News - Baseball Queensland

GBL Women’s League: Round Three

Nov 5, 2018

This week the 2018 Women’s League was out at Darra, the home of the Western Bulldogs Baseball Club, to play in 2 very fun filled games of baseball! All four teams showed excellent endurance in the scorching 35C heat and played with increased confidence and aggression.

Game One commenced at 2pm with Western Bulldogs going up against Padres White in a 3-inning game. Padres White came away with the win this week, 14-7 after they showed dominance with their exceptional base running and batting abilities. Starting pitcher for Wests, Gina Fuller threw a complete game with 5 strikeouts and 1 walk. Padres White had a number of players get their first hit of the competition, well done! The game was unfortunately cut short after an injury that halted the game’s progression, however both teams showed friendly sportsmanship throughout the break and finished in high spirits.

Long-term West’s player, Gina Fuller says the new league is a fantastic way to fit more baseball into her schedule, “It’s so lovely playing with women, I play Masters in the men’s competition as well but this league is really special. There is a lot of camaraderie, we have a lot of fun because we don’t take it to seriously and the more baseball I get to play the better!”

Padres White player, Alexandra Dunsdon comments on the friendly nature of the league, “The league is really fun and encouraging. I’m really proud to be able to show my daughters that playing baseball isn’t just for their dad; women and girls can play too and I think they are one of the biggest reasons I signed on. I underestimated how much was involved in the game so I’ve been really amazed at how much we are fitting in and learning in each training session. Everyone has the best time out on the field, it’s a lot of fun.”

The second game of the day saw Padres Red go up against Southern Stars, who came away with the win 11-7. Both team’s bats were firing with a total of 15 hits over the 3 innings of play. Standout performances from Maddy Tough from Padres Red who went 2 for 2 with 3 RBI’s and one double & Karen Gallpen from Southern Stars who pitched a complete game facing 21 hitters, coming away 0 walks.

Jo Crotty, Padres Red player and beloved member of Redcliffe Padres comments on her team’s spirit being out of this world, “Our women’s baseball league just continues to get more exciting each time we step out on the field. It’s so much fun and encouraging watching our team mates for the first time pitch, catch a fly ball, throw an out on base, catch an out on base but especially hitting a ball and making it on base. I love this game! I love watching my kid’s play but now, especially love having my own teammates.”

Baseball Queensland’s Women’s and Girl’s Participation Director, Geoff Wade reveals his plans for the league, “ I think we will see female participation increase next season. Most clubs are already talking to me about what we can do to increase player numbers. I will be working with my participation group and the GBL to help strengthen and develop the Women’s League.”

Thank you to Western Districts Bulldogs for hosting Round 3; you put on a great afternoon of baseball that we all enjoyed immensely!

Join us at Redcliffe Padres Baseball Club this Saturday 10th November for Round 4! We have Padres White going up against Southern Stars at 3pm and Padres Red against Wests at 5pm. With live commentary from David Hopkins and music to set the mood, this round is sure to be a cracker!

*Please email me at [email protected] if you have any photos form the games to share online*

Welcome new Board Members

Oct 30, 2018

Baseball Queensland would like to formally welcome the newly elected board members.

Joanne Jackson – 3 year appointment
Accomplished accounting professional with over 20 years’ experience in financial reporting, statutory reporting, budget and forecasting, internal controls, governance, people management as well as providing key financial and strategic support to executive management.

Sally West – 3 year appointment
My experience in the sport sector, including baseball, has been both as a volunteer and a professional. I have a very good knowledge of financial management, legal requirements for not-for-profit organisations and human resource management (particularly volunteer recruitment and management). I have extensive experience with grants and, in particular, funded infrastructure projects. I wrote the successful funding applications for the current Bannister Park upgrade project and for the original upgrade of Holloway Park prior to the Bandits tenancy. My work as an Advisor and Senior Advisor with Sport and Recreation has involved contract and funding management of projects that range in value from a few $1000 to $multi-millions. I currently manage the operations of the Products and Services Unit within Sport and Recreation, which includes the Education and Training programs, Indigenous Sport and Recreation Program and online club resources amongst others.

Joanne Thornton – 1 year appointment
Joanne is an accomplished senior executive – fiscally literate and recognised for her leadership and drive. Embracing
innovation and skilled at managing risks, she has developed many new business strategies and helped organisations
build and deliver new initiatives and capture technology advancements.

I want to acknowledge and thank our outgoing Board Directors, Deputy Commissioner Les MacDonald, Director of Governance Clinton White and Director of Finance Glenys Sutherland. Baseball Queensland appreciate their countless hours, passion and guidance in the implementation of strong governance and process while supporting the vision of Baseball Queensland’s strategic plan.

