ballers’Ballers’ BreakBreak----upup
After eight weeks of learning the basics of baseball, the T-ball Rays ended their season with a game, some fun, a rain shower and some ice cream. Although some members were already on holidays with their parent, the remaining girls and boys had a fun afternoon despite the rain.
There will be another shorter season beginning in February on a date yet to be announced so if your son or daughter is interested in playing T-ball, the details will be posted on the club’s Face- book page in the coming weeks.
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 5
Rookie Ball Rays
Under the expert guidance from Coach Luke Tranter, our Rookie Ball Rays have improved each week of the pre-Christmas season with home games played on alternate weeks. Although the Rookie Ball games start back on Saturday 2nd February when Rays will be away at Ipswich, their first home game of the New Year is against Eagles Gold on 9th February starting at 8.30am. Why not come along and support our future baseball stars?
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 6
Rays Members in Youth Womens State Squad 2019
Congratulations to Soraya Hamson and Paris Bastow from our Senior League Rams team for their selection in the state squad for the 2019 Youth Womens Nationals after Baseball Queensland’s inaugural Youth Women State Titles held at All Stars Baseball Club at Bannister Park, Hendra on 15th & 16th December 2018.
The National Championships will run from the 11th-20th January 2019 in Blacktown, Sydney and players and coaches will depart for Sydney on the 9th January to begin preparation for the event.
Well done, Soraya and Paris! We look forward to seeing Queensland’s progress in Sydney.
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 7
Bayside Baseball Academy 2018
After eight weeks of both fun and serious training by the participants, the annual Bayside Baseball Academy concluded on 6th December with a presentation to six baseballers and a sausage sizzle for all involved. Our future baseball stars benefitted from the experienced coaching of Connor Macdonald, Dudley Johnson, Lee Brand, Brad Hamson and Ken Macdonald, Brisbane Bandits member, Jake Turcato, US imports Brandon Woodland and Will Chapman and Rays senior and U20’s players including Stephen Schneider, Liam Macdonald and Kailen Hamson. The training included pitching, catching, batting, base running, and infield skills with coaches working on at least three disciplines each week. At the end of the training, two participants from each age group were presented with BBA caps for skills improvement, hustle and attentiveness. These were: Elliot Comerford and Jamie Doran (SL), Hamish Baker and Ethan Albury (JL), and Ethan Gifford and Damian Gardner (LL)
The tall and the short of Bayside Baseball Academy. Connor and Lachlan pictured below with Little Leaguer, Ethan Gifford
Winners of the BBA caps with Connor Macdonald are from left: Damian Gardner (LL), Hamish Baker (JL), Ethan Albury (JL), Elliot Comerford (SL), Jamie Doran (SL): Front - Ethan Gifford (LL)
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 8
Bayside Baseball Academy Fun.
Kaleb “putting” his mis- hit ball to its intended destination!! “Hustle” is the word
Listen, learn, but mostly, have fun!!
Final briefing
Ray & Connor 2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 9
Rays U20’s Bandits Our Rays U20’s Bandits are currently sitting at equal 7th place on 8 points with 4 wins and 4 loss- es from 8 games played in a tough competition. With a bye on the 2nd February, our U20’s Rays first game in 2019 will be at home to 8th place team, Ipswich Musketeers, on Saturday, 9th Feb. Come along and support our U20’s in their quest to move further up the ladder.
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 10
Team Results & Standings At the end of the first half of the 2018/19 season, Rays teams are doing well in their individual leagues with 6 of our 10 teams in top 3 of their standings so far. Senior League Rams, Div 2 and Div 6 Rays are all at the top of their respective ladders with Div 1 still having to play one catch-up game after a washout.
Team results and standings do not apply at T-ball and Rookie Ball level.
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 11
Calling all Coaches, Managers & Scorers
I need your input for “The Redlands Rave” and our Facebook page.
Please help me by emailing a short game report with the highlights of your game to me at
Alternately, please ask your scorer to send photos of their score book after each game
Suggested items can include: Safe hits, catches, winning plays, home runs, double plays, close wins/losses
Please include photos whenever possible.
