07 March 2024
- Little League College Baseball
Fellow Canberran Ryan Lyddiard committed to Rose State College, a school in Oklahoma, in February.
Vernon College is Texas school is a Junior College and has hosted Australians before.
They’ve been successful, too.
04 March 2024
Three members of the Australian Women’s National Team will fly into Alice Springs to host a clinic in April to help support a fast-growing baseball community.
Emeralds star players Ticara Geldenhuis (NSW) and Maddi Erwin (ACT) will be joined by World Cup medalist and current coach Samantha Hamilton in Alice Springs for a four-day camp which will support local baseball initiatives this April.
The Emeralds will assist in training camp for Northern Territory representative teams, ‘coach the coaches’ on high performance techniques for female athletes, run skill sessions at a few-school holiday camps, and deliver a keynote speech to coaches / admins in the greater industry in Alice Springs.
It comes after a big surge in participation in baseball in the Northern Territory.
There has been an 85% increase to female players and 205% increase to junior players. Overall, participation is up close to 30%.
Baseball Northern Territory General Manager Rob Gower says the state is just trying to keep things simple when recruiting new players. He says it’s all about creating a great experience for anyone who wants to play baseball.
“Over the past few years, we have had a fantastic senior level competition however declining junior competitions. So, recently, we have invested our resources in rebuilding the junior competitions,” he says.
“In all our programs, particularly in schools, we hold ‘fun-first programs’ that support players and ensure everyone learns new skills during fun activities and regardless of their skill level. From here we have set up numerous pathways that operate all year round, for people to play baseball knowing they will continue to get support and guidance while they play.”
An increase in juniors has also led to increased opportunities for Northern Territory representative teams. The NT Buffaloes will represent the state at the Little League Division 2 (U13) and Senior League (U17) Championships, competing with the best charter baseball players around the country.
Gower says this year will be the first time the entire representative team is filled with players solely from the NT – both from competitions in Darwin and Alice Springs. He says the organisation and structure has helped with this process.
“We are keeping things simple,” says Gower. “We know parents are juggling sports and timetables, so consistency and simplicity are key to our success. We play on the same days and the same time. You will see the same faces each week and we take time to plan out and execute well any new programs we implement. If it is not going to be easy for players and parents and done well by us, we will not do it.”
Alice Springs Baseball has garnered some increased media in recent times, too.
The ABC recently ran a great story featuring Chicago Cubs minor leaguer Blake Whitney, who is living in Alice Springs and playing baseball in the local competition.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he said to the ABC. “Out here I feel like a little kid. It’s been a great time.”
Whitney has also been giving pitching lessons to juniors and helping out at the local community. He helps service all five clubs who play out of Lyel Kempster field in Alice Springs.
For Gower, that’s what this Emeralds Camp is all about – inspiring the next generation.
“Role models are so important for kids playing any sport. Seeing their heroes in action motivates them to keep playing and strive to improve their skills so they can play like their heroes.”
Gower adds this whole initiative began from a “Chance” meeting at last year’s Little League Division 2 tournament in Sydney.
“Some of our junior female athletes met three Emerald players and provided them so much inspiration that we wanted to replicate this experience for all of our female players in Alice Springs,” he says.
“Our plan for the Emeralds initiative is to not only inspire female and junior baseball players and help our coaches build invaluable skills on coaching female athletes but to spread these learnings beyond the baseball community to coaches of all sports with female athletes, improving the sporting landscape across Alice Springs.”
The camp will run from April 9-13 at Lyel Kempster Field. More details will be announced shortly on the Baseball NT website and Facebook page.
Pictured Below: Emeralds players with NT juniors at a recent national championship.
29 February 2024
A teenager from New South Wales is combining his baseball and academic passions by heading to prestigious Ivy League school Columbia University to study and play later in the year.
Pitcher Daniel Mills is coming off the back of an esteemed junior baseball career. The product of the Manly Eagles represented Australia at the 2023 U18 World Cup, while playing for New South Wales at the U16 Australian Youth Championships in 2022, and for the U18 squad in 2023 and 2024.
