Our President Phil Robinson keeps you up to date with all that is happening within the Club with a regular President's Report. If you have items to contribute please email Phil Robinson

President's Reports

Newsletter 06/02/12

Welcome to the bumper edition of the Newsletter this week with not only reports from the weekend games but also from the twilight games played during the week!

Once again Jeff Nicholas has been busy with his camera at the A Grade double header at Sturt yesterday. Photos can be viewed on the front page of our website.

In International News Australia defeated New Zealand 17-2, after a tight early game with scores tied at 0-0 after the second inning. An undefeated record helped Australia to secure their qualifying place at the 2012 IBAF U18 World Championships to be held in Korea in late August. Dakota Mitchell had a great series and we congratulate him on behalf of the club for his outstanding achievements at this international level. Full reports are available on the ABF website.

I also need to remind those of you that have not yet paid your fees that they are now overdue and your prompt attention to payment would be greatly appreciated. Payment Options are outlined on the Payment Page of our website.

The Sturt Baseball Club thanks all of our sponsors for their generous support.

As club members please use our sponsors whenever possible and let them know you are from Sturt! Go to our Sponsors webpage for all the details about our sponsors.

If you would like to become a sponsor please contact Dean Franke on 0428 821 008. Details of Sponsorship packages are available from our website in the become a sponsor section! Please visit this area if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship packages.

Game 1: Sturt 1 lost to Souths 2

With Paul Mildren back on the hill for the Saints we started the game full of confidence. Souths started their import who did a fine job of keeping our bats quiet.

We manufactured a 1 run lead but gave it up with an error in the 4th to surrender the lead. This was all that was needed as neither side troubled the scorer again.

Paul Mildren was outstanding through all seven innings with out giving up an earned run and picking up 14 strikeouts.

Hits - Turner 2, Carter, Adkins, Brice, Watts

Game 2 Sturt 14 d Southern Districts 4

After the loss in game 1, we knew how important this game was to our chances of playing finals. Chris Lawson went to the mound for the Saints and did a great job. Dakota Mitchell closed proceedings out as the Saints notched up a mercy rule win in the 7th.

Offensively it was pleasing to see the boys get things going. Dave Carter had a good day highlighted with a 3 run home run in the first.

We now move forward to play Glenelg at their field which always provides a great contest. This will be a good stage for us to put our best foot forward. The group is looking forward to the challenge and we encourage as many Saints fans as we can down there this Saturday to support the boys.

Hits - Brice 2 (HR), Carter 2 (HR), Prokopec, Frogley, Stokes, Watts, Brebner-Russ, Adkins

Division 2 (Coach: Zac Stokes) Sponsored by: Catapultwealth (Major Sponsor)

No result available

Division 3 (Coach: Rick Mitchell) Sponsored by: Hattam McCarthy Reeves & Goodlife Health Clubs Goodwood

Gawler 6 defeated Sturt 2

Division 4 (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach: Norm Sluga) Sponsored by PPI Promotion and Apparel

Sturt 2 lost to Northern Districts 8

One could say this is another game that got away from us. The difference was Norths getting runners on followed by back to back hits and Sturt only managing to get 5 scattered hits throughout the game.

The first innings saw both sides without a score. Unfortunately, in the second and third innings, Norths, through walks, hits, pass balls and an error managed 7 runs. Sturt could only manage 2 runs. The final three innings Norths were held to only one more run.

Like last week, there were not enough hits. Dylan Holt picked up another two hits with Fame Hill, Max Guehrer and Darren French each collecting one hit. If there was one point to learn from the game, is showing character when you have your backs to the wall. Every player in the team needs to regroup and be both physically and mentally tough enough to get back into the game. There are 3 games remaining for the season and if we show our true character and continue to get wins on the board, you never know, a finals appearance may still be possible.

Hits: Dylan Holt 2, Max Guehrer 1, Fame Hill, 1 and Darren French 1.

Division 6 (Coach: Chris Small) Sponsored by: Smith Motor Company  The Courthouse Normanville Tony Colyer Pty Ltd

Henley & Grange are sitting on the bottom of the ladder and it is when you play these teams things can go wrong and they end up with a win while you take the lose, fortunately for us this was not the case and we walked away with a comfortable win, final score was 16 - 2

Our first at bat saw three runs cross the plate before it was side away and we sent the Rat (Rick Trembath) to the mound. He had three up and down with two ground outs and one foul fly that he caught himself.

Going into the second innings we said we need to make more early runs and get to a position where the game was out of their reach and again with some good hitting and base running we put another 4 runs on to go 7 - 0 up. The Rat went back to the mound for another 3 up and down, this time with two K2's and one KC.

Our third at bat we again wanted to keep the score ticking over as we plated 5 runs with good hitting and pitch selections, The Rat (Rick Trembath) got a bonus innings as we normally take him out after two. He then went to work with three up and down with a K2, a KC and a fly caught by himself again for side away and no runs scored in three innings by the Rat.

In the fourth we added 2 runs and the fifth we added 1. The fourth for H&G saw the Bear (Barry Lunnon) take the mound and find his range very quickly to have 3 up and down. For the fifth leading 15 - 0 all we needed was three outs to finish the game as mathematically H&G could not win from then on, but some how they managed a hit, a walk, a HPB and with bases loaded and two out they got a hit to centrefield to score two runs. After the hit the ball was relayed through Trent Small at second to home and on the throw he hurt his arm. At this point in time we went to our bench and as Trent sat down to watch the rest of the game Cameron Young, youngest son of Doc (Glenn Young) at the age of 13 entered the game to take over at second and very happy he was. Unfortunately for Cameron he did not get a field and he almost got to bat.

We had 20 safe hits for the day + 2 SF and only 1 K2.

We now sit in forth spot on the ladder and hopefully finals bound if the wheels don't fall off in the next three games.

Safe hits: Trent Small 1 + 1SF, Jarrad Small 2, Trembath 4 (1S 2D 1T + 1SF), B Lunnon 3 (1D), Day 1, McDonald 3, Burns 3, C Small 2, G Young 1.

Pitching: Trembath 36 pitches with 24 strikes 5 K's 0BB, 0 Hits, Lunnon 50 pitches with 36 strikes 6 K's, 1 BB, 1 HPB, 3 Hits

Division 7 (Coach: Dave Smith Asst Coach: Jules Potiki) Sponsored by Bulls Baseball Club   Force Access

Pt Adelaide were a very sharp bunch of young players and I think we were out played on the day, nothing more to report really. Looking forward to a different post match feeling next week. Ever wanted to try another position on the field div 7's? Now the time to have some fun.....

Under 18 (Coach: Jeff Nicholas) Sponsored by: Adelaide Commercial Flooring & Freshwater Systems

Sturt 11 defeated Adelaide 5

Under 16 - Sturt (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach:; Rick Trembath) Sponsored by: National Tool Distributors,  Smith Motor Company Wendy's Burnside

Sturt 6 vs WT 17

Today was not our day, Errors cost us in the end. Jayden Pitched a great game but just wasn't backed up. Josh also pitched well his curve ball was working well.

Some signals missed which cost us some outs on bases. WT found gaps but we couldn't.

Good sign was we managed to rally in the end with a towering homerun by Max G and a powerful line drive by Errol. Jordan also picked up a late hit and blocked the ball really well behind the dish. Once the boys started to enjoy themselves and make some noise on the bench we improved 100%.

We are a better team than the result and the boys know that. We now have to focus on Tuesday nights game against SD.

Please come down to the club and support your Sturt U16/1 team this Tuesday 7/2 @ 6:15pm the lads would love a bit of a crowd and local support as this is a big game for us, the BBQ will be on and the Bar will be open.

Under 16 - Saints (Coach: Glen McDonald) Sponsored by Mt Lofty Golf Club

Very windy, cool and showery conditions greeted us at Port Adelaide for our top of the table clash with Kensington. We scored 2 early runs but soon found ourselves 2 - 6 down. Ryan Cross in relief threw 2 excellent innings of 3 up 3 down to keep it that way and when 2 runs scored on Angus Read's clutch 2 out hit we were right back in the game.In the bottom of what turned out to be the final inning Kensington blew us away with 9 runs to invoke the mercy. When the pressure was applied and the going got tough sadly we dropped our bundle. 4 hits won't win too many games and that has been our strength. Couple that with misfields, walks and wayward throws at critical moments and we looked like a team with a long way to go. Coaches and supporters can only do so much as it's the PLAYERS who need to bring a level of desire, focus and energy to each game. Do that and we are capable of beating every team in this competition. Final Score Saints 4 - Kensington 15

Under 14/1 - Sturt (Coach: Garry Wood) Sponsored by Premier Trailers

Twilight Game

Coach: Garry Wood, Assistant Coach: Barry Lunnon, Team Manager: David Grumpy

The team consists of the following players: Simon Adkins, Tyson Ottaway, Max Staggs, Arno Naritto, Henry Wood, Mitchell Lightbody, Zach Evreniadis, Ryack Parsons, Stuart Brennan, Zac Lunnon and Brodie Macbeth

Round 14 Sturt 9 defeated Goodwood 6

Safe hits as follows: Evreniadis 2 including HR, Norito 2, Wood, Parsons, Lightpoodle, Staggs HR, and Brennan 1 each

THE GREAT ESCAPE!

The Sturt team remains undefeated but was again far from impressive in its victory over the Goodwood Indians at Mortlock Park on a cool and breezy Wednesday night.

Once again only a couple of our batters performed to an acceptable standard but we were fortunate that we had a solid last innings where we scored 5 runs that proved enough to get us the win after the Indians drew level in the 3rd innings. The boys looked tired and disinterested (back to school), and surprisingly our pitchers struggled to throw strikes. I can't remember the last time we struggled to throw more than 50% strikes but maybe this was the "wakeup call" we needed.

Zac E hit his second home run in consecutive games and Max Staggs broke his batting slump by also going long when he came into the game. I think it is fair to say that the sooner we can get back to normal training and the addition of hitting practice on a separate night the better as again the lack of practice we have had recently was evident in our batting and several fielding errors.

As we continue the run to the finals each boy needs to earn their spot and make a contribution when they have an opportunity as again yesterday we had too many boys willing to sit back and leave it to the next guy. Our base running was again poor and the other disappointing aspects from my point of view are the signals continually being missed and very little support when we are batting and fielding.

We now have a tough game Sunday against Glenelg.

Sunday game:

Coach: Garry Wood, Assistant Coach: Barry Lunnon, Team Manager: David Coffee B

The team consists of the following players: Simon Adkins, Tyson Ottaway, Max Staggs, Arno Naritto, Henry Wood, Mitchell Lightbody, Zach Evreniadis, Ryack Parsons, Stuart Brennan, Zac Lunnon and Brodie Macbeth

Round 15 Sturt 6 drew Glenelg 6

Safe hits as follows: Wood, Brennan, Macbeth, Ottaway, Staggs and Lunnon 1 each

Dear Diary, from a frustrated / grumpy coach!

The Sturt team remains undefeated (but now with a draw) after the team was again far from impressive in its game against a vastly improved Glenelg outfit on a cool and sometimes wet and breezy Sunday afternoon.

Once again we managed only a scattering of safe hits and our batting performances lately have been very disappointing. Once again in my humble opinion the boys looked tired and disinterested and our fielding and base running were lacklustre.

I am now looking forward to training on Tuesday night when we get back to basics and the addition of hitting practice on a Friday night will hopefully help us turn the season around. Quite simply I believe we haven't improved as much as the other teams in the competition and we are probably now the 3rd or 4th best team so it will be interesting to see how the boys respond over the next few weeks.

As mentioned last week each boy needs to earn their spot and make a contribution when they have an opportunity as again yesterday we had too many boys willing to sit back and leave it to the next guy and we made silly basic baseball mistakes. Once again our base running was poor and the signals were continually being missed is disturbing to say the least!

Well done Glenelg and now we have a tough game against Adelaide!

Go STURT !!!

Under 14/1 - Saints (Coach: Glenn Young) Sponsored by: Last & Co Lawyers

Twilight Game

This was a game of two halves. After the first innings the coach was ready to go home - 4 errors and a lack lustre effort in the field saw SD score 7 runs. To the boys credit they did come out swinging and managed two runs in reply. A 7 run mercy in the second was thankfully then the end of the poor fielding and the intensity and effort by the boys improved dramatically. HOWEVER you cannot give the opposition 10 unearned runs in two innings and expect to be in the game. In the last three digs we conceded only three runs although again 2 unearned. On the positive side in the batting box most of the boys were aggressive and there were some good hits. The positives - we did not give up and in fact rallied after a poor start, both Stu and Ethan were solid on the mound although still the wrong side of a 50% strike ratio and all of our runs were earned.

Match Report Sunday February 5th Sturt vs Adelaide Angels

On a pretty ordinary day weather wise we had a late game against Adelaide Angels at Weigall Oval. Angels sitting third were always going to be a tough game for our boys. The contrast to the twilight match was significant. The fielding was generally good particularly from Stu at short and Nik at third. Pitching was again solid, Nik showing again his accuracy with 38 strikes from 56 pitches. We struggled to get the third out in several of the innings although it was largely due to good hitting from the opposition. Highlights of the day were a great knock down and recovery by Stu at SS to get an out at first, a good outfield catch by Marcel and generally good aggressive batting by all of the boys. Three games to go and hopefully we will take the more positive approach to batting into these games.

Little League 1-Sturt (Coach: Jamie Knuckey) Sponsored by: Smyth's Confectionery

1st vs 2nd Both teams keen to impress

4 weeks until finals - all set for a battle royale.

We started with Tom on the mound - 7 pitches, 3 up 3 down with 2KC and a put out at first. Great start. Batting seen us face Southern's best pitcher - absorbing 4 full counts for 40 pitches, 5 walks, and 2 runs scored. Score 2-0.

Tom continued through a total of 4 innings - 1 hit, no runs. Meanwhile our batting struggled for a safe hit but continued to milk the pitch count in our favour. Score 2-0 after 2 innings. Top 3 and Hawks change pitchers - 2 more walks with full counts and a safe hit to Hugo sees us score 1 more. 3-0 after 3. Safe hits in the 4th inning to Tom, Ky, and Harry through the middle of our batting order seen another run and 4-0.

Top 5 - Hugo replaces Tom and under extreme pressure from the opposition top order sees bases loaded after 2 hits and a walk with 1 out (K2). Next batter walked for 4-1 scoreline and still bases loaded. Another K2 - 2 out. A good hit to left field allowed 2 to score on an error with tying run at 2nd. Under increasing pressure Hugo stuck at it and with a good infield play (6-3) sees the final out and a good win against the top team (Final Score 4-3).

While we were far from our best, the boys showed some determination today. The weather was not ideal, the ground not perfect, but we wanted to play. Lots of hard work to do, but encouragement we can beat the best if we play as a team.

Hits - Hugo, Tom, Ky, Harrison. Runs - Reed, Tom (2), Eli.

Little League 2-Sturt (Coach: Mark Abfalter) Sponsored by Dean Lynds

Sturt 10 defeated Glenelg 6

Due to family commitments in Melbourne, the coaching reins were handed to Brett this week and the boys responded well to put us back on the winner's list.

A great win by the boys after levelling the match at 6 all at the bottom of the third to bring home another four runs in the fourth and shut the door to take the win. Impressive pitching from Robbie in the second innings with good support from both Tom & Elliot to setup the match. Some great pitching by Jordan in the fourth to shut down the Tigers batters and hold the score at 10:6.

Our fielding and batting both showed improvement, as the boys were itching to get out and have a crack after last week's Kensy forfeit.

Hits - Robbie, Tom, Alex, Zak, Andrew

A great all round team effort with good focus and effort from everyone. A great all-round performance from Robbie, also pleasing to see Zak and Alex find some form with the bat, keep it up boys - 6 games to go!

Training is back at Norman Reserve on Wednesday this week at 4:30pm.

Take note that our next match is a late one - this Sunday on 12th February at 12:00pm against Adelaide at Flinders (Adelaide has beaten the Saints twice!). See you all there.

Little League 2-Saints (Coach: Stuart Crutchley) Sponsored by: Watts Agencies & Brooks

Saints 11 Cardinals 5

The Saints started the travel friendly end of their schedule with a trip to Kensington to take on the Cardinals. All the planets aligned as the rain clouds parted prior to the start of warm ups and didn't cut loose until the sauce mustard was hitting the post game hot dogs. Highlights were many as the boys put together their best overall team performance of the season while knocking off the Cardinals 11-5 in a game not quite as close as the score would indicate.

Three singles in the first by Sam, DJ and Patrick with walks to Nick, Mitch and Cooper nudged to Saints out to a 2-0 lead. Josh took the hill for the first time since December and was lights out retiring the Cardinals on 12 pitches with the support of some good work by the infielders.

Small ball is good ball when the opportunity presents itself. The boys put up another deuce in the second on the back of three walks, a hit batter and a fielder's choice. Nick came in to pitch the bottom of the second and was solid once again, holding the Cardinals to a goose egg. The highlight of the inning was a beautiful running catch in right centre by DJ to put a damper on the start of a potential Cardinal rally.

The sizeable Sturt crowd went berserk as Cooper led off the top of the third with his first hit of the season - just reward for a lot of hard work in the cage. Three subsequent walks and a single by DJ provided the Saints with breathing room and an insurmountable lead. Sam entered to pitch the bottom of the third and turned in a tidy 11 pitch scoreless inning.

Cooper, on a roll, walked to open the fourth and advanced to third as Bailey cranked a rocket down the right field line for a double. Duly inspired, Sam drove a double to left centre that brought home two and the Saints dugout was rocking. All that was left was to close out the bottom of the fourth. Patrick entered in relief of DJ with the bases loaded to mark his pitching debut and did a very credible job.

Overall a very, very solid effort on the mound and in the field with noteworthy plays turned in by Ollie at 3rd, DJ in centre, Josh at shortstop and Bailey at second. Super nice work!

Hits: Sam Stewart 2 (2B), Bailey Passmore-Duthy (2B), Cooper Gilbert, Dayton Mitchell, Patrick Milewski

RBIs: Sam Stewart, Josh Wilson (3 each), Dayton Mitchell 2, Cooper Gilbert, Mitch Foley, Nick Borello (1 each)

For all results and tables go to www.sa.baseball.com.au or visit the Sturt Website at Sturt Web Site

..:: message posted on Monday the 6th of February, 2012 22:07:02 ::..

Newsletter 30/01/12

This Friday night sees the return of Aussie Tee Ball and Rookie Ball for the second half of the season. You can print the game schedules for Aussie Tee Ball and Rookie Ball and for your future reference are on the front page of our website.

The Australian Baseball Federation is seeking feedback from parents on the Aussie Tee Ball (including Rookie Ball) program. The survey is available online.

I also need to remind those of you that have not yet paid your fees that they are now overdue and your prompt attention to payment would be greatly appreciated. Payment Options are outlined on the Payment Page of our website.

The Sturt Baseball Club also has for sale a BBQ trailer, which would be excellent for schools or other sporting clubs who need an all in one mobile BBQ set up. Please contact Phil Robinson on 0147 806 765 if you require further information.

Just a reminder about the magnificent book on Mark Hutton's playing history which has been compiled by Jeff Nicholas. Mark was the first Australian to be signed by a Major League Club in America as a starting pitcher for the famous New York Yankees. The book is over 200 pages in length and features all Mark's statistics along with press clippings. There are also a number of DVDs of Mark playing in the United States. If you are interested in a copy please contact Jeff Nicholas on 0419 824 324.

The Sturt Baseball Club thanks all of our sponsors for their generous support.

As club members please use our sponsors whenever possible and let them know you are from Sturt! Go to our Sponsors webpage for all the details about our sponsors.

If you would like to become a sponsor please contact Dean Franke on 0428 821 008. Details of Sponsorship packages are available from our website in the become a sponsor section! Please visit this area if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship packages.

Sturt 1 lost to Woodville 13

This was a very disappointing loss. Unfortunately not much to say about the game except that we clearly were outplayed.

Not a lot of positives - David Carter continues to hit the ball well, Will Frogley has given us another option offensively and Jackson is playing great baseball since Christmas.

Back to the drawing board this week as we welcome back our Bite representatives. Double header against Souths at home - we need your support to make sure we get back in the winners circle this weekend.

Hits - Carter 2, Brebner - Russ, Frogley, Holmes, Stokes, Prokopec

Division 2 (Coach: Zac Stokes) Sponsored by: Catapultwealth (Major Sponsor)

Woodville 13 - Sturt 1

The best thing about saturdays game is that it is behind us and we can move forward and focus on the game this weekend.

