Australia: Team Brought Valuable Experience Into CRWS
By Kyle Stackpole
For a few international teams, the first time its players step on the field to play with one another is at the Cal Ripken World Series. Players from around the country come together for this event, hoping to immediately mesh together and bring back a World Series title.
This was always how Australia fielded its team. But for this year’s event, Baseball Australia strayed away from nationally selecting its team and decided it would send a charter-based team, one selected from only three or four clubs, to the states.
So five charter squads traveled to Lismore New South Wales to compete in the national championships, and the Swan Hills Aces charter team — comprised of players from three local clubs in Western Australia — became the first of such teams to represent its county in Aberdeen, Maryland for the Cal Ripken World Series.
“They were kind of trying to look at what’s better for them if they send an Australian team that doesn’t get to practice a lot together, or if they send a team that’s been practicing together for a few months,” head coach Arnie Noel said. “This is potentially a little bit of an experiment for us.”
The charter team is made up of 12 players from three clubs — East Hills, Swan Districts and Victoria Park Belmont. Noel is the Junior Development Officer for the Swan Districts Junior baseball club.
Furthermore, several players — Tyson Noel, Dusty Brown, Maddux Stivey, Trent Daniele, Jarryd Bain and BJ Cooke — have played together in the past as a part of Swan Districts, making this experience more of a family affair.
Baseball Australia’s decision to switch its selection process, however, didn’t pay off on the field. After the nationally drawn squad finished the 2014 Cal Ripken World Series with a record of 3-1, this year’s team had one win in five games.
Despite Team Australia’s performance over the past week and a half, Noel has enjoyed coaching such a tight-knit group at this worldwide event.
“It’s a fantastic experience,” Noel said. “We always talk about the kids, but we forget about the coaches. I had a great time here, and I know my assistants did as well.”
Follow Team Australia on Twitter at @CRWS_Australia and on the Cal Ripken World Series website at https://www.ripkenbaseball.com/world_series/teams/57.












