The Gold Coast Bulletin

Valiant Bandits fight to the end

- ELIZA REILLY eliza.reilly@news.com.au

NOT even an epic five-run seventh innings could propel a Queensland side littered with Gold Coast talent to victory at the national youth women’s baseball championsh­ips.

Queensland on Saturday found themselves six runs down heading into their final innings, with NSW piling on three runs in their final outing to carve out an 11-5 lead.

From there the Bandits got to work, with Gold Coast products Hannah Marshall and Kya Foxwell starting a rally that brought Queensland within one run in Canberra.

After losing to NSW earlier in the week by five runs, Queensland had the chance to dish out the perfect revenge but with two outs down, the pressure was on despite hauling themselves out from the clenches of certain defeat.

Foxwell masterfull­y stole two bases and got herself to third and within touching distance of the home plate but Mila Bender struck out, leaving Queensland thinking what could have been after falling one run short.

Gold Coast Baseball Associatio­n director of coaching Kevin Fenn said the coaching staff would begin preparatio­ns for 2020.

“The Gold Coast Baseball Associatio­n and Baseball Queensland are extremely proud of our girls,” he said.

“They did a great job the whole tournament and played an amazing game in the national championsh­ip final.

“The GCBA will work with our returning stars to unearth next year’s group and keep the momentum … to push us for the gold in 2020.”

It wasn’t the only fightback Queensland made in the gold medal match after New South Wales skipped out to a 7-2 lead early in the piece.

Three runs across the fifth and sixth innings brought Queensland within touching distance as the score read 8-5 NSW’s way heading into the final innings, but the Bandits left too little too late and couldn’t erase the six-run deficit in their final batting outing.

Bender starred with five strike outs, while Foxwell was equal first in the quality at bats statistic.

Gold Coast products Hannah Marshall, Kya Foxwell, Georgina Day, Allie van Peppen, Riley Hauwai, Paris Bastow, Soraya Hamson and Hannah Graham will now return home with a silver medal after losing only two games, both to NSW, across the weeklong tournament.

Marshall was named tournament MVP and Hamson took home the golden glove award.

 ??  ?? A Queensland player in action.
A Queensland player in action.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Australia