Local field of dreams

Hughes’ shock call-up for debut

HAVING only just signed a contract with Geelong-Korea two days earlier, Connor Hughes was happily prepared to watch on as his side finished its series with Sydney Blue Sox on Sunday.

So the pitcher was shocked when his name was called ahead of the fifth innings.

The Geelong Baycats product stepped up, and while he conceded four runs in his only innings, he aqcuitted himself well on the mound in the midst of GeelongKorea’s 11-15 loss.

In the process, Hughes became the first Australian to play for the predominantly South Korean franchise.

“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to get into a game any time soon. All of a sudden, coach just told me to go warm up,” he said.

“My nerves were through the roof, my mouth instantaneously went dry.

“To be honest, I think it went better than I was expecting. I was expecting a lot more runs to be scored off me, but it went all right.”

Geelong-Korea was afforded the luxury of putting the 18year-old out on the diamond after winning its first three matches against Sydney and taking its first series in franchise history.

It was a dream start for the club in its second season in the ABL, with short stop SeungHyun Baek and left fielder Il Heo named in the league team of the week.

Heo racked up five hits in three games, while Baek impressed when he went 5-5 at the plate in Saturday night’s 13-8 win.

Two other Baycats teammates have joined Hughes on the roster, as part of a new development angle for the club.

Infielder Kobe Greenhalgh and pitcher Lachlan Hockey are also part of the squad.

For Hughes, signing with the team capped off an eventful two months, that included a showcase series in Arizona as he looked to impress United States college scouts.

He was tapped to join the team a month ago, but didn’t sign until Friday to make sure he didn’t impact his eligibility in the amateur college system. The right-armer followed his father Sean into the sport, and after starting as a short stop, he found his way onto the mound at the age of 13.

“When I first started playing, I wanted to be a pitcher, so when I got the opportunity I was super-excited and felt comfortable straight away,” Hughes said.

“You could say (Sean is) a little jealous. He didn’t get a chance to do what I’ve done so far, but at the same time, he is super happy for me and I could honestly give most of my credit to him for getting me this far.” As a developmental player, Hughes won’t travel with the team to Brisbane for the fourgame series against the fourtime defending champions Brisbane Bandits from today until Sunday.