West Torrens Baseball Club

Come along for fun family night at the Club.
Heaps of prizes up for grabs!
Please support one of our major fundraisers for the year
See flyer below

Quiz Night

The Brooms come out for the Junior Eagles.

Well the Junior season reignited after the Christmas break with a bang as the Junior Eagles swept aside all comers in largely emphatic fashion. The Under 18’s were able to play an overpowering brand of baseball that saw them score in every innings whilst blanking the Reds, for a 16 nil mercy decision. The Under 16’s swept aside rival Sturt with plenty of hitting creating a winning gap that they were able to hold for 13 – 5 win. The Under 14 Green machine had to work much harder to shade Sturt 8 – 4. The Under 14 Dineen machine went toe – to – toe with the Hawks before out slugging them for a thrilling 9 – 7 win. Tim and Jimmy’s pocket rocket Little League majors batted in enough runs to stay ahead of Souths and Ronnie Paulus’ baby Eagles were given a free pass by the Cardies who had trouble mustering enough players at this time of year.

Time to start training in earnest

All in all, an extremely pleasing set of results and with finals on the horizon (LL Minors excepted), we must now keep our eye on the ball and play good team baseball. I’m sure that coaches will be emphasising the basics, and the importance of the execution of these. To whit, it is now more important than ever that you attend training and develop the basics, practice them under pressure so that we can execute under the pressure that finals games provide. Please note that unlike most other clubs we have a dedicated pitching coach in Bob Baker, who oversees the strength and development and technique of our young pitchers. He does this in conjunction with the team coach. Particularly for Little League Major and Minor boys, there is extra training available on Wednesday nights from 4.30pm with Bob.

The representative cycle is now complete for 2010, so all players that were chosen to represent the state at the recent Nationals should also be back into the club cycle of Wednesday and Friday night training. If you can’t make a session it is your responsibility to notify your coach of said inability to attend.

Congratulations to the A grade who climbed off the mat after a lackluster three games since resumption to record an impressive away win against fellow finals aspirant East Torrens.

The club scoreboard for this week reads as follows:

WT                    Result      Opponent          Season      Ladder
Division 1 8 defeated East Torrens 5    7 – 9          (10th)
Division 2 8 drew with East Torrens 8 12 – 2 – 2 (2nd)
Division 3 12 defeated Golden Grove 4 12 – 1       (1st)
Division 4 6 lost to Adelaide 17              5 – 6 – 1   (7th)
Division 5 16 lost to Glenelg 17               5 – 8          (8th)
Division 6 16 defeated Gawler 3              9 – 2 – 2   (3rd)
Under 18 16 defeated N/Districts 0       9 – 1          (1st)
Under 16 13 defeated Sturt 5                    8 – 1          (1st)
Under 14 (1) 8 defeated Sturt 4               9 – 1           (1st)
Under 14 (2) 9 defeated S/Districts 7  6 – 3            (3rd)
LL Major 18 defeated S/Districts 11      8 – 1 – 1    (2nd)
LL Minor 7 defeated Kensington 0        6 – 4           (4th)

Friday Night Meals

This Friday night’s meal is Yiros and chips BUT we may suspend this given that SA is in the Claxton Shield preliminary final at Norwood Oval. Please keep your eye out for confirmation by email from me.

January 31 our games are as follows:

Little League Minor: Coach: Ron Paulus
Glenelg, away on the Junior Diamond
Starting at 10.00am (report 9.00am)

Little League Major: Coaches: Jamie Boydon and Tim Mead
Goodwood, away on the Junior Diamond
Starting at 12.00pm (report 11.00am)

Under 14 (2): Coach: Rob Dineen
Golden Grove, away on the Junior Diamond
Starting at 2.00pm (report at 1.00pm)

Under 14 (1): Coach: David Green
Southern Districts, at home the Main Diamond
Starting at 10.00am (report at 9.00am)

Under 16: Coach: Rick Mead
Woodville away, on the Main Diamond
Starting at 10.00am (report at 9.00am)

Under 18: Coach: Brett Ettridge
Goodwood, away on the Main Diamond
Starting at 10.00am (report 9.00am)

See you at the Ball Park.

Yours in Baseball
Mark McGarry
Junior Chairman
West Torrens Baseball Club

 Norwood Oval hosts the final series this weekend to see who challenges Victoria in the Grand Final.

Tickets can be purchased online at 

www.southaustralia.baseball.com.au

Finals flyer

West Torrens 8 def East Torrens 5
 
The Div 1’s got back on the winning side of the ledger on Sunday with a gutsy pre-Australia Day performance versus the Redsox.  