Thanks for your help Dorry
(Media Coordinator & Editor of “The Redlands Rave”)
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 12
Redland City Bulletin Articles 2018 As originally submitted to the Bulletin
Redlands Rays Management Committee ready for challenges of the new season By Dorry Beutel Redlands Rays Baseball Club recently elected the management committee for the 2018-19 baseball season all of whom are eager and looking forward to the challenges of the upcoming year. Incoming President, Brad Hamson, has been involved with Redlands Rays Baseball Club since 2011 when his son, Kailen, joined the Little League Team. During that time he has held the positions of Coach and Junior Coordinator and in 2017, was the Assistant Coach for the 2017 Brisbane South Little League Representative team. Secretary, Lee Brand first came to the Club in 2013-2014 season when son, Kaleb, joined the Rookie Ball team. Since then he has coached Rookie Ball, Little League and Junior League teams and has been a coach/player for the Rays Pacific A team and the Rays Masters Team. In the 2015-2016 he took on the role of Rays Coach Coordinator and was the head coach for the 2015 Little League Brisbane South representative team. He has also been the U18 coach for the Metropolitan East school baseball representative team for the past 6 years and was an assistant coach for the Queens- land School Sport U18 baseball team in 2018. Treasurer, Marrissa Landers played Little League for the Toowoomba Rangers in the late 1990’s and liked the structure and discipline of baseball which develops athletic abilities and personalities while supporting equality between genders. In the two years since becoming involved with the club when her son joined the Little League team in 2016, Marrissa has taken on the roles of team scorer, Grants Coordinator and now Treasurer. Baseball Operations Coordinator, Stephen Schneider, first played for Redlands in the 1989/90 U10’s Navajo team when the club was called the Southside Indians and was affiliated with the current Indians Baseball Club. After playing most of his junior career at Redlands, Stephen ventured to other clubs for three seasons before returning to Redlands. Stephen represented Brisbane South throughout his junior career, was a member of the Queensland team in 1995 and had three trips to the United States with Queensland Taipans. He is also a member of the GBL (Greater Brisbane League) Committee. He now plays in both the Division 3 Rays team and the Masters team and last season, reached his 20years membership and 500 games for Redlands mile- stones. As Club Operations Coordinator, Dennis Fletcher is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the grounds, clubhouse, dugouts and batting cages. Dennis first became involved with Redlands Baseball Club in 1990 when, after moving his family from Bundaberg to Alexandra Hills, he looked for the nearest baseball club to his home. Dennis is a life member and is the longest serving active member at Redlands Baseball Club. During his 20 years with the Redlands, Dennis has coached the teams his sons Scott and Gavin have been involved with and has also been a regular umpire for other club teams. He also held the position of Registrar for Brisbane South Baseball Association for five years.
From left: Dennis Fletcher, Brad Hamson, Marrissa Landers, Stephen Schneider, Lee Brand
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 13
Redland City Bulletin Articles 2018 As originally submitted to the Bulletin
First Sign-On day for 2018 at Redlands Rays Baseball Club By Dorry Beutel Redlands Rays Baseball Club held the first round of their planned “come & try” sessions and sign-on days at the club grounds during the past week with a further round scheduled for this coming week. These sessions will give anyone interested in playing baseball a chance to “try before they buy” with all necessary equipment provided for their use at the fields on the day. The come & try sessions were conducted on Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning and the first sign-on session followed Saturday morning’s try-out. All age groups from 4years old to Masters are welcome to attend and no prior experience is nec- essary. Once all players are signed on, the club will hold trail days during which the coaches will assess each player and decide which team they will be assigned to for the up-coming 2018-19 club season, due to begin in early October. With Australian champion teams now gaining direct entry into all junior level Baseball World Series tournament events in the United States, young players with aspirations of playing Major League Baseball will have incredible opportunities to join the growing number of ex-Redlands players who are currently playing in the US, either professionally or at college ball level. In June this year at the 2018 Australian Little League Championships held in Lismore, the Gold Coast Cougars became the first ever Queensland baseball team to win an Australian Baseball Championship at any level, therefore earning them the right to compete in this year’s Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in August. This team includes Ty Iddon, who, prior to relocating to the Gold Coast last year, was a member of Redlands Rays Little League Devilrays team. For details of this week’s “come & try” and sign-on days and to keep up to date with club activi- ties and upcoming events, log into Redland Rays Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/ RedlandsRays
Alby Jackson, Ky Jackson, Albyy Pokai and Jarred Young
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 14
Redland City Bulletin Articles 2018 As submitted to the Bulletin
