State champs slide into town

THE Bendigo Baseball Association marked its return to representative baseball over the weekend, hosting the under-14 State Winter Championship.

Eleven teams fought it out across two divisions and Bendigo’s two premier baseball pitches in Strathfieldsaye and Eaglehawk.

West Development Academy clinched the division A title while Geelong topped division B, in which Bendigo finished fourth.

BBA president Anthony Amsing said the last time Bendigo played representative baseball was four years ago in an under-12s tournament and it was good to get some exposure of an elite level of play.

“It’s great for kids to experience what representative baseball is like,” he said. “They’ll always be better for it the following years.

“As far as the results and performances go, it’s been fantastic. They’ve played some really tight games against some really strong competition.

“The teams we came up against were pretty strong teams that have been around for years, and the kids have been playing since they were five or six. Some of our kids it might be their second or third year.”

Mr Amsing said hosting the tournament is important for Bendigo’s junior pathway, which currently ends at under-16s.

“It’s a big step for kids to move into seniors after under-16s,” he said.

“This tournament helps with the development of their skills and to get them ready for when they do move out of the junior comp.”

Bendigo will send an under-12 team to Werribee in two weeks’ time for their state championships, with an under-16s tournament in Morwell in three weeks.