BQ Qld Masters A Huge Hit!

For four brilliant Autumn days at the Surfers Paradise Baseball Club, eight Masters baseball teams played each other in the inaugural Qld Masters Games.

The venue was in pristine condition and many thanks to the Surfers Paradise ground crew for their brilliant preparation.

The following teams played:-

35+ Age Division

Good Bunts

Surfers Paradise

Redlands

Riptides Sunshine Coast

45+ Age Division

Surfers Paradise 45+

Surfers Paradise 55+

Robina

Western Districts

The first two days; Friday and Saturday saw teams play a single and double header day – often a bit of a stretch for Masters players.

Day three saw the semi-finals games played on Sunday – with games shortened to one and a half hours due to the Anzac Day moratorium for sport being played before 1.00pm.

Day four of the tournament saw the medal games being played with the following results:-

In the 35+ Age Division – Surfers played Good Bunts. In a tight match where the lead changed at least four times, Surfers came away with the win with some strong hitting, driving in the winning run late in the game. Riptides came away with the Bronze medal in another tight game winning by a single run.

In the 45+ Age Division, Surfers 55+ led all game only to see Robina score two runs in the last innings to win the game. Great pitching duel in this game – Geoff Wade vs Vogler & Callihan. Wests came away with a win in the other game taking the Bronze medal.

35+ Age Division

1. Surfers Paradise                      Gold medal
2. Good Bunts                              Silver medal
3. Riptides Sunshine Coast          Bronze medal
4. Redlands

45+ Age Division

1. Robina                                     Gold medal
2. Surfers Paradise 55+               Silver medal
3. Western Districts                    Bronze medal
4. Surfers Paradise 45+

We were very fortunate to have Surfers State MP – Rob Molhoek and Surfers local Councillor – Brooke Patterson – come along and watch the 35+ Gold medal game and subsequently hand out the Gold and Silver medals for both age groups. Thanks too to BQ CEQ – Gareth Jones for his support and attendance on the medals day together with BQ Director Andrea Marshall and her support across the event.

More importantly the days were spent with good friends, fantastic food from the happy and friendly Surfers Paradise canteen and bar staff watching some wonderful baseball and having great yarns about the “good old days”.

Congratulations to Surfers President – Tony McPhail – for his indefatigable work – both leading up to the event with regard to creating the draw and finalising tournament rules and spearheading his Surfers volunteers in getting the venue in first class playing conditions – as well as his work throughout the tournament ensuring teams played by the rules, the games stayed on time and the grounds were repaired ready to go for the next game.

This tournament is now on the baseball calendar and we do hope that many more teams come along next year to participate.

A great time was had by all!

THANK YOU FROM BASEBALL QUEENSLAND

A unique relationship has provided Baseball Queensland with the opportunity to host the largest baseball tournament in the country over the past weekend with 48 teams converging on Redcliffe Padres Baseball Club and Redcliffe Leagues Softball Association’s facilities for the Queensland Little League Pathway State Titles. This event was played across 13 fields with teams from Teeball right through Senior League (League age 16) making the most of the superbly manicured fields and a broad selection of food options available from the well-oiled machine, that was the canteen.

This opportunity to bring the baseball community together in one place was only made possible by access to the Softball facilities adjacent to the Baseball club. The ongoing relationship between the two diamond sport clubs has allowed each the opportunity to leverage the facilities of the other to deliver key events for their respective sports. The collaboration demonstrated by these two organisations demonstrates the advantages and strength of building a collaborative relationship with aligned community groups and partners. On behalf of the Baseball community, I want to express sincere thanks to both the Redcliffe Padres Baseball Club and the Redcliffe Leagues Softball Association,  their volunteers and committees for all their work in hosting such a successful event.

Events such as these State Titles would not be possible without the support of the Queensland Government and the Moreton Bay Regional Council who support these events and continue to make it possible for Baseball Queensland to improve the delivery of these events. Moreton Bay Regional Council being integral to securing the event for the Region.

Thanks must also go to the officials for the event; firstly for undertaking the training requisite to officiate at this level, but also for giving up their time to Umpire and Score games throughout the event. Your support is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks to Barry Foat and Mark Bramwell, who coordinated and mentored the Umpire group over the course of the event. Thanks also to Michelle Welch for coordinating the Scoring efforts for the weekend and assisting other Scorers in need of advice.

While I hope the parents, spectators, participants and coaches enjoyed the experience immensely, I would also like to thank everyone involved for their exemplary behaviour over the course of the event. There is so much to play for at these events and sometimes the excitement of the moment can see grown adults get carried away with emotion. While there was lots of excitement throughout the event, the games were played in the spirit of good sportsmanship.

On behalf of Baseball Queensland, thank you to everyone involved.

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