Hello and welcome to this weeks issue of Rounding Third. The boys and girls who pull on the black and orange of Wangaratta had the week off. The Victorian U16’s Winter Baseball Championships were played down at Tagoora Park over the past weekend. It was taken out by The Dandenong Baseball Association, who went through the whole weekend undefeated. Congratulations to the DBA. There were plenty of specators down at the Ranch judging by the number of cars in the car park over the two days. Only three rounds to go before finals. More about that later. Now on to other news.

Orange turn the corner. Black get the job done

     It has been talked about over the past few weeks that Rangers Orange have been slowly and steadily building into the season. This was definitely the case in the last round up at Porepunkah where, the Rangers boys and girls came from behind to run over Benalla 14-11. Gaffer Jamie Samuels was chuffed with her chargers. Best for the game in the field were “Whacko Jacko” Wright, Simon “Lefty” O’Neil and “The Game” Jason Jonker. Steve “Fernando” Peruzzo hit the ball hard and to all parts of the field while young gun Damien “Rookie” French got the glass for the day. In the late game, Rangers Black finally overcame a stubborn and always competitive Porepunkah eventually running out winners 9-2. From all reports it was a close tight tussle up into the later innings, where finally the Ranger offense led by Bryan “Moose” Wilson moonshot the break on their opposition. Great job ladies and gentlemen.

Winter Wonders

     It had not rained in over six weeks but those in the know had a feeling in their achy bones that the rain might come as the North Eastern baseball Association was holding the U16’s State Winter Championships. However there was going to be no repeat of last years deluge.  A bit of rain dampened the ground Saturday morning but did not play much part for the rest of the weekend. This would have come as much relief to all the volunteers from all clubs who put in the hours in the Canteen, the Barbeque and on ground duties. A big thank you to all who came down helped out and made the weekend a successful one. AS they say many hands make light work.

Damien French Gun for hire

     The Rookie took some red hot form from Porepunkah the previous week into the Winter Championship weekend. He was drafted in to play for the Sunraysia Baseball league under sixteens outfit. From reading the reports on the Sunraysia page, Damo had a weekend out. Plenty of hits and pitched an inning or two. Great job Damo. Here’s to continuing that red hot form into the final three games of the season. Big thanks to Sunraysia for giving Damo the opportunity to play over the weekend.

Spinner Summons the Troops

     President Tony “Spinner” Smith was at the forefront of the effort to get members of the Rangers to come along and help out on the weekend. All his huffing and puffing was worth it. It was great to see a whole host of names who volunteered their time to help the carnival run as smoothly as possible. It just proves that when everyone does a little bit over the course of the season, everything can run much more smoothly. Great job Spinner.

DJ won’t be playing the decks for a while

     Resident Wangaratta Rangers DJ Sarah Iwanuch had a bit of a slip up last week. It ;looks like she made a right mess of her hand by accident. Judging from the photos there was plenty of claret spilt and a good lot of bandages on her hand. Sarah assures us all that it was just a little slip up and she will be back down the Ranch very soon. That is a thumbs up from all of us at Wangaratta.

Lucky Ticket. Two weeks

     The Rangers one and only Lucky Ticket night is almost here. For $25 you get a chance to win some cash and have a rocking good time with all your favorite Ranger players down at the Ranch. Tickets are selling fast so if you do not have one, drop the club a line and we will try and accommodate you with one.

Three weeks to go

     Yes three weeks is all that is left in the 2017 season before finals. Where has that gone? This week the Rangers tackle the Bears. On July 22nd a rare Saturday game is being played between Wangaratta and Wodonga Warriors. For the final week Rangers Orange will play Rangers Black for bragging rights. Make sure you come down to training have some fun and play some baseball.

Ranger Ramble VI update

     Legendary tour operator Daniel Griffin informs Line Drive that Ranger Ramble VI numbers are at an all time high. Once again all the usual suspect will be in attendance but some rookies are looking to put their stamp on a Ranger tour. As mentioned before a few will be making their debut. More information in the coming weeks in regards to Ranger Ramble VI 2017.

The power of positivity.

     Line Drive has been thinking over the past few weeks about life, baseball, and of course Wangaratta Rangers. When you stand back and really think about it, we really do have a great club. When there is something that needs to be done. It gets done. When volunteers are required to help run an event. Volunteers put their hand up. No matter what the task is, there is always someone to lend a hand. At times things are tough. We get cranky, frustrated, disenchanted but then you realize  why would players drive over one hundred kilometers a week to attend training and to play on the weekend? As a player said to this scribe recently about the travel, “I just love playing.” It can be as simple as that. The positive forward momentum the club has made in the past few years, we should be proud of. We support one another, we go on end of year trips, we help out when we are needed. Thursday night dinners are definitely something each player who goes to training looks forward to. There are always bumps and kinks in the road but if we continue to support one another and help out the club in our own unique ways, then Wangaratta Rangers will be the club that we all want it to be. Supportive, Positive and most importantly having fun playing Baseball.

Now for the Club News-

• This week both teams are playing against Bears.
• Lucky Ticket draw $25 a ticket to be held Saturday July 22 from 6pm
• Ranger Ramble October 2017.
• Merchandise is available. Grab a beanie for $25.
• Subs are due see Jenko for details.
• Training 6pm Thursday. Butts is cooking Nachos!
• Checkout teamapp Wangaratta Rangers and follow us on Twitter. We can also be found on Facebook,.

http://www.wangarattarangers.baseball.com.au

Short and sharp this week. There will be much to discuss in the next read.

Till then

Go Rangers