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Boyd makes another pitch at international glory By Ben Triandafillou TALENTED baseball pitcher Jackson Boyd, of Langwarrin will again represent Australia as he heads for the under-18s Baseball World Cup in Thunder Bay, Canada. Boyd, 17, flew out last Saturday 19 August and will have eight lead-up matches before the opening round of the World Cup on Friday 1 September. Boyd made the selection for the 20-player team, following an impressive performance at an Australian academy camp on the Gold Coast earlier this year. This will be the first time that Boyd has made the Australian World Cup side and he said making the team is a whole other level. “I’m going to be playing with the best of the best and they could even be future Major League Baseball
Wind up: Jackson Boyd throws a pitch at the 2016 World Series in Bangor, Maine, USA. Picture: supplied
787 Tennis searches for “new players” By Ben Triandafillou THE unique 787 Men’s Tennis Competition will enter its 80th season this month since being founded by Mount Eliza resident Kevin Morley in 1977. The private doubles competition has been played on member’s home tennis courts in and around the surrounding areas of Mt Eliza for the past 40 years. It is now entering a new phase and is looking to increase their number of members with a “new players” drive. 787 Tennis are seeking interested players with or without a home tennis court and who are ideally aged 35 years plus. 787 committee member John Patchell said you don’t need to be a champion to join the
Bell has golden run at championships By Ben Triandafillou OUR Lady of Fatima student Joel Bell returned last week with two gold medals and a top 10 finish in the under-12 School Sport Australia Cross Country Championships. Bell, 12, joined the Team Victoria Cross Country team after finishing fifth in the regional cross country and was given the opportunity to run at the championships in Hobart from Friday 11 August to Monday 14 August. He took everything in his stride and helped the under-12’s Team Victoria side earn an overall gold medal. Bell was also awarded a gold medal in the 1500m composite relay. Bell said that just getting the experience to run in Hobart and meet new friends the highlight of his trip. “We went really well and the track was really tough with a 300m hill,” he said. “I really just want to thank my mum and dad for taking me everywhere and helping with the travel.” Bell is part of the Mornington Little Athletics and is now looking at running a marathon or triathlon in the near future.
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Frankston Times 21 August 2017
competition and residing in Mt Eliza is not a prerequisite. “We have a lot of fun – it’s competitive but still very social,” he said. “It’s a great competition and you get to go and enjoy some incredible facilities.” “You get time to mix and meet a bunch of people. You might need a plumber to fix an issue at home but you might have just played with a plumber who can help, so you never know who you might meet. The 787 tennis competition plays every Saturday afternoon and will play its first round of its 80th season on Saturday 26 August. For any further information contact John Patchell on 0418566651.
Golden smile: Our Lady of Fatima student, Joel Bell, celebrates his achievements at the School Sport Australia Cross Country Championships. Picture: supplied
stars,” he said. Boyd, who was part of the Southern Mariners, a representative charter for the Victorian bayside suburbs, is no stranger to performing at the top-level. Last year the Southern Mariners managed to reach the senior level championship game at the Little League World Series in Bangor, Maine, United States and in doing so became the first Australian side to make the finals of a World Series tournament. The Southern Mariners journey started in Geelong where they won the state championships in January last year before taking out the national championships in NSW later in May. They then went on to triumph at the Asia-Pacific Championships in The Philippines which secured them a spot in the World Series. Boyd said making it to the World Series was an achievement in itself but to do as well as they did wasn’t really expected. “We won our way all the way up to the World Series where we managed to finish runners-up,” he said. “We didn’t even think we would win a game over there so coming second was a massive shock.” Boyd and the under-18s Australian side is now set to face world number three, Korea, on the opening day of the 2017 Baseball World Cup.
787 Champions: Neal Gale, captain of the Dolphins team, celebrates winning the autumn 2017 season with his side. Picture: supplied
Parkdale cricketer gets “massive” opportunity By Ben Triandafillou PARKDALE secondary student, Joshua Sugden, represented Victoria for the second consecutive year at the National Indoor Cricket Championships in Mackay, QLD last month. Sugden, 14, was given the opportunity to captain the second under-15s Victorian team and was able to lead the side into fifth place. Sugden said the team trained for close to three months before the tournament to decide who would represent the state. “Having the announcement two weeks before the tournament that I would be captaining the Victorian side was massive,” he said. “It was a big achievement as that was my main goal and was something I was aiming for when doing all the training leading up to the event.” Sugden said most of the matches they played at the cham-
pionships were pretty close but noticed a big difference playing in Queensland this year compared to Dubbo last year. “It was a really good tournament and learning experience. “It’s completely different playing in Queensland to what it was like last year in Dubbo as the ball swung a lot more because of the weather and the heat.” “It was a much different atmosphere with all the little things making a big difference.” Sugden has played in the Parkdale senior’s side and has been playing in a super league tournament for the past few months in Cranbourne where he captains the fourth side. Sugden, a recipient of the $500 Local Sporting Champions grant, met with the federal Isaacs Labor MP Mark Dreyfus to thank him on Monday 21 August. The grant went towards the championship’s fees as well as equipment and playing gear.