Even though we managed 8 hits we could not string anything together as we kept getting ourselves out by swinging at bad pitches.

Craig Wright threw lots of strikes for us but we did not get ahead in the count of enough hitters.

I do not think the game preparation was as good as it should have been. We need to be switched on earlier and ready for the game.

Our next game against Southern Districts is going to need full concentration and focus. The team is good enough to make finals and go far but we just need to believe it and get back on track.

Hits: Frogley 2, Crutchley, Prokopec, Winter, Passmore, Roberts, Hollis 1. Sac fly RBI, Shaun Wright 1.

Division 3 (Coach: Rick Mitchell) Sponsored by: Hattam McCarthy Reeves & Goodlife Health Clubs Goodwood

Sturt 3 d Goodwood 2

Yet another epic game against the old enemy Goodwood , we have come to expect no less between these two sides over the last couple of years with yet another 1 run ball game, final score 3-2 up. Goodwood got out to an early 2 run lead in the 2nd dig and due to a sensational performance from Lewis Townsend thats the way thier scored stayed for the rest of the day . Lewie only gave up 5 hits for the day which is a grand effort considering the callibre of hitters he was facing.Lewie was very well backed in the field with an outstanding defensive effort over the entire field.

Offense was proving to be our downfall with an equally outstanding perfermance by Jake Wild .But our never say die attitude kept us in the game and a change of tactics and our ability to execute plays proved the difference .

Jordan Mcardle came in to play short stop and did a fantastic job (apparently he had never played there before, not that you could tell!), in the box he did just as good collecting himself a double and a bunt which was perfectly executed and ended up tying up the game with 2 runs. Tane Bowels came up in the 8th with a clutch hit . Tom Teague also in the 8th clutched up with an empressive hit. Morgs has been threatening and finally came through with a nice hit to left.

Its games like this that can define your season, so lets keep going and finish the season like I know we can.

Division 4 (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach: Norm Sluga) Sponsored by PPI Promotion and Apparel

Sturt 9 defeated Goodwood 3

The team continues its good form coming back from the X-mas break with 4 wins in a row. Our defence continues to put on pressure to hold down sides with Matt Mulryan constantly pitching well week in week out and is being supported by Peter Turner. The pitching stats support this with both pitchers throwing approximately 70% strikes and both the infield and outfield making the outs.

Again this week the team lacked hits but looking through the score book, the batters are being selective and making pitchers work by collecting 6 walks and two hit by pitch balls. Another pleasing result was the team capitalised on the oppositions weakness and collected six stolen bases. Like last week, Dylan Holt keeps putting bat to ball and picked up another 2 hits and a sacrifice fly - well done. Darren French is another that is improving with the bat by also collecting 2 hits.

From now on, we need to win each week in order for the team to make the finals. Lets rally those bats and keep up the good effort guys.

Hits: Dylan Holt 2, Darren French 2, David Hirst 1.

Division 6 (Coach: Chris Small) Sponsored by: Smith Motor Company  The Courthouse Normanville Tony Colyer Pty Ltd

This again was a game we needed to win to give ourselves a good chance at playing finals this season and Adelaide are above us in third spot. We knew it was going to be a tough game and we need to be ready to play from the get go.

We went in to bat and the Cub (Jay Lunnon) started us off with a HPB (hit by pitched ball) and he then stole second base, Jarrad Small was next up and he flied out to left field, Fame (Adrian Hill) helping us out hit to short but made safe. The Bear was up next with runners on 1st and 2nd and he popped up for an infield fly to make it 2 out. The Rat (Rick Trembath) then hit to centre filed and with a great catch we were side away with no runs scored. Adelaide started well with the bat as the 1st batter hit safely to right field of the Rat (Rick Trembath) but was then caught stealing with the Cub throwing to Jarrad for the tag and 1st out. The 2nd and 3rd batters both hit safe and it was game on, the next batter flied out to Gromit (Wallace Long) at left field and the Rat struck out the next batter for side away.

Our 2nd innings saw Gromit hit to short for a wild throw and end up at 3rd base, Bones (Glen McDonald) struck out and Junior (Trent Small) hit to left to score our first run with an RBI. Reggie (David Lee) ground out to short stop but advanced Junior to third after he had stolen second. The Cub hit to left field to score our second run for the innings before Jarrad ground out to third. Rat was able to keep Adelaide scoreless for their second innings.

Our third innings and we opened the game up a little by scoring 5 runs to some good hitting to the Bear (Barry Lunnon), Bones (Glen McDonald) a double by Junior (Trent Small) and the Cub (Jay Lunnon) hit to centre field to bring in 2 runs. We then sent the Bear to the mound and we had Adelaide out after 4 batters and no score. So after 3 innings the score was 7 - 0 up and things looking good.

We did not trouble the scorers in the fourth and we we kept Adelaide scoreless also.

The 5th innings was no better for us and we had another donut in the score book, Adelaide however scored two after an error from Daisy (Chris Day) at short stop.

The 6th innings looked promising but we had another donut whilst leaving the bases loaded, Adelaide went back to the bench with all guns blazing and looked to come out firing with the bats but we shut them down with 3 up and down.

Going in to the top of the 7th innings two weeks in a row and we needed 3 runs to put the game out of Adelaide's reach, Bones (Glen McDonald had come back into the game to replace an injured Brocky (David Brock) who had popped his knee running down to first base, it looked like he was attempting a slide about 8 foot short of 1st base and we all had a good laugh until he got up and hobbled back to the dug out, so Bones was the first out, The Cub then got safe from a wild throw, Jarrad hit to left field and Smally (Chris Small) had a little blooper over short stops head to score the Cub. The Bear got a walk to load the bases and the Rat then hit a hard ball to the centre right fence to score 3 runs, time and game was called and we walked away with an 11 - 8 win.

The Bear threw well as always and even had a pick off at second with Jarrad.

We need to win the rest of our games and we could end up third on the ladder and have a home final but we need to make sure we just make the finals as we will give them a shake up.

A big thanks to Jo Trembath for scoring.

We also had our first training session at Daisy's place Saturday night and the award for BOG is a tie between Bones, Gromit and the Rat.

Safe Hits: J Lunnon 3, J Small 1, Hill 1, C Small 2, B Lunnon 2, Trembath 1 (1T), McDonald 1, T Small 2 (1D)

Division 7 (Coach: Dave Smith Asst Coach: Jules Potiki) Sponsored by Bulls Baseball Club   Force Access

Sturt 13 def Kensington 12

Well we owned the game from the get go and had a great time with the bat and in the field. Chris Thompson pitched like a champ and had a near perfect game, well done to JR catching also. Frenchy had his first go on 2nd base and did a great job. One bad dig almost cost us the game, with lots of errors in the field - once again let's all get to training if possible, having said that I think we should all be proud of how we have turned our season around, keep it up!

Under 18 (Coach: Jeff Nicholas) Sponsored by: Adelaide Commercial Flooring & Freshwater Systems

With Woodville sitting just 1 point behind us on the ladder, it was a must win game if we were to keep in touch with the top four teams. We came away with a good win against Woodville 9 - 3.
Matt Franke started on the mound and held the opposition to 4 scattered hits and 3 K2's thru 5 innings, with Sam Roberts closing out the game in the 6th innings.
Our batting form continued, with seven players getting at least one hit, as we drove in the runs. Unfortunately we still left 8 runners on bases.
A highlight in the second innings with runners on base, saw us execute an advance bunt and then follow up with a perfect squeeze bunt to score.
Defensively we didn't make a fielding error and the boys pulled off another double to end the game.
A big thank you to Charlie Goldsworthy and Max Guehrer for filling in as we were short on players. Both boys went 1 for 3, with Charlie smashing a triple down the left field line.

Hits: Wright, Roberts 2, Duffield, Lightbody, Lemon, Goldsworthy, Guehrer 1

Under 16 - Sturt (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach:; Rick Trembath) Sponsored by: National Tool Distributors,  Smith Motor Company Wendy's Burnside

Sturt 4 def GGCD 1

GGCD holds top spot and have only lost the one game before today the challenge was set and our boys where up to it. We started really well holding GGCD and then scoring 2 runs to take the lead, Charlie lead off with one of the best at bats i have seen all year taking 10 pitchers from the GGCD starter to gain the walk and frustrate GGCD, Max W then hit the ball to push Charlie to third. We then put the pressure on with some aggressive base running to score both Charlie and Max. It was a tight game all day and we managed to manufacture two more runs with again aggressive base running and a great bunt from Jordan. Well done to Josh T and Tyler H both picking up solid hit to the outfield. Sean W made a big league play at third smoking the runner from well behind third base, the whole team contributed in the field making all 13 basic out for our pitchers. Tyson H again pitched a superb game going 5 innings before Tyler H closed out the game. Very please with our progress so far boys we have got rid of most errors and the enthusiasm is back, still plenty of work to do if we want to be a real finals chances. Keep it up and i will see you guys at training this Tuesday Waite 5:30pm due to U14 game on Wednesday.

Under 16 - Saints (Coach: Glen McDonald) Sponsored by Mt Lofty Golf Club

This week we travelled to West Lakes for a match up with bottom side Henley & Grange. This by no means was an automatic result as we found ourselves 2 - 0 down at the end of the second innings. In the 3rd with runners on Sam Powell laced a lovely 2 run triple down the right field line to tie up the game. From there we edged our way in front but to the Rams credit they boxed on gallantly to keep us honest. A highlight of the game was a tremendous catch at centre field by Tom Bartley in the final innings. Not a lot else to say about this one as we didn't play that well but found a way to win which I guess is a good sign. Next weeks game against Kensington is a big test and we can't afford to give up an early lead in that one but we will get to see how we are really travelling. Final Score Saints 8 defeated H&G 4

Under 14/1 - Sturt (Coach: Garry Wood) Sponsored by Premier Trailers

Coach: Garry Wood, Assistant Coach: Barry Lunnon, Team Manager: David Lightbody

The team consists of the following players: Simon Adkins, Tyson Ottaway, Max Staggs, Arno Naritto, Henry Wood, Mitchell Lightbody, Zach Evreniadis, Ryack Parsons, Stuart Brennan, Zac Lunnon and Brodie Macbeth

Sturt 8 defeated Kensington 0

Safe hits as follows: Lightbody 3, Evreniadis 3, Wood, Adkins, Parsons and Parsons 1 each.

I am pleased to report that the Sturt team remains undefeated but was far from impressive in its victory over the Cardinals at the beautiful Norman reserve (thanks again Dave Lee). Only a couple of our batters, as shown in the stats above performed well, but we were fortunate that we had impressive form from our pitchers with Brodie Macbeth pitching through 5 innings and only facing 16 batters with 69 pitches of which 48 were strikes before Zac Lunnon threw a solid final 2 innings to hold the Kensington line up scoreless with only 2 hits. Tyson Ottaway caught a solid game in the hot trying conditions.

I think it if fair to say that the boys are struggling with the lack of practice we have had recently due to heat policy restrictions and the warm conditions we are currently experiencing, however I think some complacence has also kicked in?

Every player in the run up to the finals needs to learn to make a contribution as yesterday we had too many boys willing to sit back and "enjoy the ride" and leave it to the next guy. Our base running was poor (running in straight lines) and at this level you should rarely if ever strike out but several boys had multiple K2's yesterday. Other disappointing aspects from my point of view is the boys not always looking for signals and very little support when we are batting and fielding , everyone can talk so there is no excuse boys !!! We now have a twilight game on Wednesday night against Goodwood before a tough game Sunday against a very improved Glenelg outfit, time to start ramping things up guys.

Thanks to Craig for again doing some umpiring for us.

Go STURT !!!

Under 14/1 - Saints (Coach: Glenn Young) Sponsored by: Last & Co Lawyers

Glenelg 16 defeated U14/1 - Saints 0

A hot humid day at the Bay saw the Saints 14/1 beaten 16-0 by a competent Glenelg side. We were let down by our inability to hit the fast straight ball and our defence was riddled with errors which was disappointing after such a bright performance in the field the week prior. Not being able to practice due to hot weather wasn’t the reason we lost but certainly appeared to make a strong contribution.

The pitching overall was good. Nik threw 3 and a bit innings with a 67% strike rate after relieving Conor and gave up just the 6 runs. Conor’s radar was slightly askew and his cause wasn’t helped by some ordinary fielding. The first innings should have seen Glenelg leading by 1 but instead a couple of errors saw us trailing 5-0 at the first change. The second innings was much the same, a couple of walks and more errors saw us concede 7 to be 12-0 after two. The third saw a nil innings and Nik can take much of the credit for that. The fourth we conceded two runs to a couple of good tonks but again had we taken our chances we may have had another scoreless dig. Glenelg at this stage to their credit had stopped stealing. The fifth innings saw us concede another two runs to leave the score at 16-0. It’s always frustrating knowing we are better than this.

It doesn’t really matter how many the opposition score if you can’t score yourself. Positives to take from the batting, instructions and signals were followed when we had the opportunity, we had no KC’s and every lad attempted to “eat” the pitch count. The lad from Glenelg pitched in 60% and as was the previous week we had one “safe” hit and this week it came from Brandon. When the ball was hit the Glenelg boys didn’t make the errors that we did. Our hitters from the first half of the season have lost their mojo and we really need these second year lads to step up with the bat if we are to find that elusive first win.

Special mention to Jack for a good effort behind the plate on a hot humid day, Elijah and Jamie for their aggressive base running and Ethan who got bat on ball 3/3 but couldn’t pierce the field. Keep hitting and it will come.

Little League 1-Sturt (Coach: Jamie Knuckey) Sponsored by: Smyth's Confectionery

After a return to baseball last week a forgetful manager did not supply a match report. Thus we will start with a few special mentions from last week. Harrison and Hugo were superb on the mound pitching innings 3 each backed up by some great fielding - Tyrese 3 great catches at LF and Samuel a super rolling save and throw to 1st from 2nd base. Generally great hitting from all - Thomas 3 hits from 4 AB.

Now to the current game - A long drive south to face the junior SD Hawks team. A game we expected to win but found a much improved Hawks outfit who pushed us to the end. Our batting was reasonable but we left a lot of runners on bases meaning we did not score as heavy early as we could have making the game closer than it needed to be - final score 9-4. A number of great efforts with Aussie starring on the mound to start us off - pitching 3 innings (55 pitches, 30 strikes, no hits and 1 run). Samuel had his first turn on the mound and learnt it is not as easy as it seems throwing some good pitches and getting a few unlucky calls. Ky came to the rescue and with 1 out and loaded bases did not give up any more runs, then next innings closed out the game conceding 2 runs - a great effort. Fielding was generally good from all - great effort boys. Batting gave us 12 hits for the game with 8 base on balls and 1 hit by pitch - we had 21 runners on base but left 12 stranded scoring 9 runs. Hits - Thomas 3 (1 double), Matan & Samuel 2, Tyrese Eli Harrison Aussie Ky 1 each.

We need a big effort next week against the top team. Well done again today boys.

Little League 2-Sturt (Coach: Mark Abfalter) Sponsored by Dean Lynds

Little League 2 - Sturt 9 d Kensington 0
Forfeit

Following a re-grouping and discussion on Wednesday evening, the boys got back to business and training was more focussed in readiness for a hitout at home on Sunday, only to hear the frustrating news that Kensington had pulled the plug and were forfeiting. This is disappointing as the boys were keen to make amends for last week's 'post holiday hangover'.

Take note that training will change this week to Tuesday at 4:30pm at Waite ground, Cnr Fullarton Road. Given that we didn't play on Sunday, in looking for a win this week please make an effort to get to training for a hitout.

This Sunday's match is on 5th February at 10:00am against Glenelg at Glenelg's home ground, Glenelg North. See you all there.

Little League 2-Saints (Coach: Stuart Crutchley) Sponsored by: Watts Agencies & Brooks

Adelaide 11 Saints 10

The Saints paid their second visit to Weigall Field this season to try to atone for a season opening loss to the Adelaide Angels at this venue. Despite coming fast out of the blocks, a lack of consistency and some residual summer rust caught up with the boys as they were nipped 11-10 in another close encounter of the baseball kind.

The Saints jumped out to a five run lead in the top of the first with a single and double by Sam, a triple by DJ and single by Mitch mixed in among a few free passes and a hit batsman. DJ, starting for the second game n a row, showed at times the work in the backyard is starting to pay off ripping some quality fastballs and surprise changeups in his inning of work.

The boys put up another five in the top of the second with seven walks and a single by Nick to open up a 10-4 lead, but that proved to be the high point of this game for the Saints. The Angels batters found Sam's groove to their liking with a couple early hits and only a whiff and a comebacker with the bases loaded to close the inning held the Angels to four runs for a 10-8 lead after two.

Unfortunately from that point the meat of the order went into a funk that no doubt can be ironed out with some solid work in the bating cage and the Saints were held scoreless over the last two innings. Nick came in to pitch the 3rd and followed up last week's debut with another solid effort striking out two Angels and yielding three unearned runs.

Notable plays in the field were turned in during the first inning by Aran who came within inches of turning a 5-3 double play from third and Nick at first with a headsup unassisted tag of a runner attempting to move from first to second on a grounder to end the inning. Ollie and Patrick did another stellar job behind the plate in steamy conditions.

Training this week will be Tuesday at the main club with next week's game against the Cardinals at Kensington.

Hits: Sam Stewart 2 (2B), Dayton Mitchell (3B), Nick Borello, Mitch Foley

RBIs: Sam Stewart, Cooper Gilbert, Mitch Foley, Aran Wittert (2 each), Dayton Mitchell , Nick Borello (1 each)

For all results and tables go to www.sa.baseball.com.au or visit the Sturt Website at Sturt Web Site

..:: message posted on Monday the 30th of January, 2012 22:57:01 ::..

Newsletter 23/01/12

The baseball season got back into full swing over the weekend with the junior teams re-commencing after the Christmas break.

Congratulations to Dakota Mitchell who has been selected in the Under 18 AAA Oceania Championships National Team to play in Guam, commencing Friday. You can keep up with the action on the Tournament website.

Just a reminder about the magnificent book on Mark Hutton's playing history which has been compiled by Jeff Nicholas. Mark was the first Australian to be signed by a Major League Club in America as a starting pitcher for the famous New York Yankees. The book is over 200 pages in length and features all Mark's statistics along with press clippings. There are also a number of DVDs of Mark playing in the United States. If you are interested in a copy please contact Jeff Nicholas on 0419 824 324. Once again congratulations Jeff on an outstanding book and videos that you have produced.

The Sturt Baseball Club thanks all of our sponsors for their generous support.

As club members please use our sponsors whenever possible and let them know you are from Sturt! Go to our Sponsors webpage for all the details about our sponsors.

If you would like to become a sponsor please contact Dean Franke on 0428 821 008. Details of Sponsorship packages are available from our website in the become a sponsor section! Please visit this area if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship packages.

Sturt 4 lost to Kensington 5

This was always going to be a tough battle but I knew the boys were up to the challenge.

Tom Becker took on the starting role for the Saints and did a good job through 6 innings. Even though he gave up a few hits, he kept us in the game and gave us a chance. Chris Lawson returned from Bite duties to close things out. Unfortunately, with scores tied in the 9th, Kensington got in front and we couldn't respond in the bottom of the last.

The boys showed some ticker during the game to claw back from being behind twice. This was great to see after talking about this side of our game during the week.

Offensively, our young guns Matt Macbeth and Jackson Brebner Russ keep growing in stature ensuring the scoreboard kept ticking over. Well done boys - keep moving forward.

Kensington scored all 5 of there runs with 2 outs. This just proves that the hardest out to get in the inning is the last one - something we need to focus on.

There is no such thing as an honourable loss anymore for this group - we are good enough and talented enough to do better than this and we will. This starts with Woodville next week.

Hits - Macbeth 3, Brebner Russ 2, Turner, Holmes, Stokes

Division 2 (Coach: Zac Stokes) Sponsored by: Catapultwealth (Major Sponsor)

Sturt 9 defeated Kensington 3

Great win by the boys. Just goes to show that sticking to the game plan and playing our own game works!

As with most of our wins it was a great team win. Every hitter contributed whether it be a base hit, sacrifice, walk or moving the runners up.

Craig Wright pitched a great game. Going 5.2 innings for only 7 hits and 3 runs he was one out shy out the whole game. Dan Turner came in with bases loaded in the last to get one out. Great job Craig and then Dan.

The team is playing very well with our best to still come. Great work guys. Keep working hard.

Hits: Faehse 3, Roberts, Hollis 2, Frogley, Winter, Crutchley, Green 1.

