The 2019 South Australian State Charter Championships were held at West Beach last weekend and proved to be an outstanding weekend of baseball. After several challenges in the week’s leading up to the event including technical difficulties, schedule changes and a water shortage we were able to proceed with games as planned. This year saw Mount Gambier make a return to the tournament along with the first ever U15 girls’ team also competing at a development level. At this time, I would like to thank all the Coaches, Executive Officers, Scorers and most importantly Parents for all the hard work they put into the process of getting their kids to trainings and the event itself. To the teams that were successful and will be representing us in their respective National Tournaments, we wish you the best of luck.

Little League Development
With the return of Mount Gambier and the new inclusion of the U15 girls’ team we had a 5 team strong development round robin. I must say I was extremely impressed with how these development games were played. The enthusiasm and spirit of the games was a pleasure to watch and the talent that these teams showcased allowed me to feel confident that junior baseball in SA is heading in the right direction. Congratulations to the Marlins on winning all 4 of their games and going undefeated. Also, a big congratulations to the U15 girls’ team for recording their first ever win! A massive effort with hopefully many more to come!

Little League Charter
For the first time in SA’s short little league history, the Adelaide Marlins have become state champions defeating the Adelaide Rays in a thrilling 10-8 gold medal game. Both teams will be representing SA in the upcoming Australian Little League championships in June in Lismore, NSW after the Rays held off a gallant Seahawks in the ‘Lismore’ qualifying game earlier that day. The Marlins were the best team all weekend and deserving winners led by pitching superstar Aiden Lucas who threw a “no hitter” in the round robin stage of the tournament.

Junior League
The Junior League tournament saw a determined Seahawks take down the tournament favourites in the Rays with a come from behind 5-4 win. It was the opening game of the tournament and proved to be a great game to watch. The Seahawks later defeated the Marlins to secure their spot in the National tournament held in Adelaide in late May. The Rays responded however, beating the Marlins side in the ‘Lismore’ game to book their ticket alongside the Seahawks in the national tournament. The gold medal game for the junior league is yet to be played. Time and date will be announced shortly, keep an eye on our website for this information.

Senior League
The Adelaide Titans proved too strong all weekend taking a series sweep of the Adelaide Armada and booking their tickets to Nationals in late May, also in Lismore NSW. The Titans were led by dominant pitching all week and timely hitting lead by State representatives Connor McLeod and Riley Yeatman. The Titans will take a very encouraging side into nationals with a deep pitching rotation and versatility in the field. Keep an eye out for big things to come from this team at Nationals.

Junior League Development
Tryouts for our up coming Junior League Development touring side who will compete in the Northern Shield in Darwin during the July school holidays will commence this Saturday @ West Beach. Details can be found on our website and Facebook.