There were few dry eyes at Bolton Oval at Millicent on Saturday when the clubrooms were named in honour of a favourite son of the Millicent Bandits Baseball Club.

In a well-kept secret, Michael “Smerk” Pink was honoured for his long contribution to the club since it was re-formed in 1987 after a lengthy recess.

Pink has held every administrative position and he clocked up 600 games on Saturday.

The 61-year-old is currently the vice-president of the club.

His milestone match brought many friends, family members, past teammates and well-wishers to Bolton Oval and they also paid tribute to his son Darcy who was playing his 200th game.

It was quite a moment when the younger Pink pitched to the elder Pink during the Tigers innings. The Mount Gambier and District Baseball League was represented by its president Travis Lockwood.

It was due to the lobbying efforts of Michael Pink and others that Wattle Range Council met most of the upgrading costs in 2021 of the 1970s-era facilities.

The Pinks have also been associated with football, with Michael receiving life membership of the Mid South Eastern Football League in 2015 as a field umpire and Tantanoola Tigers player.

The family will now hope for Toby, youngest son of Michael, to make his AFL debut for North Melbourne against the GWS Giants on March 23.

Toby was drafted to the Kangaroos from Glenelg over the off-season and lined up at full-back in the practice match against St Kilda on Sunday.