Division 3 (Coach: Rick Mitchell) Sponsored by: Hattam McCarthy Reeves & Goodlife Health Clubs Goodwood

Kensington 7 defeated Sturt 5

Division 4 (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach: Norm Sluga) Sponsored by PPI Promotion and Apparel

Sturt 9 defeated Kensington 1

Division 6 (Coach: Chris Small) Sponsored by: Smith Motor Company  The Courthouse Normanville Tony Colyer Pty Ltd

This was a game we needed to win to get us a little closer to the top of the table. Again West Torrens seem to have the wood over us at present and walked away with a 6 - 4 win.

We lost the game in the first innings where they scored 4 runs hitting to holes and we could not do anything about that. After the first innings we out scored them but we could not make up those four early runs.

We played the full 6 1/2 innings with 30 minutes to spare as both sides had three up and down at least three times.

Some good points that came out of this game was the Bear (Barry Lunnon) threw the entire game and took a great reflex line drive straight back to him, had he missed it I am sure we would have been looking for a new umpire for the rest of the game. Brocky (David Brock) also took a great catch at ground level from right field, as the ball was hit you could see his brain ticking over do I get this or not, yes I will as he strolled in, Junior (Trent Small) was coming from second and had no chance to get it was calling Brocky in for it and at the last minute Brocky took some quick steps to catch it about 2inches from the ground.

Jay Lunnon was great for the day scoring two of our runs and caught all day.

Not much more to write about this game, we now need to pick ourselves up dust off and get ready for our next challenge if we want to play finals this season.

Safe Hits: Lunnon J 3, Small J 1, Colyer 1, Lunnon B 1, Long 2 (1D), Burns 1.

Pitchers: Lunnon 86 pitches for 68 strikes and 18 Balls, 7 K's, 0 Walk's & 8 safe hits.

Division 7 (Coach: Dave Smith Asst Coach: Jules Potiki) Sponsored by Bulls Baseball Club   Force Access

Sturt drew SDBC 11 -11

Some great pep talks and a solid start saw us playing well for a couple of digs, fielding errors caught up with us and nearly cost us the game but we scored 5 in the last dig to even up the match. Well done again to Jayke Wayne and Chris Thompson for pitching well and JR for catching like a trooper. Nice fielding by Phil, Tim, John and Oatsey as well, although AJ was a standout stumbler at 1st he played a great half game. Let's keep this good energy going and win some more! We also have a promotion in the team, Dan 'Oatsey' Oates is now our manager so expect some more team emails from him in the weeks to come - good stuff mate.

Under 18 (Coach: Jeff Nicholas) Sponsored by: Adelaide Commercial Flooring & Freshwater Systems

Sunday was our first game back after the break, and it was nice to start the year with a good win against Kensington 16 - 5.

In hot conditions, Sam Roberts started on the mound and held the opposition to 7 scattered hits thru 5 innings, with Matt Franke closing out the game.

Our batting improved from last year with every player getting at least one hit, as we drove in the runs and only left 6 runners on which is a huge improvement from the 14 we left on when we last played Kensington.

Defensively we only had one fielding error and the boys pulled off a great double to end an innings when the the opposition had bases loaded.

We need to work on our game further if we intend to make the finals. The boys are good enough if they apply themselves to the tasks set.

Hits: Lightbody 3, Franke 3, Wright 3, Lemon, Roberts, Kemp, Duffield, Wayne, Holst, MacBeth 1

Under 16 - Sturt (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach:; Rick Trembath) Sponsored by: National Tool Distributors,  Smith Motor Company Wendy's Burnside

Sturt 21 defeated Glenelg 4

Big win by the boys today, we hit the ball really well and ran the bases aggressive until the lead was over 10. Batting today was a real treat 6 lads picked up 2 hits for the day and Max G 3 for the day. Highlights was double Max power both Max G and Max W had towering shots over centre field and pick up triples. Max W hit his triple with bases loaded and two out, great job boys. Hard hitting coupled with good base running will always be hard to beat. But offence is only half of the game, we turned and awesome double today with Sean W fielding a hard ball to his right at first base and then throw a perfect ball to Big Max G at second who then throw accurately to a hustling Jayden T at first base. We all gasped as Jayden was sprinting so hard from second to get to first he over ran the bag a little and took the ball in the middle of 1b to then have to quickly avoid Glenelg's runner. Some nice catches in the outfield by Charlie G, Max W and Max G both made nice plays in the outfield. Our pitchers where on song today as well Tyson H throw two perfect digs, no hits, no runs, no walks, seven batters faced for just 21 pitches can't ask for more than that. Josh T then came in and got three up three down and although Glenelg put on a fighting 4 runs in the fourth he got himself out of a hole. Max G then came in and closed out the last dig with near perfection. Big thanks to Mitchell L who hustled from SD to fill in and again proved he can mix it with the big boys. Good job today boys bigger challenge next week against GGCD. see ya all at training.

Hits-- 3-Max G ; 2-Charlie G, Max W, Henry B, Jordan Mc, Jayden T

Under 16 - Saints (Coach: Glen McDonald) Sponsored by Mt Lofty Golf Club

It was great to get back out on the field again following the Christmas break but I was concerned that the combination of holidays and the hot weather would mean a slow, lethargic game. I needn't have been. I think playing Goodwood provided the incentive as the boys handled the conditions without complaint and really came to play, especially with the bat. They burst out of the blocks with 7 runs in the 1st and 5 in the 2nd to take control of the game early. Sam Cavanagh pitched 2 1/3 innings for 1 run making it very difficult for Goodwood to mount any sort of comeback.Sam Powell finished the game having some trouble finding the strike zone with 6 walks but threw 4 strikeouts as well. Daniel Ortiz and William Hill put in strong catching efforts despite the heat but our batting and aggressive base running were the main story. Angus Read lead the way with 3 hits William Hill, Fraser Crameri, Matt Amberg, Sam Powell and Sam Cavanagh had 2 hits whilst Tom Bartley and Damon Gray picked up a nice outfield hit each. A very Satisfying win, but with plenty of important games still to play we need to stay focussed and keep improving. Final Score Saints 14 - Goodwood 3

Under 14/1 - Sturt (Coach: Garry Wood) Sponsored by Premier Trailers

Sturt 16 defeated Southern Districts 1

Under 14/1 - Saints (Coach: Glenn Young) Sponsored by: Last & Co Lawyers

A score line of 12-0 would suggest a reasonably one sided affair but it wasn't until the last dig that the West Torrens machine squashed the life out of a gallant and outgunned Saints.

Defensively it was pretty good. Against a team that previously belted us 20-0 the improvement in the field was evident for all to see. 7-1-5-7=20 v 3-2-0-7=12 was a reasonable outcome. Outfield catches were held with nice put outs from Elijah and Conor. Ty did some lovely elastic man stretches at first and Stewie Brennan was the highlight on the mound. In 3 innings against the second best offense in the league he held them to 5 runs in 3 and a bit innings, gave up just 6 hits but what was a delight to watch was his command on the hill, attempted pick offs and the variation in pitches thrown. Good effort.

Offensively it was a whitewash. The young WT pitcher threw a no hitter against boys that are capable but on this occasion were outclassed and out thought. A good lesson for all and well done to Tyson from WT. 13 at bats just the one walk and 5 KC's told the story. When in doubt and on 2 strikes have a go. It's not rocket science.

Back to the training track to continue improving. We're getting closer to that elusive win.

Little League 1-Sturt (Coach: Jamie Knuckey) Sponsored by: Smyth's Confectionery

Sturt 6 defeated West Torrens 3

Little League 2-Sturt (Coach: Mark Abfalter) Sponsored by Dean Lynds

Southern Districts 9 defeated Sturt 8

First game back after the Xmas break saw us field nine players against the second team from Southern Districts. In what would have been an easy win during the first half of the season saw us struggle against a team we should have put away early.

We opened the batting with more 'fly swatting' than Burke & Wills, seeing 3 up and 3 down in quick succession - our worst opening. Robbie started on the mound throwing a couple of K2's and Jordan made an out at second, to hold them at 1 run. Some easy 'gifts' in the second saw us pick up 5 RBI's to take the lead. The SD boys weren't going away that easy and they clawed them back to take the lead by 1 at the bottom of the second.

A great hit past second from Johnno and a BB to Jordan saw us take the lead although we gave Santa back our 'free gifts' with the bat when we should have buried them blindfolded. Some fine pitching from Tom into the third and we had our chances to grab the match going into the fourth. Again our batting let us down and we failed to capitalise on what ended as a 'wakeup' match.

Hits - Gamble 2, Emmett 2, Schenk 2, Short 1, R Brennan 1

K2's - R Brennan 2, Emmett 1, Abfalter 1

Let's get back into the swing this week and come out firing as we are capable of much better. Next match is on 29th January at 10:00am against Kensington at home Norman Reserve. See you all there.

Little League 2-Saints (Coach: Stuart Crutchley) Sponsored by: Watts Agencies & Brooks

Saints 12 defeated Glenelg 10

The Saints ventured out to Glenelg Baseball Club to take on the Tigers on the hottest game day of the season to date. Fans were greeted on arrival by a torridly pungent Patawalonga which, unfortunately, accurately reflected the pitching dished up in this nailbiting contest.

The Saints scored 12 runs on 3 hits and the benefit of 14 walks and 3 hit batsmen. There was little opportunity for the boys to build on the hitting momentum they had generated in the first half of the season, but they made the most of what was on offer.

Scattered among the carnage were a single by Nick with runners on the corners in the second followed by a crushed bases clearing triple to centre by DJ who added a run scoring double in the third for good measure.

DJ and Sam pitched the first two innings with mixed results and the Saints trailed 9-8 after two. A four run third inning put the good guys up 12-9 and in a bold stroke of genius, Stuart brought in a newcomer to the hill, Nick Borrello, for his pitching debut to close out the game. As usual, Nick repaid the faith put in him by holding the Tigers in the third to one run with two whiffs to his credit.

Special mention goes to Olliver Crutchley who caught three very solid innings in scorching heat, including the last inning after getting drilled in the knee by a pitch in the top of the third. More great work, Ollie!

Hits: Dayton Mitchell (2B, 3B), Nick Borello

RBIs: Dayton Mitchell 4, Nick Borello 3, Cooper Gilbert 2, Baily Passmore, Mitch Foley, Aran Wittert (1 each)

For all results and tables go to www.sa.baseball.com.au or visit the Sturt Website at Sturt Web Site

..:: message posted on Tuesday the 24th of January, 2012 09:00:52 ::..

Newsletter 16/01/12

The Senior teams have come out of the blocks firing after the Christmas break with each senior team scoring a win and the improving Division 7 side ending up with a draw! Well done to everyone!

The Sturt Baseball Club thanks all of our sponsors for their generous support.

As club members please use our sponsors whenever possible and let them know you are from Sturt! Go to our Sponsors webpage for all the details about our sponsors.

If you would like to become a sponsor please contact Dean Franke on 0428 821 008. Details of Sponsorship packages are available from our website in the become a sponsor section! Please visit this area if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship packages.

Game 1

Sturt 10 defeated Adelaide 8

The final score in this game certainly does not reflect on how well the boys played for 90% of this match. Facing there import pitcher, we scored 9 runs in the first 3 innings with some quality offense and knocked him off the hill. Tom Becker went about his business beautifully and through 4 innings we were 10 nil up. Tom Winter came in to wrap things up and was half a step away from a third out and a mercy victory but Adelaide got a roll on and we Tom held firm through the rest of the game to preserve the win.

Dane Adkins had a fantastic game with 4 hits.

A solid but hollow win in the end.

Hits - Adkins 4, Holmes 2, Prokopec, Watts, Carter (HR), Stokes, Frogley, Turner

Game 2

Sturt 8 lost to Adelaide 13

After regrouping in the break, we came out looking to regain momentum early in the second game. An unbelievable catch in the first robbed us of two runs and we knew we were in for a fight.

Lewis Townsend threw 4 innings and unfortunately for him it was just one of those days where you get hit around. I know that he has a strong personality and will look to pick himself up and get on with things for the business end of the season.

Offensively we didn't get the bats going until too late but we did show great fight to battle the game out after falling 11 - 0 behind. Special mention to the Dave Carter and Jared Holland for pitching in the back half of the game.

Interestingly we didn't make an error in both games of baseball but some games you simply get outplayed.

This group is going to hit speed bumps in a long season and we need to remain positive and direct our attention to Kensington next weekend. They always present a good challenge for us and we are looking forward to taking them on at our home ground next Sunday.

Hits - Brebner-Russ 3, Carter 3, Holmes 2, Frogley 2, Turner, Watts

Division 2 (Coach: Zac Stokes) Sponsored by: Catapultwealth (Major Sponsor)

Sturt 12 beat Adelaide 3

It was great see the boys come back with a big win after the draw last week.

Craig Wright started on the mound for us and gave 3 solid innings giving up only two hits for 1 run. Dan Turner came in next and threw 3 big innings for 2 hits and no runs. Special thanks to Craig Watts who helped out a thin pitching staff and came in to pitch the last inning and close out the game.

4 players had multiple hits which was great to see. The stand out was Jared Holland who went 4-4 with a walk. It was great to have him back in the line up after missing last week.

A huge game against Kensington this week gives us a chance to show them we are better than what we showed last time against them.

Hits, Holland 4, Frogley, Crutchley 3, Winter 2, Faehse, Hollis, Packer.

Division 3 (Coach: Rick Mitchell) Sponsored by: Hattam McCarthy Reeves & Goodlife Health Clubs Goodwood

Sturt 5 defeated Woodville 4

Division 4 (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach: Norm Sluga) Sponsored by PPI Promotion and Apparel

Sturt 4 defeated Woodville 2

This game was a must win in order to still be a chance for the finals. The last time we played Woodville, we lost due to a brain fade and errors. This time, we were out to prove that we were the better side.

Woodville started off the game with 3 hits and collected 2 runs. The pressure was on and Sturt responded with 1 run.

The next four innings was the battle of the pitchers and defence. Matt Mulryan pitched well for the first three innings and then Pete Turner came in to pitch. With the pressure on, Pete put on a great pitching performance to shut Woodville out for the next four innings. The same couldn't be said for Woodville. In the sixth inning hits to Jay Lunnon and Sam Duffield plus a crucial error by Woodville saw Sturt collect 3 runs.

Our defence continues to be strong and our batting continues to get better. Like last week, I would like to thank Jay Lunnon, Sam Duffield and Chris Small for playing in the team.

Hits: Sam Bates 2, Matt Mulryan 2, Jay Lunnon 2 and Sam Duffield 1

Division 6 (Coach: Chris Small) Sponsored by: Smith Motor Company  The Courthouse Normanville Tony Colyer Pty Ltd

Div 6 Sturt V Woodville @ Sturt

An early start at a magnificent looking Sturt, David Lee has done another outstanding job with the field this year.

We started with the Rat (Rick Trembath) on the mound and I was hoping that we got of to the same start as we did when we first meet Woodville way back in the first round. In that game we gave them a draw even though we had a great start. This time the shoe was on the other foot and Woodville came out swinging and the Rat helped them by hitting the bats allowing Woodville to plate 3 runs with some good hitting and bunting. We went in to bat facing a pitcher I believe was 71yrs old and still playing and in the first innings he threw 15 pitches for 13 strikes and only gave up 1 run. So with the score 3 - 1 down we went back into the field hoping to hold them but the Rat again managed to hit their bats with precision and they plated a further 4 runs to 7 - 1 up and things not looking good for us. Our second at bat started well with Fame (Adrian Hill) hitting a triple and coach Small hitting a sac fly to centre field to score the run, 1 out but 1 run scored, the Rat then hit the leather of the ball but by the time it had stopped rolling it was just a meter or two from home plate and the Rat proceeded to beat the ball to first for a safe bunt. Bones (Glen McDonald) flied out to left for the second out and still trailing 7 - 2. Reg (David Lee) walked and the Cub (Jay Lunnon) hit to centre field to score the Rat, Junior (Trent Small) was hit by pitch ball and the bases were loaded, Jarrad Small at the plate and hit to third who bumbled the ball to allow 1 to score and bases still loaded, the Bear (Barry Lunnon) at the plate and hits hard to right field and ends up standing on third for a triple to score 3 runs. Fame was the 3rd out for the innings but we had come back and after 2 innings the score was 7 - 7 all tied up.

We then sent the Bear to the mound and with a KC, a great foul catch to the Rat at third and a K2 it was 3 up and down for Woodville. We did not fair much better and even though the Rat hit a double we were unable to get him home and we did not add to our score either.

Top of the 4th and the Bear went to work 3 up and down with some vintage pitching. First batter K2 then came a KC and he finished with a K2. Our 4th at bat started with the Cub (Jay) hitting to centre field again for a single, we then had 2 K2's ourselves before the Bear scored the Cub, Fame then hit a single to have runners on 2nd and 1st with coach Small up. 2 out and Smally line drives it to third for side away but we had hit the front by 1. Score now 8 - 7 up.

In the 5th the first out was to a fantastic catch to Brocky (David Brock) at left field diving to his left at full stretch, the Bear then hit the next batter, the third batter was a K2 and the fourth batter hit a single to left, runners now on third and first, next batter first pitch ball and runner steals the batter then hits a fly ball just pass second base and short stop Fame takes off only to drop the catch, runner at third scores and runner on second has bolted on the hit rounded third and headed home, Junior (Trent) ends up with the ball as he also took off for the catch and seeing the runner going for home throws to the Cub (Jay) for the tag and third out. Scores tied again at 8 all. Our 5th at bat was looking good with the rat on by HPB then stole second, Gromit (Wallace Long) now in the game hits a fly ball which is muffed at second for a single and the Rat advanced to third, Reg is struck out, the Cub gets safe at first with a wild throw to first that drags first baseman off the bag, bases loaded and Junior struck out for the second out and Brocky then fly's out to left to leave runners on and no score.

Top the 6th and final innings, scores all tied up. The Bear still on the mound and first batter is a close call out at first with a great throw from the Rat and stretch from Smally, Second is a fly ball to short for 2 out and the third is a ground out to second for side away and no score. All we need is one run to win and I am hoping we do not end up with another tied game with Woodville for the season, the Bear hits a double to start our last at bat, Fame then hits a single to left and on the throw to third Fame ends up at second, Coach Small to the plate and hits a very shallow fly ball to centre field, fielders coming from every where and the catch not taken, the Bear takes of for home after the ball hits the ground but after a triple and double for the day there was nothing left in the tank and on the slide he is tagged out at home, 1 out and runners at 1st and 2nd and the Rat now up to bat. The Rat (Rick) then proceeds to hit a double to centre field to score 2 runs and win the game, we then finished the innings off with Reg (David Lee) being the third out with strike three high and outside and Reggie knew that Umpire Doc (Glenn Young) was going to call anything that the catcher caught a strike to finish the game.

Final score 10 - 8 win keeping us in fourth spot on the ladder and a good chance to play finals if we keep playing like we are.

Safe Hits: J Lunnon 3, B Lunnon 3 (1D & 1T), Hill 3 (1T), C Small 2 (1SF), Trembath 3 (2D).

Division 7 (Coach: Dave Smith Asst Coach: Jules Potiki) Sponsored by Bulls Baseball Club   Force Access

Div 7 @ Henley & Grange 8-8

Having been soundly beaten by the Rams on our home diamond when we first met this season, we were keen to return the compliment on Saturday - and we almost pulled it off.

Our continued improvement at the plate and on the base-paths was evident from the first inning as we put two quick runs on the board and carried this aggressive approach throughout the day, keeping their infield off balance with plenty of heads-up baserunning - Rich 'Elvis' Carter and Chris 'Hoops' Thompson were standouts in this regard. Meanwhile, our defence worked hard to back up the pitching of Jake Wayne, coming off 9 Ks the week before, with Tim 'Wheels' Smales keeping it cool at second and Justin 'JR' Ranford marshalling things from behind the plate. We managed to build a 7-3 lead with good hitting from the likes of Big John McClure, Phil Martin, Andrew 'AJ' Johnstone and Steve 'The Mouth' French who smacked a ground-rule double down the right field line. Dan Oates came on for his first relief appearance and almost held the third-placed Rams, but they managed to tie the game on a walk before Oatsey induced the game-ending ground out and our second tie of the season.

A big thanks again to Heather for coming out to score even though Kingsley had to work; next week it's Southern Districts at home and another chance to put some pressure on those teams further up the ladder.

For all results and tables go to www.sa.baseball.com.au or visit the Sturt Website at Sturt Web Site

..:: message posted on Tuesday the 17th of January, 2012 08:00:56 ::..

Newsletter 09/01/12

Happy New Year! Welcome back to the second half of the season where the Club got off to a great start with wins in Division 1, 3, 4, and a draw for Division 2. Photos from the Division 1 win on Sunday are on the front page of our website!