After a disapointing start to the calander year, the Eagles proved they can beat teams above them, defeating the ET import starter for the second time this season. Momentum swung several times during the game with the good guys scoring first  courtesy of a T Fiebig sacrifice. However the Redsox responded with a 2 run home run the very next frame. The Eagles answered in the 5th to tie the score at 2 all before ET went ahead again in the bottom frame.
Not to be outdone the Eagles persisted to eventually see off the Redsox starter and break out  in the top of the 7th . Execution under pressure at the plate has been lacking in recent weeks, but in this situation our hitters responded magnificently scoring 5 earned runs in a massive 2 out rally.  Weathering an attemted ET comback bottom 7 we executed again top 9 and put out the fire in the bottom frame to run out eventual winners 8-5.
 
From our guys it was immensley pleasing to see quality at bats return against a strong pitcher.  Mulitple hit games abounded ,  from A-Chap, A-Spence, Lewy, Jedi, Fiebig and  Moose Falls to name a few . The confidence and self belief required to succeed in Division One have returned to our hitters. Hopefully it remains with more tough pitching to come our way in the coming weeks.
 
Defensively Steve-O was strong, pushing through 6 digs and was relieved well by Reds and Rexy who had tough assignments against a floating strike zone. A-Chap was solid behind the dish taking charge and calling a good game. Overall a sound effort in the field allowed us to move ahead in the second half of the game.
 
It was also excellent to have vital contribution from our young bench with Mitchell Harvey, Sam Burgess and Nathan VanderLinden all getting involved in the game at various points. Division One opportunities will continue to come the way of bench players who are willing and able to assist when called upon.   
  
Good Luck to the SA boys in the Claxton Semi Final series starting Friday night versus NSW this weekend. Get down to Norwood at some stage over the weekend to see SA push for it’s first title since 1980.

The Div 1 Saturday Game versus Adelaide has been postponed due to the Claxton format. If the Semi Final series is over in 2 games we will travel to Woodville to play the Senators in another must win game this Sunday at 3pm. If the Claxton series goes into Sunday we will have the weekend off with both games to be made up at later dates to be announced. Check the SABL website www.sa.baseball.com.au Saturday night/Sunday morning to find out if we visit the Senators on Sunday or at a date TBA…

Sam Tibbits

The Club would like to acknowledge and congratulate both Ben Zoontjens and Matthew Brown Snr on reaching their milestone 200th games last weekend.

Both have been loyal servants for the Club and we look forward to the next 200!

The first game back after the xmas break has traditionally seen the WT Div 3 lads, struggling to come to grips with their added KGs from the festive season, get belted by a lower ranked team. This season however was a different story with the Eagles managing a 7 – 4 victory against a competitive Sturt outfit. Assistant Coach Stephens still in holiday mode when he arrived to the ground with the div 5 gear bag and no lumber in sight.

 After sorting out a rent to own arrangement of the Div 4 gear the Eagles failed to trouble the scorers in the top of the first. Big Noblett had starting dome duties and shut down the top part of the Saints lineup in the first. A couple of walks followed by some opposite field power by Stan The Man Laziridis plating a run and a sac up by Broady in the second to give WT a lead they would not relinquish.

 Nobby worked brilliantly on the hill and was ably backed up by his field. In particular Brett Lacy covering the ground in CF to make a sweet sliding catch to end an inning and Stan, playing at 3b, making a nice pick from a bad hop off the lip and making the throw to extinguish another threat.

 Patience at the plate enabled the Eagles to continually have base runners however at times opportunities were wasted with many left on base throughout the game. A total of 11 free passes received by the Eagles for the day. Highlight on the offense would have to be Ben Zoontjens legging out a triple, yes a triple, proving the 36Litres of Bavarian brew consumed by the big man at the previous weeks Shizenfest has not slowed him down one bit.

 In the end a solid win after a layoff with special mention to Nobby for toughing out the complete game with 7 strong innings knowing the relief pitching stocks were very thin. A great effort particularly appreciated by Stephens, Broadbridge and Zoontjens who were all in line for a throw.

 Hits: Zoontjens 2, Louzikiotis, Lacy 1

Round 14 West Torrens 1 Kensington 8
Round 15 Goodwood 10 West Torrens 3

The Division 1 side’s chances of making the finals took a severe blow with 2 losses over the weekend.

On Saturday several defensive blunders and a lack of aggression at the plate resulted in a painful defeat against a team who before the weekend were ranked below us. Our overall approach on the day raised questions surrounding the level of commitment and desire of some to play Division 1 baseball for this club. Amongst some scattered hitting the standout was Tom Fiebig who was one of few to make the necessary adjustments against Kensington’s knuckleball starter.

