Kye Hodges loves baseball and loves to be on the field with his teammates. It’s that simple formula that has the 15-year-old Central Coast, Australia, resident — nicknamed Big Sexy by his hometown friends — excited to be in Freeport this week with a group of baseball players from Down Under as part of the Freeport International Baseball Invitational. “Just waking up every day, coming out here, knowing you’re going to play two games of baseball, playing with your mates, going up against new kids, meeting them and talking with them, that’s been a lot of fun,” said Hodges, who returned to the U.
S. after taking part in a tournament last year at the Cal Ripken Experience in Maryland. “As soon as I saw the opportunity to come back over here with this team, I knew I had to be a part of it and bring Big Sexy back to the states to enjoy the game I love.
” The Aussie Drop Bears, a collection of baseball talent from all throughout the country, is scheduled to play nine games through a pair of contests Saturday at 11 a.m. and 5 p.
m. at Freeport Community Park. Some of the players met each other for the first time Sunday when they gathered after arriving at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Others, such as 15-year-old Perth resident Jett Marchesano and 15-year-old Sydney resident Kobi Dodd, the son of Drop Bears manager/coach Shane Dodd, have prior experience as teammates in the U.S. Marchesano and Dodd were teammates last year in a Babe Ruth tournament in Virginia.
“It’s really good to have people you know on this team,” Marchesano said. “Whether I’ve known them from before or just met them a couple of days ago, we have really become close friends. The team came together and jelled very quickly.
” The players and family members attended Sunday’s game between the Pirates and Phillies at PNC Park. “That is a beautiful stadium,” Marchesano said. “I went to a few major-league games last year, and that was definitely the most beautiful stadium I’ve gone to.
That was really good.” Added Kobi Dodd: “It’s winter at home, so it’s good to come here and get that summer feeling playing baseball. We’re not getting rained out at all like we would at home.
” Rain hit Freeport on Monday, washing out the 5 p.m. game at James E.
Swartz Memorial Field in Freeport Borough. But Australia and the Backyard Bucs were able to play at 8 p.m.
and usher in the week of games. “The games this week have been so much fun,” Drop Bears manager/coach Shane Dodd said. “All the teams have been so welcoming to us.
They’ve been so accommodating, and the facilities are great. I can’t wait for it to keep going.” Marchesano, Dodd, Hodges and the rest of the team took a break from games Tuesday and attended the night of racing at Lernerville Speedway.
“There were some big races, and there were a couple Aussie drivers, which the kids jumped on board with,” Shane Dodd said. “We went into the pits, and the (Aussie) drivers spoke with the team on their bus. One of the (Aussie) drivers was in the front in the final lap of his race when one of your American drivers clipped him and took him out.
The boys were not happy with that. But it was a totally fun experience.” The highlight of the evening, Shane Dodd said, was when the team went out to the middle of the track and sang the Australian national anthem.
“That made us feel really welcomed there,” he said. And the experience from Kobi Dodd’s perspective? “That was amazing. My ears were ringing it was so loud,” he said.
“The Aussie driver got robbed. That’s all I’ve got to say.” Several host families, such as Freeport’s Todd and Tracie Bowser, again welcomed players into their home for the week.
“It’s a lot of work, but it is such a meaningful experience,” Todd Bowser said. “The cultural exchange for everybody, learning so much about their language, what they like to do for fun, what they like to eat, all of that, is so much fun.” Ethan Lamagune, who played on the Hawks team from France at last year’s Freeport International, returned to Freeport this week with his family to visit friends made last summer.
He was able to don the Drop Bears uniform and played games with the Aussie team. Former Freeport baseball standout Jarrett Heilman, who enters his final collegiate season this spring for Division I Wright State, accepted the offer to serve as a coach with the Drop Bears. “I was given a hat, two jerseys, a batting practice jacket, a short-sleeved hoodie, and a pair of shorts,” Heilman said.
“Every baseball player enjoys a nice hat. “Building the relationships with the parents, coach Dodd and the players has been pretty special. It definitely is a new experience.
It’s an even better experience for the players. I am just coaching them and hoping to give them the best experience possible.” Some team members will board a plane Wednesday and return home to Australia.
Others, with family also in Freeport for the week of games and activities, will continue on for several days on sight-seeing trips throughout the U.S. Nathan and Keira Birtles, along with their children, including Aussie player Cooper Freeman-Woods, will continue on to San Francisco for a four-day stay.
“Going to San Francisco has always been a thing I’ve wanted to do, seeing places like Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge,” Nathan Birtles said. “Those were two main attractions. “This is our first time to the States, and we’ve really enjoyed it.
The weather’s been great for us. The boys are having an absolute ball, which is probably the best part about it.” Another highlight, Birtles said, was coming from the airport Sunday morning and through the Fort Pitt Tunnel and seeing everything open up from PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium to the left to the Downtown buildings straight ahead and to the right.
“How everything is situated with the rivers in between was just amazing to see,” he said. “It was awesome. It was a total surprise.
No one had told us about it.” Dave Brestensky, vice president of the Freeport International, said it has been an amazing experience going from the first stages of talks to bring the Australian team here to welcoming them to Freeport on Sunday evening. “This is a talented group of players who have made what is a special week every year that much more special,” said Brestensky, who recalled the first team from Australia, under the guidance of Aussie Darren King, playing at Freeport some 15 years ago.
“It enriches the tradition. I was (at the airport) Sunday night to greet them, and Darren was there, too. It was such a long time, and so many things that had to be done during the year to make it happen.
“It sent shivers up and down our spines to see those kids here, excited and ready to play.”.
