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NEWS ARCHIVE

Get ready for Pirate themed Presentation night!!!

Fantastic weather if you are a duck!!!

Keen to join the Uni Camels!!!

Who ate all the pies?

Paul Hyham

6th grade's Maddy Coutts celebrates making it home after getting a safe hit her first ever time at the plate.

It was a mixed bag of success however, but the two wins on the weekend go to the two novice coaches in the club, Stewie Frame and Daryl Woods. Stewie guided the 5th graders to a good win over Maitland, stealing runner after runner and the players responded with good hitting and Haeyong pitched a sensational game for the team. Daryl's clan in 3s also played a solid game of ball and gave White Sox no chance to come back all game. Once Wade came on to close it was all over for the Sox.

1s had a very disappointing outing in the first round making way to many errors to have a chance of challenging Sox in any way. The only runs scored by the Camels were a two run homer by Matty Grove and a solo home run by Svenn, which was not a good answer to White Sox's power with the bats all game.

 Even though they went down, sixth grade were a sensation and showed they will be a team to recon with this year. The made a 4 to 6 to 3 double play in the third inning, turned  by three brand new players, and drove the ball well all game. They also turned another double play later on, so they were on the ball all the way through the game.

Go Fieldy!!!

So, how has everyone been? Bored! No baseball that is why!!!

We the committee is getting together this weekend for our first meeting of 2011 and things are about to get going again. We are already booked in for our first training session, Sunday the 30th of JANUARY on the diamond at 5:00pm. You may think, why is training starting already? Well that is because the season is only 8 weeks away... Yes, that's right... Just 8 weeks before we all get to don the tight pants, smash the ball all over the place with abandon, take awesome diving catches and strike out Newcastle's finest batters with ease... Well that is how we like to think it is going to go pre season anyway :-).

There is going to be a heap of things happening very soon, so everyone needs to get back into the routine of checking the web site regularly, and looking out for the emails that will start to flood in. And don't just read the first line and delete them STICK!!! The committee only has this method of contacting you with information, so read it and be sure you know what is going on...

We are planning on a great social calendar in 2011, so make sure you are regularly checking this link also and putting all the events in your diary so you don't have a clash and miss out on some great nights...

Get keen people, get very bloody keen... Baseball is nearly here again, and that is awesome!!!

Presentation Night Hand Out 2010                 Stats 2010

The presentation night last night was another fantastic evening of silly buggers and drinking to end of a fantastic season. A huge thank you to Simone and Mandi for getting all the decorations together and setting everything up - everything looked great. Thanks Kristy for teeing up the food which was again excellent from Golden Roast and thanks to Lindz for sorting out all the trophies and awards.

So many winners on the night, but special congratulations to Mark Jones and first grade for winning the Maurie Turnbull Shield this year and Mandi for this years Clubman of the Year Award.

It was great to see everyone having such a great time and the foam cup flipping boat races were awesome fun. Brenton sculling orange juice was a highlight and Jackie and Mel's dancing at the Bennett was most entertaining. There are already photos appearing on Facebook, so check out how good you looked in your costumes everyone.

With the parties over it would appear the season is done, but this year again the intention is to keep the ball rolling all summer long with pitching training at in town again. Keep an eye out for emails letting you know when this is getting underway. Also, do not forget the AGM on the 10th of October at 4:30pm at the Bennett. Get in and vote for next years committee, or even better join it yourself to help out the club in 2011...

Presentation Night Hand Out 2010                 Stats 2010

It was not to be, but that is not to say this end is the worst outcome we could expect in 2010. Even though Toronto and Phoenix proved to tough for us to handle in the finals, the fact that 2nd and 1st grade made the finals this year after we made the step back up to first grade is a brilliant achievement.

The phoenix lads did not have an easy game of it in first grade. We did not give up a run for the first 5 innings, but also we could not get a run across the plate ourselves. Sadly, the final score was 6 to 0, but this was mostly due to Marty Bell who drove in 5 of Phoenix's runs. Even though we managed often to punch the ball to the outfield many times, Phoenix always seemed to be there to keep us from getting on.

I picked this shot for today's news image as I think it depicts the season brilliantly as this years first grade games have been great fun on and off the diamond. It has made this season very special and makes me sad to think it is over so soon. To all the kids, members, girlfriends and family who came along each week, a big thank you for supporting us all each week.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who came along today to help out in hosting the finals. See you all at Preso night for the big finally to the season... It is going to be a sensational night...

