Little League baseballers pitching for world title
Training is in full swing for a team of junior Moreton Bay baseball players that will hit it out against 19 of the best teams from around the world in America next month.
The Brisbane North Baseball Little League team made history in June, booking a berth at the 2022 Little League Baseball World Series, which celebrates its 75th year this year.
Head coach Keith Land says the eyes of baseball fans across the globe will be on the boys from Moreton Bay as they slug it out for the chance to be crowned the world champions of Little League.
“It’s the best 20 teams in the world,” Keith says.
“There’s a great opportunity out there for the kids – there’s all sorts of opportunities.”
Teamwork makes the dreamwork
In preparation for the trip to Williamsport, Pennsylvania the team, drawn from the Redcliffe Padres, Narangba Demons and Pine Rivers Rapids baseball clubs, has pitching practice at the Padres ground at Kippa-Ring on Mondays, hitting practice on Wednesdays, spends Friday night at the 5th Wave Martial Arts Academy and trains again on Saturdays and Sundays with optional gym sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Keith’s impressed by the boys’ work ethic but says the emphasis is on having fun while striving to do their best.
"Just seeing them enjoy themselves, it’s just going to be a blast.
"We want to make sure we give them the best experience they could have.
“If we do well at baseball that’s great, but I want them to come back better people,” he says.
Assistant coach Chris Clem says Brisbane North being one of the world’s top 20 Little League teams is especially remarkable because players are only drawn from three clubs in the Moreton Bay Region with a total pool of about 40 players, whereas the Sydney teams they beat were drawn from 12 or 13 clubs.
“They’re a really tight unit for a team of young men and everyone gets along,” he says.
“There’s two three-generation families going over – my son Mason, me and my dad Lyndon and (fellow coach) Shane, his son Khyden and his mum is our scorer.”
Brisbane North beat NSW team Hills 9-3 in the gold medal game at the Little League Division 1 Nationals, losing just one match during the series – ironically going down 4-0 to Hills.
Their first game is against Canada in Williamsport at 5pm on August 17 (7am on August 18 Australian time) and matches will be screened on ESPN.
Meet the team
Name: Fletcher Adams
Age: 12
School: Bracken Ridge State High School
Home club: Pine Rivers Rapids
How long have you played? Two years
Favourite food? Mexican burritos
Nickname? Stan
Favourite Major League Baseball team? Los Angeles Angels
Name: Archie Baert
Age: 12
School: Grace Lutheran College Caboolture
Home club: Redcliffe Padres
How long have you played? This is my first year
Favourite food? Honey chicken sushi
Nickname? Buzz or Buzz Lightyear
Favourite Major League Baseball team? Boston Redsox – my family goes for them
Sporting hero? Michael Jordan
Name: Aaron Bell
Age: 10
School: Bellmere State School
Home club: Redcliffe Padres
How long have you played? Five seasons, going on six
Favourite food? Tuna bake or steak
Nickname? Triple-A or Azza
Favourite Major League Baseball team? San Diego Padres
Sporting hero? Fernando Tatis
Name: Jack Byrne
Age: 12
School: St Eugene College
Home club: Narangba Demons
How long have you played? Seven years
Favourite food? Teriyaki chicken sushi
Nickname? Chucky
Favourite Major League Baseball team? Boston Redsox
Sporting hero? I don’t really have one
Name: Mason Clem
Age: 12
School: Carmichael College
Home club: Narangba Demons
How long have you played? Two years
Favourite food? Spicy Mexican – nachos and tacos
Nickname? Six-pack
Favourite Major League Baseball team? New York Mets
Sporting hero? My dad. He played pro ball for the Cleveland Indians (now the Cleveland Guardians)
Name: Chase Crew
Age: 11
School: Grace Lutheran Primary School
Home club: Redcliffe Padres
How long have you played? Five or six years
Favourite food? Chicken nuggets
Nickname? Tom Cruise
Favourite Major League Baseball team? Chicago Cubs
Sporting hero? Anthony Rizzo
Name: Alonso Zaire Griffin
Age: 12
School: Mueller College
Home club: Redcliffe Padres
How long have you played? Six years
Favourite food? Ribs with barbecue sauce
Nickname? Z
Favourite Major League Baseball team? San Diego Padres because my dad was born there
Sporting hero? Aroldis Chapman
Name: Xavier Honsa
Age: 12
School: Grace Lutheran College Rothwell
Home club: Pine Rivers Rapids
How long have you played? My whole life – I started with T-ball
Favourite food? Ham and cheese toasties with Old English cheese
Nickname? Honda
Favourite Major League Baseball team? The Atlanta Braves – they’re just a cool team
Sporting hero? Aaron Judge
Name: Logan Lokeni
Age: 11
School: Hercules Road State School
Home club: Redcliffe Padres
How long have you played? Eight years
Favourite food? Lots!
