Perth slugger Cayden Nicoletto announces transfer to University of Missouri

04 July 2024 By Eric Balnar

By Eric Balnar

Perth slugger Cayden Nicoletto announces transfer to University of Missouri

Western Australia’s Cayden Nicoletto will play in the best college baseball conference there is.

Nicoletto, who won the 2024 America Midwest Conference Player of the Year with the Columbia Cougars, announced his transfer to the University of Missouri earlier today.

I’m excited to announce I will be transferring to the University of Missouri 💛🖤 I couldn’t be more thankful for this opportunity and for everyone who has played a role in my baseball career!! pic.twitter.com/Ct1ZPSfdKu

— Cayden Nicoletto (@CaydenNicoletto) July 3, 2024

Missouri plays in the SEC, a powerhouse conference of American athletics. A team from the SEC has won the last five College World Series.

Nicoletto had a break out year with Columbia in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), a separate level to the NCAA in which the SEC resides.

The Australian outfielder hit .412 in 55 games this season, with 19 doubles, 27 homers, 81 RBI and was an NAIA all-American in 2024. He won the AMC Player of the Year.

Nicoletto is one of approximately 150 Australians playing college baseball in the United States.

For more college stories, click here.

03 July 2024 By Staff Writers

By Staff Writers

College Baseball

Perth infielder Cam Landy commits to National Park College in Arkansas

Perth infielder Cam Landy says a major league Australian link helped him land on a college squad to play on.

Landy announced his commitment to National Park College in Arkansas this week. It’s a Junior College coached by one of Australia’s 39 big leaguers – Rich Thompson.

“I decided to commit to National Park College after talking to [Australians] about their experience there, and the high quality of baseball,” says Landy. “Having Rich Thompson as a head coach who is also from Australia and played in the big leagues will make the transition that little bit easier as well as his knowledge of what it takes to get to the next level as he has played at the highest level possible.”

Thompson, from New South Wales, pitched for the Los Angeles Angels and the Oakland Athletics from 2007-2012 in the Major Leagues.

Landy will head stateside in August for the start of the American academic school year.

National Park has also seen New South Wales baseball’s Josh Beezley and Zach Murphy both play there.

Landy says he hopes to become a more well-rounded player at college.

“I look to improve in every aspect of the game physically and mentally and with the facilities provided to me by National Park…I believe that it’s possible,” he says. “My goal after National Park is to transition to a D1 college and follow players like Josh Beezley – who is now at Arkansas-Little Rock – who have successfully done after playing at National Park.”

While Division I baseball is the goal, Landy got his start at South Perth Baseball Club in Western Australia. He says his home club has been a big influence on his career.

South Perth is home to many Australian national team players including Will Sherriff, Jake Bowey, and major leaguer Warwick Saupold. Australian Baseball League players Kobe Foster and Jaxon Limpus also played in Division I with South Perth this year.

Landy hit .260 in Division I in 2023-24. He shared the team lead with two homers and was second on the squad with 18 RBI.

“Being around players and coaches who have played at such a high level has allowed me to learn the game and what it takes to play at that level,” says Landy.

He also says his father has been a big help when it comes to life and baseball.

“My dad has been a huge influence in my baseball, he’s always pushed me and made sacrifices to give me opportunities that I am forever grateful for. I must thank both of my parents as they have made sacrifices, and I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without them,” he says.

Landy was part of the 2022 National Junior Squad which went away for training camp ahead of the U18 World Cup.

Best of luck to Cam!

For more college stories, click here.

01 July 2024 By Staff Writers

By Staff Writers

ABL

2024-25 Australian Baseball League schedule revealed

The 2024-25 Australian Baseball League schedule has been announced.

The Adelaide Giants, Brisbane Bandits, Canberra Cavalry, Melbourne Aces, Perth Heat and Sydney Blue Sox return in a six-team professional baseball competition Down Under, which will see each team play 40 games.

The season is scheduled to start on Friday 15 November and will be played over ten consecutive weeks during the Australian summer. The last regular season games will take place on Sunday 19 January, with two weeks of the playoffs to follow.

The season is structured over ten rounds. In each round, each team will play an opponent four times in what is called a “series” in baseball terms. Each team plays each other twice – once at home and once on the road.

For more information on the league, scroll down.

You can watch archived ABL games on our streaming platform Baseball+ live, free & around the world.

Here is a look at the 2024-25 schedule. For specific dates, times and tickets, please visit your favourite club’s website.