In a great set of games to end the season, Uni today managed to get two wins from three games to end up with two out of three Majors teams in the finals next week. Although at first we thought the numbers would still be in third grades favour, Maitland's single draw for the season seems to have given them the edge into 5th place after beating Uni today. 2nd grade rose to the challenge of needing to win today to have a chance, and with Phoenix going down to Belmont the deal was sealed.

First grade, who did not need to win to stay in the 5, did so anyway in a very hard fought game with Maitland. Steve Bennett (me) started the pitching and managed to hold Maitland to one run over 7 innings, which turned out to be the only one they got. Matty Grove came on to close it out and seal the deal. This of course had a lot to do with the teams excellent fielding, who turned double plays and made the outs look easy. Josh Murphy, came up with some real nice plays at third, robbing a few Maitland lads of hits with his range and solid arm. John Bowdler made his first grade debut today in right field and came up with a great 9 to 3 out in the 8th.

Although we only managed to get 4 runs over the plate, we came back to form today with 9 hits in total and a nice home run by Josh. Leath drove in two of the runs and Paul hyham also, securing his place as the rightful leader in RBI's for the  season in first grade and third place in the entire association. A great achievement for Buster in his final season in the top grade. The final Score was 4 to 1 and it was a sensational finish to the first grade season.

Next week we are hosting the first round of finals and uni will be playing at home in twos and ones, so supporters will definitely need to be there in big numbers to help us out...

After a season of wash outs, wins and unfortunately to many losses, minors all finished last weekend without anyone making it to the finals. This is especially disappointing for the club in fourth grade who have been minor premiers more often than not for the last 6 years. Obviously the stepping up of key players to assist the clubs return to first grade was two much for the 4th graders to absorb.

In sixth grade however club history was nearly made when Andrew Wood only missed out on batting for the cycle by one hit. He managed to get the triple, double and home run, but the easiest of all alluded him due to the Maitland short stop making an error, which robed Andrew of the chance to beat out the throw for the single. Very exciting stuff however and made the win in sixes (our only one for the round) even more fun.

Majors were a real let down this weekend with three straight losses to Boomerangs, who we swept last time we met them. To make things even worse we went down via the mercy rule in first grade for the second week running. Next weekend we really must return to form in first and thirds to go into the finals with some confidence. It would be a great help if the supporters that were so abundant and eager earlier in the season could return to cheer us on next week against Maitland, who have beaten us in 1st grade once already this season.

OK, so we lost all grades... OK, so we went to all the effort to move the games to Belmont and Toronto because our ground was water logged to enable us to lose in all grades. OK, so after the games it makes for a very difficult run to the finals fro several grades now if they want to stay in the hunt... Even though all that is not great news, there was one positive thing that come out of the weekend... I hit a triple...

Now, the real up side... Thanks to everyone who came along to trivia night 2010. Rollo made another great set of questions up for us all and thanks Mandi for all your efforts scoring. To all those members who brought friends along, great job. And most of all, thanks again to the Bennett Hotel and Mullane and Lindsay for your fantastic support with a brilliant range of prizes. A great night that continued on to the Bennett Hotel till the wee hours of Sunday morning...

Everyone who came along got to see the District Park Tennis Club venue which will be the same location for preso night this year. The room is going to be perfect for us to have a sensational night and it is not far back to the Bennett afterwards for continued merriment. Tickets are on sale now for $25 (members) and $35 for non members. This includes the usual dinner and drinks and heaps of fun. We will be putting money on the bar at the Tennis Club and also extra on the bar back at the Bennett, so plan to stay for the whole night to get your moneys worth...

With players out everywhere in all three grades it was fill-in and double-up central against White Sox on Sunday. Andrew Wood got to make his majors debut, up from 6th grade to play thirds and Shedder helped raise the average age even higher by playing a half game in first grade.

As a consequence all three grades really did not make a good show of it, although not for lack of trying. Errors abounded and all teams were soundly defeated by Sox. This is something that all grades can ill afford with only a few games to go and no grade being guaranteed a place in the finals if we do not keep the wins coming. The next couple of games will be critical to secure our places in the post season.

Don't forget that training is now back to a combined group on Wednesday night at 6:30, so everyone make you come along for some much needed practice.

Another reminder that next Saturday night is Trivia Night at the Broadmeadow Tennis Club. Check out the Social Calender for all the details...

The news is that we have had members selected in the Newcastle squad for 2010. Congratulations to Simone Biddlecombe, Kristy Field and Kristy Frame for being picked in the women's squad and Ryan Tranter, Mal Halliday, Josh Murphy and Brenton Woods for the men's team.

The women 's team are not mucking about and they start training tomorrow at White Sox, assuming their ground is not rained out.

