Forward July 2014 | Page 43

OLD GUILDFORDIANS In pursuit of a sporting dream: Every boy dreams of being a sporting hero, to kick the winning goal or to hit the winning run. Corey Adamson (Be 20052009) may have lived not one, but two of these treasured moments in Perth Heat’s clean sweep of the Canberra Cavalry in the 2013/2014 Australian Baseball League season. His dreams don’t stop there as this young man works towards his ultimate goal of reaching the pinnacle of his sport and playing Major League Baseball. Corey Adamson The Alcohol. Think Again Perth Heat are national champions once more reclaiming the Claxton Shield in a clean sweep of the best of three series. Corey played an integral part in winning game one and game two. In game one, extra innings were played with the game tied at 3-3, and both teams continued to battle it out until the 14th innings. After Corey was walked to first base, Joey Wong came to the plate and smashed a hit to left field. Now Corey is quick, so quick in fact that Wong’s hit was the opportunity he needed and, with the crowd in a frenzy, Corey ran like greased lightning from first base all the way home to win the game 4-3. The Heat took the initiative in the first innings of game two, as Corey hit a single off Canberra’s starting pitcher, Ethan Cole. The Heat’s Joey Wong then sacrificed himself with an impeccable bunt which enabled Corey to move to second base. Corey put his speed to use stealing third base with his team mate Tim Kennelly at the plate. The club’s offensive leader, Brandon Tripp, then hit a single which gave Corey the opportunity to run home and score first for the club. Perth went on to win the game 2-1 with a 2-0 clean sweep of the three game series against Canberra. This was the third Claxton Shield premiership in four years for the club, and for Corey, since the re-launched Australian Baseball League in the 2010/2011 season. Corey’s phenomenal pace that helped him in games one and two has been a weapon put to good use throughout the regular 2013/2014 season, with the speedster coming third in the club with eight bases stolen, only one base behind George Barber and Tucker Nathans. His performance with the bat is also improving as he has consistently hit over .300 for the last three seasons, and this with his base-stealing potential saw Corey become a member of Team Australia for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Name: Corey Adamson Position: Center Field Born: 23/2/1992 Birthplace: Bullsbrook, Australia Height: 188cm Weight: 93kg Bats: Left Throws: Right Stats for Perth Heat 2013/2014 AVG: .311 HR: 0 RBI: 12 SB: 8 The progeny of Tony Adamson, Baseball Australia Hall of Famer, 1988 Olympian and previous holder of the Australian Baseball home run record, Corey was always destined to be an impressive athlete. While he probably could have played any sport that took his fancy, it was his father’s game of choice that peaked Corey’s interest. Since baseball does not feature as part of the PSA competition and therefore is not a regular feature of Guildford Grammar School’s sporting program, while at the School Corey needed to find opportunities to play and train elsewhere. At the tender age of 16, Corey’s hard work paid off as he was lured by a $500,000 bonus by the San Diego Padres in the US. Within the Padres structure he has played for an affiliate club, the Fort Wayne TinCaps, before a late season promotion to the Lake Elsinore Storm, a Class A Advanced California League team. He is performing well for the Storm and, at the time of writing this article, he is third for home runs hit for the team and first for bases stolen. With such tremendous baseball pedigree and the nurturing of his developing talent by the Padres, big things are expected of Corey. Could he one day take a place alongside his father in the Australian Hall of Fame? Might he even make it to “The Bigs” and become a permanent fixture of Major League Baseball, possibly living out a boyhood dream and hitting that winning home run? 43