Baseball weekend a grand slam

STRATHFIELDSAYE Dodgers Baseball Club hosted an all-girls invitational baseball event last weekend, with fifty-three players coming into town from across the state.

The 10-game weekend was about giving regional young female players the chance to compete against each other, with girls often playing in boys’ teams due to a lack of numbers outside the metro areas.

Strathfieldsaye Dodgers president Anthony Amsing said he was happy with the event.

“We’re really pleased,” he said. “The standard of play was amazing and all the games were basically close.

“As it worked out, it was really good competitive baseball and a really successful weekend, I think all the goals we set were well and truly achieved.”

Mr Amsing said getting all the girls together to play against each other was something that doesn’t happen enough.

“Once you get to senior levels in metropolitan and Melbourne, they have their own dedicated women’s senior competitions,” he said.

“But not juniors and certainly not regionally in places like Bendigo, we just don’t have enough to be able to enter a dedicated team.

“This was an opportunity to try and drag all the girls together in one spot and let them play against other girls of similar ages and just to let them know, they’re not alone.”

The players came in from across the state Mr Amsing said with one region being well represented.

“The Northeast Association which encompasses Albury and Wangaratta and up around that region were the shining example,” he said. “They sent over a complete squad of 14 girls to play.

“Other players spanned from right across metropolitan Melbourne down through to Geelong and Frankston.

“There was a couple from Ballarat and other girls from different areas that I’m not aware of. So, it really was a statewide event.”