Sunday versus Goodwood was an improved showing with better hitting and defence in general. Luck did not go our way with more than several line drives going straight to fielders including 3 in a row off the bat of Jedi Morgan. However, to be in a situation where luck could determine our fate was always going to be dangerous. To score only 3 runs off a weak starter was never going to be good enough against a line-up boasting 4 state representatives.

To play hard nosed baseball and come up short against better quality opposition would be acceptable. To underachieve and lose as a result of physical and mental errors and general passiveness is not acceptable. It may be a cliché, but it’s high time our players did some soul searching and ask themselves if they are giving their best to West Torrens Baseball Club.

Sam Tibbits

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
West Torrens Div 1
0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 5 10 10 3
Northern Dist Div 1
0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 4 7 6

A late surge by the Eagles saw us defeat Norths at Walkleys Reserve on Sunday. The bats never woke up against their LH starter who was probably a little better than expected. His stats certainly suggested so with 13k’s and only 3 hits over 6 innings. However erratic pitching was his downfall with an elevated pitch count seeing him leave the game after those 6 digs. But the lack of adjustment by the Eagles hitters before he was done was still frustrating. Against better quality pitching we still need to put the ball in play to at least apply pressure to the opposing defence.

The boys led 2-1 middle 6 courtesy of an Adam ‘Is it footy season yet?’ Spence RBI in the 2nd and the Norths battery sharing 2 wild throws to plate Moose Falls in the 5th. Early Norths baserunning threats were hosed down by slick picks from Rexy at 2b and 1b and 3 consecutive donuts to begin the game.However after Dutchy Holland saw red allowing Oswald on board, Rexy clearly exceeded his pick off quota for the weekend with the 3rd pick in under 4 seconds going wild to let L.H.O 180degs to 3b. Big hitting Drew Miller then bounced a hard grounder to 1b and despite playing shallow RF Tibbo still used the opportunity to dispense with the 1B glove and attempt to utilise long gone catching skills instead. The result being an RBI PO3 and stitches tattooed on the wrist.

The Reds got going bottom 6 with a HPB to L.H.O which incensed the little man despite being a 2-2 change piece. An (un)intentional walk to Miller and a base hit to Whelan not only plated L.H.O but led to a mini circus in the Eagles infield with 2 wt’s resulting in Miller also scoring. Result: Eagles down 3-2 going into top 7.

Not to be found in the Joe Torre managers handbook was the Norths LH starter moving to 2b to begin the 7th. It may have been described a masterstroke if not for 3E’s executed the first 3 times he touched the ball. Adding insult to injury a TBone liner almost castrated him and resulted in the plating of T Fiebig to tie the game. Although juicing the sacks the Eagles didn’t convert again but the shift in momentum had begun.

Steve-O took over hurling duties bottom 7 and immediately took charge retiring the next 4 and inducing a GBDP to end the 8th. Previously, in the top half of the 8th a lead off thumbs WTP to RF for David ‘Wags’ Forbes, a HPB to Spence and consecutive sacs to Jesse Grey Guns Duval and Angry Adam Lewis resulted in another run. Clearly showing he has no concept of the discipline required to be a HR hitter, a laced double to Moose off the LF fence resulted in another.

Top 9 a sea of green including singles to Bone, Moose and DF, a double to Spence and a HR to the short RF porch to Tibbo resulted in a further 5 crossing the dish. The result beyond doubt Steve-O commenced bottom 9 with the spirit of the season in his heart, offering a first pitch kris kringle to Miller that was duely launched to the same part of the field as Tibbo’s previous HR, although juuuuuuuuust a little bit deeper. Christmas cheer completed, the next 3 were sat down in order and the game was over.

An at times topsy turvey game to round out a rocky first half that sees us at 6 and 6. However there’s no doubt the boys are looking positively to the second half and a run at the playoffs. If we continue to keep the defence sound, the pitching strong and increase our application and output with the sticks we will see action in March.

On a final note thanks to the big ginga ninja TBone for his help over the last 2 weeks. His big bat, solid glove and presence in general were a huge help to the 1’s and 2’s. I hope some of our players learned from his example of controlled aggression and passion for the game. Good luck in the June draft and we hope to see you back at the Lockleys Dome soon Bone.

On behalf of the West Torrens Baseball Club, I take this opportunity to wish you all the Compliments of the Season. I hope that Christmas is a special family time for you all and that you get the opportunity to relax and enjoy each other’s company. We look forward to seeing you all in the New Year and that you arrive safely back for the resumption in January.