He also starred for Manly in their charter program, consistently representing the region at national championships. 
Not only is Mills a talented on the baseball field, he’s strong in the classroom. You have to be to go to Columbia.
The New York City-based university is ranked #7 in the top global universities. To get in to the school, students need to typically score in the 98th percentile or higher on their mandatory Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT).
“I have always loved New York City,” says Mills. “I love the buzz of the city and the community [feel] at Columbia. I was drawn to the school’s elite academics, combined with a great NCAA Division 1 Baseball program.
Mills will leave for school in August, 2024.
“I can see myself growing as a student, athlete, and person,” he says. “I really love math and I want to study finance and economics I am interested in lots of things, and I enjoy learning. Attending Columbia lets me continue my baseball journey at a D1 school, whilst also challenging myself in the classroom and setting myself up for a rewarding career.”
Mills’ parents are originally from the United States, but moved to Australia when Daniel was just a small kid. He grew up in the Australian Baseball system.
The right-hander currently has a fastball, curveball and changeup in his pitching arsenal.
Mills says he is looking forward to being guided by longtime head coach Brett Boretti.
“Columbia has a great program and develops excellent players, both on and off the field. I’m looking forward to developing in the gym and on the mound,” says Mills. “The experience of pitching in the Ivy League for four years will be invaluable. I can’t wait to learn more about the game.”
Mills was very much brought up by the New South Wales, Manly and national baseball community.
Mills now pitches in the New South Wales State League for the Eagles.
“A lot of people have helped me along the way to motivate me and encourage me to work hard to pursue my goals, including Rob Chessell, Brook Russell, PJ Patterson, Dave Gledhill, Gavin Fingleson, Travis McDonald, Grahame Cassell and Coen Wynne,” he says. “I am also very lucky to have such supportive parents, who have dedicated so much time to helping me pursue my goals.”
For more college baseball stories and commitments, click here.
28 February 2024
The Australian Women’s Championships (AWC) and Women’s Youth Championships (AYWC) is right around the corner.
From April 2-8 in Melbourne, states across the country will fight for baseball supremacy and a national title.
Both the Senior Women’s (open age) and the Women’s Youth Championships (U16) will take place in one exciting week in Melbourne.
Here’s what you need to know.
MEDAL ROUND DAY 1: Click here to follow the action
DAY 3: Medal Rounds Set after great final day of pool play
DAY 2 YOUTH WOMEN’S RECAP – DAY 2 YOUTH WOMEN’S RECAPS AND PERFORMERS: Standings tighten up at the U16 event | Baseball.com.au
DAY 2 WOMEN’S RECAP – DAY 2 WOMEN’S RECAPS, STATS & LEADERS: Victoria and Queensland remain undefeated while NSW start their charge | Baseball.com.au
DAY 1 YOUTH WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS – U16 Women’s Day 1 Recaps, Results and Performers: Last year’s bottom sits on top | Baseball.com.au
DAY 1 WOMEN’S RECAP – 2024 Australian Women’s Championships Day 1 Recaps – Youth shines through on big day one | Baseball.com.au
—
—
Click the links below to download the schedule for your tournament:
Visit our event hubs for up-to-date information.
Please stay tuned to Baseball.com.au website and social media handles for any changes in the schedule, likely due to weather.
Please note this schedule is subject to alterations before the event.
Interested in helping out? Read on!
Broadcast:
There will be 3-4 broadcasts per day on Baseball+. The broadcast schedule can be seen in the links above.
Baseball+ is now an app that can be downloaded on your smartphone. For links to download, please click here.
All other games will feature a single camera through GameChanger.
There will be an Australian-based commentary team for all Baseball+ broadcasts. If you are interested in joining the broadcast, we are accepting expressions of interest.
Occasional highlights will be posted throughout the tournament, too.
Scoring:
All games will be scored through GameChanger. It will be free for all to access.
