Bree makes history

Teenager Bree Ridding made history when she became the first female to Play Division 1 baseball for powerhouse club and reigning premiers Central at the weekend.

Bree’s elevation to the top side was a first in the club’s 92-year history and continued a strong family connection to the club.

Bree played alongside her teenager brother Alex, who has been a mainstay of the Division 1 side for a couple of seasons and a regular member of the Mount Gambier and District Baseball League Team of the Year, while her father Anthony and brother Lachlan are Division 3 players for Central.

Her oldest brother Dylan was a special talent, playing Division 1 for Central as a teenager as well, moving to Adelaide and earning a berth with the Adelaide Bite in the national baseball competition and currently playing in Division 1 in Adelaide for Sturt.

Even mother Megan, who was a feared pitcher and booming batter in the Mount gambier Softball league for many seasons, has five games to her name as a Central baseballer – just not in the top division.

Bree followed her family to Central starting with her first game in Under 13, as an eight year-old, against Naracoorte on October 15, 2016, and since that debut, she has clocked up 128 games with Central and is currently playing Big League (Under 18 competition).

It has been a big year for Bree on the baseball front. She was part of the South Australian team for the 2023 Australian Youth Women’s Championship which was played at Melbourne Ballpark, Altona, Victoria in April of this year before earning selection in the South Australian Seahorses Girls Baseball Team for a youth girls participation tournament honouring the legendary Jacinda Barclay.

The competition was held in Perth early last month where South Australian made it all the way to the title decider before going down to Queensland.

See sport for all the match reports & results from the weekend’s round of baseball.