Most ABL clubs are already on sale with memberships. To view all options, head to www.theabl.com.au/tickets.

Some fast facts about the Australian Baseball League and its upcoming 2024-25 season:

The ABL is entering its 14th season since it reformed in 2010;
There have been 71 players (and counting) who have progressed to Major League Baseball (MLB) after playing in Australia, and dozens of others who have moved on to successful careers in the top tiers of Japanese and Korean Baseball;
Nearly all of Team Australia plays in the ABL. Australia finished in the quarterfinals of the most recent World Baseball Classic and is consistently ranked in the top ten in the world. Australia played Japan in a game watched by 45 million people in Japan in 2023, making it one of the most watched Australian teams in the world;
Here are the confirmed & announced player signings for 2024-25: https://theabl.com.au/ablsignings/
The ABL is home to various MLB All-Stars & prospects, including 2023 National League MVP Ronald Acuna, and Sydney’s own Travis Bazzana who could go in the top three of the upcoming MLB Draft. Other key performing ABL players in the Majors this season include Shota Imanaga, Christopher Sanchez, Logan O’Hoppe & Jared Koenig.
Last season, over 41,000 unique users tuned in to the ABL Championship Series on Baseball+ alone in Australia. The league also reached over 20,000,000 Japanese fans online, signifying the global reach of the competition;
Seven MLB players competed in the ABL last season;
In 2023-24, the ABL saw players from the following MLB clubs: Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, LA Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves & Seattle Mariners.
The ABL also saw players from Korea & Japan from the Samsung Lions, NC Dinos, Kia Tigers, Rakuten Golden Eagles, Orix Buffaloes, Chiba Lotte Marines & the DeNA Baystars;
Six continents represented in the ABL last season;
The ABL Championship Series was played in front of two sold out crowds at West Beach;

28 June 2024 By Staff Writers

By Staff Writers

- Aussies Abroad

Perth pitcher Will Sherriff to train with Japan's Rakuten Golden Eagles for six weeks

22-year-old Team Australia and Perth Heat pitcher Will Sherriff has agreed to head to Japan for six weeks to train with the Rakuten Golden Eagles.

The Eagles are an organisation in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league – the country’s top tier competition. They are based in the city of Sendai in the Miyagi Prefecture.

Sherriff flies out on Sunday 30 June and will remain in Japan until mid-August.

He says it all started through a connection with Eagles’ pitcher Takahisa Hayakawa during the 2023-24 Australian Baseball League season.

Hayawaka, who also is on Japan’s national team, played on the Perth Heat with Sherriff. Hayakawa has become one of the top pitchers in the NPB.

“I became good buddies with him,” says Sherriff. “Near the end of his time in Australia, he got me in contact with a member of the Eagles’ baseball operations front office, Nozomi Kato, and we formed a really good relationship. With that, I got an opportunity to go and train with the Eagles.”

Sherriff says he will be training with the farm team in the minor leagues.

“You never know what can come from training with them,” says Sherriff. “None of this would be possible without Nozomi and Takahisa. Hopefully this opportunity will give more opportunities to Australians and experience this like me. It’s something I will be forever grateful for.”

Sherriff has spent four seasons in the Australian Baseball League with the Perth Heat. He’s also pitched for Australia at the World Baseball Classic and the Asia Professional Baseball Championships. Sherriff spent some time in the Arizona Diamondbacks organisation and is eligible for the Under-23 World Cup later this year.

Hayakawa currently has a 2.22 ERA in 80.0+ innings in the NPB this year.

27 June 2024 By Staff Writers

By Staff Writers

- Team Australia

Australia's U16 junior squad to face USA's 15U team in five-game series in Atlanta | Announcement + Squad

Australia’s U16 national squad players will get a chance to see how they stack up against some of the world’s best when they play in a five-game exhibition series vs the United States National 15U Team in September, 2024.

Australia’s U16 squad was already scheduled to be in America for the 2024 U16 Perfect Game World Series tournament in September, playing against current NCAA Division 1 commits and future MLB draft picks in Atlanta.

Now, their trip will also include a five game series vs USA’s 15U team before they even reach their original scheduled Perfect Game tournament.

It’s an incredible addition to an already great experience.

Baseball Australia’s national player development manager, Andrew Riddell, says this signifies a huge step for this age group in playing against the best players possible and showcasing themselves against the highest level available.

“This series will be the first time in history where Team Australia and USA play each other in a stand-alone series younger than the U18 level.”

