(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
    Queensland remains unbeaten in Australian Softball Championship
Nederlands
 BLACKTOWN, Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) -
Queensland Heat won two more games on Wednesday (January 4), Day 3 of the 70th edition of the Women's Softball Fastpitch Australian National Championship Tournament.
Today, Queensland added two bigger victories, one another shutout.
New South Wales Firestars recorded two shutouts and is 5-1.
The 7-day tournament at Blacktown International Sportspark in Blacktown, near Sydney, ends coming Sunday.
The six participating teams all will face each other twice in the Round Robin.
The Play-Offs then follow on Saturday and the Final on Sunday.
In its first game today, Queensland Heat won 7-0 against ACT Diamonds to record its fourth shutout in five games.
The reigning champion opened the score with three runs in the first inning.
Carmelle Sorensen was 3-for-3 for the Heat, including a 2-run double, and also batted in three runs.
Chelsea Forkin homered for Queensland.
Starting and winning pitcher Justine Smethurst struckout eight batters in five innings.
The National Team-pitcher gave up only two hits.
In the evening, in its second game, Queensland won 8-1 vs. Victoria Titans and that game also closed the third day of the event.
Queensland again scored three runs in the first inning, as they did in the sixth.
The team collected 11 basehits, including three by National Team-player Erin Thras.
Leading 5-1, Queensland reached the mercy-rule run-difference in the sixth and ended the game on a walk-off single by Georgia Blair.
...Vanessa Stokes pitching in 2014...
...for Australia during the World...
...Championship in Haarlem (Neth.)...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
The third day of competition began with a 9-0 shutout-win for NSW Firestars against Western Australia Flames, which is the team of Netherlands National Team-player Saskia Kosterink.
NSW scored three runs in both the first and second inning and went on to finish the game in five innings through the mercy-rule.
The team collected 13 basehits, including three by Australian National Team-players Taylah Tsitsikronis and Simone Freeman.
Tsitsikronis also scored twice, as did three other players, while Freeman batted in four runs.
Starting pitcher Kaia Parnaby, also a National Team-member, threw the first three innings and gave up only two hits, one being hit by Saskia Kosterink, who played in leftfield and centerfield.
Trailing 3-0 and with two outs in the first inning, the Flames got a chance to do something back when Leigh Godfrey walked and Kosterink singled.
But the two stranded when a flyout ended the at bat.
The Flames got only one more runner into scoring position in the remainder of the game.
In the late afternoon, NSW recorded a 7-0, 6-inning, shutout-win against ACT Diamonds.
This time, the team collected 10 basehits, including three by Samantha Poole.
Nine of these hits were registered off of veteran National Team-pitcher Vanessa Stokes, who threw four innings.
Amelia Cudicio went the distance for NSW and gave up only one basehit, which was an one-out double by National Team-player Clare Warwick in the third inning.
After losing to NSW, Western Australia Flames recovered and won 4-1 in the late afternoon against South Australia Starz.
Trailing 1-0, the Flames scored twice in the bottom of the first inning and added runs in the third and sixth at bat.
Saskia Kosterink was the lead-off hitter for the Flames and was 1-for-3.
Leigh Godfrey scored twice for the Flames.
South Australia Starz had began the third day with a 5-1 win against Victoria Titans.
Trailing 1-0, the Starz came alongside in the fourth inning, but needed an extra inning to decide the game.
In the eighth, the team rallied for four runs.
Off of Italian pitcher Greta Cecchetti, the tie-break runner was moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt.
With two outs, Belinda White walked.
Hereafter, Madeline Cameron delivered a 2-run double, followed by runscoring singles by Olivia MacGinley and Chelsea Robinson.
American righthander Monica Perry went the distance for the Starz and gave up only five basehits in eight innings, while striking out seven batters.
The Starz collected 10 basehits, including three by Olivia MacGinley.
Catcher Belinda White, who played in the Dutch Golden League last season for DSS, remained hitless today.
(January 4)
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