Bellarine Bears to play Guild All-Stars in the Geelong Baseball Association grand final

A young and emerging Bellarine Bears will chase their first Division 1 premiership in four years against a Guild All-Stars outfit which has found form at the right time.

After missing the finals completely last year in the Geelong Baseball Association, the young Bellarine Bears have hit back hard in 2023.

They go into a grand final this Saturday against the in-form Guild All-Stars who have won their past four matches, including an upset win over minor premiers East Belmont Saints in the preliminary final, and the Werribee Giants in week one of the finals.

However, the Bears are coming off a strong showing of their own, thrashing the Saints in a qualifying final, 13-6, two weeks ago.

Teenage shortstop and lead-off hitter Jye Robinson said the Bears had assembled a tough young team, including pitcher Bradyn Barker and catcher Maxton Sherry who had come through the junior ranks.

Bellarine Bears' Jye Robinson joined the club in 2019 after starting out in softball. Picture: Mark Lazarus

The club had also sourced plenty of players from summer competition side, the Geelong Baycats, including the “invaluable experience” of Sam Gibbons and Lewis Weldon, a mentor of Robinson’s from his softball days who recruited him to the club in 2019.

Gibbons, 29, has elite level experience having played with the Minnesota Twins in the Minor League in the US and the Melbourne Aces in the Australian Baseball League.

“We’ve built a really strong side,” Robinson said.

“We’ve got a pretty good mix of youngsters and veterans.

“Some of the veterans we have aren’t that old as well, like Lachlan Stott, Chris Hockey and Brock Wells (in their early 20s).”

Riley Peoples pitching for Guild All-Stars. Picture: Mark Lazarus

While the Bears have the edge over the All-Stars in 2023, Guild at least bridged the gap over the season after a 10-1 drubbing in late April, with a 3-2 result two months later.

Robinson, who won a Division 2 premiership with the Bears in 2019 over Guild – the last time Bellarine won the top flight title – was feeling confident about their chances.

“It should be a cracking game, they’re on a bit of a hot streak at the moment,” Robinson said of the Bears’ grand final opponents.

Bellarine's Jye Robinson plays shortstop for the Bears. Picture: Mark Lazarus.

The Werribee product has become a dependable lead-off hitter in 2023 for the Bears — a role that he relishes.

“I just feel comfortable there,” Robinson said.

“Hitting lead-off just feels right, you get to set the game off on a good note, get the team going.”

Robinson will also head to Mexico in November for the under-18 Softball World Cup.

Bellarine Bears play the Guild All-Stars at Geelong Baseball Centre from 2pm on Saturday.

Guild All-Stars play East Belmont Saints in the GBA preliminary final

The Guild All-Stars will enter the Geelong Baseball Association preliminary final this weekend with new-found confidence after recently getting the better of an old foe who held the whip hand during the regular season

The All-Stars – who won eight consecutive senior premierships in the 2000s – got off to a nightmare start in the GBA’s Division 1 this season, dropping their opening games 6-0 and 10-1 to the Werribee Giants and Bellarine Bears respectively.

However, a win over East Belmont Saints, 5-2, in mid-May – leading to three straight wins - righted the ship somewhat as the All-Stars finished the season 8-8 and in fourth place.

It comes after the club’s women’s team won the premiership last weekend over the Saints.

And the All-Stars come into the preliminary final after getting the better of the Giants in week one of the finals, 3-0, with Werribee winning their two previous encounters in 2023.

Veteran Guild centre fielder Chris Durston said the team began to gel about six to eight weeks into the regular season, admitting they were simply outplayed early on.

“We started off pretty slow but we’ve hit out straps in the last few weeks,” Durston said.

“To win last week against Werribee, they’ve knocked us off all year.

“It gives us a massive amount of confidence.”

Guild All-Stars have not managed to beat the Bellarine Bears this season. Picture: Mark Lazarus.

He said All-Stars coach Ryan Stewart had encouraged his players before the final to prove a point against the Giants.

However, he admitted the Saints would be a tough proposition this weekend, with the season ledger balanced 1-1.

“They’re strong all through the line up, they can all hit,” he said.

“They’ve been very good for a long time.”

East Belmont Saints play Guild All-Stars in the women’s Division 1 grand final

Two Geelong women’s baseball teams have not let injury or illness curtail their quest for club history this Sunday.

