Early Days
Earliest* found records show that Essendon had active female baseball players from at least the 1980s. Amanda Telford may have been the first female to play baseball at Essendon. Amanda played junior at EBC, after junior coach Garry Bitmead wrote to the Victorian Baseball Association and obtained permission for her to play the sport alongside the boys.
Sisters Vanessa & Deanne Lee were also junior baseball players at the club in 1984-86, playing under the coaching guidance of Garry Bitmead and Butch Langman. After their start at Essendon, the sisters both went on to represent Victoria(in white & blue teams respectively) and Deanne represented Australia in the inaugural Women’s Baseball World Series tournament of 2001. (*feel free to submit suggestions below).
The women’s baseball competition developed strongly in Melbourne in the 1990s, with growth coinciding with the release of the movie “A League of Their Own”. The number of women baseball players was growing.
A team of our own
Season 1996-1997
The inaugural Essendon Baseball Club Women’s team formed in 1996/1997’s under Coach Gary Hicks, and what a season they had!
Initially, after playing seeding games against Division 1 sides, the side was regraded to Division 4 where they settled in and ultimately won the Grand Final! The club provided Essendon junior female baseball players a pathway to womens baseball, developing representatives including Australian representative Alisa Tamburrino (2004, 2006).
Back L => R – (Coach) Gary Hicks, Jeanette Hobbins, Alisa Tamburrino, Fiona McKelvie, Roz McNabb,
Anne Adams, (Assistant Coach) Matt Cugley.
2nd L => R – Kerry Bird, Lyn McKelvie, Chris Fuleky, Jeanning Lawry, Gail Tamburrino, Sally Sims.
Season 1997-1998
Coached by Matt Cugley, the Women’s baseball team played Div 3 through a tougher year. They again made finals, however were knocked out in the semi finals. See the Report.
Season 1998-1999
This was the final season for this era of Women’s Baseball teams at Essendon, as the club did not field a side the following year.
Rebirth
Season 2012-2013
Essendon Club President, Tony Cornish, seized the opportunity to restart Essendon Women’s program in 2012/2013. Tony wanted to retain junior female players already in the club, attract the many past junior players back to the club and get new female baseball players to the club. So, Essendon restarted the Women’s program, appointing Ron Copperwaite as Women’s coach, supported by club stalwart Garry Bitmead and Vibeke Pedersen.
Pictured: Coach Ron Copperwaite with Colin Penny
Back L => R – Jess Copperwaite, Jodie Cray, Michelle Graham, Vibeke Pederson, Juliana Stafford, Sarah Wong
Front L => R – Sarah Glasson, Meghan Murdock, Abbey Kelly, Georgia Patton
Inset: Ron Copperwaite, Megan Kelly, Nadine Harber, Elizabeth Cornish
The newly formed 2012/2013 team was thrown into the deep end! Essendon was graded into a new combined VSBL Women’s Division 1 & 2 fixture, where the 18 sides played each other once during the season. Facing impressive competition each week, the new team had a tough, but fun year. The team improved over the year, via Ron’s encouraging coaching efforts, and won the final 3 games of the provisional division. The team (12 players) was established and the emerging female Essendon juniors (incl. Jesse Copperwaite & Abbey Kelly) played Essendon Women’s that summer. See the report. A special mention to Liz Cornish, who played 2 games this season. The league had a heat rule to protect Junior players, so Liz played games when the temperature rose above 36°C, thereby staking her place in women’s baseball history as a pinch “heat” player!
The numbers grow
Season 2013-2014
Bronwyn Gell was the Women’s Coach in 2013/2014. In addition to the returning 2012/13 players, the club welcomed the return of former Essendon Baseball Club juniors including Bronwyn, Courtney Foura & Emma French, as well as a number of talented players. The club again fielded teams in a refactored Division 1 competition, and a Division 3 side combined with Newport. Division 1finished 5th (narrowly missing finals) and Division 3 lost a close grand final. Importantly the season saw a growing playing group to 17 players.
