The Under 23 Women’s National Championships have wrapped, and Queensland have hoisted the Joyce Lester Shield.

An incredible week of competition, comradery, and non-stop softball that saw six state teams face-off against each other twice, along with international guests, East Texas Baptist University (The Tigers).

Our U23 team helped open the tournament, taking on Victoria. Raechel McKinnon and Teoni Lamb combined to throw 11 strikeouts, but it was not enough to contain the Victorians who took the opener 10-7.

VIC 10 def ACT 7
VIC: 10R 10H 4E
ACT: 7R 7H 4E

View the Play by Play, Box Scores and Stats here.

Game 2: NSW v ACT

The Australia Capital Territory looked up for a close battle as they took a 5-3 lead at the top of the fourth, but a six-run haul shifted the momentum rapidly in favour of New South Wales. Nine unanswered runs through two innings triggered the mercy rule in the fifth to see NSW take back-to-back wins.

NSW 12 def ACT 5
NSW: 12R 12H 3E
ACT: 5R 7H 5E

Watch the full game here.

View the Play by Play, Box Scores and Stats here.

Game 3: QLD v ACT

Homeruns from Tayla Evans (scoring Soraya Hamson) and Hannah Leggett (scoring Jessica Rohde) highlighted a high-scoring Queensland win over the ACT. An eight-run first inning gave QLD momentum that the ACT were unable to overcome.

QLD 12 def ACT 0
QLD: 12R 4H 1E
ACT: 0R 0H 5E

View the Play by Play, Box Scores and Stats here.

Day Two

Game 4: ACT v WA

ACT’s Caitlin McCreedy and Sophie Lawrence combined for 7RBI from three hits in a monster 20 run start to their second day of play. Western Australia got on the board in the second, scoring four, but a seven-run reply and an 11-run follow-up from the ACT brought in the third inning mercy rule to end the game early.

ACT 20 def WA 5
ACT: 20R 13H 4E
WA: 5R 4H 8E

View the Play by Play, Box Scores and Stats here.

Game 5: SA v ACT

South Australia proved too strong, taking a convincing win over the ACT. The ACT got on the board early, scoring twice in the first, but SA replied with four and kept ACT scoreless for the rest of the game.

SA 9 def ACT 2
SA: 9R 13H 2E
ACT: 2R 5H 1E

Watch the full replay here.

View the Play by Play, Box Scores and Stats here.

Day Three

Game 6: ACT v QLD

It was a one-run ball game until Queensland asserted their dominance late, scoring two runs in the fifth and six runs in the sixth. The Maroons at this stage had both the best defence and offence of the tournament and proved tough to beat.

QLD defeated ACT 9-0
QLD: 9R 12H 0E
ACT: 0R 5H 3E

View the Play by Play, Box Scores and Stats here.

Game 7: ETB (East Texas Baptist University) v ACT

East Texas have been held to their tightest win so far in the Women’s Under 23 National Championships. The ACT allowed just two runs to be scored, both in the first inning, a contrast to the 32 runs ETB had scored in their previous four games. Teoni Lamb pitched the whole game and took six strikeouts and allowed just four hits.

ETB 2 def ACT 0
ETB: 2R 4H 2E
ACT: 0R 3H 2E

View the Play by Play, Box Scores and Stats here.

Game 8: ACT v NSW

An explosive fifth inning entertained as New South Wales laid down the gauntlet with seven runs for the ACT to chase. The ACT batters had their eye in, out hitting NSW 12 to 10, but only a five-run reply in the fifth made the job difficult. In the end, NSW held firm to claim a sixth win from nine games to solidify their place inside the top four.

NSW 9 def ACT 6
NSW: 9R 10H 2E
ACT: 6R 12H 5E

View the Play by Play, Box Scores and Stats here.

Day Four

Game 9: VIC v ACT

ACT def VIC 10-6
ACT: 10R 7H 3E
VIC: 6R 6H 5E

A seven run seventh inning by the ACT flipped the script, with a 2RBI triple from Samantha McCreedy starting the rally.

View the Play by Play, Box Scores and Stats here.

Game 10: WA v ACT

Western Australia had a four-run lead going into the sixth inning, but the ACT didn't give up, scoring two in the sixth, tying it up with two in the seventh and going ahead in the eighth to take back-to-back comeback wins.

ACT 5 def WA 4
ACT: 5R 8H 2E
WA: 4R 7H 2E

View the Play by Play, Box Scores and Stats here.

The final standings saw the ACT narrowly miss out on finals, as Victoria finished with a single win more on an almost identical run ratio.

Softball ACT would like to send a huge thank you to all the wonderful competitors, coaches, officials, and volunteers who represented the ACT at the Under 23 Women’s National Championships. We are incredibly proud of each and every one of you for your efforts.