The almost-all-conquering Guild All-Stars and the East Belmont Saints will face off in the Geelong Baseball Association grand final in their first-ever season in the fledgling women’s competition, at the Geelong Baseball Centre.

And for Guild coach David Foster, the game, and his players’ unwavering support, has helped him recover from open heart surgery mid-season, which saw him miss about six matches during the 2023 campaign.

Feeling unwell after a trip to Echuca for an over 60s competition, Foster said test results showed some arteries were close to being 100 per cent blocked.

“I had five bypasses done,” Foster said, who is still several months away from a full recovery.

“I didn’t have a heart attack, which was lucky,

“I’m about 14, 15 weeks out of surgery. I’m doing well.

“(Guild) made it a lot easier process to come back and play and recover.”

However, Foster is keen to put the attention back on his players, who qualified for the grand final after thrashing Alfredton 13-0 last weekend and a 10-1 home and away campaign.

“They hadn’t played together before,” he said.

“I’m so proud of the fact they have gelled together as a team, and they’re so supportive (of me and each other).

“They soak up the information like sponges, they’re very coachable.

“We’ve set a pretty high benchmark (this season).”

That surgery meant Foster missed Guild’s only loss for the season, going down to the Saints in a 9-8 thriller in round 10 in early July.

However, four of his best players also were unavailable that day, including star pitcher and Japanese recruit Kira Kuwamoto — the first Guild woman to play men’s Division 1 baseball.

He also said Alannah Rose, who was destined for higher honours at a state level, and pitcher and utility Saya Turnley, had been stars this season.

Meanwhile, Saints coach and first base Kelly Day said her “pretty tight” team were keen to beat the All-Stars for the second time this year.

They too entered the grand final after a comprehensive victory in week one of the finals, beating Werribee 13-1.

However, Day will miss the decider after injuring a hamstring recently.

“We’re the only club that has beaten them this year, so hopefully we do it again on the weekend,” Day said.

“I’ve been wanting a women’s team for our club for a long time.

“Hopefully we’ll give a good show of what Geelong women’s baseball is all about.”

League co-ordinator Meg Fahy said the growth of women’s baseball and the quality of games “continues to amaze” her and the wider baseball community.

“I am proud of what we are achieving with our sport,” Fahy said.

“I have no doubt spectators will be treated to a close, competitive match.

“There will be big hits, quality pitching and aggressive plays.

“This is just the beginning of our sport, with 2024 promising new additions to our competition.”

Emerson Rickard stars on the mound for Saints

An East Belmont Saints pitcher has been a key cog in his team’s seven-game hot streak in the Geelong Baseball Association’s top flight.

The Saints have shot to second on the Division 1 ladder, equal on points with table toppers Bellarine Bears, after a 10-2 season.

The defending champions have enjoyed a particularly dominant July, part of a seven-game winning run including big victories over Deakin Blues (10-4), Bellarine Bears (17-2), Ballarat Royals (18-3), plus a 10-7 defeat of Guild.

It was a nice reversal of fortune for the Saints, who had been belted 7-1 by the Bears back in May — the last time they have lost in Division 1.

And a key part of the surge has been six-time junior state representative pitcher Emerson Rickard, who has moved into the coaching realm and values a culture of positivity just as much as his own individual form on the mound.

Rickard was strong against the Bears on July 15, recording two strikeouts and allowing just four hits from four innings, while Deakin took just three hits and Guild two.

The 25-year-old is also in the top bracket for Division 1 pitchers, with 22 strikeouts for the season so far.

Rickard said his pitching had been supported by a strong, young defensive outfit, including his brother Harper who is in the frame to make the under-18 national team.

“We’ve only given up 43 runs all year, which is the lowest by a fair bit,” Rickard said.

“We’ve got such a good young team and it’s awesome to be a part of.”

He said the club encouraged plenty of hugs and high fives to maintain the feel good factor, having experienced a great environment at the Williamstown Wolves over summer.

“It’s just a really good atmosphere which makes it easy to play,” he said of the Saints.

“I’m really trying to force positivity (on the squad).

“Sport’s really hard when you have a bad mindset.

“Hopefully we can go back-to-back, that would be nice.”

He said the Saints had built a strong modern rivalry with Bellarine, with one of the competition’s leading sluggers in Cameron Brown coming across from the Bears.

“The last few years, us and the Bears have really been the top teams fighting it out for top spot,” he said.

Originally published as Bellarine Bears to play Guild All-Stars in the Geelong Baseball Association grand final