The Sturt Baseball Club thanks all of our sponsors for their generous support.

As club members please use our sponsors whenever possible and let them know you are from Sturt! Go to our Sponsors webpage for all the details about our sponsors.

If you would like to become a sponsor please contact Dean Franke on 0428 821 008. Details of Sponsorship packages are available from our website in the become a sponsor section! Please visit this area if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship packages.

Sturt 6 defeated East Torrens 2

The first game back after the break is always dangerous and I thought the boys came out and played an excellent game. Facing their import we strung together some excellent at bats and managed to put a lot of pressure on the pitch count for the import. Timely hitting also was crucial. Zac Stokes, Jacko and Turner all came up with massive two out hits which proved to be the difference in the end. Another good sign was the consistency of our hitting throughout the game - we scored in 4 of the 8 innings and had runners in scoring position in 6 of the 8 innings. This is a great sign and you cant do much more than continue to put pressure on a side like this - the runs will come.

Tom Becker had an excellent outing with no earned runs in 6 innings and once again Lewis Townsend came in and cleaned up the rest of the game to close proceedings out.

Defensively we also witnessed some excellent stuff - Dan Turner at shortstop made some difficult plays, some great desperation by Dane at second base, a tough play late in the game by Lewis and some great decision making by wattsy - defence is still crucial.

Well done boys. Next challenge is Adelaide in a double header - back to work on the training track and then lets tackle the Angels.

Hits - Carter 2, Stokes 2, Turner 2, Brebner-russ 2, Adkins, Watts, Holmes, Prokopec.

Division 2 (Coach: Zac Stokes) Sponsored by: Catapultwealth (Major Sponsor)

Sturt 1 drew with East Torrens 1

Division 3 (Coach: Rick Mitchell) Sponsored by: Hattam McCarthy Reeves & Goodlife Health Clubs Goodwood

Sturt 7 defeated GGCD 2

Division 4 (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach: Norm Sluga) Sponsored by PPI Promotion and Apparel

Sturt 4 defeated GGCD 0

After experiencing a number of defeats just before the Xmas break, the team 'shook the monkey off the back' and came up with a solid win. GGCD were a stronger team from our first encounter when we beat them 13-1.

The reason for our solid win was great defence. Mat Mulryan pitched a great game with solid support behind the plate from Pete Turner. As Pete also mentioned at the post game wrap up, 'today the team didn't have a brain fade and let the opposition in'.

In fact, the team stayed focused and did a great job in the field with no errors. There were some great catches taken in difficult, windy conditions. Sam Bates made good ground to take a deep fly at centre field and playing his first game at third, Errol Burns took two, high fly balls in foul territory and Frenchy stretched out low to take a hard line drive at first base. Great effort guys.

As for our offence, we could only manage 4 hits for the game. Looking at the score book, the team are hitting the ball but just not getting the gaps. I did like how we executed a couple of bunts and made the opposition choke. Keep persevering, swing the bats hard guys and our breaks will come.

I would also like to mention a thankyou to Josh Tindall and the Div 6/7 guys for helping out the team on the day.

Hits: Pete Turner 2, Adrian (Fame) Hill 1 and Matt Mulryan 1.

Division 6 (Coach: Chris Small) Sponsored by: Smith Motor Company  The Courthouse Normanville Tony Colyer Pty Ltd

East Torrens 13 defeated Sturt 5

With the Christmas holidays still on for some we had to go deep into our stocks and with help from Jayden Trembath and Jarrad Small we ended up with a bench for our clash with top of the table East Torrens.

The score did not do us justice as we had a very close game until the 6th innings when ET made 7 runs to clinch the game, before that the score was 6 - 5 down with some great pitching from Jayden (an U16) he threw 2 innings to give up 1 run in the 1st and 4 in the 2nd. The Rat (Rick Trembath) then came on to give up 0 in the 3rd, 1 in the 4th, 0 in the 5th and they hit him in the 6th to get the max 7 runs. We in the mean time had 2 in the 1st, 0 in the 2nd & 3rd, 1 in the 4th, 2 in the 5th and 0 in the 6th, game was then called with a final score of 13 - 5 down.

For our first game back we had some good catches from the Rat, Reggie (David Lee), Brocky (David Brock), Jayden Trembath and even the Doc took at foul catch behind the plate. We only made 3 errors for the day which is pretty good considering it is the first game back but we struggled in the batters box having 11 K's for the day.

Although we did not win this was a marked improvement from our first game against ET and hopefully we will have one more crack at them in the finals with a full side.

Thanks to Jarrad and Jayden for helping out, to Ben Young for umpiring and Janet Young for Scoring.

Safe Hits: McDonald 1, Long 2, Small C 1, Trembath R 1, Small J 2, Lee 1.

Division 7 (Coach: Dave Smith Asst Coach: Jules Potiki) Sponsored by Bulls Baseball Club   Force Access

Sturt def Goodwood 20 - 4

A fantastic start to 2012 with a big win. Everyone had a great day with the bat and in the field with some stand out catches to Smalesy and Johno (I believe that Island has resurfaced now). Jayke Wayne also pitched to perfection for the whole game, well done. Thanks to AJ for helping out and coaching 3rd base.

For all results and tables go to www.sa.baseball.com.au or visit the Sturt Website at Sturt Web Site

..:: message posted on Tuesday the 10th of January, 2012 08:02:06 ::..

Christmas Edition 2011

It has been a busy weekend for the last round of the season before the Christmas break. On Saturday our teams battled the weather, particularly the Division 1 game where half way through the fifth innings lightening and thunderstorms stopped the game. Sturt were playing fourth placed Golden Grove and with a 4-1 lead we were keen to get a result. As it turns out the game was called but as we were in front leading into the bottom of the fifth innings the result stands. Unfortunately during the game Dane Adkins sustained two nasty lacerations to his arm sliding into home plate. Special thanks to our resident medical team of Glenn and Janet Young who did a magnificent job stitching him up, with many interested onlookers taking photos of the event!

It was great to see Division 2 bounce back with a win and Division 3 finished off the first half of the season with a win at Glenelg.

On Sunday we had our traditional Christmas Party at the Club. Unfortunately the weather was not the best but nonetheless everyone there had a great time! I presented cheques to our State players and the boys were wished well by everyone present.

A big thank you to our wonderful bar ladies Sonia and Rosanna, who made up all the lolllie bags. We are very fortunate to have these ladies who go well beyond what is required in not only looking after the bar, but in so many other ways in keeping our club looking in first rate condition! Thanks also to Dean Franke who organised the food for the night and to John McClure for cooking it!

Senior Baseball will resume on Saturday 7 January 2012 with Division 1 and 2 playing at home on Sunday 8 January 2012. Junior baseball will resume on 22 January and Aussie Tee Ball and Rookie Ball will resume on Friday 3 February 2012.

On Sunday 11 December, The Round 2 T-ball All Stars carnival at Kensington began with a hard-fought, one-run win against Southern Districts in the first game. The standard of play throughout the day by all teams had lifted markedly from the first round with some outstanding talent coming up through the ranks from all teams. Super tight fielding in the first 3 innings by Kensington in the second game made scoring runs extremely difficult for Sturt and we were unable to claw back the game. The third game against West Torrens was a more even contest and it wasn't until heading into the bottom of the 5th (and final) innings that West Torrens were able to pull ahead for the win. A solid performance in this round by Robbie Brennan, strong with the bat as usual hitting 2 home runs and many 2-base hits; Jacob Jones (first season player), hitting several 2-base hits and a handy utility in the field; Joshua Vidale, unlucky at bat and a reliable fielder at short stop and first base this week. MVP was awarded to Finn Stranger for a solid performance at pitcher and second base with 10 plays to base for the out, three catches (2 spectacular) and consistent and safe batting.

As part of the Aussie T-Ball program, the Adelaide Bite, the professional baseball team in the Australian Baseball League, invites players 12 years and younger to join the Adelaide Bite Kid's Club. This is a FREE Club that gives all members a ticket to all Kid's Club Days. There are two remaining Kid's Club games. - January 1 at 1:00pm and January 22nd at 1:00pm.

Kid's Club Members also get a membership card and an exclusive Kid's Club Newsletter. Plus, there are giveaways and exclusive events at the Kid's Club games. Sign-up online to be part of the Kid's Club.

This week's Featured Player of the Week, Robbie Brennan from the from the Little League Minor – Div 2 Sturt . You can access the Player Profiles from the front page of the website either through the top menu about>player profiles or clicking on the icon under the Premiership table. Any player from Aussie Tee Ball through to our A Grade team is eligible to be a Featured Player of the week. To be featured simply fill answer the questions in the proforma and send it back with a photo to president@sturtbaseballclub.org.au

On Friday 20 January 2012, Training with the Pro's is back!

To be held at the home of Baseball – Coopers Stadium, Norwood Oval, this year’s event promises to be bigger than last year. The day will commence at 11.45 and conclude at 5.00 pm with tea and drinks prior to the Bite game commencing at 7 pm

Proudly supported by MLB, Baseball SA, Australian Baseball League, Adelaide ETSA Bite and the Brisbane Bandits, all participants that register will receive an unreal experience and get to rub shoulders with professional baseball players.

The day will consist of a number of different skill stations where participants rotate to each station while our finest baseballers provide feedback to all on ways to improve throwing, catching, base running and hitting.

This opportunity is open to players in Under 8, Under 10, Little League and Under 14

For further details and to register visit Baseball SA website.

Changes to Baseball SA Heat Rule

Baseball SA has made a number of significant changes to the Heat Rule as it applies to Senior Baseball.

For Senior baseball specific restrictions apply at two different temperature ranges, namely:

If the forecast temperature at 7 am on the morning of competition is 37, 38 or 39 degrees as broadcast on any Radio Station (AM or FM), Senior Divisions (1-7) will still play but with specific restrictions.

If the forecast temperature at 7 am on the morning of competition is 40 degrees or above as broadcast on any Radio Station (AM or FM) Senior games Division 2 and below will be cancelled and not replayed.

Division 1 games will still be played but under a range of restrictions.

The range of restrictions for both temperature ranges are detailed in the Baseball SA Heat Rule Advice issued on 16 December 2011.

The Heat Rule for Junior Baseball remains the same in that all Junior baseball (Aussie Tee Ball, Rookie Ball, Little League, U14, U16, U18) will be cancelled if the forecast temperature at 7am the morning of competition is 37 degrees or above as broadcast on Radio (AM or FM). Cancelled rounds will not be rescheduled

At Sturt this temperature rule also applies to junior training sessions.

In addition no Junior Umpire (17 years of age and under) may officiate in any game, both senior or junior, if the forecast temperature at 7am the morning of competition is 37 degrees or above as broadcast on Radio (AM or FM).

The information on the Heat Rule is on our website and also available for easy reference on Saints Mobile edition from your mobile phone.

On behalf of the Sturt Baseball Club may I take this opportunity to wish you all the best for Christmas and the New Year and trust that you have a restful break.

The Sturt Baseball Club thanks all of our sponsors for their generous support.

As club members please use our sponsors whenever possible and let them know you are from Sturt! Go to our Sponsors webpage for all the details about our sponsors.

If you would like to become a sponsor please contact Dean Franke on 0428 821 008. Details of Sponsorship packages are available from our website in the become a sponsor section! Please visit this area if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship packages.

Sturt 4 defeated GGCD 1

With Coach Catt away for the game he left Zac Stokes in charge of the troops. The good thing about a mature and experienced team is that they know exactly what to do to prepare for a big game. This enabled me to finish the B grade. It's a credit to the boys and just proves you don't need a big pump up speech to get ready for a game. You knew what you had to do and went ahead and did it.

The pre game in and out was very quiet and I was not sure how to take it. Wattsy assured me it was a good thing and that it was because everyone was focused. Everyone did appear focused!

Lawson started on the hill and did another great job. 5 innings for only 4 hits and 1 run with 3 Ks. Great job smokey!

With the game shortened due to bad weather we were fortunate to be in front when the game was called giving us the points.

All of our 8 hits were very timely and important. It was a great win and a great day for the Saints. The win secures us in outright 2nd place at the break.

Hits: Prokopec 2, Macbeth, Watts, Stokes (HR), Turner, Passmore, Faehse.

It's going to be a great second half of the season. Get out and support the boys!

Go the Saints!

Division 2 (Coach: Zac Stokes) Sponsored by: Catapultwealth (Major Sponsor)

Sturt 4 defeated GGCD 1

After losing the last two games after having the lead and dropping several spots on the ladder, the boys knew the importance of this last game before the break.

Unfortunately we could not score in the bottom of the first. Dutchy was on third with none out. I was beginning to get a similar feeling from previous weeks of leaving runners on base. After another opportunity a couple innings later we still could not score.

Finally the hits, luck and runs came our way. I was very happy with our defense who overall did a great job behind the pitchers.

Townsend started and pitched 7 excellent innings. Shows what good focus and concentration can do. Lewis in 7 innings gave up only 5 hits and 1 run. He had an amazing 9 Ks and zero walks.

Dakota came in to pitch the last inning and was back to the pitcher we know and love. Great work D.

Normally we have been playing 5-6 innings, so to come out and play 8 quality innings was great. I was very happy and proud of the way the team battled.

We did not play our best and it just shows that we do belong in the top 6 and the last two games were not our norm. We learn and move forward. We are in a good position right now and look forward to the second half of the season.

A special thanks to Bill who umpired for us when the league umpire didn't turn up.

Division 3 (Coach: Rick Mitchell) Sponsored by: Hattam McCarthy Reeves & Goodlife Health Clubs Goodwood

After losing to Glenelg in round 1 for their only win for the year and a below par effort last week , this week we had a point to prove and we succeeded winning 6-3 . Our hitting this week was much improved , batting for our team and hitting with purpose . By memory we hit the ball to the left side once and that was a safe hit.Ben Packer came back to the 3s this week and was outstanding both on the hill and in the box,Ben threw 4 digs and showed he was back on track giving up just 3 hits ,and in the box he also collected himself a hit with 2 RBIs. Craig Wright closed the game out throwing the last 3 digs and seemed to have his control and his pop back , he did a great job. Pete Turner had a day out going 3 for 3 and did a fantastic job behind the dish and taking an amazing catch to finish off the game . Tom Teague another that had a day out roping the ball with a double to centre right and 2 hits to right field .Dean Franke answered an S.O.S call when we had an injury and with NOBODY on the bench he got himself a RBI ( thanks for helping out Zulu) Other hits went to Matt Franke (who is hitting the ball hard at the moment ) and Brian McGuinness which great to see for his piece of mind got himself a safe hit . We go into the X-Mas break 7-3 which is a great position to be but it is a job only half done , we know where our standard is we just need to keep it there .

Division 4 (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach: Norm Sluga) Sponsored by PPI Promotion and Apparel

Glenelg 9 defeated Sturt 0

Sturt were in for another test this week playing top side Glenelg. Looking at the game through the score book, the statistics along with the score line were not good. Glenelg were able to collect 12 hits and only had 1 error whereas Sturt were only able to collect 4 hits and made 4 errors.

To take some positives from the game, Pete Turner started on the mound to add another option to the battery with only 3 runs scored in three innings. Errol Burns came in for his first pitching appearance at senior level conceding only one run in two innings. It was also good to see some versatility with players in different fielding positions. Both Matt Mulryan and Jordan McArdle in catching roles; Dylan Holt played at third and Frenchy swallowing catches at right field.

Hits: Darren French 1, Errol Burns 1, Dylan Holt 1 and Jordan McArdle 1.

Division 6 (Coach: Chris Small) Sponsored by: Smith Motor Company  The Courthouse Normanville Tony Colyer Pty Ltd

My Special Christmas Report called 'A Novel on Div 6' written and watched by C. Small

This was a game that some turned up and should not have and others turned and played good baseball.

We started with the bats and sent out Reggie (David Lee) to get us the start we needed. Lets first talk about Reggie and his full game, hopefully you are sitting down as this will take awhile. First at bat first pitch fly ball caught at first, second at bat a walk - this slipped through because I think he was concentrating more on keeping Friday Nights Festive's down rather than watching the ball, mind you all his strikes for this at bat were fouls, third at bat first ball fly ball foul caught by third base, fourth at bat third ball foul fly ball caught by the third baseman again, fifth at bat and yes you guest fly ball, although in fair territory, but again caught by the third baseman. So lets recap 5 at bats 1 walk 4 fly balls caught all in the infield. In the field and playing centre field the first fly ball straight to Reggie, he runs in to take the catch and then sees that it is going over his head so he runs back to try and not let it get to far away from him, a howling wind then stops the ball and Reggie stops running, takes two steps forward to take the catch at about waist high with his palm up, 8 other players plus 2 on the bench all fall over with laughter.

So that is Reggie lets now move onto Pop (Mark Burns)

Part two of 'A Novel on Div 6' featuring Mark 'Pop' Burns

Pop only played half a game because he looked the greenest out of the 3 that celebrated a little bit too much the night before. First at bat and with a wild throw from short stop Pop gets safe and ends up at second, one out and Jay 'Cub' Lunnon hits a fly ball to centre field where Pop takes off to third, as he rounds third base he looks back over his shoulder to see the ball arrive at second from the catch and he is called out for the third out and side away. As he walks to the bench he is still holding 2 fingers up saying I thought there was two out, still shaking his head he heads to second base to field, runner on first and third, the Bear (Barry Lunnon) catches the runner at first with a nice pick off and he runs, ball thrown to Pop who is still trying to work out what happened with his last at bat he forgets to place the tag and the runner is safe. Next batter hits to centre field and Reggie who almost blends with the green grass he is that green, fields the ball throws to short stop who relays to Pop at second, the runner is on her way to second and about 2/3's the way there when Pop receives the ball, foot on the base but no force so tag is required again Pop's brain on another planet he watches as the runner arrives safe only to step of the plate for some reason, Pop places the tag on the runner for the out.
The Doc (Glenn Young) who was the third person who enjoyed himself the night before got a fat lip at third for not watching the ball, he will tell the story very different from the truth, something about it hitting the lip where the grass and dirt meet but truth is he saw three balls coming his way and he went for the bottom one should have taken the top one.

For the rest of us it was a much more normal game, we started with the Rat (Rick Trembath) on the mound and finished with the Bear, the Rat throwing 40 pitches with 30 strikes and the Bear throwing 65 pitches with 44 strikes.

We even had a double play with short stop - Daisy (Chris Day) to second - Junior (Trent Small) to first - Bear ( Barry Lunnon) . At bats we started off on the wrong foot hitting to many first pitches and not making great contact for easy outs but we kept adding runs in every innings but for the second.

Gromit (Wallace Long) produced the catch of the game for us as he got those old legs of his working over time and chased a fly ball from left field to take the catch in foul territory, while Brocky (David Brock) took the last catch to end the game and Goodwood's last chance to get the final score closer, he ran from right field towards center field for a great running catch, we had sealed the game with our last at bat when the Cub scored our only run in the top of the 7th to put us 8 runs up. We managed to go the full 7 innings on a wet but not cold Saturday and walked away with the win to put us in the top 4 with the final score being 12 to 7.

We need to keep this form up if we intend on playing finals this season.

A big thanks to Carol Burns for scoring, Carol changed an appointment so she could be there to score and it is greatly appreciated by all the players.

Stay tuned for the last chapter of 'A Novel on Div 6' in the second half of the season, here's hoping it finishes with a happy ending.

Safe Hits: Day 1 + 1BB, B Lunnon 2, Long 2 (1D), Junior Small 1, Young 2 + 1SF, Brock 1, Trembath 2 + 1HPB

From all the Division 6 Players and Families we wish all the Sturt Baseball Club Members and their Families a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Drive Safely and Drink Wisely but do not do both at the same time.

Division 7 (Coach: Dave Smith Asst Coach: Jules Potiki) Sponsored by Bulls Baseball Club   Force Access

Northern Districts 10 defeated Sturt 5

Another game that got away from us, some errors early on put us almost out of the game but we fought back to regain some pride. Nice work catching as usual by JR and another great day for the Thompson/Wayne pitching combo. Phil Martin also had a great day with the bat and in the end it was a fun game if nothing else. All the best for the festive season Saints.

