AMERICAN import Jason Benson returned to Australia two weeks ago to take his spot on the pitcher’s mound for Sunshine Baseball Club’s First Division side.

The Chicago born 28-year-old fresh from his role as pitching coach for the Sherbrooke Expos who took the championship in the Quebec League walked virtually straight off the plane into his first match for the Eagles against Blackburn two weeks ago.

It was a tough ask after just 48 hours on Australian turf, but Benson threw around “100-120 pitches” in the round three match and kept his side within a run at the end of the seventh.

“It was basically two full days off the plane and I had to go out and throw seven innings,” he said. “I threw a bit more pitches than I wanted. I am kind of used to that now, its tough but my body was telling me that it was some time around four in the morning when I was pitching (on Sunday afternoon).”

For the past seven years, Benson has lived the life of an international pro baseballer traveling to no less than 10 countries to play including previous trips to Australia. He referred to himself as a “baseball gypsy”.

“It’s crazy. You get to see the world and you get to do it for free or get paid to do it and I am playing baseball which is my number one love, next to my girlfriend, in the world. I get the opportunity to compete and teach at the same time with my favourite subject I suppose.”

A highlight on his lengthy playing list – time spent in the Israel baseball league.

“We played baseball there for three months. They had one season of professional baseball. It was really fascinating. We had people from seven different countries on my team all different languages Spanish, Hebrew, French, German. It was really special.”

Before arriving in Australia, he found the time to check the Eagles results from the first three games (two losses, one win), and he was a little unsettled to say the least.

“The first week I was like ‘Oh my lord 16 to nothing’ and then I was like, ‘Ok we won 2-1, I can handle that maybe they just had a collapse first game’. The next game was like 27-0 (loss) and I was like ‘geez, that’s not normal.’”

The big challenge for Benson is coming from a championship team to the Eagles who are in a rebuilding phase with a young side.

“My first season up there (Quebec) I won the championships so I got kind of spoilt and I came from a club like that and came to our club which is in a rebuilding phase. It’s two different spectrums, but it’s good for me. There, all I had to do was manage personalities; here I have to develop talent. Like I was telling everybody from the club… we have to put effort and some support behind our young guys our 13, 14, 15-year-old guys. Home grow them and keep them there or the team will never be what it was before.”

After pitching solidly in his opening match, Benson’s second game of the season on Wednesday night against Doncaster had him in unfamiliar territory due to the competition’s rule forcing imports to pitch every second game.

“I had to play the field and hit. I’m a pitcher at home we don’t touch bats and I probably had the most hits for our team.”

The fact that Benson got the most bat on ball for his side was a telling factor. The Eagles went on to lose 10-3.

On Sunday they came up against Cheltenham and went down 8-0 making it one win and five losses from their opening six games.

Benson admitted season 2009-10 might not be about the win-loss ratio for the Eagles.

“Obviously I didn’t come across the world to lose but its not all about the score winning and losing. If our ‘winning’ is making these guys more experienced and keeping them more loyal to stay at the club then to get a win that way then that’s what we have to do.”

In other Sunshine club news, the Greg Wiltshire saga continued last week. The dominant Eagle’s request for a transfer to powerhouse Blackburn was originally knocked back by the club before it went to appeal last week and was subsequently knocked back.

Sunshine president Robert Blackmore said that he hoped the talented Wiltshire would play for the Eagles this season despite the transfer requests.

“It will depend on him. We still urgently require him at the club,” he said.

Blackmore said that with the appeal knocked back Wiltshire had no other choice but to play for Sunshine this season or not play at all.

“The door is open. We certainly want to see him back at Sunshine in Sunshine colours.”