OXLEY High School couldn’t match Westfields Sports High in yesterday’s Proud Shield final in Sydney.
The Tamworth school was attempting to win its first CHS open baseball title since 1994 but came up against a team packed with state and national reps and went down 15-nil.
“We kept them scoreless in the first innings so it was a good start,” coach Rob Chandler said. “But they had 10 NSW under 16s and 18s players in their side.
“We didn’t field as well as we could have.
“We made a few errors.
“But they were a very good side.
“We had seven baseballers and a couple of cricketers while they probably had 30 to pick from.
“They were very appreciative that we got down here and the game was played in a great spirit.
“But we were outclassed, beaten by a better team.”
The coach said his side needed to take its opportunities in the field but was also up against a pitcher who is an Australian all-schools rep and “he could throw”.
Joey Holt and Toby Bowen did the pitching for Oxley and did their best but came up against some strong hitters.
Luke Fox led the way with the bat for Oxley with two hits, while Lachlan Ng and George Harradine both added one each.
“Cameron Reeves has only played two or three games but he was outstanding in the field,” Chandler said.
“He took a great catch near the end, on the fence.”
Just making it to the final was a big effort from Oxley.
The players themselves were the driving force behind the team’s campaign and they trained hard in preparation for the final.
“Getting here was awesome,” Chandler said.
“They’ll learn a lot.
“I’ve always said you don’t learn from the good things and we got whacked here today but they now understand how hard you have to train.
“But they’re not down in the mouth about it.
“They’re happy.”
Only one of the players is in Year 12 so there is every chance that Oxley will have a competitive team again next year.