Pine Hills Lightning
Encyclopedia
The Pine Hills Lightning Baseball Club is a baseball club that participates in the Greater Brisbane League
competition and Brisbane Metropolitan Region competition. It is the 4th largest baseball club in Australia
and second largest after the Redcliffe Padres
in Queensland
.
for a handful of Tee-ball teams. A vision of North Brisbane Baseball expanding rapidly started the search for bigger fields. The club moved and commenced using the new Bunya
fields in 1990. Renamed the Pine Hills Baseball Club, a division of the Pine Hills Sports Club, where playing numbers continued to grow until 1998.
In their tenth year a name change to Pine Hills Lightning was passed. Over the years a several dedicated families have worked hard to establish and further develop the club. Over time, player numbers grew to the point where teams could be added in more junior grades of the Brisbane competition, however the club was resigned to losing its best players as the club had no Majors teams, and players would leave to play Majors elsewhere.
In 2004 a decision was made to merge with the All Stars Baseball Club to the mutual benefit of both Clubs, allowing Pine Hills juniors the chance to play Majors without leaving the club. This merger became the ASL or All Stars Lightning Baseball Club.
In the 2006/07 Season Pine Hills decided to field their own Majors teams and split the ASL merger. Pine Hills Lightning as of August 2006 fielded their first ever Majors teams as Pine Hills. In August 2006 the Aspley Leagues Club opened a new entertainment clubhouse complex at the Pine Hills Baseball Bunya fields.
The standalone club's Major A side made its first finals series in 2007-2008, in just its second year of existence. It won its first Major A premiership in 2010-2011, with a clean sweep over Windsor Royals.
. The club also utilises a fully automated Iron Mike
pitching machine as well as an electronic scoreboard.
Greater Brisbane League
The Greater Brisbane League or formerly the Greater Brisbane Baseball Board league is the largest baseball league in the Australian state of Queensland and covers all teams from Brisbane North, South, West, Metro as well as two Gold Coast teams. These are from age groups Little League through to...
competition and Brisbane Metropolitan Region competition. It is the 4th largest baseball club in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and second largest after the Redcliffe Padres
Redcliffe Padres
The Redcliffe Leagues Padres Baseball Club, also known as Peninsula Padres Baseball Club is a baseball club located in Redcliffe, Queensland that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and Brisbane North Region competition...
in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
.
History
In 1984 Pine Hills Baseball was originally known as the Mitchelton Unicorns with playing fields at BunyaMitchelton, Queensland
Michelton is a suburb of Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia. The suburb is located 8 kilometres from the Brisbane central business district some areas of Mitchelton can be 6 km to the Brisbane central business district....
for a handful of Tee-ball teams. A vision of North Brisbane Baseball expanding rapidly started the search for bigger fields. The club moved and commenced using the new Bunya
Bunya, Queensland
Bunya is a suburb north-west of Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, Australia. Its local government area is the Moreton Bay Region.Bunya is home to the Bunyaville Forest Reserve, operated by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. Spotted gum, grey ironbark, narrow-leaved ironbark, white...
fields in 1990. Renamed the Pine Hills Baseball Club, a division of the Pine Hills Sports Club, where playing numbers continued to grow until 1998.
In their tenth year a name change to Pine Hills Lightning was passed. Over the years a several dedicated families have worked hard to establish and further develop the club. Over time, player numbers grew to the point where teams could be added in more junior grades of the Brisbane competition, however the club was resigned to losing its best players as the club had no Majors teams, and players would leave to play Majors elsewhere.
In 2004 a decision was made to merge with the All Stars Baseball Club to the mutual benefit of both Clubs, allowing Pine Hills juniors the chance to play Majors without leaving the club. This merger became the ASL or All Stars Lightning Baseball Club.
In the 2006/07 Season Pine Hills decided to field their own Majors teams and split the ASL merger. Pine Hills Lightning as of August 2006 fielded their first ever Majors teams as Pine Hills. In August 2006 the Aspley Leagues Club opened a new entertainment clubhouse complex at the Pine Hills Baseball Bunya fields.
The standalone club's Major A side made its first finals series in 2007-2008, in just its second year of existence. It won its first Major A premiership in 2010-2011, with a clean sweep over Windsor Royals.
Facilities
The club has 4 playing fields with all dugouts and scorers huts have shade. Diamonds 1 and 2 have lights suitable for training. Diamond one has recently been upgraded with a top quality surface and AAA floodlightingFloodlights (sport)
Floodlights are broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial lights often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions....
. The club also utilises a fully automated Iron Mike
Pitching machine
A pitching machine is a machine that automatically pitches a baseball to a batter at different speeds and styles. Most machines are hand-fed, but there are some that automatically feed. There are some pitching machines that will compensate the weight of the ball to make the ball be pitched at a...
pitching machine as well as an electronic scoreboard.
External links
- Club Website
- Australian Baseball Federation Profile
- YouTube - Location of the club
- Whiting, M. (3 February 2009) Hot Lightning strike finals Pine Rivers Press
- Trio in world spotlight (30 January 2009). Northern Times
- Queensland Major League Results (25 January 2009). The Courier Mail