By JARROD POTTER
MAKING a pitch for future baseball ambitions, Luke Anson has been hurling down some speedy strikes in his recent state and national championship appearances.
Anson, 12, from Berwick, is a recent convert to baseball, having taken his start in 2013 as he went down to Berwick to give the sport a try, but ever since he’s found himself hooked on the great American pastime.
For someone who has only been on the mound briefly – having changed from catching to pitching in recent seasons – the Berwick City Cougars and Berwick Dodgers mainstay is a natural with the ball in hand.
“I used to be a catcher, so the first season I was practicing, second season I began to catch a bit then after that I took a bit of a break and decided to pitch and it took off from there,” Anson said. “I like it because you can strike out batters and it’s hard, but also really fun.”
That switch from home plate to the mound has paid off handsomely as Anson featured in the Southern Mariners’ Little League Victorian State Championships victory in April.
Winning the state championship entitled Anson and his team-mates to take their place in the national tournament, held in Lismore last month.
While the Mariners didn’t emulate their state success on the national stage, Anson was thrilled to get the chance to strike out a few interstate players and get a taste for state rep baseball.
“I started out just training and tried out for the academy, there were two rep sides and afterwards we finished that and moved on to the Mariners All Star team and had a try out and I was called up to play as a pitcher which was pretty fun,” Anson said.
“We had lots of training, then played against all these different teams around Victoria and we came out number one and moved on to go to Lismore in New South Wales and played against everyone in Australia.
“We didn’t come first, so we didn’t progress anywhere – pretty sure it was 14 out of 20 I think – but I think I went pretty well – I had three times up on the mound – got a few good strikes and was pretty happy.”
He’s bringing back a ramped-up work rate from his time in the national spotlight and hopes to improve his pick-off skills and put a bit more heat into his beloved fast-ball.
“Now I can work a bit well under pressure – I know how big the game is and how important it is and I’m a lot better as a pitcher as well,” Anson said.
“Because this is a higher level now I want to get better at different moves when runners are on base.
“I want to make sure I know how to do pick off moves and get the runners out so they don’t steal on me and I also want to throw a bit harder and that would be really good.”
Anson wanted to thank his parents as well as coaches Al, John, Brian and Rick for their support and help with advancing his baseball dreams.
