By Parker McKenzie
Four young baseballers hailing from Ferntree Gully represented Australia at the Senior Leagues World Series in The United States from July 30 to August 6, where they faced off against international representative teams to finish 5th.
Under 16s players Ethan Jenkins, Ash Geary-Smith, Ryder Wilson and Jack Ratcliffe from Upwey-Ferntree Gully Baseball Club made the trip across the pacific ocean after winning the National Championships with Eastern Athletics, earning the chance to represent their country in South Carolina.
Upwey-Ferntree Gully Baseball Club President Chris Lind said after winning the national competition the players had the chance to represent Australia against five other international teams and six teams from the United States.
“We came in fifth, beating Asia Pacific and Canada before losing to Latin America in a close game in the semi-finals,” Mr Lind said.
“We’re talking a team of 14 kids out of 5000 players in the country and four from our club went over. The experience in that and the chance they had to play and compete against the best in the world was just outstanding.“
Australia beat Guam 11-1 and Canada 5-1 to set up a semi-final against Panama, where they lost 5-1. The World Series was won by Radamés López Little League from Puerto Rico, representing the Caribbean region, who beat Australia in their first game of the tournament.
Mr Lind said the games were televised on ESPN and the players “had a blast.”
“We’re pretty lucky, the coach of the team is one of our coaches Simon Radcliffe,” he said.
“He was the head coach of the team and our Secretary Mark Wilson was the team manager.”
Mr Lind said the result proves the club is on the right track in developing players at the club for bright futures in the sport.
“We are very proud of these players and very much look forward to seeing them one day going all the way to Major League Baseball.” he said.
Upwey-Ferntree Gully Baseball Club is launching a scholarship program next season and is hosting a series of Come and Try baseball training sessions for juniors aged five to 16-years-old, with no experience required and equipment provided.
The sessions will be held on Wednesday 7, 14, 21 and 28 September and Wednesday 5 October.
More information can be found at www.upweyftgbaseballclub.com.
