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MLBI Coach Alper Bozkurt from the Turkish Baseball Academy visited Greystones recently Welcome to the home of the Greystones Mariners Baseball Club. Founded in 1991, the Mariners are the oldest and largest baseball club in Ireland. The club is based in Greystones, Co. Wicklow, and can be contacted at mariners@greystonesbaseball.org

We now have a schedule for our annual BBQ to be held this Saturday the 20th of September at the Charlesland Sports Centre.

The schedule is as follows:

11.00am - 12.15pm T-Ball Game.

12.30pm - 2.30pm U 13's Game.

3.00pm - 5.00pm Parents Softball Game. Players needed!

The good news for the day (Fingers crossed!); the forecast says it will be dry. Here's hoping!
Looking forward to seeing you all there!

The Mariners U13s showed real character at the Tralee Little League tournament on 6th September, coping with some of the most testing baseball conditions imaginable. The blitz was well organized (thanks due to the efforts of Elaine, Stas, Andrei and our other Kerry friends), but all the players suffered at the hands of Mother Nature who’d dumped two days of rain on the Kerry Green Sox home field. And it wasn’t just the weather that was against us. When the draw was made, you just had the feeling that this was not going to be our day as we were placed both in the same group as hosts Kerry and onto the muddier of the two diamonds. Parts of the field could only be described as a quagmire and it was soon apparent that any team playing on the other diamond and/or wearing soccer boots would be at an advantage. We had neither. Note: baseball shoes or soccer boots mandatory equipment for all future blitzes!.

Kerry had warmed up with a convincing win over (another!) new team from Cork – the Patriots – then it was our turn to squelch onto the field. Mariners starting pitcher and captain Mark Tracy was coping with a muddy mound and a ball that needed cleaning after nearly every pitch as Kerry took a number of walks and a few hits. Twice the Mariners would have had easy outs when batters hit ‘slow rollers’ in front of the plate, but on both occasions the ball went into a swamp area into which both ball and fielder disappeared in a sheet of spray as baseball briefly turned into water-polo. The ‘mercy’ rule of 6 runs saved us from further punishment, but the let-up was fleeting as Kerry paid us the compliment of bringing on their No.1 pitcher who was simply in a different class to any other pitcher on the day.

Try as we might, the Mariners couldn’t get many runs and even after some much needed hits, the Kerry team proved ruthless. In the 2nd Mariners inning and with runners on Mark Tracy latched onto the Sox pitchers’ fastball and clubbed it past the pitcher as it streaked its way towards the deep outfield. That’s until their 2nd baseman soared into the air to take a spectacular catch in the play of the day! We lost eventually 15-2 but hadn’t played that badly.

In the next game Cian Bonardio stepped onto the mound and we easily outplayed the Patriots 9-2 in what we thought was a warm up for the semi final game. But time pressure had taken out that round so disappointingly we didn’t have a chance to make the final, going straight to the 3rd place play off versus Cork Ryland. We batted first but couldn’t cope with the Cork team’s excellent starting pitcher who was throwing down strike after strike. Cian stayed on the mound as Cork put on 3 runs in their first inning to take the lead. In the second inning, the Mariners got off the mark with one run but the inning was marred by Leanne Morley taking a big hit to the head from a wild pitch, necessitating a retirement and visit to the First Aid post. Cian then got into his stride, limiting Cork to two runs. With the score 5-1 to Cork at the top of the 3rd inning it was ‘do or die’ time for the Mariners. After a pep talk from the coaches, boy did they deliver.

Our batters lost their inhibitions and started a hitting onslaught. Base hits from Mark Tracy, Cian Bonardio, Conor Rubalcava and Carrig Byrne plus smart base stealing from Aimee Morley rattled up scores. Then Andrew Aling, who’d been a real trooper all day, got in on the act too with a cleverly placed vital RBI hit to the delight of all. The 6 run mercy rule spoiled the show as with one out remaining the Mariners still had bases loaded and the top of the order next up. So going into the decisive bottom of the 3rd it was 7-5 to the Mariners and we needed to ‘hold’ Ryland. Leanne Morley showed a lot of courage to come straight back from treatment to take the field but, alas, Ryland found a couple of runs to tie the game and win out as they led going into the final inning. A frustrating outcome – we’d just left it too late to find our batting form. Overall it was a good day though. We fielded well and got our hitting game together by the end as Kerry won the Blitz comfortably. Despite the conditions, our players never complained once. So the competitive season ended with Mariners U13s winning the Clondalkin Blitz, coming second in Cork and gaining valuable experience at our home blitz & in muddy Kerry. With a squad of over 30 players, this Mariners team is full of potential and character. See you all at the BBQ & bring on the 2009 season!