Note: For full functionality of GameChanger, you will need at least a “plus” account. You can register for a free trial with a new email address which last seven days – the length of the tournament.
All other games will be streamed and livescored on GameChanger. You can follow at the following links, or by searching AWC 2024 in GameChanger (not Game Changer Classic).
AWC: https://web.gc.com/organizations/o7FR6b0kuXWB
AYWC: https://web.gc.com/organizations/TErCdUHHIQrl
Coverage:
We will post daily recaps, photos and stat updates on Baseball.com.au as the tournament progresses. Please follow Baseball.com.au on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
Trent Schwarz Photography will return from a great job at the Australian Youth Championships behind the camera to capture all those intense moments during the games – both via photo and reels!
Baseball.com.au is seeking expressions of interest for those who wish to help out with media coverage, broadcast commentary, or operations of the event. Please email Eric at eric.balnar@baseball.com.au if this is an opportunity that interests you.
Merchandise:
Order official merchandise from the 2024 Australian Women’s and Youth Women’s Championships from the links below.
Cut off date is April 11.
Women’s Championships: https://belgraviaapparelshop.com/collections/baseball-australia-women-championships
Youth Women’s Championships: https://belgraviaapparelshop.com/collections/baseball-australia-youth-womens-championships
Open Women’s
This is a seven-day tournament. There are six teams: Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland 1 & Queensland 2
GROUP STAGE: On Days 1-4 (April 2-5), teams will compete in a group stage. They will each play each other once, amounting in five games.
DOUBLE ELIMINATION ROUND: On Days 5-6, the Double Elimination Round will begin (April 6-7). The top four teams will advance and have a double-chance to reach the gold medal game.
MEDAL DAY: The Gold and Bronze Medal Games will be played on Monday 8 January.
Western Australia are the defending champions.
Youth Championships
This is a five-day tournament. The teams are: Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
ROUND ROBIN / ROUND ONE: In Round 1, from April 3-5, teams will play each other once, amounting in four games.
ROUND TWO: The top three teams will advance to Round 2, to be played on April 6. The records reset and each team plays each other once.
The Top 2 teams will advance to the April 7th Gold Medal Game.
Follow each state association for their roster updates of the event. Some states have already named their teams.
Western Australia – | Open Women’s Team | Youth Team |
South Australia – | Open Women’s Team | Youth Team |
Victoria – | Open Women’s Team | Youth Team |
New South Wales: | Open Women’s Team | Youth Team |
Queensland: Yet to be announced on website. Queensland will submit two teams in the senior competition.
23 February 2024
- Aussies Abroad College Baseball
The Canberra baseball community has added another name to a growing list of college baseball players in the United States.
ACT’s Ryan Lyddiard has announced his commitment to Rose State – a junior college in Oklahoma.
Lyddiard is one of multiple kids from the Capital who are off plying their baseball trade in the USA, on a list that includes Nick Hosie (Bradley) and Stuart Tharle (Three Rivers).
There are now close to an estimated 150 Australians either playing or committed to college of some level in the USA.
22 February 2024
After a successful 2023 event, the Australian Little League (U13) Championships will return to Sydney, NSW in 2024 and beyond.
The tournament will be run at Blacktown International Sports Park’s facilities from June 5-10.
The event will feature both the Division 1 and Division 2 championships. Hills (NSW) are the defending Division 1 champions, and Hills Blue (NSW) are the defending Division 2 champions.
Blacktown International Sports Park houses the newly renovated Blacktown Exercise, Sports and Technology Hub (BEST). The park contains some of the best facilities on offer in Australia and is home to sports like athletics, AFL, Cricket, Soccer, Softball and Baseball.
“We are excited to be hosting the Little League Championships for the next three years. It’s a great opportunity to showcase junior baseball at our preeminent venue, Blacktown International Sports Park,” says Baseball NSW CEO Mark Marino.
The winner of the Division 1 event books a ticket to the internationally renowned Little League World Series in August 2024. It’s one of the biggest sporting events in world, attracting teams across the globe in Williamsport PA, with games broadcast on ESPN.
