Gill Gavin and playing coach Simone Wearne have high hopes for the new Berwick City Cougars women’s baseball team this summer. 34292 Picture: Stewart ChambersBy Marc McGowan
WOMEN, play ball.
The Berwick City Cougars will field a female side for the first time in more than a decade this summer.
Cougars and Springvale Lions officials finally reached an agreement last week on a combined team that will play home games at Cyril Molyneux Reserve.
Players will train at both Cyril Molyneux Reserve and Keysborough’s K.H. Wearne Reserve.
The Lions are a traditional women’s baseball powerhouse and have won four of the last six Division One grand finals, including last season.
Former Australian pitcher Simone Wearne and current national team member Shae Lillywhite, a shortstop, will compete for Berwick City on ‘permit’ from Springvale.
But, outside of those two players, last season’s Lions’ squad will not be affected.
Cougars president Paul Quinn said he and fellow club officials are hoping to have two teams – one in Division One and another in the reserves.
“We’re looking forward to it … over 10 years ago, we did actually have a women’s side and it brought our first premiership,” he said.
“There’s no set time frame on how long the arrangement will be, but I know the Springvale people will want to get back to playing with Springvale people as soon as they can.
“But their whole premise for doing this is for developing women’s baseball and they see this as an opportunity to help a club get its women’s program established.”
Berwick-based Wearne and another national team member, Jade Hough, a third baseman, will co-coach Berwick City.
Hough lives in Pakenham and is crossing from Doncaster Baseball Club.
Japanese thrower Risa Nakashima, regarded as the best pitcher in the world, and Australian hurler Jacinda Barclay, from Western Australia, complete the star recruits.
The rest of the players will be made up of mothers or wives of current male Cougars and other local residents.
Wearne and Hough will run baseball clinics for girls at local schools in the coming weeks and will be part of Berwick City’s come-and-try day at Cyril Molyneux Reserve on 5 September.
“We’ve probably got 10 or 11 players at the moment for a squad of two teams, so we’re looking to recruit 10 or 12 more,” Wearne said.
“When we started in 1994 we had only nine or 10 players and they were all wives and girlfriends and that’s when women’s baseball started.
“It was a bit difficult back then, but, as the years went on and the girls started enjoying it more, people started to figure out that girls can play, too.
“Our program was based on one team and we weren’t very good for a number of years, but we stuck at it and we were lucky we had the club’s support the whole time and a lot of good coaching, which is what attracted a lot of girls to our club.”
Wearne, who has always gone beyond the call of duty for the sport, said something needed to be done to save women’s baseball in Victoria.
“We’ve been quite successful at Springvale for a number of years, but the competition is struggling and last year we only had five teams in Division One,” she said.
“Everyone had a bye every fifth week and you played the same teams every four weeks, which made it a bit repetitive and boring and teams weren’t quite as competitive.
“This is a way to not only help the competitive nature of Division One, but also establish another team.
“It was a tough decision (for me) because I play with all my friends at Springy, but if something wasn’t done in the next couple of years then all the young girls who are coming through wouldn’t have anywhere to play.”