Mariners Squad in Tralee: Cian Bonardio, Conor Rubalcava, Mark Tracy, Carrig Byrne, Aimee & Leanne Morley, Mathew Conway, Cian Bentham, Andrew Aling, Kyle Cafferky

Michael Quilty
Mariners Little League Coach

The Greystones Mariner Baseball Club's annual barbecue will take place on Saturday the 20th of September. The day will include a T-Ball game for the Under 8's, a Little League game for the Under 12's and hopefully an Adult Softball game for any parents interested in giving the game a go. And of course a barbecue. A schedule for the day will be posted soon.
Please come along and enjoy this fun day of baseball. All present and past players are welcome as well as siblings and parents. And lets hope for some sun!

T-Ball will recommence this Wednesday the 27th of August at the usual time of 4.30 to 5.30pm. We will continue on Wednesday afternoons until the evening light starts to fade. I hope to see you all there.

U13 Baseball mid-season break
We’re taking a break now as it’s the height of the holiday season, but baseball will be back on 22nd August to start training again in preparation for the Kerry Blitz on September 6th.

International honour for Mariners U13 player
Carraig Byrne will be part of the Little League team representing Ireland in the International tournament in Poland in late July. Well done Carraig, we’re sure you’ll do the Mariners (& Ireland) proud! We hope to have more players in next year’s event, given more notice to plan ahead.

MLB coach visits to U13s a big hit
Two top coaches were in Greystones at Mariners Field in the last month to work with the Mariners squad, with some 25 players taking advantage of top level skills tuition. First up was ex. Detroit Tigers pitcher Pat Ahearne who put the squad through their paces and did specialist pitching drills with our budding stars. This was followed a week later by the visit of top European player & Major League Baseball envoy coach Alper Bozkurt (see picture). Alper introduced us to a number of new drills, making 3 hour training sessions competitive, challenging & above all fun! He also brought with him some welcome sunshine! His visit was such a success that it’s led to an invitation to send a Mariners team to visit Turkey next season to play games against some of their top teams at his Istanbul base. Watch this space for more details about this exciting prospect.

Mariners big winners in Clondalkin
This fast developing Mariners U13s went one better than their runner-up slot in Cork by winning the O’Malley Field 10th Anniversary Blitz in Clondalkin, Co. Dublin. The tournament, held over the course of a long day at Corkagh Park, took place in challenging conditions for the six teams and their spectators alike with typical Irish summer weather (windy, rainy & cold!).
The team started with a solid win against the combined Clondalkin/Cavan team by 4 runs to 1. In a slow game, the Mariners scored 2 in each of their innings, while Cloncavan only got one runner in. Mark Treacy pitched, giving up few hits and shutting out the opposition. The next game was against our old friends and rivals Cork Druids with Adam Price the starting pitcher. The opposition, well coached as always by the Murphy family, scored two runs in their first inning but Mariners responded by posting 5 runs, with the ‘mercy rule’ limiting further damage. Relief pitcher Carraig Byrne stepped onto the mound for innings two but the Druids struck back, tying up the game with some good hitting scoring 3 runs to make it 5 each in their 2nd innings. In a tense second batting effort, Conor Rubalcava was able to slide home for the winning run by staying alert after a mis-field, putting the Mariners through to the final. There was a considerable wait to see who we’d face and, to everyone’s surprise, 2008 form team Kerry didn’t make it, having lost out to the other Cork team, Ryland Raiders. The Mariner’s coaches continued to rotate their pitchers for the final with rookie Brian Coronella getting his chance. He didn’t disappoint, shutting out the Raiders in the 1st inning which closed on a high with a great catch and double play by 2nd base Carraig Byrne as he picked off a massive hit that looked like a big score, and then tagging a runner with two Raiders poised to score on base. In a tight affair, Mariners managed just one run in their first inning, with Cork scoring one also in their second to make it one run each. In the Mariners 2nd at bat they scored one run and in Corks third inning they got an equalising run to make it 2 - 2. In the Mariners third inning they couldn’t score, and then Coronella put another zero in the scoring column of Corks 4th at bat. As the Mariners took the field at the bottom of the 4th looking for the decisive go-ahead run, the umpire stepped in to rule that, with the game time limit already expired, Mariners didn’t need a go-ahead score to win as a tie would rule the game in their favour, having been the leading team after inning one. Mariners had won to the delight of the hardy (and blue with cold!) parents who’d stayed to cheer them on! The 10th Anniversary trophy and medals were presented to the team, with Mark Treacy winning the best all round player trophy and Conor Rubalcava being awarded a fine wooden bat for being best young player.
A great end to a very long day in Clondalkin!
Mariners squad: Daniel Daly-Ronayne, Cian Bentham, Aran Horan, Conor Rubalcava, Conor Darcy, Pawel Krysa, Sean Lucas, Leanne Morley, Carraig Byrne (Pitcher), Adam Price (Pitcher), Mark Treacy (Team Captain, Pitcher & Catcher), Brian Coronella (Pitcher & relief Catcher). Coaches: Michael Quilty, Steve Coronella, Rick Bentham. Tactical advice & all round support: Paul Murray