Under 18 (Coach: Jeff Nicholas) Sponsored by: Adelaide Commercial Flooring & Freshwater Systems

Sturt 21 defeated Henley and Grange 0

Under 16 - Sturt (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach:; Rick Trembath) Sponsored by: National Tool Distributors,  Smith Motor Company Wendy's Burnside

Sturt 15 defeated Adelaide 0

Wet start to the game but the boys where ready to go, scoring from the start until the end. For the second week in a row we played a well rounded game, all areas of the game was solid. Today we registered 9 hits made no errors and both pitchers throw up around 65% strike rate. If we continue with this style of baseball we will win more games than we lose. Special mention to Charlie and Henry who both batted 1000 today great job Guys, Max G also line drived a massive 3 bagger. Jayden pitch three digs keeping his pitch count to 32 pitches again great effort. Tyler finished off well also only pitching 19 for two digs. Boys we are starting to bond as a team well and sharing the work load amongst all players. Thanks to all for there efforts in the first half of the year. To the boys going off to nationals good luck and make the most of your chances when given. Merry Christmas and enjoy your break and i will see you all back in January fresh and raring to go.

Hits: Charlie, Henry, Max W (2) ; Jordan, Max G and Jayden, Josh (1)

Under 16 - Saints (Coach: Glen McDonald) Sponsored by Mt Lofty Golf Club

No result available

Under 14/1 - Sturt (Coach: Garry Wood) Sponsored by Premier Trailers

No result available

Under 14/1 - Saints (Coach: Glenn Young) Sponsored by: Last & Co Lawyers

Well not quite a win but certainly a good game. If we were allowed not to count our slow start we outscored Goodwood 8-5 from the second innings on, and overall one more earned run to us. It certainly wasn't the best day for baseball and that showed up in the pitching for both teams - wet muddy balls made up for difficulty in consistently getting the ball in the strike zone. The exception however was Nik who came on to close for us throwing 2 innings 65% strikes and a three pitch last innings. The field supported the pitchers well with only one error for the day. Ethan's textbook play at third probably the fielding highlight. Offensively no doubt the highlight was Brandon's line drive to right field scoring two RBI's. Other hits included two to Nik, one to Ethan, Jack and Ty, along with most boys making good contact. The biggest improvement was in base running with aggressive stealing placing pressure on the opposition and allowing us to score some easy runs. Let's enjoy the Christmas break and bring this form into the second half of the season.

Little League 1-Sturt (Coach: Jamie Knuckey) Sponsored by: Smyth's Confectionery

Sturt 8 drew with Adelaide 8

Despite less than ideal conditions it was a battle of 2nd vs 3rd for our last game of the year.

It what was a close game all day we seen a game of 2 halves. With Thomas starting on the mound for the first time this season, a hit for the first batter with the first pitch then seen 3 K's for side away. Our batters started well - Samuel and Reed on base with walks and Thomas with a single then Harry with a double. Reed was unlucky to be out stealing home after getting his foot stuck in the mud. After 2 outs we had scored 3 for a 3-0 lead.

Thomas continued to pitch well facing only 4 batters each innings thru 4 innings for 8 more K's (total 11) and no runs. The Adelaide pitcher was causing us difficulty as well with only 4 batters facing each innings. Good doubles to Thomas and AUSSIE but no runs scored. 3-0 lead at after 4 innings with both starting pitchers at maximum counts.

Our pitching depth was tested thru the 5th and 6th innings - allowing a maximum 5 runs in the 5th and 3 in the 6th. 5-3 down bottom of the 5th we were at the top of our batting line up. Samuel was walked after absorbing a full count and Thomas a safe hit had tying runs on bases. Harrison made solid contact and unlucky to be caught at shortstop and Ky a solid drive well fielded by the pitcher and a put out to 1st saw side away. At bottom 6, and with game time close, and 8-3 down we had to score. Eli lead us off with a triple - then 2 outs - we were really under pressure. Tyrese doubles to RF, Samuel walked again - bases loaded. Reed a single, Thomas a double, and Harry a double saw maximum 5 runs and scores level 8-8.

For the second time this season we rallied in the last innings to score maximum runs and draw the game. While this is a great effort, we need the same determination, team sprit and desire from the start of every game if we are to be succesful at the end of the season. Great game to Thomas - 11 K's in 12 outs thru 4 innings and 4 hits (2 doubles and 2 singles). Well done Aussie - a solid double to RF and a great effort to step up and take control on the mound. Other hits to Harry (2 doubles), Reed, Tyrese, and a triple to Eli to lead us of in the last after a tough time on the mound - well done.

Have a Merry Christmas all and we will see you in the New Year.

Little League 2-Sturt (Coach: Mark Abfalter) Sponsored by Dean Lynds

Sturt 7 defeated SD Hawks 4

Round 10 our last match before the Xmas break saw us at Flinders again against the 'nice guys' SD Hawks who came into the match with renewed confidence. We had 12 players ready to 'hit' and the Hawks kindly allowed us to run the full batting list. We started a bit slow in the field giving up 2 RBI's after the Hawks showed us they meant business. Elliot fired up and shot down 3 K2's straight and the Hawks stopped 'flying' and went back to their nest. Our next 2 innings at bat were bleak to see just the 1 RBI after some ordinary base running allowing the Hawks to up their tails. Robbie stepped up to the mound and the boys lifted up the fieldwork standard to one of their best downing 3 'slick' fielder's choice in a fine display from Jonathan Gransden, Andrew Brennan and Jordan all finding the 'target' Elliot in quick succession.

Tom pitched the third innings before a quick exit and after a similar warmup, matched Elliot's work with 2 K2's and a KC, with the Hawks at the top of the third still on 2 runs. Our batting then found it's rhythm with hits to Jordan, Elliot and another handful of BB's to bring home the full 5 RBI's and setup the match. Zak stepped up to the mound with a play to first, Jordan took a nice running catch at second and Zak threw a K2 to finish them off. 1 more RBI in the fourth saw us win with 7.

Hits - Ridgway 1, R Brennan 1, Gransden 1, Abfalter 1, Short 1

K2's - Ridgway 3, Emmett 2 (+ 1 KC), Short 1

A good strong finish by all and excellent teamwork was very pleasing. Batting continues to grow confidence with every game and our fielding has lifted back to our opening standard. We now sit with renewed confidence before the break and have setup our season for return. Over the Xmas break, try and get back into the swing by mid-January and throw a ball or two, ready for the second half of the season. Our first game back is on the 22nd January at 10:00am against Southern Districts. Training will resume at Norman Reserve on Wednesday 18th January @ 4:30pm. Andrew, Johnno and Jordan keep up your pitching practice over the break as we will try and rotate more pitchers in the second half.

In the meantime, have an excellent Xmas, New Year and break, don't eat and drink too much! We will see you next year!

Little League 2-Saints (Coach: Stuart Crutchley) Sponsored by: Watts Agencies & Brooks

Kensington 15 defeated Saints 12

Solid pitching is the heart of all good ballclubs and the Saints found that out the hard way going down to an undermanned Kensington 15-12 at Flinders Uni. In a Jekyll and Hyde turnaround from the strong effort the previous game, the Saints pitchers struggled to find to plate yielding 12 walks and 5 hit batters in only three innings. Combined with three well timed Kensington doubles, the writing was on the wall early and the boys never really found their mojo to dig themselves out of the hole.

Hitting continues to be strong. Real nice extra base hits to Sam, Josh and Aran. Ollie and Patrick stroked two singles apiece and Nick and Dayton delivered an RBI singles in the 2nd to give the sparse crowd something to cheer about.

Bailey was involved in a couple sound forceouts at second base that were the highlights of the efforts in the field.

Hats off to Kensy for the win, but 'nuff said about this one. Merry Christmas to all and enjoy the break!

Hits: Oliver Crutchley, Patrick Milewski, Josh Wilson 2B (2 each), Sam Stewart 2B, Aran Wittert 3B, Nick Borello, Dayton Mitchell (1 each)

RBIs: Josh Wilson 4, Oliver Crutchley 3, Patrick Milewski 2, Nick Borello, Dayton Mitchell (1 each)

For all results and tables go to www.sa.baseball.com.au or visit the Sturt Website at Sturt Web Site

..:: message posted on Monday the 19th of December, 2011 21:18:03 ::..

Newsletter 12/12/11

Christmas is almost upon us! We have games this weekend before the main break with our Division 1 and 2 sides playing at home on Saturday this week.

The Sturt Baseball Club Christmas Function will once again be on Sunday night 18th December from 6 pm at the Club. This is a tradition within our club and we have a range of fun activities occuring, free give aways for the kids and the arrival of Father Christmas. The bar will be open and the BBQ fired up so please make your way to the Club this Sunday night!!

This week's Featured Player of the Week, Matan Cohen from the from the Little League Sturt Division 1 side. You can access the Player Profiles from the front page of the website either through the top menu about>player profiles or clicking on the icon under the Premiership table. Any player from Aussie Tee Ball through to our A Grade team is eligible to be a Featured Player of the week. To be featured simply fill answer the questions in the proforma and send it back with a photo to president@sturtbaseballclub.org.au

The Sturt Baseball Club thanks all of our sponsors for their generous support.

As club members please use our sponsors whenever possible and let them know you are from Sturt! Go to our Sponsors webpage for all the details about our sponsors.

If you would like to become a sponsor please contact Dean Franke on 0428 821 008. Details of Sponsorship packages are available from our website in the become a sponsor section! Please visit this area if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship packages.

Game 1  Sturt 2 lost to Goodwood 12.

Facing the Indians import in the first game we felt very confident we could take it right up to Goodwood as we sent Dakota Mitchell to the hill for his first A grade start.

Dave Carter got the game off to a great start with a 2 run HR in the first. Unfortunately from there it went on a slippery slope backwards. Too many walks (12) and not enough offense meant we were under the pump.

A special mention to Ace Prokopec for his first start in A grade. Well done mate.

The great thing about double headers is you have an immediate chance to redeem yourselves - that is what we needed to set out to do!

Hits - Carter (HR), Watts, Passmore, Prokopec.

Game 2  Sturt 8 defeated Goodwood 5

After a bit of soul searching in the break and a team apology from Dane ' spewy' Adkins we got the next game also off to a flying start. An Adkins home run making it 4 nil up early.

Tom Becker found his groove and worked his way through the Indians well except for there import. Tom couldn't quite work out the switch hitter.

Offensively, Dane Adkins and Zac Stokes kept us in the game and Lewis Townsend did a fantastic job closing the last 4 innings out to win the game.

Well done boys to bounce back and get something from the day.

We now face a tough Golden Grove side at home for the last game before the chrissy break. This is on Saturday at 4pm. Make sure you make it down to Norman Reserve to cheer us on and get the boys across the line.

Hits - Adkins 4 (HR), Stokes 2, Watts, Prokopec.

Division 2 (Coach: Zac Stokes) Sponsored by: Catapultwealth (Major Sponsor)

8-7 loss to Goodwood.

Another disappointing loss this week. We out hit Goodwood but we did not convert the hits into runs. We left well over 10 runners on base and that is simply not good enough. Run production has been a strength of the team this season, so to leave that many runners on was disappointing.

Winter had a good offensive day and Faehse made an outstanding defensive diving play at 2nd base.

Two weeks in a row we had one bad inning in the field and ultimately it cost us both games. We need to eliminate that bad inning.

The guys know we let two good teams off the hook the last two weeks. We play another good team this week in Golden Grove. The boys need to knuckle down and get back to the game plan and we will be ok.

Looking forward to a tough game this Saturday and would love to see a lot of people come and support both the B grade and A grade.

Division 3 (Coach: Rick Mitchell) Sponsored by: Hattam McCarthy Reeves & Goodlife Health Clubs Goodwood

West Torrens 12 defeated Sturt 2

Division 4 (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach: Norm Sluga) Sponsored by PPI Promotion and Apparel

Sturt 7 - Henley & Grange 14

This game against second placed Henley & Grange was to be a real test for us. Henley and Grange are a strong hitting side and their first inning proved just that with them putting together 7 hits. Sturt started off their batting innings with lead off Fame Hill taking a walk making the pitcher throw 9 pitches. Ever reliable Jamie Knuckey placed a beautiful hit behind Fame and then Chris McArdle followed up with a deep sacrifice fly to centre field. At the end of the first innings it was Sturt 1 - Henley and Grange 3.

Henley and Grange put on another run in in the second innings and in the third, added on another 6 runs. Sturt came back in the third innings with two runs, another run in the fourth and two in the fifth innings. Unfortunately, Henley and Grange added two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.

The team will really need to start focus on offense, as only 6 hits for the game will not get us over the line.

Even though we lost on the day, there were some positives to come out of the game. Jamie Knuckey shows why he is one the great players of the club with a solid catching performance and three hits. Sam Bates is improving each week with solid fielding at centre field and two hits. This week also saw the return of Dylan Holt and again support from the juniors of Errol Burns and Harrison Lightbody. These juniors are really starting to show some character playing against senior opposition. Well done.

Next week will be against top side Glenelg. However, if the team keeps working hard, a win will not be too far away.

Hits: Jamie Knuckey 3, Sam Bates 2 and Darren French 1.

Division 6 (Coach: Chris Small) Sponsored by: Smith Motor Company  The Courthouse Normanville Tony Colyer Pty Ltd

Div 6 Sturt V Northern Districts @ ND

A game we needed to win to stay in touch with the top 4 and a game you do not want to lose after driving all that way.

In the 1st Cub (Jay Lunnon) started with a walk and was followed by Pop (Mark Burns) with a hit to centerfield, Daisy (Chris Day) was K2'd and the Bear (Barry Lunnon) was safe at 1st from an error. Cub had scored our first run on the error and Pop went to 3rd, the Bear then stole 2nd base. Smally (Chris Small) hit a fly ball to centerfield and thanks to Pop scoring on the catch it become a sac fly for the 2nd out, Shrek (Ben Colyer) ground out to 3rd. 2 runs scored in our 1st at bat.

We sent the Rat (Rick Trembath) to the mound and had the Cub catching for the first time this season, 1st out went to a great catch to Reg (David Lee) at centerfield when the ball started to go to leftfield, the wind caught it and blew it to Reg for the catch, mind you it not for the wind Gromit (Wallace Long) would not have got to it because he was asleep at leftfield, something about could not see the white ball against all the white clouds. The Rat then had the next two batters out with K2's. Score at the bottom of the 1st 2 - 0 up. In the 2nd innings we did not trouble the scorers although one shinning light was the Cub getting K2'd and didn't the Bear let him know about it, always good to see that sort of stuff when it is Father and Son and both competing to be the best on the day. The Rat still on the mound and again it was 3 up and down for ND with only pitches thrown. 1st out was a fly ball to left and Gromit was awake, then a foul fly caught by Shrek (Ben Colyer) at third just as the wind helped move the ball around for him and the last out was a fly to rightfield caught by Pop. One thing that made it easy for the catches in the outfield was the talking by Reggy at centerfield.

Our 3rd innings we woke the bats up and with 7 safe hits we scored the max 7 runs to go 9 - 0 up half way through the 3rd. The Rat again made it short work and we had 3 up and down with 6 pitches thrown.

In the 4th we again did not trouble the scorers and ND made their first run, so top of the 5th and the score is 9 - 1 up.

In the 5th we had the big donut again and ND started to make a move on the lead, mostly with those pop ups that just fall short of the outfield and you can do nothing but watch as they cross the plate to score the max 7 runs and go into the last innings 8 - 9 down. During this innings we changed our pitcher and it was now the Bear throwing to the Cub again great to see a Hall of Fame player still playing and now pitching to his eldest Son catching.

In the last innings due to the 2 hour time limit we had a 1 run lead and we did not want to lose from here. 7 runs and we could not lose 6 at the least so they could only tie and to work we went, the crew were tired and hungry as it was now 5.45pm and a couple of the oldies had to be back at the retirement village before 7pm or they get locked out, we made the 6 runs with a lot of walks to go 7 up with them to bat. Their first batter hits to short stop and with a wild throw from Daisy he ends up at second, but a great pick off by the Bear back to Daisy who tags the runner twice just to make sure he is out we have one down, the second batter pops up to rightfield again and we only hope we do not see a repeat of their earlier innings. 1 one first occupied, next batter is a K2. 2 out and the Bear has the last batter at 2 balls and 2 strikes so Coach Small playing 1st moves in and away from the bag, he knows the Bear will finish it with a strike but the bear has other ideas and picks off, Smally not even looking his way only hears the Bear yell out "Smally" but to late the ball is half way to rightfield before he reacts, Pop retrieves the ball and the runner ends up at 3rd. The Bear then walks the batter. 2 out 1 more to get and the last batter pops up a foul fly ball to 1st and Coach Small makes no mistakes with this one for the 3rd out and the Saints win 15 - 8.

A couple of things to mention, Pop was a stand out in this game with 2 great catches and 3 great hits and the Rat was at his best on the mound throwing 49 pitches for 4innings.

Safe Hits: Burns 3 from 5 + 1BB, Lunnon J 1 from 5 + 1BB, Day 1 from 5 + 1BB, Lunnon B 2 from 5 + 1BB + 1SF, Small 3BB + 1SF, Colyer 1 from 4 + 1BB, Trembath 1 from 4 + 1BB, McClure 1 from 1, Long 1 from 4

Division 7 (Coach: Dave Smith Asst Coach: Jules Potiki) Sponsored by Bulls Baseball Club

Twilight: Sturt 10 def. Port Adelaide 8

Port Adelaide beat Sturt 16 - 1 in the first game of the season so this was a remarkable turnaround. The lead exchanged several times but the game finished with Sturt deservedly in front. Our error rate was way down on previous weeks. Barry Lunnon pitched a great game and was hard for Port to get away. A pick off in the last innings to help snuff out a Port revival was memorable. Dan Oates had a game to remember on first base ineligible 2 catches, fielding 2 crisply hit balls then stepping on the base for the outs. He also picked up a couple of dodgy throws out of the dirt for outs at first ineligible the last critical out of the game (as Port had a runner crossing home plate). Wallace Long and Chris Thomson got a couple of RBIs each. Jake and Tim each made good plays to first for outs. Everyone batted well - which included taking the walks that were on offer, Thanks to Chris Small and Wallace Long from Div 6 for playing and thanks to Adrian Hill and David Brock for backing up in case we were short of numbers.

Saturday Game: GGCD 16 Sturt 5

As anyone who has been to GGCD can tell you, there are two very different diamonds. One is as big as Texas while the other - the one we had to play on last Saturday - is pretty much a glorified little-league park with a left field 'wall' of trees about 180 feet from home plate. All you need is a left-handed hitter or two - and the unbeaten Dodgers had three!

Undaunted, we got off to a great start with safe hits from Tim "Wheels" Smales and Phil Martin and some baserunning pressure bringing home two early runs. Jake Wayne then pitched three great innings, including fanning three straight batters in the second, to keep us close. Unfortunately, the Dodgers - using their home field advantage to the full - gradually got on top of our relievers (Chris "Hoops" Thompson and Doc Young) and kept Ditmar Guehrer busy in left field. There were plenty of positives including some great hitting by Brocky, a return to form by Frenchy, Oatesy and JR as solid as ever at first/catching and an error-free game by all. However, the Dodgers were too good and their first baseman pulled a moon shot over the gum trees just to put an exclamation point on things. Thanks to Doc/Brocky for helping out - next we take on Northern Districts with whom we drew 9-9 at their place first time around.

Under 18 (Coach: Jeff Nicholas) Sponsored by: Adelaide Commercial Flooring & Freshwater Systems

East Torrens 7 defeated Sturt 4

Under 16 - Sturt (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach:; Rick Trembath) Sponsored by: National Tool Distributors,  Smith Motor Company Wendy's Burnside

Sturt 8 defeated SD 3

Great win today and to make it even better it was a team effort that got us across the line. Defensively we where really solid today Jayden and Charlie where both very solid up the middle making the outs for there team. Tyler Horrigan was solid at third making his two plays for the day. Welcome back Tyler it great to have you back and part of our team, you are an asset to the side. Jordan caught a great game throwing out a runner at second and blocked the ball well. The outfield was not really tested today but Mitch Lightbody filled in due to injury, playing centre field he backed up a wild pick to second and then gassed the runner at third. Well done Mitch also gathering a walk for the day, Mitch you can cut it at this level. Tyson hancock started the game and pitched another solid game, giving up only 3 hit, 3 strike outs and plenty of ground balls in his 4.5 innings. Tyler Horrigan finished of the pitching with composure only giving up 1 hit and 3 strike outs for 1.5 innings. Offensively we hit the ball flat and hard many of the lads where unlucky with some line driving the fielders, we ran the bases well and missed no signals. We had a plan today and all stuck to it well. Errol placed a perfect bunt and drew the error , Josh Tindall, Jordan McArdle, Jayden Trembath, Tyler Horrigan and Henry Brennan all picked up a hit for the day. But the impressive part was once we got runners on we managed to manufacture them into runs. Max Walker was a little unlucky with two HPB's the last one taking him out injured. Not to mention the HPB he got in U18's making 3 for the day, plus yours truly hit him in the head at batting practise on Friday Max this week you where the ball magnet. Great job today boys we are getting back on track. Get on the track this week train with purpose and we well finish of the first part of the season with a win against Adelaide.

