Shining star on the diamond

By Marc McGowan
BERWICK baseballer Simone Wearne’s surname guaranteed her legendary status in the local region, but the superstar pitcher has well and truly created her own niche in the sport.
Her grandfather Ken Wearne’s name adorns the playing field of her beloved Springvale Lions Baseball Club and both of her parents, Michael and Anne, were successful in the sport.
To top off the feats of the family, her 24yearold brother, Scott, has played baseball for Australia and was the second man from this country to be drafted into Major League Baseball in the US.
The Pittsburgh Pirates chose him as an 18yearold in 2001 after just one season in the college system, but he chose to stick with school and wound up returning to Australia.
Wearne, 26, has also racked up more than her fair share of achievements on the baseball diamond.
She was named coMVP alongside softballercumbaseballer Sue Fairhurst, whom she lists as the best player she has seen at the Women’s World Series in 2002 as they helped guide Australia to the gold medal.
Wearne backed up the phenomenal performance by being named the starter of the 2006 World Cup AllStar team in Taiwan to reinforce her standing as the world’s best female pitcher.
Rather than blowing her opponent’s away with brute force, she relies on craftiness and four different pitches – a fastball, a curveball, a slider and a changeup.
Together they make her a destructive presence on the mound whether for Australia, Victoria, Springvale or combating the opposite sex for the Berwick Dodgers.
But for Wearne, it is not about collating accolades, but more to do with being able to kick back and enjoy a pastime she has indulged in for almost 20 years.
“I guess as I get older, the main thing I enjoy is getting away from reality for a few hours in training or in games,” she said.
“Getting to play at the highest level is exciting – it’s a lot of fun.”
While the likes of Ricky Ponting and Lauren Jackson receive constant praise for their sporting exploits, Wearne toils almost anonymously on the national scene.
“I love having the opportunity to represent my country and my state and you can’t dwell on opportunities that don’t exist,” she said.
Wearne may not command attention from a fickle public, but her credentials cannot be ignored and resulted in her being nominated for Victorian female athlete of the year in 2006, an award won for the secondyear running by champion cyclist Katie Mactier.
Despite her domination of the sport, she still admits to prematch jitters when she prepares to take the ball.
“Nothing has changed; I still get butterflies even though I’ve thrown lots of big games,” she said.
“It’s funny because I still get really nervous playing for Springvale.
“Most people in the baseball community know I play for the Australian team, so I’m expected to be really good.”
It is a completely different experience when she plays against the men in winter for Berwick’s Areserve grade side in the Dandenong Baseball Association.
“Obviously, when some of the guys play the girls, they turn up and think it’s a bit of a laugh. They might feel threatened in a way, which is funny,” she said.
Her father, Michael, is vicepresident at Springvale and coaches several teams at the club.
He is understandably proud of his daughter’s accomplishments, but believes she has earned every one of them.
“She is one of those people that’s kind of successful at everything,” he said.
“I’m a firm believer that if you work hard you get the rewards. She’s been lucky to be awarded for what she’s done – she’s worked hard and still does.”
The next goal for Wearne is recapturing the national title for Victoria that it lost to New South Wales last year in her absence.
She chose to play in Victoria’s seconds’ side as a shortstop to get more game time, but will return to her more familiar pitching role at the Perth tournament in April.
“They’re our main rivals, so it would be good to knock them off,” she said.