Posted by Michael Quilty

The Greystones Mariners Under 13’s made real progress in this their third visit to Cork, reaching the final of the tournament for the second time before losing this time to the resolute Kerry Green Sox. This was one of the most competitive tournaments at this level in many years as each team was able to field several solid pitchers, which eliminated the multiple walk innings as well as improving the hitting all round. The addition this year of base-stealing also added greatly to the games, keeping all involved on their toes as well as providing the spectators with something else to cheer about. What was most impressive about the young Mariners in this tournament was how a team dominated by rookies came together so quickly and pulled off three come-from-behind victories to reach the final in such a competitive event.

The first game of the day was against the Rylane Raiders, who took an early 1 run lead in the 1st inning. But with Mariner starting pitcher Cian Bonardio finding his feet on the mound, this turned out to be the Cork team’s only run. The Mariners scored 3 runs of their own off a fine Raider pitcher with some crucial walks and timely clutch hitting to take their first win in this 3 inning game.
It was a similar story in Game 2 against the Clondalkin Cardinals. This Dublin team are much improved and they too took an early lead against the Mariners. But Mariner starter Mark Treacy showed he was made of sterner stuff, pitching well enough to allow his team mates back into the game, and helping the offence with his first of 3 doubles on the day. But with only a 4-1 lead, the Mariners came under pressure as the Cardinals scored another run. Sensing victory, they battled on but a key turning point in this game for the Mariners was a heads up play by young catcher Conor Rubalcava. A Clondalkin runner seemed to have added another run after evading a tag at the plate, but had also missed the plate. Conor applied a tag on his second attempt saving the game for Greystones who won 4-2.
The Mariners were now in the semi-final against their old friends the Cork Druids. These games have been high-scoring affairs in the past and this game started in the same vein. Mariner pitcher Carrig Byrne was doing his job, putting the ball over the plate, but the Cork hitters seemed to be seeing it like a beach-ball; 6 runs followed off some excellent hitting including 1 homerun. But these games have always seesawed and when the Mariners scored 2 runs in their half of the 1st inning, this game was far from over. And so it proved. Like his fellow starters, Carrig got stronger and shut the Druids down, aided and abetted by a superb foul-ball catch behind home-plate from catcher Mark Treacy, opening the way for another Mariner comeback, which duly arrived with 5 runs in the 2nd inning. With the time up this proved enough for the Mariners to make the final with a 7-6 win.
The final against the Kerry Green Sox was a reverse of all the games that came before. It was the Mariners who scored first notching up 2 runs in the 1st inning. Cian Bonardio was handed the ball for this final and did not let his team down, shutting out the Kerry team in their half of the inning. But those pesky Sox are hard to beat, and despite Cian’s best efforts, they eked out 3 runs to take the lead before the clock ran down sealing another tournament victory for the team from Tralee.

With so many new players in this squad, reaching the final was a massive achievement for the Mariners. As well as solid pitching from all three starters, the offence scored runs when needed with Adam Price, Kyle Cafferky and Mark Treacy in particular providing many of the offensive highlights. Everyone contributed and it was great to see a new squad come together so well and so quickly, and winning so many games. Coach Michael Quilty deserves much credit for this; as well as guiding the team to 3 big wins, he had the difficult job of keeping everyone happy while juggling his roster for each game. Many thanks to rookie coach Rick Bentham for his assistance over the weekend also. The convoy of support that made its way down to Cork is vital and much appreciated; thanks to all of those that travelled down to cheer the team on.

This Cork tournament is now a firm favourite on the Mariner baseball calendar and we would like to thank the organisers for hosting such a well run event, most notably the Kenneys and the Murphys. We are already looking forward to next years blitz.

Greystones Mariners Under 13 Squad, Cork 2008:
Cian Bentham, Cian Bonardio, Carrig Byrne, Kyle Cafferky, Matthew Conway, Daniel Daly-Ronayne, Aran Horan, Sean Lucas, Aimee Morley, Leanne Morley, Hugh O’Reilly, Adam Price, Conor Rubalcava, Mark Treacy.