Under 16 - Saints (Coach: Glen McDonald) Sponsored by Mt Lofty Golf Club

After a disappointing loss to Kensington last week (whom we had beaten earlier in the season) it was an important lesson not to take any team lightly second time around. So it was against Southern Districts that a big win last time meant nothing this week. We still had to play good baseball and the boys delivered.

Sam Cavanagh was outstanding on the mound going 5 innings with 81 pitches 3 hits and just 3 runs. He also hit a nice double to cap things off. Our defence was largely very good with a pleasing aspect being the couple of errors we did make didn't cost us dearly. Nobody dropped their bundle and they stuck to the task. Matt Amberg was a hitting machine today going 4 from 4 with 3 doubles and played a solid first base. William Hill had 3 hits and made some nice infield plays whilst Ryan Cross also batted well for 3 hits. Damon Gray hit a line drive to centrefield and made a heads up play at second base early in the game.Daniel Ortiz caught well and made some good throws to 2nd base without any luck but he continues to improve at that position. It was a strong win to steady the ship and help prepare us for a tough game at Port to finish the first half of the season. Final score Saints 17 - Southern Districts 3.

Under 14/1 - Sturt (Coach: Garry Wood) Sponsored by Premier Trailers

Coach: Garry Wood, Assistant Coach: Barry Lunnon, Team Manager: David Lightbody, Umpire: Craig Ottaway

The team consists of the following players: Simon Adkins, Tyson Ottaway, Max Staggs, Arno Naritto, Henry Wood, Mitchell Lightbody, Zach Evreniadis, Ryack Parsons, Stuart Brennan, Zac Lunnon, Brodie Macbeth, Jamie Last and Riley Mills Sturt 20 defeated Saints 0

Safe hits as follows: Lightbody 3, MacBeth 2, Norrito 2, Adkins 1, Lunnon 3, Evreniadis 2, Parsons 1,

I am pleased to report that, on what turned out to be a pleasant Sunday afternoon at the home of the Saints, the Sturt boys performed well and were again quite impressive. We had two players from the Saints and they were Riley Mills and Jamie Last. Well done boys you both played well.

The boys swung the bats well today registering 13 hits. Brodie pitched a good 3 innings giving up just 1 hits with 4 strikeouts and Zac E pitching the last and giving up 1 hit.

Thanks to Julie our scorer and all of our supporters.

Train hard this week ready for West Torrens on Sunday.

Well done boys and keep up the good work.

Go STURT !!!

Under 14/1 - Saints (Coach: Glenn Young) Sponsored by: Last & Co Lawyers

This week we had a replay of the Saints vs Sturt Derby. The player rotation continued with Stuart Brennan and Ty Ottaway exchanging for Jamie Last and Riley Mills. The Saints aim was no mercy in any innings (a difficult feat for any team playing against the Gary Wood juggernaut). We managed this through the first four digs but gave up the 7 runs in the fifth - almost there boys. As throughout the year we had very capable pitching with Stuart Brennan, Hooky McClure and Stu Gardiner all throwing well. Highlight in the field was an excellent performances from Nik when he came into second base but generally the fielding was good. We do need to commit more on outfield catches and at least give us a chance to take the catch - don't die wondering. Batting was lead by Cam and Craig who got safe hits. Jamie and Riley need to bring the form they found in Gary's team back to us - Jamie bat on ball 4 times and Riley on base three times. We should have a good contest against Goodwood this coming week so we will train hard tomorrow.

Little League 1-Sturt (Coach: Jamie Knuckey) Sponsored by: Smyth's Confectionery

Game day 11 December vs. Glenelg at Glenelg

The game started well with Samuel, Harry (double), Ky, and Matan (double) on base after good hits. Tom Emmett - making his debut for the 12/1's - then stepped up and managed a first up hit, scoring Matan for the 4th run. Tyrese then started on the mound with a strike out first up. The next batter was walked but a fine throw from Eli to Matan at third tagged the runner stealing for a second out. A 2nd strike out and innings away, no runs, and only 4 batters to the plate - good job Tyrese.

Our second at bat was 3 up 3 down and straight back out into the field. Tyrese again pitching well with 2 strikeouts and 2 hits through the first 4 batters faced. 1 run scored before a good catch by Ky finished the innings.

Harry led us away with a 2 base hit through left field then walks to Ky and Eli, followed by some good base running saw us steal all the way to home - 3 runs scored. Score 7-1. Tyrese started again and then handed over to Aussie after pushing his pitch count towards a maximum with 1 out and 2 on base at third and first. Aussie started well with a fielder's choice to home for the tag and stop the run scoring. A couple of walks then a double to right field saw 5 runs scored. Score7-6.

Aussie led us away but was probably still thinking about the previous innings. Good hits to the top 5 of the line up, including a double to Reed, then a walk to Matan saw a maximum 5 runs after Eli stole home with Tom at bat. Harry then took over on the mound giving up a 2 hits, a walk and 2 strike outs through 5 batters. Some confusion in the field cost us the 3rd out and then a double to right field, and some more confusion, produced 3 runs. After a walk Ky took over on the mound closing out the innings. Score 12-9.

Surprisingly time was called and a hard earned win the result.

Special mention to Tyrese for a top effort of the mound. Eli some great work behind the plate. Tom Emmett - a great first up effort - a hit with your first at bat and almost a spectacular outfield catch.

Hits - Harry 3, Samuel & Ky 2, Reed , Eli, Matan, and Tom 1.

Little League 2-Sturt (Coach: Mark Abfalter) Sponsored by Dean Lynds

Sturt 20 defeated Glenelg Tigers 17

This week saw us back at Flinders against a revised Glenelg Tigers in a high scoring, high hitting shootout. Glenelg were quick to get bat to ball scoring the maximum 5 so we had our work cutout from the start. Glenelg's pitching was ordinary and we soon had 5 RBI's off a full set of BB's. The second innings was much the same with Glenelg showing us their aggressive batting approach so we matched them with hits from Andrew, Jordan and Jonathan Grandsen.

Our third innings saw some good fieldwork to hold Glenelg to 3 RBI's and we made some ground with more strong hitting from Andrew, Johnno Gamble and Elliot to see in another 5 RBI's. Our 4th innings saw 6 (yes 6!) safe hits across the board to bring home another maximum 5 RBI's and steal the game.

Hits - A Brennan 4, Ridgway 2, Abfalter 2, Gamble 2, R Brennan 1, Grandsen 1, Andrews 1, Short 1

K2's - R Brennan 1, T Emmett 1, Elliot threw 2 KC's and Zak threw 1 KC

Special mentions to Tom Emmett for a first class catching performance, Andrew Brennan for 4 strong hits from 4 at bats, Elliot 2 hits to centrefield, Johnno Gambles 2 safe hits, and hits to Jonathan Grandsen and Axel, also Robbie and Jordan both saw 4 RBI's apiece - well done all.

A well fought out win to come from behind with contributions from all - our batting is getting stronger every week and our fieldwork was much improved and more focussed from the last 2 weeks. Don't forget our training this week is back to Norman Reserve on Wednesday @ 4:30pm. Our last game before the Xmas break is on Sunday 18th December, at the later time of 12:00pm at Flinders Uni against Southern Districts - make sure you come out and support the boys!

Little League 2-Saints (Coach: Stuart Crutchley) Sponsored by: Watts Agencies & Brooks

Saints 14 Southern Districts 6

Playing for the third and final time this season at Peregrine Park the Saints put it all together and came away with a well deserved 14-6 victory on a perfect morning for baseball. Proving hitting is contagious, the boys continued their aggressive approach at the plate banging out another 11 solid hits. This week the hitting was complemented by effective pitching and some nice plays in the field in a well rounded effort.

Back-to-back doubles by DJ Mitchell and Bailey Passmore-Duthy capped a 4 run 1st inning to kick start the offence and open up an early lead. Sam Stewart tossed an effective 14 pitch 1st to hang a goose egg on the board for the opposition. Cooper Gilbert led from the front on defense by snaring a line shot to left off the bat of the Southern Districts leadoff batter that really gave the boys a lift.

The 2nd inning belonged to Aran Wittert who drove in the 4th and 5th runs of the offensive half of the inning with a sharp bases loaded single to centre field. For good measure he took the mound and turned in one of his best pitching performances of the year surrendering only one unearned run with 3 strikeouts.

The Saints struck again in the top of the 3rd scoring 5 runs on 5 hits with DJ again delivering the knockout punch with a second double to left to drive in two more.

The beauty of baseball is appreciating little things that could easily go unnoticed. Such is the case with Ollie Crutchley in this game who twice hit to the right side of the infield to advance runners into scoring position that led to big innings.

As we head toward the last game before the long break it is very pleasing for the coaches, parents and other supporters to see the boys gelling as a team and really encouraging each other through the good and not-so-good times. Their voice today was excellent and a sign of more good things to come.

Hits: DJ Mitchell 2 x 2B, Oliver Crutchley, Patrick Milewski (2 each), Sam Stewart, Bailey Passmore-Duthy 2B, Aran Wittert, Mitch Foley, Nick Borello (1 each)

RBIs: DJ Mitchell 5, Oliver Crutchley, Aran Wittert, Nick Borello, Bailey Passmore-Duthy (2 each), Patrick Milewski, Mitch Foley, (1 each)

For all results and tables go to www.sa.baseball.com.au or visit the Sturt Website at Sturt Web Site

..:: message posted on Monday the 12th of December, 2011 21:41:59 ::..

Newsletter 05/12/11

Congratulations to our talented young players who have made the state teams in their respective age ranges. Under 18 representatives are Matthew Franke, Matthew Macbeth, Dakota Mitchell, Sam Roberts and Harrison Wood. It is an amazing effort to have five of our players selected at this level. The Executive Officer for the Under 18 state team is Dean Franke. At the Under 16 level congratulations to Max Guehrer, Tyler Horrigan, Max Walker, Shaun Wright with reserve Errol Burns. The Executive Officer is Tricia Guehrer. Again five players is a sensational effort! At the Under 14 level, Brodie Macbeth, Jordan McArdle, Zac Lunnon, Stuart Brennan and Mitchell Lightbody with the Executive Officer David Lightbody. Again five players were selected and this brings the total to 15 across the three levels.

This junior representation at state level is an outstanding achievement and recognition of the focus our club has on junior development.

This Friday night Aussie Tee Ball and Rookie Ball will play its final game before the Christmas break with a special focussed theme on Christmas which will include some give aways for the kids. The Friday night competition will recommence on Friday 3 February 2012.

This week's Featured Player of the Week, Conor McClure from the from the Saints Under 14/1 side. You can access the Player Profiles from the front page of the website either through the top menu about>player profiles or clicking on the icon under the Premiership table. Any player from Aussie Tee Ball through to our A Grade team is eligible to be a Featured Player of the week. To be featured simply fill answer the questions in the proforma and send it back with a photo to president@sturtbaseballclub.org.au

The Sturt Baseball Club thanks all of our sponsors for their generous support.

As club members please use our sponsors whenever possible and let them know you are from Sturt! Go to our Sponsors webpage for all the details about our sponsors.

If you would like to become a sponsor please contact Dean Franke on 0428 821 008. Details of Sponsorship packages are available from our website in the become a sponsor section! Please visit this area if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship packages.

Sturt 6 defeated Kensington 3

This was the best test of baseball we have had since the opening round and the boys went about there roles brilliantly. We talked at the start of the game about who would stand up when it counted and there were a few that took that challenge up. Chris Lawson kept Kensington quiet through 6 innings and Tom Becker closed the game out in clinical fashion.

Offensively we took our chances when they were there. The heart of the order did the damage with Wattsy unlucky not to have capped a great day off with a Home run, Carter clutching up a couple of times and a big welcome back to Stokesy at this level as well.

We can certainly tighten things up a bit on the defensive side but all in all a great win for the Saints.

Hits - Watts 2, Carter 2, Turner 2, Brice, Holmes, Stokes, Passmore

Division 2 (Coach: Zac Stokes) Sponsored by: Catapultwealth (Major Sponsor)

Kensington 9 defeated Sturt 8

The loss yesterday can be described as gut wrenching. We were leading all game only to blow a 4 run lead in the bottom of the last.

In a game that both teams combined scored 17 runs with only 4 hits each is never going to be pretty. Our side gave up 9 free passes over 7 innings. This can not be repeated if we want to have success.

I expect everyone to have a good focussed practice this week and get ready to take on Goodwood next weekend.

We need to stick to our game plan and play the game the right way. No body is owed anything. We need to work hard for our results.

Hits : Faehse, Frogley, Stokes hr, Prokopec

Division 3 (Coach: Rick Mitchell) Sponsored by: Hattam McCarthy Reeves & Goodlife Health Clubs Goodwood

Sturt 12 d Adelaide 2

Division 4 (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach: Norm Sluga) Sponsored by PPI Promotion and Apparel

Port Adelaide 4 d Sturt 2

Sturt came up against one of the top four teams in Port Adelaide. Port fielded a team of youth and with no Div 3 side had a strong team. Matt Mulryan started on the mound and shut out the first innings. Sturt hit the ball in the first inning but made it very easy for Port with some easy outs.

Port with three bleeders over the infield added two runs in the second innings. Sturt couldn't take a trick and even though hitting the ball, just couldn't find the gaps. The game went scoreless for both sides until the fourth inning when Sturt through Max Guehrer and Jordy McArdle put some hits together and a run was scored. Darren was brought to the mound in the fifth inning and held Port out. Sturt added another run in the sixth inning thanks to a triple by Sam Bates and followed up by another safe hit from Max.

Port came back with another run in the sixth and seventh innings but Sturt were unable to put any more hits together. Sturt hung in all day but seemed flat and didn't take opportunities when they presented themselves. As always, errors proved to be costly. There were some positives with good pitching from both Matt and Frenchy. The 'youth players' in the team also performed well. Max Walker continues to do a great job behind the plate and Sam taking some good catches at centre field. Max G, Sam and Jordy were the only ones to pick up safe hits.

Safe Hits: Max Guehrer 2, Sam Bates 2, Jordy McArdle 1

Division 6 (Coach: Chris Small) Sponsored by: Smith Motor Company  The Courthouse Normanville Tony Colyer Pty Ltd

Sturt Div 6 Twilight game 30/11/11 at East Torrens

We came up against East Torrens for a twilight game on a cold Wednesday night.

East Torrens have note lost a game this season and we were not going to change this as the game went on. East Torrens currently have a pitcher that was pitching Div 2 last season and when you don't face pitchers with speed all year it takes some time to get your eye in especially for us old blokes. In our first at bat it was 3 up and down. East Torrens first at bat we sent Reg (David lee) to the mound for his first appearance and with some wild pitches and some strikes thrown in there East Torrens were able to only put 3 runs on the board.

Our second at bat saw Fame (Adrian Hill) get a safe hit and then the next 3 batters retired with a score. East Torrens second at bat and we sent Fame to the mound to see what he could do and they only scored 1 run of him and we thought just maybe would could turn this around.

At the end of our third at bat we then new that this was not our night as we had 3 up and down with no score, back in the field and Fame still on the hill and by the end of East Torrens bat they had plate the max 7 runs. Our fourth at bat and we scored our first run from errors but it was still a run, while East Torrens put another 5 runs on the board for a score line of 16 to 1.

Believe it or not but we again had 3 up and down with East Torrens 15 runs up and the same pitcher throwing bullets. With this score I decided to go to the Mound myself (Coach Smally) and see if we could put a stop to their run feast, with my speed and accuracy East Torrens did not know how to counter act it and we sat them down with out a run.

We still had about 30 minutes and our 6th innings again was very quick with 3 up and down and game was called as there was no way we could have won.

This was a terrible game for us but we had fun and a laugh.

Thanks to Carol Burns for coming out and scoring and to all those that turned up and played, twilights are always hard to get a team for.

Safe Hits: Fame (Adrian Hill) 1

Sturt Div 6 v Goodwood @ Sturt

Final score 10 -8

We had the bare 9 with Junior (Trent Small) injured and sitting on the bench. Thanks to Norm Sluga who also turned up and sat on the bench only if required, the good news was he was not.

Into the field we went and we sent the Cub (Jay Lunnon) to the mound and with a couple of walks and some hits Goodwood had plated 3 runs before we got the final out, our first was not as good and after 4 batters we sat down with out a score. Goodwood's second at bat was also a donut as the Cub found a little bit of rhythm and we had them all out after 4 batters. Our second at bat again saw side away before we had scored a run but we did have a couple of safe hits and it was only time till we made a run.

Goodwood's 3rd at bat and they started to hit the Cub so the change was made and we sent the Bear (Barry Lunnon) to the hill to stop the bleeding, with a great run down after a lovely pick off move from the Bear and then a K2 we got out of the innings and only gave up 3 runs. Our 3rd and we finally got a run on the board with the Cub scoring after a nice hit to centerfield and then some wild throws from Goodwood but we were still down 6 to 1 going into the top of the fourth. With the Bear on the hill we held Goodwood scoreless and then they returned the favor to go into the top 5th score 6 to 1 down.

In the 5th Goodwood made 1 run to go 7 to 1 up after we had a couple of errors and things were not looking good, we needed something to happen to get us going and Goodwood had a change in pitchers and we thought it was our turn now. With some good hitting and a couple of errors from Goodwood we had scored the max 7 runs to go 8 to 7 up and time was almost up.

We went into the 6th 1 run in front and only needed 3 outs, the first batter got safe on a nice hit to centerfield, he then advanced on a wild pitch to second, next 2 batters flied out to centerfield and rightfield, so two out runner on second and we need one out to finish the game. The next batter hits safe to rightfield and the runner advanced to third. All we needed is one out, runners on first and third, pick off move to first and Coach Small bumbles the ball to allow the runner at third to score to tie it all up. The third out comes from a great catch at Leftfield by the Gromit (Wallace Long).
Our last at bat and we only need 1 to win, first batter Bones (Glen McDonald) watches a third strike over the plate and he knew it, 1 out 1 run to get, the Bear gets safe with a safe hit to centerfield, Coach Smally up next and hits to short stop to get the Bear out at second and only just by inches beats the throw to first for the double play, 2 out 1 run to get, Gromit gets a walk, the Doc hits to second and what happens I can report on as I was running to third, the hit must have been a pop up and fell in between all fields and Junior (Trent Small) coaching third is yelling at his father to go home, I round third and stop as the fielder has the ball and with my speed I know I would only get half way down the line and the ball would have been at home plate. Reg (David Lee) steps up to the plate, bases loaded 1 run required to win, earlier in the day Reg had the longest single ever at Sturt, I think he took about 5 mental photo's of the hit before he got out the batters box, one bounce between centre left and into the fence, fielders chasing the ball and Reg strolling to first. Anyway back to the winning hit, Reg hits down the third base line for the third baseman to get a bit of a bounce and we score 2 runs. Pop then steps up to the plate and hits to short stop, Reg running from first to second ran quicker back to the dug out than he did to second, 3 out time and game.

This was one of those game we should have lost but got out of jail.

Thanks to Don Wulff for umpiring and to Janet Young for scoring.

Safe Hits: Lunnon J 2 (2 from 3), McDonald 1 (1 from 4), Lunnon B 4 (4 from 4), Small C 1 (1 from 4), Young 1 (1 from 4), Lee 2 (2 from 3), Burns 2 (2 from 4), Guehrer 1 (1 from 3)

K2's: Lunnon J 2, Lunnon B 3
Hits: Lunnon J 6, Lunnon B 3
Walks: Lunnon J 2, Lunnon B 1

Division 7 (Coach: Dave Smith Asst Coach: Jules Potiki) Sponsored by Bulls Baseball Club

Kensington 12 d Sturt 9

We may have lost the game on paper but I think we all played well, with a better start I'm sure we would have won without a problem. No stand out plays or players as everyone chipped in and we had almost no errors, good work again by Chris Thomspon pitching and Justin Ransford catching until a rare injury took JR out, hope it's all good bud. Short but good pitching session by an also injured Jules. I took a couple of things out of this game - We have to keep the base runners accountable and that the metal composite bats that all the other teams seem to be using should be supplied to us as well, they are a clear advantage....

Under 18 (Coach: Jeff Nicholas) Sponsored by: Adelaide Commercial Flooring & Freshwater Systems

Kensington 3, Sturt 3

Under 16 - Sturt (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach:; Rick Trembath) Sponsored by: National Tool Distributors,  Smith Motor Company Wendy's Burnside

Woodville 3, U16 - Sturt 3

Tough fought out game by both teams.