Some Australian tournament games will be streamed on Baseball+.
ABOUT CHARTER BASEBALL
Charter baseball is a pathways program that develops players and local clubs, rather than focussing on just the elite. It is a participation-based competition designed to extend player skills at a higher-level to club ball, and exposes athletes to national and international programs.
Teams from each state are divided into different charters (groups) at the little league (U13), Intermediate League (U14), Junior League (U15) and Senior League (U17) level.
The charters are based on club locations. Think of it like regionally based all-star teams.
Teams qualify for the national championship through their state championships. If you win the national title, you go to the world title in the USA.
Many elite baseball players have gone through this pathway.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENT DATES
April 2-8 – Australian Women’s Championships (Melbourne)
April 3-7 – Australian Youth Women’s Championships (Melbourne)
May 8-12 – Little League Girls Division Championships (TBA)
May 13-17 – Senior League Championships (Geelong)
May 27-31 – Junior League Championships (Lismore)
May 27-31 – Intermediate League Championships (Lismore)
June 5-10 – Little League Championships (Blacktown)
21 February 2024
- Aussies Abroad College Baseball
Sydney’s Travis Bazzana has scooped up NCAA PAC-12 Player of the Week honours.
The Pac-12 is a prestigious and high calibre competition in the USA college sports system.
In a world filled with top-end prospects and elite baseball talent, Bazzana had the best weekend of them all for the Oregon State Beavers (OSU).
The Australian starting second baseman blitzed the competition on opening weekend, hitting .539, smashing three homers and leading the Beavers to a 3-0 record. He had seven RBI and a pair of stolen bases as well.
Bazzana pieced together one of the best individual seasons in OSU program history a year ago. Expectations surrounding Bazzana this season are high, landing on the Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list and earning a spot on multiple preseason All-America teams. There is buzz he could become the first Australian to go in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft.
Fox Sports Australia wrote a great piece on Bazzana earlier this year.
Bazzana played parts of three season with Blue Sox from 2018-21 as a teenager before heading overseas to college.
MORE MAJOR AUSSIE NEWS
– Liam Hendriks signs two-year deal with Boston Red Sox | Baseball.com.au
20 February 2024
- Aussies Abroad Aussies Sign Pro
One of Australia’s best-ever Major Leaguers has found a new team.
All-star closer, Western Australian and Perth Heat product Liam Hendriks has reportedly signed a two-year, $10 million USD deal with the Boston Red Sox.
The contract includes incentives that could increase the value to $20-million.
35-year-old Hendriks won the 2023 MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award after recovering from Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was diagnosed in January and returned to the Chicago White Sox in May.
Unfortunately, he only made five total appearances before injuring his elbow. He underwent Tommy John surgery in August.
He won’t be able to return to the Red Sox line-up until July or August.
In his last two full seasons with the White Sox before 2023, he had a 2.66 ERA over 127 games and 128 2/3 innings pitched. He finished 109 games, recorded 75 saves and struck out 198 hitters. He was an All-Star in 2022.
Hendriks has pitched eleven season in the Major Leagues and is a three-time All-Star. He has a career 3.82 ERA.
20 February 2024
Team Australia is proud to announce a 44-player National U16 Junior Squad who will be traveling to the USA to represent their country in September, 2024.
The U16 Squad will play in a range of games against the best players in the U.S in their age group. They will get to face current NCAA Division 1 commits and future MLB draft picks in what will be a packed couple of weeks in Atlanta, Georgia.
The team was selected off the back of the Australian Youth Championships in Sydney earlier this year.
Baseball Australia’s National Player Development Manager Andrew Riddell says this a great opportunity for this talented group of up-and-coming players.
“We are really excited about the talent that was on display at the Under 16 National Championships in January. These players will now get a full winter in their state-based performance pathways program as they continue to develop and get a chance to see what the best players in the U.S their age look like,” he says.
Riddell adds it’s also an important trip for this age group because it’s the one of the first times they’ll be representing Australia.