We are excited to welcome our newest board member’s as we continue to build a better future for baseball.

Paul Gonzalez
CEO
Baseball Queensland

GBL Women’s League: Round Two

Oct 29, 2018

The GBL Women’s League was full steam ahead this Saturday at Southern Stars Baseball Club for an exciting afternoon of games!

Southern Stars hosted the 2 games and provided us all with a fantastic atmosphere filled with great music, post game snacks and plenty of spirited support!

Starting the afternoon off was a fast paced, competitive game against Wests and Southern Stars. Wests took the win 15-2 after 3 innings. Stand out performance from Southern Stars Head Coach, Karen Gallpen who threw a complete game and a scoreless first inning going on to play Masters the next day throwing 44 pitches over 3.5 innings, again with a scoreless first.

Head Coach, Karen Gallpen commented on the new league saying, “The new GBL Women’s League is the best comp I have played in yet. The atmosphere is friendly, a great initiative with the GBL management committee getting a big pat on the back for the quick administration of the games. This inaugural competition needs to be followed up with support to other clubs to grow and advertise to increase the participation of women in this competition. I would love to see more girls involved in this and the current members who are wives, girlfriends, friends, players and new players. I believe this would remain a great competition into the future with the inclusion of the Women’s State Titles.”

The second game was a sea of red with the two teams from Redcliffe Padres battling it out in a hilarious 3-inning fiasco where Padres Red came away with the win 16-10. Special mention to Kate Oppatt, Sally West, Liv Wilson, Imogen Orphin, Chloe White and Samara Emmett who all pitched their first game on the weekend. Well done to both teams who managed to play in the harsh sun, very impressive!

Congratulations to all four teams; the level of play has improved significantly since Round One but is trumped only by the laughter and high spirits during the games. Each team continues to play with fierce competitiveness and huge smiles, while capturing the essence of baseball in every inning.

Thank you to Southern Stars for hosting Round Two!

Western Districts Bulldogs are set to host Round Three, next Saturday 3rd November. The first game starts at 2pm against Wests and Padres White, followed by Southern Stars and Padres Red at 4pm. Remember, if you’re available to come cheer on the women’s teams we’d love to see you out supporting the newest league in the GBL!

If you have pictures from any of the rounds played, please email them to me at [email protected] so I can feature them in our weekly recap articles!

Queensland Sport Awards: Nominations

Oct 25, 2018

It is with great pleasure Baseball Queensland can share the announcement of Finalists for this Year at this years Qsports Award Dinner. We can now share those nominated and the categories in which they are a finalist in:

Queensland Government sponsored 2018 Queensland Junior Sport Team of the Year Award: Gold Coast Little League Team

XXXX Gold sponsored 2018 Queensland Sport Team of the Year: Couran Cove Brisbane Bandits

LGAQ sponsored 2018 Queensland Sport Coach of the Year Award: David Nilsson

We wish David Nilsson, the Brisbane Bandits and the Gold Coast Little League team the best of luck and are extremely proud that baseball is represented at this prestigious event.

The 24th annual Queensland Sport Awards Presentation is a black tie event and will be held on Wednesday 28 November, 2018 in the Plaza Ballroom, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Plaza Ballroom at 6:30pm.

For more information on the event please click here

Around the Horn: College Excellence

Oct 23, 2018

Welcome to the third article in Baseball Queensland’s new series, ‘Around the Horn’. The aim of this series is to bring our state organisation closer to the people and communities that connect us all together: our clubs.

Pine Hills Lightning Baseball Club has been home to many elite and professional ball players in Queensland. With a history that dates back to 1984, the Mitchelton Unicorns, turned Pine Hills Lightning, are building strong foundations for their athletes young and old. Over the past 20 odd years the club has worked closely with the Queensland Government and the Moreton Bay Regional Council to update the facilities and give the club the facelift it deserves.

There is no doubt that Pine Hills is one of the top competitors in the GBL and their 2018/19 Division One squad definitely pack a punch. Filled with strong talent that has been nurtured and developed through the younger divisions, this team is now reaping the benefits of a few key athletes that are now giving back to the club upon their return from college.

Mitch Hughson, 20, graduated from Miles Community College in Montana, Jacob Nilsson, 20 attended Eastern Arizona College and Jeremy Atkinson, 28 graduated from Salt Lake Community College in Utah. The 3 players are now inspiring younger players at the club to stay driven and set their sights on college acceptance.