Since there is no games on you all can spend time having a look at the updated social calendar. Trivia night 2010 is now on and then the Farewell to Buster's Bar the following week. Never a dull moment with Uni Baseball Club...

First grade again could not best Phoenix this weekend, but we did not lose by anywhere near the margin of our first encounter.

Leath started the game in trouble when he hit the first two batters, then proceeded to give up 3 runs in the first inning. When he came of after 3 innings we were 6 runs down and Ben Terry was keeping us to three up, three down innings with the bat. Mal came on in the 4th and gave up a two run homer that was then the last runs Phoenix would score for the rest of the game.

It was with the bats that we really let ourselves down today. By the end of the game we could only manage a single run, which is not going to win many games, unless you are playing soccer. Even though the fielding was solid all game, there just was no offence to go with it this week which gave Phoenix the win in the end.

Next round we are up against Belmont again, so the support of the Moroon Army will be greatly appreciated. Check the web site to see what incentive you will receive by wearing your supporters shirt and come along to cheer...

Unfortunately rain closed the grounds for this round, but nature made it's usual cruel joke by giving us a beautiful blue sky day and rainless night on Saturday, so the turn out to the free pizza night and Fees Offset Raffle Draw was good. At first the 30 pizzas looked about 20 to many, but then the inevitable late arrivals came along and they were all chomped up.

Congratulation Jorgen Hellman for winning this years raffle prize. The general consensus from the crowd was that Jorgen should host a party for the club and give us all free drinks, but he is yet to announce it... No pressure Jorg :-)

Thanks to everyone who came along and made it such a good evening. It is important we support our sponsor, especially when he is so good as to pay for half the pizza even though we already get a sizable donation of cash from Dave already. By the way, the drunkest Camel award this time goes to Mandi. She was hilarious...

Another round of solid play from Uni enabled us to win all three games against Maitland today, but by no means did it come easy, except in 3rds. The early birds got up by a commanding margin after getting an early lead which they hung onto all game.

2nd grade was a much tighter game and it was only with the guys ability to hold Maitland down in the bottom of the last that they held on to their two run lead.

1st grade again defeated Mavericks and lead most of the game for the win. Today Ryan Tranter got on the lump for the first time and blasted fast balls through the zone to fan many a Maitland batter. It was not just the pitching that gave Maitland trouble as Uni outdid them 11 to 5 in hits.

Again however Maitland did not let us walk away with the win only going down in the end by two runs.

Next weekend is the Fees Offset Raffle Draw and free pizza night. Head back to the Bennett after minors for a pizza dinner and to see who takes home the $600 worth of grog for 2010... Dave has chipped in for half the price of the pizzas, so show your appreciation by coming along, bring the kids, girlfriends or boyfriends and have a drink with your teammates. Starts 6:30 for pizzas at 7...

The soft tasty goodness of pancakes were super popular with the marron army today, thanks to Lindsay and her helpers. They were brilliant and thanks from the whole club Lindz, it was greatly appreciated...

Now to on the park this weekend. 1st grade put on a show for the pancake chewing fans with another win over Boomerangs 8 to 6, which was there 7th win for the season. It was the very familiar combination of Leath, followed by Mal that gave Boomerangs all the trouble. It was not until Leath tried the new tactic of hitting multiple batters with the ball that Boomerangs even managed to get a run on the board. When they did get a chance though, they definitely made us work hard to hold them back in the end though. Made for a very good game for the crowd to watch right down to the end. With 14 hits Uni was pushing hard with the bats, so the runs that Boomerangs came back with were not enough.

Round 12 was a good round for Uni with 4 wins in total. 5s and 4s did not get up, but 6s had a good win over Toronto, with Simone pitching her first complete winning game. 3s and 2s both managed to beat Boomerangs, making it the second time we have swept them in majors this season. Next week it is 1st grade V Maitland again at their house, so a good crowd to help us on would really help us out.

So much happened this weekend it is hard to know what to speak about first. Minors got to do something different on Saturday, they got to play! And not only did they get to play, but they got to do it in sensational bright blue sunshine. All three grades went down to Phoenix, but as they say - it is better to play and lose than to not play at all.

Saturday night was the send of for the Iowa lads, and what a night it was. The fact that only one of the three actually made it to play on Sunday, due to their inability to recover from the heavy drinking the night before, shows how hard they celebrated. Mike, your mates are weak...

Now to Sunday's games, where 3rds went down to Maitland, but 2nd played one of their best games this season. They controlled the game from start to finish, with Tim Nesbit pitching the first four innings and then Brent closing it out. Maitland only managed to score two runs and had no answer for the 2nds solid fielding and aggressive batting.