Jayden started on the hill for the first time this year doing a great job in the first 3 innings throwing only 1 walk and restricting WT to 2 runs.

Our bats were firing well and it was good to see all players putting the ball into the field to pressure the WT fielders.

In the 4th , the WT batters took a couple of hits off Jayden, and with couple of pitching changes, the dig did not go according to plan with WT scoring the maximum 9 runs with some walks and managing to find the holes.

To the boys credit, they did not give up managing to score 6 runs in the 5th, with Errol, Max G, Jayden ,Max W, Henry and Jordan collecting safe hits, just falling short by 1 run in the fading light.

Jordan was solid again behind the plate, Max G took the catch of the match and was solid again at first, Max Walkers base running was fantastic and Charlies lead off was very good using up the starting pitchers first 8 pitches.

Safe hits ; Max W 2, Charlie, Tyson ,Henry ,Jordan ,Max G, Errol , Jayden 1

Thanks to Chris Small, Pete Turner and Matt Mulryan for assisting on the night.

Under 16 - Saints (Coach: Glen McDonald) Sponsored by Mt Lofty Golf Club

Kensington 17 d U16 - Saints 6

Under 14/1 - Sturt (Coach: Garry Wood) Sponsored by Premier Trailers

U14/1 - Sturt 12 d Adelaide 7

Under 14/1 - Saints (Coach: Glenn Young) Sponsored by: Last & Co Lawyers

Kensington 22 d U14/1 - Saints 4

Three games in 8 days is always a challenge for the team and particularly the pitchers. We had two very contrasting games. Wednesday night we visited the home of the Hawks and it is probably a game best forgotten. Against ordinary pitching we failed to get a single safe hit! Fortunately Sunday was a lot better. Although the score line was not a lot different the boys played much better baseball. Our two pitchers Ethan and Nik took us through the whole game and gave solid performances. We still struggle on occasions to get our strike ratio high enough and that makes it hard work on the mound and allows the opposition to be choosy. In the batting box we were much better. Good hits to Jamie, Stu, Ethan (2), Jack and other batters making the opposition work hard to get their outs. Marcel's four fouls at two strikes down showed how to hang in their in the batting box. Good infield work by Stu, a good shortstop catch by Brandon and a nice play at second demonstrated the results of training paying off. Ty continues to catch well at first but we need to get him nimble and fast to field the ground balls up the line. The one thing that did let us down was our catches in the outfield. Although there were some difficult chances we need to work on that aspect of our game. Well done to Jack behind the plate and thanks again to all the support from John and the off field crew of parents who help out. Thanks to Brett for umpiring - always that bit harder when your son is pitching. Finally my impression of Kensington (never good) was reinforced by them continuing to steal bases despite being well over 10 runs up! The Derby at Sturt this week so lets see if we can continue our good batting.

Little League 1-Sturt (Coach: Jamie Knuckey) Sponsored by: Smyth's Confectionery

Little League 1 - Sturt 21 d Goodwood 4

Congratulations to the boys today. We were back in form and having fun after a couple of tough weeks.

Ky started us off on the mound and walked the first 2 batters before finding his range. 3 Strikeouts in the next 4 batters and side away -no runs. The batting started well with Samuel, Reed, Hugo and Harry getting safe hits, followed by Matan and a double to Eli - 5 runs maximum. Ky continued well over the next 2 innings facing only 4 then 5 batters with 1 run scored in the 3rd after a walk. Some excellent plays by Reed at 2nd base prevented 2 safe hits. 2 runs scored in the 2nd innings after Tyrese was unlucky to be tagged at home, and 4 in the 3rd with Eli an unlucky out from the Infield Fly rule. Score 11 - 1.

Aussie stepped up to the mound and threw well. 2 hits followed by a walk was recovered with a good infield play and 2 strikeouts. He started the 5th innings, after a strikeout handed over to Hugo who showed what he can do and retired the side with a strike out and infield play. A maximum 5 runs in each of the 4th and 5th innings with good hits to Tyrese and doubles to Ky and Harry.

Special mentions today to: Eli - an excellent job behind the plate, Reed - some great infield plays, Hugo - showed us today what he can do with the bat and pitching. A great team effort with the bat - 26 hits, and a real team spirit and support of each other. Well done boys.

Hits: Samuel 5, Reed & Harry 4, Hugo Matan & Tyrese 3, Eli Ky 2

Little League 2-Sturt (Coach: Mark Abfalter) Sponsored by Dean Lynds

Little League 2 - Sturt 10 d West Torrens 3

The first Sunday of summer and the weather again was sensational for a Sunday 'hitout' on the Park. Round 8 saw our team short of our regular lineup by 4 and were ably assisted with the boys from Div 1 - Tyrese, Reed, Sam and Hugo thankyou very much.

Our first innings saw us back to our best. Elliot was his usual opening consistency on the mound to put away the Eagles in quick time with good support in the field. Hits were aplenty to see through 5 RBI's and Tom saw bat to ball twice in a fine display in the first innings. Hugo stepped up to the mound into the second to help us in the pitching dept throwing a very 'smooth' K2 and KC to hold the opposition at Nil.

We were sitting pretty until the third innings - handing West Torrens a 'get out of jail' run home with some silly throwing 'a cow pat' around the bases. We managed another RBI in the third with a great hit from Sam Bennetts past shortstop and followed up in the fourth with a solid hit from Axel over to rightfield and Elliot's slam past the mound to bring home 4 RBI's and finish with 10.

Hits - Emmett 2, Abfalter 2, Andrews 2, Ridgeway 1, Moseby 1, Bennetts 1

K2's - Dahlen-Flight 1, Kimotho 1, Emmett 1 (all three threw KC's as well with Tyrese throwing the majestic 3 up 3 down)

Special mentions to Div 1 stars Tyrese and Hugo for excellent pitching support, Sam & Reed in the field and also newcomer Axel Andrews to gain 2 safe hits in his second match.

A good solid win with some help from above! Don't forget our training this week is on Tuesday again at 4:30pm at Waite Reserve, Fullarton Road, and basic fieldwork again will be the focus. Our next game is on Sunday 11th December, 10:00am at Flinders Uni against the Glenelg Tigers - make sure you come out and support the boys!

Little League 2-Saints (Coach: Stuart Crutchley) Sponsored by: Watts Agencies & Brooks

Little League 2 - Saints 14 d Hawks 10

The Saints ground out a 14-10 victory on a blustery morning at Peregrine Park. Strong hitting carried the boys over the line which was timely as the pitchers as a group must have had their collective radar jammed on the long trip to Christies. Their cause was not aided by fielding that was shaky at times.

The guys did, however, have their hitting shoes on knocking out twelve hits to equal their season high from the previous week. The highlight was a howitzer to right by Patrick with the bases loaded in the 4th inning. Mitch and Ollie were consistent when it counted with both having RBI singles on two occasions.

Nick did a good job at first base with a couple nice unassisted putouts and Aran just missed nailing a runner at first with a strong throw from third, but results aside, there is generally much to be done to raise our baseball nous when on defense.

While the next official game is back at Southern Districts next Sunday, the practice game Tuesday against the strong Sturt U12 Majors team looms large for the boys to see how they measure up with more experienced opposition.

Hits: Mitch Foley, Oliver Crutchley, Nick Borello (2 each), Sam Stewart, Josh Wilson, DJ Mitchell, Bailey Passmore-Duthy, Aran Wittert , Patrick Milewski (1 each)

RBIs: Mitch Foley, Oliver Crutchley, Patrick Milewski (3 each), Nick Borello 2, Bailey Passmore-Duthy, Aran Wittert, DJ Mitchell (1 each)

For all results and tables go to www.sa.baseball.com.au or visit the Sturt Website at Sturt Web Site

..:: message posted on Monday the 5th of December, 2011 23:15:58 ::..

Newsletter 28/11/11

Another big weekend at our club started on Friday night with our Aussie Tee Ball, followed on Saturday with another great win by our Division 3 side who defeated Eastern Torrens 9-3. This places our Division 3 side in fourth place on the ladder. On Sunday our Division 1 and 2 sides travelled out to Ingle Farm with victories to both the sides. This places Division 2 in second spot on the ladder with Division 1 in fourth place.

You can view photos of the Division 2 and 3 sides in action this weekend by visiting the front page of our website.

Also on Sunday saw a fantastic opening round for the Sturt T-ball All Stars at the carnival played at the West Torrens Ground. Early wins against West Torrens and Kensington and a loss to Southern Districts by only one run was an outstanding result for the Sturt Team. Coached by Laura Stranger and assisted by Lynda Schenk, the team worked well together with some spectacular catches in the outfield and a rock solid performance by Kurt Schenk on first base. MVP was awarded to Robbie Brennan who was a standout with the bat with several home runs and a major contribution in the field at Shortstop. All players contributed to the team effort and many will no doubt challenge for the MVP award in future rounds. The next round will be held at Kensington on Sunday 11 December at 1.00pm for anyone interested in supporting the club in future rounds.

This week's Featured Player of the Week, James Last from the from the Under 14 Saints side. You can access the Player Profiles from the front page of the website either through the top menu about>player profiles or clicking on the icon under the Premiership table. Any player from Aussie Tee Ball through to our A Grade team is eligible to be a Featured Player of the week. To be featured simply fill answer the questions in the proforma and send it back with a photo to president@sturtbaseballclub.org.au

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of being shown the magnificent book on Mark Hutton's playing history which has been compiled by Jeff Nicholas. Mark was the first Australian to be signed by a Major League Club in America as a starting pitcher for the famous New York Yankees. The book is over 200 pages in length and features all Mark's statistics along with press clippings. There are also a number of DVDs of Mark playing in the United States. If you are interested in a copy please contact Jeff Nicholas on 0419 824 324. Congratulations Jeff on an outstanding book and videos that you have produced.

The Sturt Baseball Club thanks all of our sponsors for their generous support.

As club members please use our sponsors whenever possible and let them know you are from Sturt! Go to our Sponsors webpage for all the details about our sponsors.

If you would like to become a sponsor please contact Dean Franke on 0428 821 008. Details of Sponsorship packages are available from our website in the become a sponsor section! Please visit this area if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship packages.

Sturt 12 defeated Norths 2 (six innings)

The saints travelled out to Norths to face a team that had lost its coach during the week and would come out with some renewed enthusiasm.

We welcomed back Chris Lawson from Bite duty and sent him to the hill first. Chris threw 5 innings, giving up only 1 hit. Another quality outing from Smokey.

The pitching staff got lots of run support and as the 2 hour mark clicked over, the game was called. Offensively we had some quality at bats against their import which was a nice tune up before a big month of baseball heading into Christmas.

Special mention goes to Ace Prokopec for his first A grade appearance and hit. Well done mate.

Kensington at Kensington this week promises to be a great game and the boys are already looking forward to the challenge. Make sure you get down to Kensies to support the team.

Hits - Carter 2 (HR), Watts, Turner, Holmes, Young, Lawson, Prokopec, Adkins,

Division 2 (Coach: Zac Stokes) Sponsored by: Catapultwealth (Major Sponsor)

Sturt 15 defeated Northern Districts 0

The B grade team did exactly as asked and came out strong and set the tone for the day.

Not only did we shut out the opposition but we threw a team no hitter. Dakota Mitchell threw the first 3 innings and it was great to see him in good form. Ben Packer again closed the door on the opposition with a great final inning.

It's one thing to have pitchers going well and throwing strikes but having the confidence in a solid defense makes a big difference.

Offensively we only had 9 hits but many walks. This is something I watch and value when assessing hitters.

A special mention to Sam Hollis who hit his first home run and it was a grand slam! Great job Sam.

Division 3 (Coach: Rick Mitchell) Sponsored by: Hattam McCarthy Reeves & Goodlife Health Clubs Goodwood

Sturt 9 defeated East Torrens 3

Division 4 (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach: Norm Sluga) Sponsored by PPI Promotion and Apparel

Southern Districts 8 defeated Sturt 3

Division 6 (Coach: Chris Small) Sponsored by: Smith Motor Company  The Courthouse Normanville Tony Colyer Pty Ltd

Sturt 6 defeated Kensington 3

This was a game we need to win to keep in touch with the top 4 and in previous years we probably would have lost especially this close to Christmas, but this weekend was different we walked away with a win to put us half a game out of the top 4. We started with the Cub (Jay Lunnon) on the mound and the Bear (Barry Lunnon) in the chair and at first keeping a watchful eye over him, the Cub threw 4 innings very strong, the Bear then came in the top of the 5th and shut them down for 3 innings. Our first at bat this week we started with our youth again and both did not let us down with Junior (Trent Small) and the Cub scoring in the first for our first 2 runs. In the second we scored one more to go 3 - 0 up. The third both teams did not trouble the scorer so it was 3 - 0 up after 3.

The fourth innings Kensington started to look like they were going to take the lead and had scored 3 runs to tie it up, with a runner on first and two out their confidence grew and with the play of the day the runner decided to steal, the Cub still on the mound pitched a dirt ball which was scooped up by Shrek (Ben Colyer) and transferred to his throwing hand in one motion, one step and he launched the ball towards second only for it to fall short but do not fear Coach Smally (Chris Small) playing second with some very soft hands took the ball on the hop and placed the tag on the runner to stun him with the third out and the end of Kensington's charge.

With the score tied up at the top of the third we managed 2 runs with two outs from a lovely cover drive from AJ (Andrew Johnson) before the third out to go 5 - 3 up bottom off the fourth. With the Cub leaving to fill in for the Div 4's we went with mister reliable The Bear and he shut Kensington down for 3 donuts and the game finished half way through the 7th innings with Sturt in front 6 - 3 as we had an insurance run in the sixth.

One other thing to mention this week was a miracle catch by none other than the Doc (Glenn Young) out at left field, with a runner in the scoring position and two out with Kensington again threatening some how the Doc's glove hand worked quicker than his brain and he had closed his glove before the ball was there, but luckily, and for all you kids reading this, Doc had put his other hand up with his glove and trapped the ball with this hand and his glove for the third out.

In the batters box this week we had more fly balls and foul fly balls than safe hits but still managed the win, if we can only some how flatten our hits out.

A big thanks to all who turned up early to get the ground ready from some heavy rains.

Thanks to Reg (David Lee) for his early morning work on the ground and thanks to Carol Burns for scoring.

It is people Like Carol Burns, Jo Trembath and Janet Young that make writing reports easier, being able to read the score book play by play helps.

Safe Hits: Lunnon J 2, Lunnon B 2, Day 2, Colyer 1, Trembath 1, Young 1, Lee 1, Johnson 1.

Division 7 (Coach: Dave Smith Asst Coach: Jules Potiki) Sponsored by Bulls Baseball Club

South def Sturt 15 - 3

Slow start to the game but some good signs of another win on the horizon. Chris Thompson pitched the whole game and did a great job, well done. It was another solid day for Oatesey on 1st and it was great to have some mates from Div 6(Brock and Long) help us out, cheers. Good fielding by most (I should lead by example!!!) kept us in a good position but we couldn't hit out a good dig, I think we need some work there....Fresh game next week!

Under 18 (Coach: Jeff Nicholas) Sponsored by: Adelaide Commercial Flooring & Freshwater Systems

We travelled to Port Adelaide last Tuesday to play a twilight game in cold, windy and dark conditions and came away with a 2 - 1 win. Shaun Wright started on the mound and dominated the opposition giving up 1 hit, 4 walks and collecting 10 strikeouts. We could only put together 6 scattered hits for the game and again left 5 runners on bases. Our fielding continues to be good but we need to put more pressure on the opposition with our bats.

Yesterday we travelled to Golden Grove for a 9.30am game. The result was a disappointing loss to Golden Grove 7 - 8.

We started well picking up 7 hits in the first two innings and were in complete control of the match being 7 - 1 up.

We went to sleep after that and could only manage 1 hit for the rest of the game. Poor defence saw us give them the game.

This is the third game we have lost this season by 1 run after being in front. We have to get mentally tougher and finish off our opposition when the opportunities are there.

Under 16 - Sturt (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach:; Rick Trembath) Sponsored by: National Tool Distributors,  Smith Motor Company Wendy's Burnside

U16 - Sturt 8 d East Torrens 2

Under 16 - Saints (Coach: Glen McDonald) Sponsored by Mt Lofty Golf Club

The local derby had a little extra spice in it with Reuben and Tommy Bishop lining up for Goodwood. The game, however, was played in good spirit and was another free scoring affair. Matt Amberg made his first start of the season and threw some great pitches but had trouble stringing them together. He probably pitched better in the 2nd innings despite giving up runs and after 2 we were 12-4 down. The last inning saw us hit, scoring 7 runs and putting us right back in the game.Sam Powell pitched a 1-2-3 dig but sadly time ran out helped along by some Goodwood delaying tactics. Daniel Ortiz had his best game picking up 2 hits and catching a fine game. Tyler Duchene took a confidence building catch in rightfield and Damon Gray did some good work in left. Ryan Cross had 2 hits and made a nice play at short. Look for signals boys and be aware of chances to take extra bases, and other runners after you make a play. Final score Saints 11 - Goodwood 12

Under 14/1 - Sturt (Coach: Garry Wood) Sponsored by Premier Trailers

Coach: Garry Wood, Assistant Coach: Barry Lunnon, Umpire: Craig Ottaway, Team Manager: David Lightbody

Score: Sturt 11 defeated Glenelg 1

Team: Simon A, Stuart B, Ryack P, Brodie M, Mitchell L, Cameron Y, Elijah R, Max S, Tyson O, Zach L.

Hits: Brodie 2, Cameron, Mitchell , Zach, Elijah, Max, Stuart, Tyson 1

A good job on the mound from Zach L and a good all round performance from the rest of the team.

Thanks to Umpire Craig, Scorer Julie and David Lee for having the ground in wonderful condition.

Reminder: Game this Wednesday at Norman Reserve vs Goodwood.

Go Saints

Under 14/1 - Saints (Coach: Glenn Young) Sponsored by: Last & Co Lawyers

As many are aware Sturt Saints have struggled to get any points on the premiership table. As a consequence this week the Saints and the Sturt u/14 had a player trade. Unlike the major leagues no millions of dollars changed hands, just a generous dose of goodwill.

Zach Evreniadis and Henry Wood played for the Saints while Cam Young and Elijah Randell played for the Sturt team. Thanks to all four boys for taking part in this experiment.

At the very picturesque Norman reserve the Saints boys took on Adelaide Angels. Our first outing in game 1 against Adelaide saw a 9-1 loss. We started with Zach E on the mound and the Angels certainly had come out to play. With some solid hitting and Zach taking a little while to find the zone Adelaide managed to put 3 runs on the board in their first dig. A great catch at centre field by Connor, a KC and pitcher fielded ball by Zach prevented it being more. Our first at bat saw a run on the board due to aggressive base running by Ethan and a safe hit to Connor.

Adelaide's second at bat saw three up three down with good fielding by Jamie and Zach and a great caught stealing with Connor making a direct throw from Centrefield to third and Stu tidying it up neatly to tag the runner out. Although Stu, Jamie and Ty all got bat on ball good fielding mean we were also three up and down in our second innings. Zach managed another two batters for us in our third defensive dig and Nik then took just three pitches to finish the innings. Another very nice out to Jamie cleaning up a deflection off the pitchers glove reinforced how comfortable he looks when playing second base. Again good hitting however meant Adelaide put another 2 runs to see them up 5-1. Out batting however continue to improve and hits to Nik, Ethan and Henry saw us get two runs back and close the gap. Jack finished the last two innings on the mound and gave a solid performance giving up only two runs in the 4th and then holding the scoreless in the 5th. Bottom 5 saw us 7-3 down. To the boys great credit they did not give up but went out blazing. Helped by two base on balls and then a cracking double to Stu and single to Ty were were 7-7 all. Luck was not to see a win as a double play and good field from the Angels field saw us three out and all square. Still we do now have a premiership point!

Overall it was a good game with very few errors and some solid batting and fielding. We will have to work on holding runners on base more (we gave away 15 stolen bases) but overall a good performance. Thanks again to Zach and Henry for their help and leadership and the boys who only played half a game (some without a bat!)

Finally, an interesting statistic. This game we took them through 4 pitchers, two of whom are in the State squad, and forced 112 pitches in total. Last time we played them they needed only 54 pitches for the whole game. This alone tells us how much our batting is improving.

