New South Wales 21-1 Australian Capital Territory
Defending champions New South Wales finished their opening round with a dominant 21-1 win against the ACT.
Olivia Bannon continued to show why she’s one of the best prospects in Australian baseball, going a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI. Lauren Hughes also drove in three for NSW, while on the mound, Natassha McDonnell struck out three.
New South Wales finished in the second seed heading into the second round of play, while the ACT end up with the eighth seed.
Western Australia 12-2 Country New South Wales
Country struck early against Western Australia, but two big innings saw WA claim a 12-2 win to secure the chance to play for a medal at the Australian Women’s Championship.
Kei Matsumoto was the only Country NSW hitter to claim multiple hits, while Callie Windsor drove in the only earned run for country.
Team hitting was the order of the day for WA, with hits shared among all nine starters. Emily Watson picked up three hits and two RBI, while Aislinn Morris went 2-for-3.
Western Australia secured third place in the Open Women’s division, while Country NSW finished in sixth place following the minor round.
Country New South Wales Youth 9-8 Queensland Youth*
Despite a loss in the third place playoff game, Queensland Youth were awarded the Bronze Medal following a technical ruling.
Hits were spread evenly for Queensland, with Hannah Marshall the only Queensland hitter to register multiple hits. Mahaela O’Neill registered two hits and two RBI for Country NSW, with Emma Wallace also finishing with two RBI.
Maddison Erwin also picked up a pair of hits for Country.
Victoria Blue 22-0 South Australia
Victoria Blue finished the first round undefeated following a 22-0 defeat of South Australia.
Current Emerald Bronwyn Gell was outstanding with bat in hand for Victoria, going 3-for-5 with a massive 5RBI. Hannah Jackson also swung the bat well, picking up three RBI from her three hits. Georgia Page struck out two and only gave up two hits in a complete game shutout.
Sarah McMahon and Tamara Harkin claimed a hit each for South Australia.
Victoria Blue remain the only undefeated team in the Open Women’s Division and will head into the second round as the top seed. South Australia’s two wins in the opening round see them enter the second round as the sixth seed.
Queensland 18-0 Victoria White
Queensland secured their place in medal contention following a 18 run victory over Victoria White. Chloe Humphreys lead Queensland’s offence with two hits and three RBI, with Taneeca Moss also driving in three runs.
Karina Connors tossed a complete game shutout for Queensland, keeping Victoria to only the one hit and striking out three.
Queensland have ended the first round in line for a medal after finishing fourth, while Victoria White finishing in seventh position.
New South Wales Youth 12-4 Victoria Blue Youth
After an amazing week of baseball, New South Wales capped off their undefeated tournament against Victoria Blue to claim the Simone Wearne Shield for the fifth time in six years following a 12-4 win.
Lianna Davidson was honoured with the start for New South Wales, and paid her coaches back in spades, tossing four shutout innings, striking out seven in the process and setting her team up for success. Davidson put together a performance for the ages, with her success not limited to her work on the mound, as she went 2-for-2 with 3RBI with bat in hand.
Despite having such a dominant tournament, New South Wales were challenged early by the Victoria Blue defence, as Chelsea Stewart continued to challenge the dominant New South Wales hitters. Victoria’s defence was a highlight in the opening inning, with some sharp plays made by Lili Cavanagh at third base.
New South Wales opened the floodgates in the fourth inning, picking up six runs from five hits, however in trademark fashion, Victoria Blue never gave up, managing to extend the ballgame with four runs of their own in the top of the fifth.
NSW Manager Ashleigh Ross was impressed with Victoria’s efforts on the day.
“They really pushed us today,” Ross said.
“We had to lift our game today, they’ve got some great talent and we had to be on our game.”
NSW’s Ticara Geldenhuis finished the tournament with an astonishing .824 batting average after claiming another two hits and two RBI today, while Serena De Gail and Caitlin Wilde each picked up two RBI.
Victoria’s Lili Cavanagh claimed the Gold Glove Award for best fielder of the tournament, while NSW’s Maddison Heath finished with the batting award.
After an incredible start in the gold medal game, NSW utility Lianna Davidson was aptly given the Pitching Award.
MVP of the Australian Youth Women’s Championship was Ticara Geldenhuis. The NSW shortstop finished with 14 hits and 10 RBI from her 17 at bats, as she ended up hitting .824 for the tournament.
AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS FOLLOWING POOL PLAY
1. Victoria Blue
2. New South Wales
3. Western Australia
4. Queensland
5. NSW Country
6. South Australia
7. Victoria White
8. Australian Capital Territory