“While playing for their country, the players will also start to gain exposure and interest from the many university and junior college recruiting co-ordinators that will have their eyes on them. It also gives our national coaching staff a chance to work with them each day, which will be huge as a lot of them will filter into a U18 World Cup year in 2025.”
Team Australia also named an U18 Squad who will compete in a tournament from September-October in front of college recruiters and professional scouts.
Congratulations to those who were selected. Here is the list:
18 February 2024
It came down to the final pitch of the game, but the Hanwha Eagles came back from two runs down to defeat Australia 5-3 in the second game of the International Baseball Showdown in Melbourne.
Australia, trailing 5-3 in the top of the last, had the bases loaded but ultimately left them stranded in another tight loss.
The Eagles, a team which features Korea’s biggest homerun hitter and hardest thrower, were relentless with the bats. They tallied 14 hits in their eight offensive innings.
The Australian pitching staff of Sam Holland, Warwick Saupold, Josh Guyer, Dan McGrath, Coen Wynne and Todd Van Steensel – and defense backing them up – did well to hold the KBO professional outfit to just five runs.
The Aussies made a few notable defensive plays in the game. Watch them in the highlights below.
Sam Holland was excellent in his start for Australia. He worked three scoreless innings, giving up three hits.
He said he trusted his team behind him.
“With a team like this it suits me. I can pitch to contact and let the field behind me so the work,” he says. “I was feeling really relaxed.”
It allowed Melbourne-born Darryl George to have his moment.
With one out and bases loaded in the third, the local star drove in two runs on a base hit in front of the home crowd.
Hanwha Eagles star, and KBO preseason MVP favourite, Roh Si Hwan drove in the first Korean run in the game in the fourth. It came off former Hanhwa teammate and Team Australia vice captain Warwick Saupold.
Kim In Hwan tied the game with a solo shot in the fourth.
The Eagles systematically added two more runs in the sixth inning. They extended their lead to 5-2 when they scored an extra run on a trap play.
Alex Hall’s RBI in the top of the eighth moved Australia within two.
Australia will gather next as a senior national team in November for the Premier12 – a World Championship equivalent.
Thank you to the fans for coming out. It meant a lot to play in front of you.
17 February 2024
In front of a packed home crowd, Team Australia dropped a narrow contest 2-1 to Korean Baseball League’s Hanwha Eagles in Melbourne during their first home game in four years.
All the runs were scored in the first three innings. The KBO’s leading homerun man Si Hwan Roh lived up to his billing as a Korean star, delivering both of Hanwha’s RBIs. He scored the first run in the first, and the second in the third.
The Eagles grabbed both their runs off Australian starter Tim Atherton.
Australia tallied their only run in second inning on a fielders choice RBI from Robbie Perkins.
Australia’s pitchers were impressive. Canberra’s Steve Kent tossed three innings of one hit ball with four strikeouts.
Melbourne’s Jon Kennedy had a shutout inning, too.
Luke Wilkins chucked two scoreless innings to close the game.
Hanwha mustered just five hits.
Australia combined for seven base knocks, led by Rixon Wingrove. They had their chances, but some staunch Korean defense fended off Aussie attacks.
Defensively, Ulrich Bojarski had a highlight reel catch when he dove over the fence (see highlight in folder).
“It was a good hit out. Pitchers kept us in the ballgame and they’ve been doing that for years. We just couldn’t find that big hit to win the game,” said team captain Tim Kennelly after the game.
“We need to stay within ourselves. We had opportunities but didn’t come through.”
Australia and Hanwha conclude their two game series tomorrow afternoon at 1:00PM AEDT.
BOX SCORE: Click here.
Baseball.com.au is a division of The Australian Baseball Federation. The Australian Baseball Federation is the peak representative body for baseball in Australia. The Australian Baseball Federation has national and international regulatory and coordination responsibilities. In performing those functions, the Australian Baseball Federation uses the descriptor: "Baseball Australia". (0.0.0)