Redlands Rays in a Resounding Win Against Pine Hills Lightning By Dorry Beutel The 2018/19 baseball season is well underway and despite all games being cancelled in the first week due to rain, Redlands Rays teams have proven their ability to win games across all divisions. The Div 1 Rays were away to Pine Hills Lightning for their two games on the weekend and recorded a resounding 16-3 win in Sunday’s game with a close 2-3 loss on Friday night. Coach, Dudley Johnson said “We have had a couple of tough loses by only one or two runs over the past couple of weeks. We just needed some luck to fall our way and it happened on Sunday with our win against Pine Hills who are a very strong team. It was good to see the bats light up on the day” Special mention goes to starting pitcher Kyohei Kaneda who allowed no runs for 6 innings and was backed by an awesome offensive team effort that produced 21 hits from 43 at-bats with US import Will Chapman hitting 4 from 5. The much-needed win sets Rays up for an important home series showdown against Carina Redsox this Friday night 9th November, with the game scheduled to begin at 7.30pm. Game 2 of the series will start at Redlands Diamond 1 at 1.30pm on Sunday afternoon. All other teams have recorded at least one win since the start of the season with Little League Rams and Junior League Rams each having outstanding wins in both their games to date. This year’s Rays T-Ball program has attracted 26 girls and boys in the 4yrs to 7yrs age group who are learning the basics of batting, running and fielding while having a lot of fun. These young baseballers are benefiting from the experience of the club’s coaches and senior players who are all keen to impart their knowledge on Rays fledgling stars. T-ball is scheduled each Friday evening between 5pm-6.30pm. For more information on the Redlands Ray Baseball Club you can email [email protected] or to keep up on all current events visit them online at red- landsrays.com.au/home/ or on Facebook at face- book.com/RedlandsRays/
Photo Caption: Div 1 player, Hayden Michie, pitching in the weekend’s games
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 15
Redland City Bulletin Articles 2018 As submitted to the Bulletin
Redland Baseball Academy Well Under Way By Dorry Beutel The 2018 Redlands Baseball Academy has been under way for four weeks and the benefits are already taking effect with Rays junior teams giving solid performances in their weekly Greater Brisbane League games. The academy is open to all junior players from Little League to Senior League, ages 12 to 16years. The 8-week long academy, conducted each year during the pre-Christmas half of the season, focuses on pitching, catching, batting (both field and batting cages), base running, and infield skills with coaches working on at least three disciplines each week. These are governed by the availability of the specialist coaches. Club Coach, Dudley Johnson is working in conference with local baseballer, Connor Macdonald, to set the schedule for each session. Macdonald is drawing on the wealth of knowledge he has gained from his experience of playing for Redlands, the Brisbane Bandits, The Houston Astros (Texas) and currently the Sydney Blue Sox. The Academy has a minimum of eight coaches at each week’s session including Rays senior coaches, current US import, Brandon Woodland, and Brisbane Bandits member, Jake Turcato, with help from Rays U20’s players Kailen Hamson and Liam Macdonald. Rays junior teams are currently producing great baseball with Little League and Junior League Rams each winning their first three games, and the Senior League Rams winning two from three. Photo thanks to Ray Comerford
For more information on the Redlands Base- ball Academy you can email enquir- [email protected] or to keep up on all current events visit them online at red- landsrays.com.au/home/ or on Facebook at facebook.com/RedlandsRays/
Photo Caption: Redlands Baseball Academy participants applauding the skills they have learnt
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 16
For contact details see Redlands Rays Facebook page
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 17
Coming Events
Monthly General Meeting Every 1st Wednesday of the month starting at 6.30pm Next meeting Wednesday, 6th February, 2019 All Scorers Welcome Contact Gayle Fletcher on Ph 0432 255 816 for details
Senior Competition Resumes on the following dates:
Junior Competition Resumes Sat 2nd February, 2019 See all games scheduled for that weekend below:
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 18
Coming Event Date TBA
Trivia Night
Test your Get your teams knowledge together
Redland Rays Clubhouse
For details watch our Facebook page
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 19
Notices
THE “REDLANDS RAVE” needs your input Managers, parents, family and supporters Please send your photos, stories and captions to Dorry for the newsletter Email all content to: [email protected]
For the newcomers to our Club, please note the layout of our Diamonds
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 20
A REMINDER TO ALL PARENTS Every family is required to take their turn doing canteen duties at their children’s home games. Your Manager will arrange a roster for your team. Please liaise with him/her regarding your availability
HOME TEAM DUGOUT ETTIQUETTE • Leave your dugout clean of rubbish • Home team to rake the diamond • Make sure everyone takes their gear • Have a safe trip home
HAVE YOU VOLUNTEERED YET?? If not, and want to lend a hand, contact our Stephen Schneider, Baseball Operations There are still key positions to be filled
REMINDER: PARENTS, if you have a couple of free hours after games on Saturday, some spare time on Sundays, or you are just waiting around during your child’s weekly training sessions, Dennis and the team can always use some help around the grounds. Either call Dennis on 0414 435 100 to pre-arrange a time, or just find someone from the grounds crew who is working at the fields and they will happily put you to work.
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 21
With Thanks to Our Sponsors
2018/19 Issue 2 - Page 22