“It is a great chance for our players to go toe-to-toe with the best nationally identified American baseball players, who are in the same high-school academic graduation year as ours,” says Riddell.

“With the combination of games, campus visits to top universities in the area, Perfect Game showcases, watching MLB games and most importantly representing the Green & Gold – this trip really is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

The 44-man squad (below) will be split into two teams upon arrival in the USA. One team will be managed by 2023 U18 National Championship winning coach David Badke (QLD) and the other will be managed by Melbourne Aces’ coaching staff member Scott Meager (VIC).

Dan Wilson (QLD), Daniel Calverley (WA), Donavon Hendricks (VIC), Justin Clark (SA), Phil Hemmer (NSW) and Austin Gallagher (SA) will assist.

The executive officers for the trip are Val Langworthy and Louise Riddell.

The exact schedule and locations will be announced at a future date.

The squad can be viewed below.

24 June 2024 By Eric Balnar

By Eric Balnar

- Aussies Abroad

Here's how professional Australian baseball players are doing overseas | June 24 Aussie Abroad Update |

There are 32 Australians who played some form of professional baseball in June, 2024 in leagues across Canada, USA and Mexico.

This number is expected to grow with the MLB Draft on July 16

Here’s how they performed, as of Monday 24 June.

10 June 2024 By Eric Balnar

By Eric Balnar

- Little League

Div. II Little League Day 6 Results & Highlights | Manly win historic 2024 Division II Gold Medal

recaps by Eric Balnar, photos by Nick Bottaro

It’s the final day of the 2024 Australian Division II Little League Championships.

Pool Play will finish on Monday morning, with consolation and medal games to follow. You can view the schedule here.

10 June 2024 By Eric Balnar

By Eric Balnar

- Little League

Div 1. Little League Championships - Final Day Results, Recap, Highlights | Sydney's Hills wins Gold

Sydney’s Hills Red have won The 2024 Australian Little League Championships after winning two games on a hectic final day.

They defeated Adelaide Rays in the semi-finals and the Central Firebirds in the Gold Medal Day.

Here’s how the day unfolded. Watch the replay, free & around the world on Baseball+, or the highlights below.

09 June 2024 By Staff Writers

By Staff Writers

- Little League

FINAL DAY LITTLE LEAGUE SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

The final day schedule of the 2024 Australian Little League Division I & II Championships has been released.

Please see below.

Thank you to Greenway Giants Baseball Club for stepping up as an alternate venue for Day 5 and 6.

All Division II Games + Division I Consolation Games (including the Bronze Medal) are two hours.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS, STANDINGS AND INFORMATION

Little League Division 1 Hub – Click Here

Little League Division 2 Hub – Click Here

The event is supported proudly by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

09 June 2024 By Eric Balnar

By Eric Balnar

- Little League

Div. II Little League Day 5 | Recaps, Results, Standings, Highlights Info & More | June 9, 2024

recaps by Eric Balnar, photos by Nick Bottaro

It’s Sunday Funday at the Australian Little League Division II Championships aka “moving day.”

Pool Play will finish on Monday morning, with consolation and medal games to follow. You can view the schedule here.

09 June 2024 By Staff Writers

By Staff Writers

- Little League

Div. 1 Little League Day 5 | Recaps, Results, Standings, Info & More | June 9, 2024

recaps by Eric Balnar, photos by Nick Bottaro

This was one of the craziest final days of an Australian Little League Division I Championship. Eight teams entered the day in contention to advance to the semi-finals. Only four could advance.

We saw a three-way tie in one group, a four-way tie in another, and a sensational comeback. Read about the day below as it unfolded.

For past scores, visit our Little League Division 1 Hub.

Today’s Schedule

Follow along all the stats on GameChanger. Broadcast of Diamond 1 is on Baseball+.

Canberra Rangers 18 def Melbourne Mariners 1
Ryde Red 17 def Brisbane SouthWest 3

Central Firebirds 11 def Melbourne Athletics 0
Cronulla Black 6 def Adelaide Marlins 0

Brisbane North 6 def Hills Red 2
Adelaide Rays 13 def Eastern Phantoms 4

FINAL STANDINGS

*top two advance to semi-finals

First tiebreaker is head-to-head. Second is runs allowed ratio (total runs allowed / 6)

POOL A

1. Central Firebirds: 3-2 (14)*
2. Hills Red: 3-2 (14)*
—
3. Cronulla Black: 3-2 (19)
4. Melbourne Athletics: 3-2 (30)
5. Adelaide Marlins: 2-3 (24)
6. Brisbane North: 0-4 (31)

POOL B

1. Adelaide Rays: 4-1 (6)*
2. Ryde Red: 4-1 (22)*
–
3. Eastern Phantoms: 4-1 (25)
4. Canberra Rangers: 1-4 (33)
5. Brisbane SouthWest: 1-4 (43)
6. Melbourne Mariners: 1-4 (80)

9:00AM – Canberra Rangers 18 def Melbourne Mariners 1

A fifth inning spurt helped power Canberra to their first win of the tournament.

