News

Australia has named its eight-player team for the Baseball5 World Cup in Hong Kong from October 7-12.

with excerpts from Baseball NSW story published here

Australia will make history with eleven other countries when they take part in the inaugural Youth Baseball5 World Cup next week.

The event will be held next month in Ankara, Turkey from 10-15 October. Australia will battle in Group B vs Korea, France, Taiwan, Ghana and Mexico.

The team is a mixed-gender squad with players from New South Wales and Victoria combined to form a team for this historic occasion.

Australia’s participation in this event is a great opportunity to promote the growth of Baseball5 across the country. This team will be the first Australian side to partake in a WBSC Baseball5 World Cup since its inception, which has created a unique pathway for our athletes into future World Cup and Youth Olympic teams.

Baseball5 is effectively the ‘street’ version of baseball. It is played with many of the same rules as baseball and governed by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.

The game is played with two teams of five players. Instead of bats, you use hands. Instead of a baseball, it’s a rubber ball. It’s a lot of fun and very accessible.

What is Baseball5? Click here.

The team will be coached by NSW Baseball5 Director Adrian Medina Scull – a Cuban native who grew up playing the original version of the game from a young age.

Medina has been working tirelessly in New South Wales developing the sport of Baseball5 under the NSW Sporting School’s program, running programs for Disability Sports Australia ‘Activate Inclusion Day’s’ and recently launching Wheelchair Baseball5.

“The 5 B’s of Baseball 5 are: “Be Active, Be Heard, Be Included, Be Fun, Be a Community,” says Medina. “Baseball5 is a lot more than a game.”

Emeralds star pitcher Allie Bebbere will join Adrian as the Executive Officer. She brings a wealth of international and national tournament experience to the squad of Australian youngsters.

“I’m excited to help create a memorable experience for this team and to start giving Australia a name in Baseball 5,” says Bebbere.

International baseball scorer Gil Reyes – who has worked with the Venezuelan professional league – also joins the staff.

The players were selected after a couple Baseball5 showcase and trial events.

Click here for all the schedule details.

To follow along the World Cup, head to the official WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup page via this link.

You can watch the game via WBSC’s official broadcast platform Gametime.Sport.

Baseball5 NSW will be hosting Australia’s first youth and open Baseball5 tournament in August.

The tournament will be played at Ultimate Soccer, in Fairfield, Sydney from 19-20 August. It will also include a special introduction to our ‘All Abilities’ program on the 18th of August.

This event is a qualifier for the Australian Youth representative team selection. This team will participate in the WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup held in Ankara, Turkey, from 10-15 October.

Australia will be entering a team representing Oceania. It will require four female and four male competitors to be selected from this event.

The event opener on Friday 18 August will be a dedicated all-abilities day in conjunction with Disability Sports Australia, with a specialised Baseball5 program.

NSW Baseball5 will also look at doing a demo of Wheelchair Baseball5 highlighting the unique skills of our athletes.

If interested in learning more or registering for the event, you can read more at the BaseballNSW website.