Following this the first graders came up with another win after coming from behind to take the game in the second last inning. Starting the game with some ordinary fielding, Uni let Maitland get ahead and at first even though Leath was throwing a solid game. We could not at first real in the lead, but in the bottom of the 6th Uni's bats exploded to give us a 3 run lead. As usual Mal's relief pitching meant Mavericks could not come back again and they were still behind when the light ran out. Not our prettiest game but none the less a good result for the Camels chocking up our 6th win for the season.

Majors this weekend lost three in a row to Toronto, but it is not about about the games on the park that were the story this weekend. It was the silliness back at the Bennett that stopped the press.

It was obvious from the turn out that everyone loved the idea of a Saturday game and the prospect of celebrating a number of things at the sponsors. Laurie was having a birthday (but would not say how old), 1st grade were keen to get together and drink up after our run of wins, the Iowa 3 were in fine form keen to try some Australian black beers and everyone was keen to get fed by the first grade boys cooking, which I thought was very brave. No one was sick from anything other than drinking though, so I guess we got lucky there...

I have not seen the Camels go off so hard for some time. The night got started with a round of tequilas for the first graders, then came boat races, arm wrestling matches, more sculling and when we went inside later on there was even people dancing on the bar Coyote Ugly style... A huge night and I had the hang over on Sunday to prove it was huge. Although I think Annette Poulton won the hang over to end all hang overs competition...

This is just the start of a big week for the club. Wednesday is game two of the State of Origin, so we are all in after training to watch that. Then after this, next Saturday is the deportation party/ fees offset raffle draw party, where we will be having another free BBQ and drinks to send of the Iowa lads...

After last Saturday night I can only imagine just how huge preso night is going to be this year... Check out the photos on Mandi's Facebook to get a little bit of an idea how crazy things got...

A great day for the Camels today with three wins from three against Boomerangs in Major League. All teams had great games, starting with 3rds who won 6 to 4 and then followed by 2nds who also had a solid win of 7 to 1. The day was completed by first grade who got up 9 to 8. A fantastic day for all grades and good wins against Boomerangs who did not give up the wins easily in any grade.

First grade were looking to continue their winning streak today, but it was apparent after the first inning that Boomerangs had no intension of letting us have it. After we left runners in our first batting dig, Boomers came out and took the lead early by scoring in the bottom of the first. Both teams scored again in the 3rd, but the score still remained Boomerangs up by one run. However in the bottom of the 5th inning Uni let themselves down with a couple of errors, enabling Boomerangs to get themselves a handy 4 run lead.

This left it up to us to work hard to catch up, and fortunately we rose to the task. After getting back one run in the 6th Uni came out slugging in the 7th, scoring a further 5 runs and taking the lead in the game for the first time. In the eight Uni again extended the lead, but it was the rain that sealed Boomerangs fate in the end as it started to come down, causing a rain delay that meant the light ran out and the score reverted back to the final 9 - 8 total.

This is not only 4 wins in a row for Uni first grade, but it also means we now are outright third place in the ladder. A brilliant result for the team and a tribute to their solid play so far this season. Next week we play Toronto at Toronto and the supporters will be more than welcome again. Hopefully the weather will be better than today to watch in, so there will be a better turn out.

Another brilliant game from the first grade Camels again today, defeating Toronto 9 to 7. This is the third win in a row for Uni who are on a roll after their win over Belmont three games back.

The pitching combination of Leath followed by Mal again worked a treat again and the team backed up the guys with solid fielding all game. But what was really on form today was the Uni bats.

We came out firing early, taking the lead in the first inning and maintaining it the entire game. Every time Toronto tried to come back, Uni drove in some more runs and maintained the lead all game. Almost everyone was on with the bats and the shot of the day went to Josh Murphy who put one out over left field. Changing pitchers in the 4th made no difference to our batting and we still smacked the ball with regularity.

Defensively the play of the day was a fantastic out by Mal Halliday, coming down off the mound to field a bunted ball on the third base line, spinning and making a great throw to first to get the runner by half a step.

The crowd again looked great on the hill with their supporters shirts on and their cheers were well appreciated. It would be sensational to see a good turn out again next weekend as we go for our fourth straight win against Boomers.

After such a brilliant win last week against Belmont, and with a hill full of spectators all wearing their new Maroon Army shirts, there was high expectations of first grade this week - and they did not disappoint.