The Rangers scored eleven runs in the fifth. Overall, Canberra tallied 18 hits as a team.

It was a total team effort. Every player reached base and eleven different Rangers had at least a hit. Jaxen Bently led all Rangers with three hits.

Lucas Tanouye allowed just one run in his 4.0 inning start, striking out six.

9:30AM – Ryde Red 17 def Brisbane SouthWest 3

The Ryde bats were hot, as they finish Pool B with a 4-1 record and 22 runs allowed.

Their fate now rests on the final game of the group (Adelaide Rays vs Eastern Phantoms at 3:00PM). If the Phantoms win, Ryde will play in the semi-finals. If the Rays win, there will be a three-way tiebreaker required to determine who finishes top two, with runs allowed being a key tiebreaker.

Ryde piled on fifteen hits as a team. Every player in the line-up reached base. Benjamin Corner-Rutgers, Marcus Morrison, Hayden Love and Aleksander Puleo all had two hits. Kian Peterson had three.

Love had four RBI on the day.

Ryde had an early 4-0 lead before Brisbane scored three in the third. Ryde pulled away with five runs in the fourth and 13 unanswered overall.

Rodrigo Hernandez led Brisbane SouthWest with two hits.

The event is supported proudly by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

Central Firebirds 10 def Melbourne Athletics 0

The Central Firebirds have moved into a top two spot for the time being, bringing in to play multiple tiebreaker scenarios at 3-2.

Taj Humble was great on the mound. He pitched 4.0 shutout innings with eight strikeouts and just one hit. He also had a day with the bat, going 2-for-2 with two runs.

Eight other Firebirds had hits.

Central Firebirds needed less than hour to reach a ten run rule margin.

They’ve won their last two games and will hope results fall their way to confirm a spot in the Top 2 and the semi-finals.

Cronulla Black 6 def Adelaide Marlins 2

Lincoln Potter pitched five shutout innings, striking out eleven, while allowing just three hits in a stellar performance.

Cronulla Black finish the group with a 3-2 record and need Hills to lose and allow 12 or more runs to advance to the semi-finals (note: unofficial).

Cronulla scored three in the first and three in the third to pull away. Mason Hayes-Conway and Christopher Blyton each had two hits and two runs driven in.

Brisbane North 6 def Hills Red 2

WE HAVE A FOUR WAY TIE!

Brisbane North picked up their first win of the tournament, improving to 1-4. Significantly, it’s a loss for Hills Red, which drops them into a four-way tie for the top-two spots at 3-2 with Cronulla Black, Melbourne Athletics and Central Firebirds.

Brisbane surged ahead to a 3-0 lead thanks to Aaron Bell and Auston Terlea RBIs. After Hills Red pegged one back, Callum Wheeler extended it to a 4-1 lead and Brisbane never looked back

Bell and Terlea each had two hits for Brisbane North. Patrick Fogg pitched 6.0 innings allowing just two runs.

The tournament committee now will confirm who the top two teams are to advance.

Update: Firebirds (first) and Hills (second) advance as top two finishers with 14 runs allowed, winning a four-way tiebreaker.

Adelaide Rays 13 def Eastern Phantoms 4

Genuine insanity. Adelaide needed to win to advance to the semi-finals. A loss? They’re outside the top two.

The Phantoms could afford a loss but couldn’t allow more than 11 runs.

Adelaide fell behind 4-0 early and were trailing by that margin in the fourth inning.

Then the Rays made their move.

They scored two in the fourth. 4-2.

They then rattled off eleven runs in the fifth inning before closing it out in the sixth.

From the brink of elimination, to finishing top of the group with a 4-1 record.

The Phantoms unfortunately fall on the outside of the Top 2, falling third in a three way tiebreak (25 runs allowed).

Every player on the Rays reached base. They totalled eleven hits.

News