Telford baseball team takes down league champions in first game and looks to the future
A burgeoning baseball club began its first season in earnest by taking down the league champions.
Telford Giants, which began training this year before the coronavirus lockdown, was able to field a team for its first game in the West Midlands Baseball League, Stourbridge Titans.
A tight game in Worcester saw the Telford team win 14 runs to 11.
Now the club, which incorporates the famous Iron Bridge in its logo, is looking for a place to build its own permanent home field.
Club chair Tom Rochester said: "The club began as three lads throwing a ball in a field in Telford – players from other clubs (Birmingham and Wolverhampton) that wondered if it was feasible to have a Shropshire team.
"The setup costs were a mix of personal investment, a Telford & Wrekin Council sport grant for equipment and some membership fees from the players. It’s been a lot of work.
"We started indoor training in January this year and were extremely lucky with who walked in the door. It became immediately apparent we had a lot of talent walk in.
"People with baseball experience from Venezuela, Lithuania and India along with many experienced British baseball players that had moved into the area.
"And then the pandemic hit. We rode it out and finally got back to training a few weeks ago.
"On Sunday we had our first game as a club, an epic battle against defending champions Stourbridge Titans. It was a very tight and hard-fought game which we ultimately won. A very special way for the club to start.
"We have seven more weeks of baseball this year, then our big challenge is finding a place to build our home field in Telford.
"We currently have over 30 members. Next year we plan to recruit for a women’s team and a potential second squad."
This weekend the Giants will take to the field against Worcester Sorcerers
To learn more about the club and about training, visit facebook.com/TelfordBaseballClub.