Greystones Mariners staged their first home Blitz on Saturday 17th May at the Wicklow team’s new home, Mariners Field, Charlesland Sport & Recreation Centre. Players got the full baseball experience using a permanent diamond, complete with backstop, stop fencing, pitcher’s mound, fixed bases and top-level umpires. Five teams competed, two from the host club, plus teams from Cork Druids, Kerry’s Kingdom Redsox, and a combined team from Cavan & Clondalkin - christened for the day the Cloncavan Cardinals! Games were played on a ‘round robin’ basis using Little League rules, including base stealing once the pitch had crossed the plate, but with no ‘steal’ to home. After some initial hesitations, the players enjoyed the new rules, keeping the bases active and the fielders and catchers on their toes right through each game.

All the teams competing had many new players this season, with the exception of Kerry who featured a number of the players who have made them the top team for the past couple of years. The blitz format of the games, using the ‘no new inning after 40 minute’ rule, made for mainly tight affairs over 2-4 innings, where a 2 run lead could be a winning margin. Kerry were the first to qualify for the final with a run of four wins out of four, even though they had to work hard in a couple of matches to get the wins. Cloncavan, sporting their stylish new uniforms, put in very respectable performances for a team who only came together on the day, and some of their hitting was top class. Greystones Mariners A & B were involved in tight games and on a number of occasions had bases loaded but couldn’t get the hits when they needed it most. Cork Druids always did enough in their games, showing immense character to pull off tight wins, especially in the game against Mariners B where they shut out the home team in the third inning to put themselves into the final to the delight of their coaches and supporters.

By late afternoon, the sun was shining brightly as Cork took to Diamond One to play Kerry in an all Munster final. Both teams were committed 100%. Indeed a collision on a scoring run at home plate led to a ten minute injury time out – with, happy to report, no lasting damage. In the end Kerry found the decisive hits that proved enough and eventually they ran out comfortable winners, putting down a marker once again that they are ‘the team to beat in 2008’. So Kerry took away their well deserved Gold winners medals, with Cork Druids getting Silver. All the competing players took away participation medals and a great time was had by all in the sunshine.

The first Mariners blitz proved to be an ideal development tournament - teams can train as much as they want but there’s no substitute for competitive play. Roll on the Cork, Clondalkin and Kerry tournaments!

--Michael Quilty

Training has started for all sections of the club. All training takes place at Charlesland Sport & Recreation Park

U7s (T-Ball) – Wednesdays 4.30-5.30 pm
U12s -- Fridays 4.30-6.00pm
U16s – Thursdays 5.45-7.30pm
Adults (baseball) – Thursdays 7.00-9.00pm
Adults (softball) – Mondays 7.00-9.00pm

Baseball Open Day
Saturday, 5 April
11 am – 2 pm
Charlesland Sports Grounds, Greystones

New Players Welcome!

T-Ball (ages 6-8)
11 am – 12 pm
The T-Ball group is for boys and girls born between July 2000 and June 2002. It will meet every Wednesday, 4.30 – 5.30 pm, from April to June.

Youth League (ages 9-12)
12 – 1 pm
The Youth League is for boys and girls born between July 1995 and June 2000. Although experienced players are welcome, no experience is required to play! Training is on every Friday, 4.30 – 6 pm, from April to June. Games and blitzes with other teams will be scheduled in Greystones, Dublin and even further afield.

Senior Youth League (ages 13-16+)
1 – 2 pm
Senior Youth is for teens born before July 1995. Training is on every Thursday, 5.30 – 7.30
pm, from April to June. Games and blitzes with other teams will be scheduled in Greystones, Dublin, and further afield.

Volunteers Needed!
Founded in 1991, the Greystones Mariners is the oldest and largest baseball club in Ireland and has had a significant positive impact on Greystones and its residents. We need volunteers to help at all levels. Although some experience with the game of baseball is necessary to coach, you can also work as an assistant coach and receive ‘on-the-job training’ or on our committee (no experience required!). Drop by during our Open Day and talk to one of our coaches or parent helpers.
See what a difference you can make by volunteering a few hours a week of your time!

- Saturday March 15th - intra squad game Mariners VS Mariners 11am - 2pm - players arrive at 10.45
- Sunday March 23th - easter Sunday (no training)
- Saturday March 29th - friendly double header against the Black Sox (this may get changed to Sunday)
- Thursday April 3rd - training in Greystones 7 to 9.30pm

- Saturday April 5th - Mariners Season starts in Belfast with a double header against the North Stars