Photo by Lawrence Trevanion

The ACT Schoolboys rewritten the record books following a brilliant Silver medal finish at the recent National Championships held in Perth.

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Today marks the start of the men’s 2009-2010 A-Grade baseball grand final at Narrabundah Baseball Park.

This year’s grand final will see defending champions the Bandits take on last years runners-up the Ainslie Bears in a dramatic rematch.

The Ainslie Bears beat out the Weston Creek Indians in last weeks semi finals 6-5, 7-0 to secure their place in the grand final.

The Bears have had a solid season and have already shown they have the capacity to beat the Bandits securing two wins against them throughout the season.

The Bandits go into the grand final on the back of an extremely successful season with 25 wins to 5 losses.  They are defending a two year winning streak and are hoping to walk away with a third consecutive Esmonds Cup.

If previous games are anything to go by, then this is shaping up to be a close grand final. Each time these teams have met the games have been high scoring and close.

The B-grad grand final will be Indians v Bandits. This will put extra pressure on the pitchers for the Bandits should the games be close on sunday.

Game 1: Thursday 25 March, Narrabundah Baseball Park, 7:00pm

Game 2: Sunday 28 March, Narrabundah Baseball Park, 3:00pm

Game 3: (if needed) Sunday 28 March, Narrabundah Baseball Park, following game 2

The 2009-2010 ACT A-Grade season heats up with semi-final action beginning 7pm Thursday night (18/3) with game one of the best of three game series at Narrabundah Baseball Park.

This year’s semi-finals will see the Ainslie Bears take on the Weston Creek Indians in what is sure to be a closely fought series.

The Weston Creek Indians head into this year’s finals series looking to break their 19 year premiership drought in ACT baseballs premier category. Ainslie have fared slightly better over the past decade, claiming the Esmonds Cup in 2004.

The decider for this series could be the depth, with both the Bears and the Indians taking part in the B grade finals series.

Both teams posses a powerful offensive game with high scoring matches being a feature of the regular season, this could prove vital for both teams as the pitching ranks will be tested should game three be needed on Sunday afternoon.

The winner of the semi-finals will come up against a red-hot Bandits (25-5) side looking to clinch their third consecutive Esmonds Cup.

Game 1: Thursday 18 March, Narrabundah Baseball Park, 7:00pm

Game 2: Sunday 21 March, Narrabundah Baseball Park, 3:00pm

Game 3: (if needed) Sunday 21 March, Narrabundah Baseball Park, following game 2

Form Guide

The teams come into the semi-finals in mixed form. The Bears warmed up for Thursday night’s opener with a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Tuggeranong Vikings thanks to solid pitching from Nolan Nicholson and John Noonan. The Indians on the other hand played their last game almost a week ago, going down to the minor-premier Bandits in a close one.

The Stats

Indians regular season 22-8

Ainslie Bears regular season 19-11

Head to head

2009 – 2010 Season, Ainslie 3-2

Indians 10 – 6
Bears 13 – 3
Indians 11 -2
Bears 11-1
Bears 9 – 8

Bears v Indians runs scored 2009 -2010

Bears 41
Indians 33

Canberra’s has won its bid to join Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth as a foundation team in the Australian Baseball League (ABL), due to begin, November 2010.

An audience of supporters including Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Andrew Barr, ACT Baseball Association (ACTBA) Commissioner, Theo Vassalakis, and a host of local players and bid supporters mobbed to Civic Square to see ABL Commissioner, Mark Peters, announce the news so many within the baseball community had been hoping to hear.

ACTBA Commissioner, Theo Vassalakis, says Canberra’s acceptance into the ABL is fantastic news with all the hard work by those within the baseball community paying off.

“I would like to thank everyone who got behind the ‘Let’s do it Canberra’ bid for their support and hard work.” Theo said. “I’d especially like to thank those within the baseball community who worked so tirelessly and never gave up their dream of competing on the national stage once again.”

Theo said acceptance into the ABL would promote the grassroots levels of the game and would inspire the junior ranks to emulate their senior counterparts.

“The region has produced many elite baseballers over the years, and now with Canberra now competing in a national competition the standard of our local talent can only improve.”

Canberra’s acceptance into the newly formed league comes off the back of record numbers of participants in the local competition, showing the growth and potential of the game in the region.

With Canberra’s bid to join the ABL successful, work will now begin to put in place the administrative staff charged with having the team ready for the November 2010 season opener.

“It wont be an easy task getting the team ready for the season opener, but the ABL and their partners have shown themselves to be of the highest quality so there is no doubt Canberra will be ready and competitive when the first pitch is thrown.” Theo said.

The Australian under 17 Schoolboys team has made a solid start to their 23 day tour of the United States by wining two of their first four games.

The tour kicked off with a 6-2 defeat against Linn Benton Community College, Oregon. With the first game taking place just one day after the team’s arrival in the United States, the challenge was always going to be a tough one.

With many of the players representing Australia for the first time, the score was not reflective of how tight the game really was, with Australia giving away five runs in an error laden fourth innings.