 Christmas Holidays start with a bang 

The weekend started out at Norwood Oval on Friday with many of our Eagle boys participating in the Training with the Pro’s session. This was a fantastic opportunity for available players to work with instructions from luminaries such as World Series Champion Pat Kelly of the New York Yankees, the current General Manager of the MLB backed Adelaide franchise Claxton Shield leading South Australian Baseball team. Also in attendance were Claxton Shield stars of the 2009/10 summer including Stefan Welch, Matthew Smith, Paul Mildren, Jackson Lodge, Ben Lodge and two coaches from NSW with Major League experience. It was an altogether great experience for all involved. If you get the chance next year, it’s a great day. The kids received an MLB Cap of their choice, an MLB Training with the Pro’s T-shirt, a drink bottle and a backpack, PLUS over two hours of running around playing baseball on Norwood Oval. Does it get any better than that?

YES! Because after that finished, they got in to watch the Giants demolish the Patriots 8 – 2 and win game one and be part of an enormous crowd of almost 2500 fans. What an atmosphere, and the old timers tell me that was just a quarter of what used to turn up. Imagine a crowd of 8000 at Norwood Oval for Baseball. How good would that be?

 As suggested, this was only the beginning, because if you wanted to see SA Baseball at its best, you could’ve headed back to Norwood Oval at 3 o’clock on Saturday to watch SA try to seal the series win which we eventually did with a 4 – 1 Game 3 decision. In between Games 2 and 3, our Under 14 State team got to play ‘Yard Ball’ on the Main Diamond! Mitch Duval, Jack Hambly and Sam McGarry from the Eagles had this opportunity and are still talking about how much fun it was.

 Eagles come within 1 run of a clean Sweep!

 The Eagles rocked the SABL this weekend with wins in every grade, with the exception of the Division 4’s whose 6 all draw left us within 1 run of a complete sweep of all matches!

Sunday morning rolled around and it was off to the races for all Junior teams except for the Under 16’s who got to sleep in thanks to the draw now including a bye. They break for Christmas sitting on top with 7 wins and just the 1 loss. Well done Rick Mead on an outstanding first half.

 18’s bone the Rams

 The Under 18’s had to report to Ram Stadium where a first inning blitz netted 8 unanswered runs including a lead off single and a 2 run triple from our lead off batter! How easy was this going to be, particularly given that Nathan Vanderlinden was going off the mound? To the Rams’ credit, they then held the Eagles to just 3 runs whilst posting a couple of their own off the back of some good hitting. With Nathan and Dylan Chuck having to leave for their date in Division 2, Bryce Fulton returning from illness last week stepped in and quieted the game down. Final score Eagles 11 – Henley & Grange 2.

 Green Machine back in Sync

 Back to the Nest and the Green Machine were in search of redemption with last weekend’s reversal fresh in the minds (of Head Coach Green at least). Duly, redemption was served up, but only after a spirited battle with a feisty Cardinals outfit that had dramatically improved since our first outing against them. Three scoreless innings was testament to this. Jack Hambly went off the mound, holding the Cardies scoreless, but we too struggled to get our bats in order and three innings of copy book baseball saw scores tied. Connor Foley came to the mound in the fourth and did a good job keeping the score at nil-nil, before finally, the batting line-up started to exercise a little patience, lay off the high stuff and drew some Bases on balls. The pressure started to mount on our opposing pitcher and unfortunately he gave up his first run with a walk. Fortunately for us, we then started to hit the ball and four more runs were plated before the inning was done. However, not to be outdone, The Cardies stormed back with three runs of their own, and Coach Green was forced to bring in closer Lucas Hunter to quieten the bats. This he duly did. With our second last at bat and a new Cardinals pitcher, we ended up with a donut again before holding the two run lead. What turned out to be the final dig, was the bottom of the sixth when we plated six runs to blow the game apart. Again patience early in the count followed by some counter punch hitting and the game was put beyond doubt 11 – 3 when time was called.

 Dineen machine back from the dead!

 It was looking a bit of a worry for the 14/2 Dineen Machine when the first two innings only resulted in 1 run for each inning for the Eagles. The Rangers got off to a flying start with 7 runs in the first innings, but James Appleton found his rhythm on the mound at the bottom of the 2nd innings and the Rangers were held to only 1 run. The boys regrouped and at the top of the 3rd innings they stepped up to the plate and started to play ball. Some excellent hitting and base running commenced to earn the Eagles 7 runs and side away. Will Lampard took to the mound at the bottom of the 3rd and kept the Rangers to 4 runs. The Eagles stepped up to bat at the top of the 4th knowing they had to reproduce their best effort and the goal was 7 runs. Again some excellent watching of the ball and hitting took place at the plate, with the boys achieving a constant state of bases loaded. The Eagles were rewarded for their efforts and it was side away with 7 runs. Will Lampard again took to the mound at the bottom of the 4th with the score 16 – 12. The Rangers could still win if they could get enough runs on the board.

