Hello and welcome to this weeks edition about the comings and goings ons at the Wangaratta Rangers Baseball Club. Once again the weather was splendid over the weekend and the Rangers bats were well and truly warmed up. In the first game the Rangers Orange boys put on a display of precision hitting and good fielding to defeat Porepunkah Panthers 17-7. Justin Mortimer on the hill wound back the clock and had a day out with the bat. In the late game, the Rangers Black squad proved too strong for a rapidly improving Wodonga Warriors A, winning 12-3. Special thanks to Wodonga Warriors for their hospitality and ‘perfect’ temperature pies. Not to mention all the supporters who ventured out to watch both games of baseball. It is greatly appreciated.

So what else has been happening in Ranger land? Keep reading and you will find out.

Jack Bradburn gets his first hits as a Ranger!

     It was great to witness the newest Ranger Jack “The Big Hurt” Bradburn get his first hit in the orange and black. It was also great that his folks were there to witness not only his first hit but his second hit as well! Not to mention a couple of runs batted in to go with it. Both hits were solid shots back up over second base with wood. Jack has the option of swinging aluminum or wood, but he has taken a liking to the wood bats.

From all of the Rangers congratulations on getting your first pair of hits Jack! Keep working hard on Wednesday nights.

Don’t you forget about me Mark Drage.

     Mark “The Rage” Drage has had a big few weeks on the field. Two weeks ago he hit his first home run of the year against Benalla. An inside the park effort which was a long hit to the deep Benalla outfield. This was an oversight by Line drive so Mark let Line Drive’s good mate and travel companion Cam “The Motivator” Scott know. This week Drage’s outfield antics went to a new level of cool. A hard hit, deep ball was floating towards the alley between left field and center field. Most would give up on it and let up the double, but not Drage. He flung him self backwards and took a spectacular catch. Now that’s how you play baseball Dragey. Great stuff. Special thanks to Lauren Grenfell for taking the picture.

What happened to Scott Jenkins?

     The Nambrok place boys had another exciting adventure over the weekend and arrived to the game looking……..pretty tired. There was supposed to be four of them however only three turned up. When asked where Scotty Jenkins was the boys replied that he was puffed and stayed home. No big deal really? However Scotty did say he would come and line umpire and be on the bench. Might owe a gold coin for this one Scotty. What you think man of tin Dan “Shades” Griffin?

Justin Mortimer “Fear the Beard” 

     Justin “Mountain Man” Mortimer begun the season quietly. Over the weekend he returned to the pitching mound and starred for the Rangers Orange outfit. Mortimer chewed up some innings for the Orange boys and hit up a storm. When asked how many hits Mortimer had had, Rob “Butts” Seymour shrugged his shoulders and said he had lost count. All the scribe knows it was plenty. Well played Justin.

Did you see the skipper swiping extra bases?

     Mick “The Skipper” Wyatt swiped second not once but twice for the orange boys. The skipper has been all amongst it all year so far, and it is great to have him involved and around the club. That running on Wednesday nights is helping us all. Though on another note did the media darling Tetsu Kamiyama pay his fine for not tagging up on a flyball with less than two out? Who was arguing about running on Wednesday night?? Lucky for Tets he made it safely home as the ball was dropped. Still pay up Tetsu.

Another weekend another Moosism.

     Bryan “Don’t call me Byron” Wilson was at his best against Wodonga. Not only did he pitch 5 scoreless innings  but before the game he suggested that we do a infield warmup. Cam Scott was shocked and horrified by this idea that he lodged an official complaint with training guru Nathan Pool. Luckily, sense prevailed and no warm up was undertaken. Later on in the day Moose did agree that it was not necessary as The Rangers played flawless defense behind Moose on the mound. Just another Moosism.

The best number nine hitter in the league goes to….. Shannon Whiting.

     Former Ranger and all round nice guy Shannon “Bestie” Whiting is laying claim to being the most potent number nine hitter in the North Eastern Baseball Association. He struck fear into the pitching of Wangaratta. He was pitched around twice and finished the game with an on base percentage of 1000. Late in the game when Nathan “Four hits” Pool came to the mound Bestie did some of his best work, by getting Pool to throw something he could handle and dispatch it to the outfield for a hit. Pretty good set of the numbers for the day Bestie. Promotion up the order?

Play hard on the field and share a laugh off it.

     We all like to play the game hard and win the game when we can, but the off field camaraderie in the North East Baseball Association is alive and well. This was clearly evident with all the Wodonga Warriors and Rangers sharing an ale having a chat and enjoying one another company after the game at Edwards Tavern. So all out there support one another. We all want to keep playing this great game.

Now the club stuff

• Fees are now due. Please fix up Kev Pool as soon as possible
• Butts says caps will be here this Wednesday. Hoodies are not far away.
• Rep is on the long weekend in Geelong let someone know if you are interested in going.
• This weeks drill will be brought to you by Dylan Cowan. Get along Wednesday to find out what it is.
• End of season trip date yet to be determined.
• Ladies Day Sunday 21st June. All are welcome.

That’s enough from me. Have a great week and

Go Rangers