Little League 1-Sturt (Coach: Jamie Knuckey) Sponsored by: Smyth's Confectionery

On a glorious day for a game in perfect conditions the boys were again today placed under score pressure. They responded with a fantastic effort to take the lead after Top5 (12-11) and held Kensington to 1 for a 12-12 draw.

After a slow start, both in the field and with the bat, we were down 11-3 after 3 innings. The rally started with a max. 5 run 4th inning and 3 up 3 down for Kensington through the strength of their batting order (11-8 down). A 4 run Top 5th for us and a 12-11 lead. Out to field and a K2 for the first up batter. The second batter walks and the tying run on base. 3rd batter put out at first base but the runner advanced to 3rd after having stolen 2nd. 2 out and runner on third. 4th batter in the box first 2 pitches see 2 strikes called - a pitch gets away from Eli who with a great effort retrieves the ball and lobs to Thomas - the runner slides thru home and safe. Scores level. One more ball called for a full count followed by a swinging strike to a Thomas fastball - Game over 12-12 draw.

A great effort by all today - to respond to the game pressure and take the lead was a fantastic effort. We need to take this effort into the next 3 games before the break and rekindle the team spirit of the first few games. All the boys should be proud of themselves today.

Hits - Thomas, Harrison, Matan, and Ky 2, Aussie and Reed 1. A great effort by Thomas to close the game with 18 strikes in 28 pitches and 5 strike outs.

Little League 2-Sturt (Coach: Mark Abfalter) Sponsored by Dean Lynds

Saints 13 defeated Sturt 4

Round 7 saw a re-shuffle and addition to the draw to play against our 'brothers' The Saints for our first Norman Reserve home game.

The last Sunday of spring brought fine weather and the stage was set for a great game. The scoreboard however didn't quite reflect our batting efforts due to the Saints excellent fieldwork.

Our first innings was a quick affair with 3 up 3 down due to a tight fielding display. The Saints showed us their batting strength with 4 safe hits bringing home 3 RBI's in quick succession. The second innings was much of the same and our 'sleepy' fieldwork (must have been a good party on Sat. night!) let us down to allow the Saints another 5 RBI's.

Our third innings saw us 'awaken' with hits across the board from all to see Owen, Robbie, Elliot, Andrew and Jordan all score safe hits and BB's to Tom and Zak. For a while the game was starting to open up as Zak came in to pitch, our fielding tightened up and we put away 3 of the Saints faster than 'Quick Draw McGraw'. Some great fielding by Elliot at first, Jordan at second and Tom catching 'creating' an out from a 'nought' held the Saints scoreless for the innings.

The fourth innings into bat and again we showed good bat to ball 'form' from Robbie, Elliot and Jordan only to watch the Saints hold us at bay with another strong display of fielding. We then saw Jordan step up to the 'plate' for his first pitch and he showed us another string to our pitching line-up throwing a K2 and some fastballs that were 'fast'. The boys continue to improve with the bat and this can only get better which was very pleasing on the day, as we have been weak in this area for a while. Our fielding however went 'missing', and we need to work on concentration levels (any ideas provided here will be tried!) as the boys are capable of much better.

Hits - Abfalter 3, R Brennan 2, A Brennan 2, Ridgeway 2, Short 1, Moseby 1

K2's -Ridgeway 2, Abfalter 1

Lots of hits with the bat was cancelled out by lots of misses in the field! Don't forget our training this week is on Tuesday 4:30pm at Waite Reserve, Fullarton Road, basic fieldwork will be the focus. Our next game is on Sunday 4th December, 10:00am at home - Norman Reserve against West Torrens Eagles - make sure you come out and support the boys!

Little League 2-Saints (Coach: Stuart Crutchley) Sponsored by: Watts Agencies & Brooks

Saints 13 defeated Sturt 4

For all results and tables go to www.sa.baseball.com.au or visit the Sturt Website at Sturt Web Site

..:: message posted on Monday the 28th of November, 2011 23:50:08 ::..

Newsletter 21/11/11

This weekend our Division 1 and 2 teams had a bye, but we had great wins in our Division 3 and Division 4 sides. A particular mention to our Division 3 side which defeated Gawler 5-4 with our A Grade coach Tony Catt pulling back on the sandshoes to fill in for Division 3 (where were those cleats Tony?) to end up bringing home the team hobbling to the home plate after he pulled a hamstring as he took off from third base! It was quite a sight but exemplifies the spirit and determination to win at all costs!

This week's Featured Player of the Week, Jordan Abfalter from the from the Little League 2-Sturt side. You can access the Player Profiles from the front page of the website either through the top menu about>player profiles or clicking on the icon under the Premiership table. Any player from Aussie Tee Ball through to our A Grade team is eligible to be a Featured Player of the week. To be featured simply fill answer the questions in the proforma and send it back with a photo to president@sturtbaseballclub.org.au

The Sturt Baseball Club thanks all of our sponsors for their generous support.

As club members please use our sponsors whenever possible and let them know you are from Sturt! Go to our Sponsors webpage for all the details about our sponsors.

If you would like to become a sponsor please contact Dean Franke on 0428 821 008. Details of Sponsorship packages are available from our website in the become a sponsor section! Please visit this area if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship packages.

Bye

Division 2 (Coach: Zac Stokes) Sponsored by: Catapultwealth (Major Sponsor)

Bye

Division 3 (Coach: Rick Mitchell) Sponsored by: Hattam McCarthy Reeves & Goodlife Health Clubs Goodwood

Sturt 5 d Gawler 4

Division 4 (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach: Norm Sluga) Sponsored by PPI Promotion and Apparel

Sturt 11 defeated Northern Districts 1

With two injuries and some players away, Sturt started with the bare nine players. Thanks to Pete Turner (injured) who helped assist coach and Phil Martin who doubled up from Div 7 to be on the bench. True team/club spirit. Thanks guys.

With the team short of players, we had the 'juniors' of Max Guehrer and Jordan McArdle and with no catcher, we had the guest appearance of Jamie Knuckey to help out. Well, we weren't as bad as Norths who could only field seven players.

We started off in the field really well with Matt Mulryan finding the strike zone early and striking out the first two batters. However, with a batter hit by a pitch ball, a safe hit and a wild throw, Norths managed to get a run on the board. Our first at bat wasn't good with no score.

The next innings in the field was quick, with already two outs (only 7 players) and then a pop up catch it was side away. Our bats started to fire and we picked up two runs thanks to a nice two base hit from Max Guehrer.

With Matt Mulryan on fire (67 balls pitched for 50 strikes and 17 balls) and the field supporting him, there were no more runs from Norths. Sturt picked up another four runs in the third innings and in the fifth inning picked up the final 4 runs to mercy the game. It was great to see number of good hits back to back including doubles from Fame, Jamie, Stan and a great triple from Jordan. Focused offensive baseball.

Hits: Sam Bates 2, Max Guehrer 2, Jamie Knuckey 2, Jordan McArdle 1, Adrian Hill 1 and Stan Warrilow 1.

Division 6 (Coach: Chris Small) Sponsored by: Smith Motor Company  The Courthouse Normanville Tony Colyer Pty Ltd

Final Score 11 to 15

This was one game that we definitely gave away and it should have been a win.

We started with the bats and Bones (Glen McDonald) lead us off with a nice high ball that feel in between left field, short stop and third to go in the score book as a safe hit, Gromit (Wallace Long) next up hit into a fielders choice choice to short stop to have Bones out at second, Gromit then proceeded to steal second, third with a pass ball and home with a wild pitch to get our first and only run for the innings, Junior (Trent Small) had nice hit down the throat of left field and Bear (Barry Lunnon) ground out to first for side away. The Rat (Rick Trembath) started on the mound and threw way to many strikes for a batting side like Glenelg, he had 15 pitches for 12 strikes and they had scored 4 before side away.

Our second at bat was no better than our first with Smally (Chris Small) having a safe hit to left field and the Rat hitting a nice ball which looked like it was going to be safe only for the second baseman taken the catch and turning it into a double play with a throw to first to get Smally out. Doc (Glenn Young) ground out to third, side away and a donut in the scorebook. Glenelg scored two more in their second at bat and we went into the third 1 to 6 down.

We scored 3 runs mainly from errors or pitches that got away from the catcher even though Junior (Trent Small) and Reg (David Lee) had safe hits. Glenelg added 2 runs in the bottom and the score was 4 - 8 down. Our fourth at bat was much the same as our third, runs scored on wild pitches and by the end of the dig we had leveled the score at 8 all. One thing for the bloopers reel again was Reg and his base running this week it was at third with a wild pitch Reg came into third and with a call for a slide from the coach we watched as his knees buckled and he feel face forward to stop short of the base, luckily he had enough time to crawl the last couple of inches to get a hand on the bag before the tag. Glenelg then had a reply of 5 runs with some good hitting.

Our fifth innings we had the chance to put a lot of runs on the score board but with some confused base runners and a bad call from the umpire we only managed 3 runs for the dig and this pretty much finished the game for us.

Another good game in the end from both teams but one that we should or could have won. We will have to be more aggressive on the bases in the future, when we started to run bases Glenelg changed their side around to stop us and this put pressure on them but good sides even at our level are able to do that.

Safe Hits: Young 3, Lee 2, McDonald 1, Long 1, Small T 1 (1D), Lunnon B 1, Small C 1, Trembath 1, Day 1

Trembath 50 pitches for 35 strikes, Lunnon 46 pitches for 28 strikes.

Division 7 (Coach: Dave Smith Asst Coach: Jules Potiki) Sponsored by Bulls Baseball Club

Henley & Grange 19 d Sturt 1

Under 18 (Coach: Jeff Nicholas) Sponsored by: Adelaide Commercial Flooring & Freshwater Systems

Sturt 12 defeated West Torrens 3.

The final score was flattering. West Torrens fielded a young side due to many of their players being unavailable due to "Schoolies" celebrations.

Dakota pitched solidly for 5 innings holding the opposition to 2 hits. Matt Franke returned from injury to close out the last.

Once again our defence backed up the pitcher producing another errorless display in the field. There were some good catches taken in the outfield and along the foul lines.

Offensively, we were not as aggressive as we should have been, watching too many strikes over the plate and again leaving runners on base.

Our base running was also a concern, with 5 runners being given out either thru poor judgement or not concentrating.

We still have some way to go, to get to the level we need to consistently play at, but are improving each week.

In saying that we'll take the points. Well done guys.

Hits: Wright, Lightbody 2, Roberts, Kemp, Mitchell, Wayne 1

Under 16 - Sturt (Coach: Kris McArdle Asst Coach:; Rick Trembath) Sponsored by: National Tool Distributors,  Smith Motor Company Wendy's Burnside

GG 2 Defeated Sturt 1

Today was a great tussle between two good sides and I am sure the boys are already looking forward to our next encounter. Golden Grove's pitcher did a great job holding our team to only two hits and a few walks. The boys still swung the bat hard but were a little unlucky line driving the second baseman on three occasions. Well done to Jordan and Max Walker who picked up our two hits for the day, but as i said many still hit the ball hard. Defensively today we were a massive improvement on last week. Jayden played solid at Short and Henry Brennan and Max Walker were both solid in the outfield. Unfortunately we made one infield blooper with two out which cost us as the next batter smashed the ball over left fields head and managed an infield homerun. That was their two runs right there. Special mention to Tyson Hancock who pitched an awesome game with only two walks a 65% strike rate and giving up only two hit for 6 digs. Well done Tyson your efforts today kept us in the game. In the end i was a real pitching dual. Keep enjoying the game and will see you guys at training.

Under 16 - Saints (Coach: Glen McDonald) Sponsored by Mt Lofty Golf Club

Saints defeated Port 13 - 11

A beautiful day for baseball and a good challenge for us against a committed Port Adelaide team whom i believe will prove to be a main rival. In a game that saw the lead change in every half innings it was up for grabs. Amazingly we only played 3 innings as both teams hit the ball and had defensive lapses. William Hill started on the mound with 2 good strikeouts before struggling with his control. Sam Cavanagh pitched well to finish off the 2nd before coming out of the game in the 3rd with a sore arm. This brought Sam Powell in who shut Port down after they had rallied for 5 runs to give them a 3 run lead. Our final at bat started with 2 strikeouts and we were looking down the barrel. William Hill then tripled to rightfield followed by a Tyson Ottaway walk who stole 2nd. Daniel Ortiz reached base safely on a hit to shortstop which scored a run, then Angus Read walked to load the bases. After fouling off several pitches Matt Amberg drove the ball down the leftfield line which went to the fence and scored all the runners including himself. Yes, an inside the park grand slam to win the contest! A piece of magic and a lot of character shown by the team. We will score runs but we need to do plenty of work on our defensive game. Many, many thanks to Craig Ottaway for umpiring, Tyson Ottaway for filling in and Matt Mulryan for base coaching.

Under 14/1 - Sturt (Coach: Garry Wood) Sponsored by Premier Trailers

Coach: Garry Wood, Assistant Coach: Barry Lunnon, Team Manager: David Lightbody

The team consists of the following players: Simon Adkins, Tyson Ottaway, Max Staggs, Arno Naritto, Henry Wood, Mitchell Lightbody, Zach Evreniadis, Ryack Parsons, Stuart Brennan, Zac Lunnon and Brodie Macbeth Game 6 Sturt 19 defeated Kensington 1

Safe hits as follows: Lightbody 4, Parsons 3, Macbeth Brennan Norito Staggs Wood all 2 each, Adkins Lunnon and Evreniadis all 1 each.

What a difference a week makes. I am pleased to report that the "other" Sturt team turned up to play this week after last week's less than impressive performance. 20 very solid and some very long safe hits! On what turned out to be a pleasant Sunday afternoon at the home of the Cardinals the Sturt boys performed very well and were impressive with the continued good form of our pitchers and the return to form of all the batters.

I think it if fair to say that the boys took last week's criticism on board and were determined to show the coach what they are capable of.

Every player made a significant contribution from Zac Lunnon (alias Billy bunter) to Mitchell with a long home run and going 4 from 4 to Zach E having his first pitch of the season and performing well after Brodie "set up" the win with some great pitching. Most pleasing was the improvement in support for each other and some great plays in the field again Zac L but also Arno making a great play from LF to cut the runner down at home plate. I could and probably should mention every player but they know how well they did so enough said. I will however mention Ryack Parsons who again showed some great signs for the future and both he and Arno are to be congratulated on their efforts so far this season, keep up the good work boys!

Only disappointing aspect from my point of view was some average base running and some of the boys early in the game not looking for signals, but now I am being too harsh and Mrs. Lightbody told me not to be!

Well done boys we are still undefeated and you can't do more than that, but we do have 3 games coming up in 7 days so that will test our depth and preparation so keep up the hard work on the track.

Go STURT !!!

Under 14/1 - Saints (Coach: Glenn Young) Sponsored by: Last & Co Lawyers

It would be fair to say that our game against glenelg was a game of two very different halves, well at least defensively. We started with our lefty McClure on the mound. Although there were a few nervous pitches to start Connor settled down to throw 4 very good innings. Well above the 50% strike ratio and a number of k's. Connor was well supported in the field with some good plays plays from Stu at third, a great diving flyball catch by jack at catcher and Ty once again playing well at first. Bottom 4 saw the score 3-1 down. The wheels then again fell off to a degree. A combination of good hitting and some fielding errors saw us again give up the 7 run mercy. Both Ethan and Nick gave us solid performances on the mound and all season our pitching has been solid. Special mention to jack for a good performance at catcher - his improvement over the course of the game was visible. There were also good signs in terms of us getting the plays right and the outfielders hitting our cut offs.

Offensively we continue to get scattered hits but are not stringing together enough runners on base to trouble the scorers. Both Ty and Connor have lifted their batting and Stu, Ethan and jack and jamie are getting regular hits. Overall the batting is improving but we have a way to go until we are competitive in this grade. We will keep working on it. There is plenty of time and hopefully enthusiasm to get there.

Little League 1-Sturt (Coach: Jamie Knuckey) Sponsored by: Smyth's Confectionery

Result: Sturt 2 Southern Districts 11

The boys came back to earth with a "thud" today.

In previous games the raw talent within the squad produced easy wins with little effort required and a dominant start to the season. Today, a combination of being over confident, not working hard enough on basic skills, and forgetting the simple things within the game saw Southern Districts dominant us.

From the start it was evident Southerns were here to play - our first at bat produced no runs for the first time this season and we were down 2-0 at the bottom of the 1st. 2nd and 3rd innings seen a rally and 2-2 was the score. Southern districts responded and produced innings of 5 and 4 runs for an 11-2 game score.

Our usual aggressive batting let us down with 5 hits for the game and 11 strike outs. Highlights being a centrefield double to Ky, 2 singles to Reed and a singles to Aussie and Eli. A special mention to Matan who turned his pregame energy into a focused effort in the game - we need everyone in the team follow Matan's lead and focus their attention on the game, and the game only, for the whole game. Remember there is no substitute for hard work on the basic skills at training and your effort at training reflects in how we play on game day.

See you all on Wednesday for a big effort at training.

Little League 2-Sturt (Coach: Mark Abfalter) Sponsored by Dean Lynds

Sturt 12 defeated Hawks 10

Round 6 saw our team head south for an away game at Southern Districts against the Hawks.

A light turnout for the first time this season saw us front up with 7 starters and the Hawks did us a big favour by 'lending' us a spare, who turned out to be a playmaker - no complaints thanks very much Hawks!

Our batters did well to load up the bases with BB's all round and Tom Emmett lead the charge in the first with a fine crack over to rightfield to seal the 5 RBI's for the innings. Elliot Ridgeway opened the pitching with a solid effort throwing a K2 and a KC. Our second innings was more subdued with another added to the score. Robbie Brennan came into pitch and 'shot down' the Hawks batters with a fine display throwing 2 K2's and field play to first to hold them at Nil.

Our best batting innings this year in the third saw everyone contribute which was very pleasing given our focus in recent times, although we still have room to improve, particularly with confidence when facing a 'count'. Safe hits were across the board with some big hits past outfield to Elliot and our 'sub for hire' Jayce. We added one more RBI in the last and brang in Johnno Gamble for his first effort on the mound and he showed some future potential with nice action, good speed and concentration. Hopefully Ron Mac can lend us a hand in this dept as he has had a marked influence on the other pitchers.

Hits - Emmett 2, R Brennan 1, A Brennan 1, Ridgeway 1, Abfalter 1, Hickling (Hawks sub) 2 K2's -R Brennan 2, Ridgeway 1, Emmett 1

A solid effort and good to get the win given we were undermanned. Focus going forward is again on batting - we need to gain more confidence in the batting box, and also to expand our pitching depth. So far our fielding has been excellent and hasn't cost us much yet. Our next game is on Sunday 27th November, 10:00am away again against the SD Hawks 1 at Southern Districts, same ground - make sure you come out and support the boys!

Little League 2-Saints (Coach: Stuart Crutchley) Sponsored by: Watts Agencies & Brooks

Saints 9 defeated Glenelg 4

The Saints and Glenelg tangled at the Flinders Uni baseball ground in a game that was as cool and dour as the weather on the day. The Saints managed to grind out a 9-4 victory in a match not as close as the score would indicate. Highlights were few as the boys often appeared to be mentally compiling their holiday wish lists in the field rather than focusing on the job at hand.

Pitching carried the Saints with Josh effectively dodging a potential Tiger attack in the first and Sam turning in a solid four batter performance in the second. A nice running catch in rightcentre by DJ and a clean snatch of a quickdraw comebacker by Sam with a runner on third base kept the Boys From the Bay off the board through two innings. Enter Oliver "Cowboy" Crutchley in the third for his first pitching appearance of the season. Ollie unhitched his holsters and gunned down three straight Tiger batters to show the large crowd he can deliver at either of the battery positions.

The hitters were generally frustrated by an expanded strike zone and a lack of hittable pitches. While Nick's single to right knocked in his second run of the game and tied him for the team lead in RBIs, the team's two hits for the game were well below recent performances.

The game provided a good chance for players to gain experience at new positions. Sam and Aran donned the Tools of Ignorance behind the plate for the first time, giving Ollie a welcome break to play in the field, and did well. Cooper and Bailey had a taste of life in the middle infield that will inspire them at training.

A special thanks to Owen Moseby from LL2 Sturt who filled in for the short staffed Saints and drew two key walks and scored twice. Nice work, Owen!

Next week sees the boys back on the road to Southern Districts to take on the Hawks. Come support the boys and head to the beach after the game.

Hits: Sam, Nick

RBIs: Nick, Ollie and Bailey 2 each, Josh, DJ and Aran1 each

For all results and tables go to www.sa.baseball.com.au or visit the Sturt Website at Sturt Web Site

..:: message posted on Monday the 21st of November, 2011 23:37:08 ::..

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