Leath again started the pitching and kept the runs down well although he insisted his form was not up to his previous outings quality. White Sox only managed a few runs, but Uni kept answering and the lead changed back and forth several times before Mal came on in the 6th. As in the previous week, once Mal came on they were in trouble and Sox only scored one more run for the remainder of the game.

Uni however were on form with the bats. After leaving runners on a few times, they came up in the 7th and Ryan got the ball rolling with a solo home run to left. Then with runners on Josh Murphy laid down a sweet bunt that put them into scoring position enabling Mal Halliday to smack a double and bring in the go ahead run. Three quick outs in the top of the 8th, plus not enough light to play the 9th inning meant Uni claimed another victory.

A great game to watch for the maroon clad fans on the hill who's support was greatly appreciated. Check the supporters club link to see what you get for wearing your shirts and supporting first grade at home again this weekend against Toronto...

It would be hard to ask for a better game of baseball than the one between the Camels and Belmont today, with the final score being just 3 to 2 in favor of Uni.

With just 5 hits on both sides, 2 errors each and both teams having many scoreless innings, it was a pitching duel to remember. Leath started for Uni and threw the a solid game, backed up by the fielders, he kept the runs down and the ball, stopping Belmont from driving the ball to the outfield to advance their runners. On two occasions Belmont did manage to get loaded bases, but they were unable to bring in any runs either time.

With the bats, as stated Belmont held us to very few hits. In fact only Buster (2), Matty (1) and Josh (2) were able to get safe shots away. But with the commanding pitching of Leath, followed by the sensational closing capabilities of Mal Halliday, the three runs we scored was enough in the end.

The crowd held their breath as Uni closed Belmont out in the bottom of the ninth to secure their win. An incredible game and a real boost for Uni's reputation in the first grade competition.

A great round for 2nd grade with not only their first win of the season, breaking their draw streak, but also the biggest margin win for Uni this season. Right from the start uni came out swinging the bats bringing home run after run. It wasn't long before we were ahead by 17 runs, without Phoenix managing to get a single run in.

Brenton Woods started the pitching for Uni and threw his best game so far this season, dominating the Phoenix batters and keeping them to zero runs in the first two innings. Cale came on later to close of the game, with Uni winning it by 18 to 2 in the end. A brilliant game played by all and a real display of what 2nd grade are capable of this season.

4th grade again had a win over Phoenix, 11 to 9. They again played a tight game and showed that they can keep up the drive all game to win the tough ones. Crumpy was followed by Woody on the mound and although they could not stop the Phoenix batters scoring runs, they were backed up in the field and especially with the bats to ensure Uni stayed on top.

4s are up for a tough game again next week if it is anything like round on against Toronto, where they only managed to win by one run. Should be a great match up...

With Mal Halliday out injured, Marcus Delaney filled in and did a fantastic job at 3rd base, with some solid outs and a brilliant double play. Percy pitched a great start to the game, holding Athletics scoreless for the first two innings, but they came out firing in the third to go ahead.

After 4 innings Athletics thought they were going to have it all their way leading 7 to 2, but Uni had a shock ahead that made them sit up and take notice. With the change over to Leath pitching, Athletic's run rate slowed and then in the 7th Uni came out firing on all cylinders. We came back 5 runs, which made Athletics more than a little nervous. Especially since they could not manage to score another run again after the 6th inning.

However, even though Uni managed to get runners on base, we just could not get them over the plate to bring the score back in our favour. It remained 9 to 7 until the end, but no one was disappointed with the quality of Baseball and Uni's late game comeback.

Next week will be another tough game against Phoenix at their home ground, Windsor Oval, so a good support group will be needed to boost the first graders performance again...

25/4/2010

3rds Win a cliff Hanger...

The keg was not to be... 2nd grade fought back valiantly from 4 runs down to tie with Maitland, but unfortunately their first win still eludes them. An excellent game though from the lads in twos.

First grade were having a blinder until the 7th inning, keeping Maitland in their reach being only behind by one run. But it was then that Maitland came out swinging hard and drove in 7 runs after Mal came of the mound and Svenn came on.

The game of the day was thirds however, who won their first game of the season. After following all game, they managed to tie it up and then get a runner on going into the last inning. Wade Clegg laid down a cracking bunt to advance the runner to third, and then he was able to come home on a throwing error trying to get Wade going to first.

Thirds then had a very tight three up three down inning to take the win. A great game to watch and showed they have the moves to be a force to be reckoned with this season.

THIS WEEKEND

 Finished till next season
@ Uni No 3 Oval
Saturday

Finished till next season
@ Uni No 3 Oval
Sunday

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