FNQ women hammer rivals to win state title
THE home-field advantage was well and truly in effect for Far North Queensland at the under-19 women’s state softball championships over the weekend, held at Edmonton’s Walker Road Sporting and Recreation Precinct.
The FNQ girls were at the peak of their powers over the three-day tournament and took home the 2018 state championship title with a perfect record of seven wins from seven games.
Softball FNQ secretary Liz Fresser said as well as the 2018 state championship being up for grabs, the tournament offered a final selection opportunity for players vying for a spot in the 2019 women’s state squad.
“The state team was announced after the tournament on Sunday,” Fresser said. “We are very pleased to have Cairns girls Shinai Gibbins and Chloe Humphreys selected in the team.
“They both made it last year, so it’s great to see them back in there again.”
Under-17s pivot Hirari Kurihari, who was playing up a grade in the under-19s tournament, was impressive with the bat.
The left-handed hitter kept opposition teams on their toes with her signature running bunt, while also featuring in a few home runs.
FNQ opened the tournament on Friday with a hardfought 2-0 win over Brisbane before making light work of their opponents in the rest of the championship rounds, beating combined Ipswich/ Logan City/Rockhampton 6-2, Caboolture 8-1, Redcliffe 8-5 and Redlands 12-6.
The undefeated run set up another mouth-watering contest with Brisbane in the first semi-final, in which FNQ cruised to a 6-2 victory before claiming the state title with a dominant 10-5 win over Caboolture in the grand final.