Williamstown Wolves are ready to take on the big guns of the Baseball Victoria summer league division 1.
The Wolves are hungry for a new challenge after back-to-back premierships in division 2.
But a baptism of fire awaits the Wolves on Sunday, with perennial title contenders Geelong Baycats paying a visit to Greenwich Reserve for the season opener.
Wolves player-coach Dean Marnell told
Star Weekly it would be a tough initiation and he didn’t expect it to get any easier.
“We’re really looking forward to it and it’ll be a good chance to see where we’re at,” he said.
“Every opponent in division one is tough. You look through their lists and you think, this is why they’re in the division. They’ve got a lot of depth. We’re trying to build depth to get to that stage.”
The Wolves pulled off a recruiting coup in the off-season when star pitcher Andrew Russell chose to return to his hometown club.
The Williamstown-born utility was highly sought after because of his ability to play in a variety of positions and his impressive resume.
Russell is still in his prime at 30, having represented Australia at the World Baseball Classic only last year and being a part of the Atlanta Braves minor league system. He has been a regular with the Melbourne Aces in the Australian Baseball League.
Marnell was thrilled to get a player of Russell’s experience.
“He’s the best recruit in the league, I’d say,” Marnell said.
“He played for Australia in the last two or three World Baseball Classics, he played triple-A baseball for the Atlanta Braves and had some big league time in spring training
last year.
“The guy knows how to win and he has a presence. We’ll build our team around him.”
The Wolves’ strength lies in its pitching depth. They have David Asp, Jason Lester, Josh Lee, Nathan Rogers, Ryan Camov, Daniel Chircop and Aaron Green to complement Russell.
One position the Wolves are desperate to strengthen is the important catching spot.
Jason McDonald has been a warrior behind the dish for the Wolves, but asking a veteran to catch the whole 27 games is a stretch.
“We have a couple of young guys who are not quite up to it yet, but we’re trying to develop,” Marnell said.
That’s where the search for an import begins for the Wolves.
They had to release big-hitting American Russell Moldenhauer in a bid to find an import catcher, but so far the search has been fruitless.
“We had a Dutch guy lined up and he fell through and an American guy just gave us a ‘no’ today,” Marnell said.
“We can get by without an import in the early part of the season, but I’ll be looking very hard in the next few days to try to get someone locked in.”
The Wolves were held back from promotion to division 1 two years ago after failing to meet the junior criteria.
But the club has since reaped the rewards of junior co-ordinator Ray Baker’s hard work in establishing a sustainable junior section.
“He’s done the hard yards so we can meet the criteria,” Marnell said. “He’s out there promoting the club throughout the western suburbs by doing after-school programs, clinics and come-and-try days.
“The work he’s done, with help from some senior players, has just been amazing.”
Meanwhile, Newport Rams will be at home in round one, facing Preston at KC White Reserve on Sunday.
David White will take charge of his first game as coach of the Rams.
