MORE than 120 baseballers descended on Blue Lake Sports Park on the weekend to contest a friendly Over 35 competition.
The 15th annual Mount Gambier Baseball Masters Tournament was deemed a huge success, with Northern Aces Blue a class above as they breezed to the gold medal.
The tournament is hosted each year by the Mount Gambier Legends Baseball Club and continues to attract good numbers from around the region and further afield.
Nine teams were included, with six from Adelaide – including a women’s team – one from Melbourne and two from the Limestone Coast – Legends and MG Tigers.
Two games were played Friday night to kick the weekend off in front of a big crowd.
Both games were interrupted by rain but no more than 30 minutes was lost.
Saturday saw 13 games scheduled, with all completed without incident.
The nine teams were arranged in three pools of three teams where they played a series of two games each.
From there the draw was rearranged so the top teams in each pool played a further two games each, likewise for second and third places in each pool.
Points earned over the four games then decided who would play in the finals for the coveted gold, silver and bronze medallions.
It came down to the last pool game on Sunday morning as to who would fill the fifth spot for the playoffs, which was open to three teams.
Finally the scene was set for a much-anticipated final series consisting of Playford City.
Playford made the final series by one less defensive run than their closest rival, playing Mount Gambier Legends for the right to contest the bronze medal game.
Adelaide Aces A faced Diamond Dogs for the right to play for the gold medal.
Adelaide was victorious and then faced Northern Aces Blue.
Northern Aces advanced straight into the game after finishing top of the nine-team ladder.
Legends defeated Playford City which left them to challenge Diamond Dogs for the bronze medal.
Diamond Dogs claimed a 9-4 victory over Legends, while Northern Aces showed their strength with a 9-0 win over Adelaide to claim the gold medal, with Adelaide relegated to the silver.
The clubrooms were filled to capacity at the presentations where Legends president Peter Walter thanked all clubs for attending to make the tournament a success, along with the tournament sponsors – the City of Mount Gambier, Baker’s Delight, She’s Apples, Swallow Drive Meat Supply, Collins Court Butchers, The South Eastern, Mount Gambier Frozen Foods, Farmers Union Iced Coffee and Limestone Coast Timber for Floors – the umpires, scorers, canteen and bar volunteers and grounds volunteers.
The respective medallions were presented to players of each winning team who were introduced individually to all present.