Game number two saw Australia come up against a very tough opponent in the form of the Kansas City Scouts, a team made up of players from Oregon and surrounding states with a few from Canada.

In a disappointing batting display the boys were convincingly beaten 10-1, however promise was shown by Josh Warner on the mound, throwing a terrific final two innings to end the game.

The third game of the tour saw the Australians come up against strong opposition, this time against an older All-Star team selected from the north-west region of Oregon.

The team was keen to get on the winning sheet and held out their more experienced opposition in a nine innings thriller 4-3.

Hook did a magnificent job in relief keeping the opposition scoreless whilst a more aggressive performance with the bat allowed the boys to savor a well earned victory.

With a win under their belts giving the team a bit more confidence, the Australian Schoolboys lined up against Lane Community College in the fourth game of the tour.

In a fantastic offensive display featuring Canberra’s own Caleb Albrecht, the boys took out the win 7-4, dominating with both bat and ball.

Overnight the boys lined up against Chemeketa Community College, before travelling to Portland then on to Los Angeles.

Canberra’s bid to become the sixth team in the newly formed Australian Baseball League (ABL) has been given a boost today, announcing the Rolfe Motor Group as pledging their corporate support for the ‘Let’s do it Canberra’ bid.

Headed by prominent Canberra businessman, Richard Rolfe, the family owned business has been part of the Canberra landscape for almost thirty years. The Rolfe Motor Group already supports many of Canberra’s sporting teams and charitable events.

Dealer Principal, Richard Rolfe, says that an association with Canberra’s proposed ABL team was an opportunity the Rolfe Motor Group did not want to pass up.

“Baseball is an emerging sport in the ACT region and we are proud to associate ourselves with a proposed team for Canberra,” Mr. Rolfe said.

“The model behind the ABL team in Canberra has all their bases covered in providing a low cost, exciting sport in a family friendly atmosphere. These values fit very well with the Rolfe Motor Group and our association with the team will continue to promote that.”

The ABL has set the ‘Let’s do it Canberra’ bid the challenge of securing $100,000 per annum over three years in corporate pledges in addition to the task of gaining 5,000 x $20 pledges of support from the Canberra community.

ACT Baseball President, Theo Vassalakis, welcomes the support from Rolfe Motor Group and urges other Canberra business’ to get behind the ‘Let’s do it Canberra’ bid.

“The Rolfe Motor Group name is synonymous with Canberra and we are delighted with their support for Canberra’s team in the ABL,” Vassalakis Said.

“Canberra’s ABL team will not be competing against big budget franchises like the Brumbies and the Raiders. The ABL provides low cost, national and international exposure through its Major League Baseball backing.”

“We look forward to hopefully building more corporate partnerships with local, national and international companies as our bid reaches its final stages.” Vassalakis said.

Tuggeranong Vikings Under 17's pitcher Caleb Albrecht is set to represent Australia

Local player’s Caleb Albrecht and Kyle Perkins have been selected to represent Australia during the upcoming Australian Under 17 Schoolboy tour of the United States.

The boys were selected for the Australian team after participating in the recently held National Schoolboys Tournament held recently here in Canberra.

The ACTAS representatives will be heading off on a twenty three day tour that will include stops in Oregon, California and Arizona.

Caleb and Kyle are prime examples of the baseball talent the ACT region produces, with both men sure to represent Canberra in the Australian Baseball League should the ‘Let’s do it Canberra’ bid be successful.

ACT Baseball Association and the entire baseball community congratulate the boys on their selection and wish them the best of luck for their trip.

Six MLA's pledge their support for the 'Let's do it Canberra' bid

 The ‘Let’s do it Canberra’ bid has once again secured the support of high profile locals with Members of the Legislative Assembly pledging their $20 in support of Canberra’s bid to join the Australian Baseball League (ABL).

Representatives from each party today pledged their support for Canberra to compete in the newly formed ABL, joining Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in the inaugural season, due to begin November 2010.

ACT Greens MLA and House Speaker, Shane Rattenbury, says that Canberra’s invitation to join the ABL indicates the emergence of baseball throughout the region.

 ”Baseball is a growing sport in our region and this invitation will only serve to increase the numbers of participants”, Mr Rattenbury said.

“Canberra has already produced some great young players that now compete overseas. If the bid is successful all Canberrans will be able to see these players as well as future stars represent Canberra on the national stage”.

ACT Baseball Association President, Theo Vassalakis, says that securing the support of the MLA’s is indicative of the support the bid has received from the community but urges everyone to follow the lead of the MLA’s and pledge their $20.

“The ‘Let’s do it Canberra’ bid has gained a lot of momentum over the past month and a half with widespread community support” Vassalakis said.

“However we need to convert this support into $20 pledges”.

“Support for the bid will only take us so far and we urge everyone to take action and pledge their $20″, Vassalakis said.

The ABL set the ‘Let’s do it Canberra’ bid a target of 5,000, $20 pledges in addition to $100,000 in corporate sponsorship per annum over three years.

These criteria must be met by the end of September in order for Canberra to qualify for the ABL.