Nickname? Loki
Favourite Major League Baseball team? San Diego Padres
Sporting hero? I also play Rugby League, so Cam Smith
Name: Archer Petersen
Age: 11
School: Scarborough State School
Home club: Redcliffe Padres
How long have you played? This is my third year
Favourite food? Spaghetti
Nickname? AJ
Favourite Major League Baseball team? Toronto Blue Jays because Vladimir Guerrero is there
Sporting hero? My cousin Jordan Luplow – he plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Name: Keita Tsujinaka
Age: 12
School: The Lakes College
Home club: Narangba Demons
How long have you played? Three years
Favourite food? Salmon sushi
Nickname? Mozzie
Favourite Major League Baseball team? Los Angeles Angels
Sporting hero? Daisuke Matsuzaka from the Boston Red Sox
Name: Tirrell Waiwai
Age: 12
School: North Lakes State College
Home club: Redcliffe Padres
How long have you played? Three years
Favourite food? Steak
Nickname? T-Rex
Favourite Major League Baseball team? Atlanta Braves
Sporting hero? Basketballer Giannis Antetokounmpo – he went from nothing to being a star
Name: Khyden Wilson
Age: 12
School: Grace Lutheran College
Home club: Redcliffe Padres
How long have you played? Since I was four
Favourite food? Nuggets
Nickname? Nugget
Favourite Major League Baseball team? LA Dodgers
Sporting hero? Buster Posey
Name: Tyler Wilson
Age: 11
School: Holy Spirit
Home club: Pine Rivers Rapids
How long have you played? Since 2015
Favourite food? Wagu steak
Nickname? TJ
Favourite Major League Baseball team? The Los Angeles Angels – my dad follows them
Sporting hero? Mike Trout
Name: Keith Land
Position: Head coach
Suburb: Clontarf
Home club: Redcliffe Padres
Favourite food? My wife’s curried sausages
Nickname? Landy
Favourite Major League Baseball team? San Diego Padres – I’ve been there about 10 times
Sporting hero? Tony Gywnn
Name: Chris Clem
Position: Assistant coach
Suburb: Narangba
Home club: Narangba
Employment: 5th Wave Martial Arts Academy at Narangba
Favourite food: Pizza or pasta
Nickname: Clemmy
Favourite Major League Baseball team: I used to play for the Cleveland Indians
Name: Shane Wilson
Position: Assistant coach
Suburb: Warner
Home club: President, Pine Rivers Rapids
Employment: Kingswood Cabinets
Favourite food? Pizza and pasta
Favourite Major League Baseball team? Los Angeles Angels
Sporting hero? Mike Trout
Name: Lyndon Clem
Position: Executive Officer
Suburb: Kurwongbah
Employment: Retired draftsman
Home club: Narangba. I’ve been involved since Chris was in the Under-8s
Favourite food? Quiche
Favourite Major League Baseball team? Cleveland Indians
Sporting hero? Wayne Bennett