Back L => R – Dean Anglin(Newport & Team Coach), Mary Vanselow, Michelle Graham, Jodie Clay, Laura Sexton, Steliani Constas, Jennifer Mason, Bronwyn Gell (EBC coach)
Front L => R – Anna Radney, Kate Sherwell, Phoebe Jakubzik, Hashani Fonseka, Megan Kelly
Season 2014-2015
In 2014-15 under the astute coaching of new Essendon coach, Colin Penny, numbers grew to 25 listed players, fielding teams in Division 1 and a full Division 3 team. The Div 1 side was defeated by Doncaster in the semi final and the Div 3 side finished out of the finals.
Season 2015-2016
In 2015-16 Colin Penny returned as Women’s coach for a Division 1 and promoted Division 2 teams. After a successful home and away season, the Division 1 side played in their first Division 1 Grand Final, however was defeated by Springvale. The Division 2 side finished out of the finals, however was highly competitive. See the report.
Season 2016-2017
In 2016-17 Bronwyn Gell was reappointed as Women’s coach and Essendon fielded Division 1, 2 and 3 teams for the first time. All three sides made finals! Unfortunately the Division 1 side was again beaten in the Grand Final by Springvale 5-10, the Div 2 side finished xxxxx.
Back L=>R – (Coach) Rob Gell, Jamie Whitfield, Rachael Boucher, Jess Boucher, Laura Sexton, Chelsea Stewart, Teesha Gardiner, Kira Jansen
Front L=>R – Emma Davenport, Kayla Adams, Jasmine Bentley, Claire Costa, Emily Kline-Marantelli,
Nicole McIntyre
Season 2017-2018
In 2017-18 Bronwyn Gell continued as coach. The Division 1 side were beaten by Footscray in the semi-final. However, the Division 2 Women, with a great mixture of youth and experience, defeated Springvale 11-9 for the first ever Essendon Division 2 Premiership. Importantly, in that side emerging female Essendon juniors (Kira Jansen, Emily Kline-Marantelli, Chelsea Stewart) and new junior aged players (Jasmine Bentley, Claire Costa, Emma Davenport) played Essendon Women’s that summer, winning a premiership as well! The Division 3 team struggled for numbers as the year progressed and did not make finals.
Ultimate prize
Season 2018-2019
Back L=>R – (President) Tony Cornish, Asst. Coaches James Early & Tim Read, Georgia Page, Emma Davenport, Lauren Gibson, Chelsea Stewart, Coach Duane Davenport
Middle L=>R – Leslie Anglin, Danni Teasdale, Claire Costa, Courtney Foura
Front L=>R – Kira Jansen, Kayla Adams, Allie Bebbere, Jasmine Bentley, Abbey Kelly
2018-2019 saw the appointment of Duane Davenport as the new Women’s coach. The Division 1 team won Essendon its first Women’s Baseball Division 1 Premiership, defeating Springvale in a close game 5-3. This was an exceptional victory against great opposition. Springvale was a strong side, who had won the previous six premierships and fielded international import USA catcher Anna Kimbrel and excellent Japanese first baseman Reiko Abe. Duane was acknowledged by VSBL as the VSBL Coach of the Year.
Season 2019-2020
In 2019-2020 Duane Davenport returned as coach and the Division 1 & Division 2 teams. The Div 1 side was defeated in the semi final v Doncaster, and the Div 2 side finished last.
SEASON 2020-2021
What a great season for the EBC Women’s Baseball program. Coach Duane Davenport development program moved up to new levels. Bolstered by Assistant coaches Courtney Foura, Victoria Brown and Luke Abels, the teams had great success.
Our Division 1 side went through the COVID reduced season winning 8, with 2 losses and a washout draw, scoring one average at a rate of 2 runs to their competitors 1 run, and finishing as minor premiers. The first final was a washout, and they progressed straight through the Grand Final v Springvale, who they had defeated every game during the season. Again, Springvale turned to stalwart Simone Wearne, who made the difference, pitching very well for a game shut out and a 0-5 win. Nothing was taken away from a great Essendon team, who just keep coming and improving.
Our Division 2 side developed beautifully over the year. Coached by Duane and Sophia Stensholt and managed by Sophia on the day, they won their first final in front of the Ladies Day crowd 21-5 versus Geelong moving through to the Preliminary final. Here they played off against Springvale in very close game for a 9-10 loss over 6 innings and finished 3rd overall.
If you want to play Womens’s Baseball, then head over to here and help make your own history 🙂