Atkinson says he was inspired from an early age by one very memorable coach, “When I was younger, my State coach was a man named Luke Prokopec. I think he is originally from Adelaide and he was a real inspiration to me with baseball and achieving my goals.”

Pine Hills President, Simon Tame says, “This season we have entered the most teams into the GBL with Div 1-5, 2 masters teams, 2 in U20’s, 1 in Senior League, 2 in Junior League, 6 in Little League, 3 in Rookie Ball and 2 in Teeball. We have a real depth of talent in the club from our coaching staff and player development squads. Out Div 1 imports, Stephen and Jared are passing on their skills. We have fantastic looking grounds with over 100k invested from the State Government via the EDQ grants.

We have several ‘special’ rounds coming up including Paul Mutch Cup, Moreton Bay Regional Council Challenge against Redcliffe Padres and the Army/Air force game against Ipswich Musketeers. We have a lot happening and we would love for everyone to get involved.”

Division One Team Manager and Seniors Coordinator, Paul Hardie spoke to me about the benefits that the club is seeing from having college players giving back to the club.

How does the involvement of college ball players affect the Division 1 team?

“The initial ‘pain’ that the Division 1 team feels from losing some of its better talent from the squad becomes relief once they return! There is a confidence that returning college ball players bring that envelope the squad. They bring good practice habits, new ideas, and a team-first philosophy that becomes infectious. Their skills have improved, their baseball IQ has improved, and their sense of self-belief has improved. All of this translates to a better team and hopefully better results.”

Do these players bring a different approach to the game, mentally and physically?

“The positive advantage that we have from returning College ball players is a sense of baseball ‘maturity’ that didn’t exist prior to them travelling overseas. Having had a ball in their hand effectively everyday while at college, and the benefit of many, many extra at-bats or innings pitched, means that they are better mentally able to cope with the demands of Division 1. They have lived an experience that would otherwise take many more years at Club level in Australia. Generally these are young men who, when travelling overseas to college, are having their first experience of living away from home. Their development in physical size and strength, resilience, and experience, is all-but impossible to replicate while at home and they come back better players and more worldly human-beings. They also bring back a knowledge about how best to look after their bodies; arm strength, conditioning, nutrition and overall fitness that means they set a good example for the rookies in the dugout.”

How do the younger players benefit from the college players’ involvement?

“A lot of our younger rookies in the Div 1 and 2 squad aspire to follow the path of those before them. You can see them seeking out the guys that have come back to ask for guidance about not just their game and form, but how to get better generally and how to go about building their college application. They build a rapport – a bond that helps our dugout culture and helps make our Club even stronger.”

Pine Hills Lighting will host Redcliffe Padres this Friday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 3:00pm; if you are local and want to support your club then get involved at the ballpark!

If you are part of a baseball club in Queensland and have a story to share, we would love to hear from you; just email me at [email protected] to get your story heard! Players, coaches, umpires, families and fans are all encouraged to get in contact!

Women + Youth Women’s State Titles 2018

Oct 22, 2018

Baseball Queensland is pleased to announce an exciting new opportunity for female baseball players in 2018. In December this year Bannister Park will be the home to the QLD Women’s State Titles and QLD Youth Women’s State Titles.

There will be opportunities for female players of all ages with three events: Little League (12 and under), Senior League (16 and under) and Open Age Women. The age groups are offered as a guide only and will be loosely applied to ensure we can cater to any player who wants to participate.

Event Dates will be:

15 & 16 December 2018 – QLD Women’s State Titles (Bannister Park, Gerler Road, Hendra)

17 & 18 December 2018 – QLD Youth Women’s State Titles (Bannister Park, Gerler Road, Hendra)

Teams will be scheduled three games per day with games being played to a 90-minute time limit. During both the Senior League (16 and under) and Open Age Women’s Tournaments players will be considered for representative selection to the relevant Queensland teams playing at the Australian Women’s and Youth Women’s Baseball Championships to be held April 2019.

The intent is to grow these State Titles events as part of the newly developed Female Participation pathway. Baseball Queensland invites players to contact their club or association to express interest in playing in these events no later than 29 October 2018. Players from associations with few female players can be accommodated within other teams.

For more information contact your regional delegate.

Region Contact details:
North Queensland – Karina Connors M: 0427 471 213
Sunshine Coast – Kate Buckland E: [email protected]
Brisbane North – Dan Wilson M: 0418 239 982
Brisbane Metro – Jodie Moore M: 0401 060 182
Brisbane South – David Badke M: 0400 932 818
Brisbane West – Karen Gallpen M: 0421 733 768
Gold Coast – Kevin Fenn M: 0412 149 133

Further details are available here>>>