‘Canes and Spartans mark home’s 20th anniversary
LAST Sunday’s Irish Baseball League derby between Spartans and defending champions Hurricanes proved a special one as it helped mark the 20th anniversary since the official opening of their field in Corkagh Park.
Both sides have been resident in the Clondalkin venue since it was established back in 1998 and, between the two, they have dominated the Irish baseball scene in that time.
Baseball Ireland President Tom Kelley with both the Hurricanes and Spartans teams
Indeed, since its founding back in 1997, the Irish League as seen Spartans win no less than 12 titles while their neighbouring rivals Hurricanes have accounted for five, including the last three.
And they are strongly tipped to make it four in row having tightened their grip on the inside track to the prize following last Sunday’s 2-0 win over Spartans in which Tommy Rodriguez and DJ Rybski scored the decisive runs.
And their impressive showing over recent seasons has seen the Hurricanes ranked the 40th club team in Europe.
On another note, the Ireland national baseball team are gearing up for two major competitions on home soil this month.
The squad, which includes the likes of Spartans players Alan Fox and Frank Geoghegan, will take part in the Ashbourne International Tournament, starting today (Thursday) and running through until Sunday.
This will be followed by the European Baseball Championship qualifiers back in Ashbourne from July 23-28.
The first time to be staged in Ireland, the qualifiers will see the hosts face off against tough opposition in Norway, Finland, Greece and Slovenia.
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