First batter up, 4 pitches and the batter was out.

Next batter stepped up to the plate, 3 pitches and the batter was out.

Third batter hit a ground ball to left field, who threw it to 2nd base to keep the runner at 1st base, well drilled boys!

The fourth batter stepped up to the plate and the runner on 1st managed to steal to 2nd on a Passed Ball. The boys looked sharp and knew the play. The final pitch, ground ball to the pitcher who threw it to 1st base for the 3rd out, game over! Final score Eagles 16 - Rangers 12.

Little League Major and Minor sweep

 Jimmy and Tim’s Little League Major boys took part in a 32 run slugfest up at Kensington on Sunday afternoon and fortunately for the Eagle boys our number was the bigger of the two when the dust settled. They go to the break sitting just a game behind leaders Sturt. Ronnie’s Minor Leaguers were more comfortable in holding the Tribe at the Reservation.

 For match reports and details check out the club’s website:

 http://www.wtbc.org.au

 The club scoreboard for this week reads as follow

WT                              Result                        Opponent                              Season                      Ladder

Division 1      10        defeated        Northern Districts     3          6 – 6                           (7^th)

Division 2      10        defeated        Northern Districts     0          9 – 2 – 1                     (2^nd)   

Division 3      10        defeated        Southern Districts    2          10 – 1                         (1^st)

Division 4      6          drew               Port Adelaide            6          4 – 5 – 1                     (7^th)

Division 5      12        defeated        Southern Districts    10        5 – 6                           (7^th)

Division 6      12        defeated        Northern Districts     3          8 – 1 – 2                     (2^nd)

Under 18       11        defeated        Henley & Grange     2          8 – 1                           (1^st)

Under 16                   BYE                                                               7 – 1                           (1^st)

Under 14 (1)  11        defeated        Kensington               3          8 – 1                           (1^st)

Under 14 (2)  16        defeated        Gawler                       12        6 – 3                           (3^rd)

LL Major         17        defeated        Kensington               15        7 – 1 – 1                     (2^nd)

LL Minor        15        defeated        Goodwood                 4          5 – 4                           (4^th)

 

 Christmas Holiday Break

 A reminder to all that the season is now in recession until January 24^th 2010. Training will recommence in the week leading up to the 24^th. Therefore, 14’s, 16’s and 18’s resume on Wednesday 20^th January and the Little Leaguers join them on Friday 22^nd January. Pitchers are advised that Bull Pens will start the preceding Wednesday 13^th January with Head Pitching Coach Baker. Please advise Coaches of your availability for the end of January.

 January 24 our games are as follows:

Little League Minor:           Coach:           Ron Paulus

Kensington at home, on the Junior Diamond

Starting at 10.00am (report 9.00am)

Little League Major:           Coaches:       Jamie Boydon and Tim Mead

Southern Districts at home, on the Junior Diamond

Starting at 12.00pm (report 11.00am)

Under 14 (2):                       Coach:           Rob Dineen

Southern Districts at home, on the Main Diamond

Starting at 12.30pm (report at 11.30am)

Under 14 (1):                        Coach:          David Green

Sturt away, on the Main Diamond

Starting at 10.00am (report at 9.00am)

Under 16:                              Coach:           Rick Mead

Sturt away, on the Main Diamond

Starting at 3.00pm (report at 2.00pm)

Under 18:                              Coach:           Brett Ettridge

Northern Districts at home, on the Main Diamond

Starting at 10.00am (report 9.00am

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 Yours in Baseball   

Mark McGarry

Junior Chairman

West Torrens Baseball Club

With the end of the year nearing another inductee enters the team.

Welcome aboard Alex Morgan and what a way to finish 2009 with 10 hits in 3 innings.

4 singles from Nathan Valentini, Josh Lee, Kyle Nicol and Nathan Collins.

3 doubles by Brodie Nicol, a triple from Jordan Warman and 2 run in the park home runs by Kyle Nicol.

This was assisted by Kyle’s lightening speed around the bases.

Oscar Mitton worked hard behind the plate again and Brodie pitched another solid innings.

Kyle and Jordan did what they had to but a little more belief in what they can do and the results will come in.

Luke Houston, Jacob Scott and Ethan D’Angelo were both very busy backing up in the pivot positions and ran the bases well.

15 – 4 was a good result and hopefully we can keep the momentum going when we return and give some teams some serious grief.

Special thanks to Andrew Scott for his help.