AUSTRALIAN TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR OLYMPIC QUALIFIER

Ben Foster, Tuesday, 4 March 2008

MARCH 7 - 14, Taichung, TAIWAN

AUSTRALIAN TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR OLYMPIC QUALIFIER

Eight Players to make their Senior Team Debut

An unprecedented eight players are set to make their international debuts and join some of Australia’s longest serving stars as the Australian Baseball Team prepares for their toughest ever Olympic Qualifying tournament in Taiwan later this week.

The 24-man squad, officially released by the Australian Baseball Federation today, is headlined by five members of Australia’s 2004 Silver medal winning team in addition to boasting some prodigious new talent set for their senior debuts.

Former Major League player and two-time Olympian Glenn Williams is one of the more experienced members of the team who will need to play a key role in the qualifier – a tournament some pundits have already referred to as Australia’s “Mini-Olympics”.

“We knew coming in that it was going to be a tough road to Beijing,” Williams said.

“But when three of the eight teams have already won Olympic Medals (Korea, Australia, Chinese Taipei), and two others (Canada, Mexico) consider baseball as one of their major sports, you know the bar is going to be set pretty high,” he said.

Australian Head Coach Jon Deeble, who guided the Aussies to their greatest ever performance in Athens four years ago, echoes the sentiments of his senior players but also sees the Final Qualifying tournament as a genuine opportunity for Australian Baseball.

“There is no escaping the fact that we have faced some real challenges in preparing for this tournament,” Deeble said.

“The (March) timing of the event meant that many of our players were committed to their Major League clubs in the US, and the fact that it’s our one and only opportunity to qualify means there is an enormous amount on the line.

“Personally, it’s been the most challenging program in my seven years as the Coach of the National Team…but I also think we are witnessing the birth of our next generation of Australian stars,” Deeble said.

That “next generation” Deeble refers to includes 13 players under the age of 25, three of whom have not yet seen their 20^th birthdays.

But don’t let their ages fool you – 19-year-old Liam Hendriks is fresh off his 2008 Claxton Shield Rookie of the year campaign, 18-year-old Steve Kent won the 2007 ABF Youth Player of the Year, and James Linger who is set to become the first 17-year-old to play for his country since current Major leaguer Chris Snelling won Gold with the Aussies at the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, continues to exceed all expectations every time he graces the field.

Australia must place in the top three teams of the eight-nation Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament matching up against Korea, Canada, Spain, Germany, South Africa, Mexico and Taiwan.

The seven-game round robin tournament gets underway March 7 in Taichung when Australia takes on Germany in their opening game.

2008 AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL TEAM

IBAF FINAL OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT

First Name	Last Name	STATE	Position	DOB	Age	Bat	Th	Ht	Wt
Daniel	BERG	VIC	INF/OF	21-Nov-84	23	R	R	183	89
Adam	BLACKLEY	VIC	LHP	22-Feb-85	23	L	L	186	94
Tom	BRICE	SA	OF	24-Aug-81	26	L	L	195	100
Adam	BRIGHT	VIC	LHP	11-Aug-84	23	L	L	178	90
Brad	DUTTON	QLD	SS	11-May-82	25	R	R	186	90
Liam	HENDRIKS	WA	RHP	10-Feb-89	19	R	R	183	88
Luke	HUGHES	WA	2B	2-Aug-84	23	R	R	180	90
Mark	KELLY	WA	RHP	18-Apr-84	23	R	R	193	96
Mat	KENT	VIC	C	7-Feb-80	28	L	R	194	95
Steve	KENT	ACT	LHP	8-May-89	18	L	L	182	82
Brendan	KINGMAN	NSW	INF	22-May-73	34	R	R	186	115
James	LINGER	QLD	INF/OF	6-Sep-90	17	R	R	182	87
Paul	MILDREN	SA	LHP	3-May-84	23	L	L	183	90
Scott	MITCHINSON	WA	RHP	28-Dec-84	23	,, R , ,	R	188	90
Chris	MOWDAY	QLD	RHP	28-Aug-81	26	R	R	188	105
Joel	NAUGHTON	QLD	C	27-Aug-86	22	L	R	186	94
Ben	RISINGER	WA	INF/OF	25-Nov-77	30	R	R	183	100
Brett	RONEBERG	QLD	OF	5-Feb-79	29	L	L	184	100
Brad	TIPPETT	NSW	RHP	11-Feb-88	20	R	R	186	90
Andrew	UTTING	QLD	C / 1B	9-Sep-77	30	S	R	187	95
Paul	WEICHARD	VIC	OF	7-Nov-79	28	S	L	180	95
Glenn	WILLIAMS	NSW	3B	18-Jul-77	30	S	R	190	93
Greg	WILTSHIRE	VIC	RHP	1-Mar-80	28	R	R	187	110
Brendan	WISE	WA	RHP	9-Jan-86	22	R	R	187	96

Coaches & Staff

First Name	Last Name	STATE	Position
Jon	DEEBLE	VIC	Field Manager
Tony	HARRIS	SA	3rd Base Coach
Phil	DALE	VIC	Pitching Coach
Pat	KELLY	SA	1st Base Coach
Andy	KYLE	WA	Assistant Coach
Hardy	Sattler	QLD	Physiotherapist
David	NAGY	NSW	Exec. Officer
Neil	Burke	VIC	Advance Scout