News

A group of girls from NSW have made herstory by becoming the first national Little League Girls Champions in the world.

That’s right – no country in the world has ever hosted a national Little League Championships for Girls only.

NSW defeated Victoria Belles 15-1 to become the inaugural national Australian Little League Champion.

Here you will find the game recap from the Gold Medal match, as well as the Bronze and Consolation games.

Head to the Tournament Hub for a full rundown of scores, schedule and tournament information.

Don’t forget, the Gold Medal Game of the Australian Women’s Showcase goes Sunday at 5:00PM on Baseball+

GOLD MEDAL GAME – NSW Blue 15 def Victoria 1

It was a game played with tremendous spirit from the start.

New South Wales are deserving champions, after going undefeated in the group stage and winning big in the Gold Medal match.

In the end, NSW Blue scored 89 runs in just six games.

Emma Gainsford was brilliant on the mound for NSW. She pitched all 4.0 innings, allowing just two hits, one run and tallied nine strikeouts.

Hannah O’Keefe and Adele Acosta each had two hits. O’Keefe had two runs batted in, while Acosta led the team with three. Lilly Farrell also had a big game, going 1-for-1 with two RBI and a walk.

“We just the first national championship for girls,” said Lilly after the game. “We all worked together very well as a team and it took a long way to get here but we did it. I loved playing with the team and my friends and that.”

NSW Blue jumped out of the gates with a six run first inning. They added three in the second and six in the third. The team totalled nine hits. In a true team effort, twelve players scored runs.

Still, there were great plays made throughout the game, including a great defensive relay made by the Belles on what was also a 2-RBI base-knock

The names of the national champion players are: Adele Acosta, Taylor O’Keefe, Juno Bromley, Lilly Farrell, Neveah Fungalei, Emma Gainsford, Caitlyn Gainsford, Chilli Hanlon, Isla Metuisela, Miranda Murray, Hannah O’Keefe, Riviera Harris, Yvette Wild & Ashleigh Rose-Thompson.

This is the first national championship of its kind anywhere in the world. This article from ABC explains it well.

BRONZE MEDAL – West Coast Rays 10 def Brisbane Rebels 7

In one of the games of the tournament, the Rays held off a furious comeback effort from the Rebels to claim bronze.

The West Coast Rays scored the first eight runs of the game. Isla Kalebic and Heather Fielding each had two hits. Lucy Purvis had two runs batted in. Meanwhile, Remy Ellis struck out nine batters in her 4.1 innings of work.

But Brisbane clawed their way back. A five-run fifth inning pushed the Rebels within striking distance, pushing the score to 8-6 before the Rays pulled two back in the bottom half of the frame.

Chloe Coppleman had a pair of hits and two RBI to lead the Brisbane attack.

Onlookers often commented on some standout defensive plays.

CONSOLATION GAME – Adelaide Seahorses 18 def NSW White 4

The Seahorses piled it on to finish the tournament in fifth place.

Kylah Ding was excellent on the mound, tossing 3.0 innings of two hit ball with six strikeouts.

Kira Murray followed and allowed just one hit and struck out three.

The Seahorses stormed out of the gate by scoring five runs in the first. By the end of the third, they led 9-1. They scored their last eight runs in the top of the fifth.

Brooke McKechnie was solid with the bat, going 3-for-3 with three RBI. Mackenzie Wigmore also had two hits.

Georgia Gately was solid on the mound for NSW, striking out six batters.

recaps by Eric Balnar, photos by Studio Honsa

It’s the end of Day 3 and with three games remaining tomorrow, we already know who will be playing for gold!

Who? Well, you’ll have to read to find out. The Gold Medal Game will be played Sunday at 12:00PM.

Here is how the day unfolded. There were dominant pitching performances, a no-hitter and some sensational stories!

The day started with a rain delay, but no worries – the girls danced it off. Check it out below:

We’ve just posted some photos from Studio Honsa on our Facebook page. Make sure you check them out?

Don’t forget – the 2024 Australian Women’s Showcase continues today at 3:30PM. You can follow the action on Baseball+.

For stats and standings from Game Changer, click here.

Recaps

West Coast Rays 12 def Adelaide Seahorses 2

It was a close game until it wasn’t as the Rays pulled away by scoring 11 runs in the final three innings.

The Seahorses actually outhit the West Coast Rays 6-4, but the Rays pulled away with timely late hitting.

Stevie Oates starred on the mound for the Rays, allowing one earned run in 4.0 innings with four strikeouts.

Kylah Ding struck out five batters and allowed just one run for the Seahorses, including an impressive inning where she struck out the side looking.

The Rays improve to 2-1 while the Seahorses drop to 1-3.

Victoria Belles 7 def Brisbane Rebels 1

An impressive pitching and defensive display helped the Belles to a 7-1 win.

Lucy Gale was dominant on the hill for the Belles, as the righty rang up ten strikeouts, while conceding just four hits and one run in four innings of work.

Emily Mills followed up her walk-off yesterday by logging two hits today.

Monica Arcuri led the Brisbane attack with two hits of her own. Lily Perkins also tossed two scoreless innings.

The Victoria Belles led narrowly by a score of 2-1 before pulling away with two runs in the third and three in the fourth.

NSW Blue 15 def NSW White 5 

No hitter alert!!!!

New South Wales Blue booked their ticket in the first ever Australian Little League Girls Championship Game with another big win and by throwing a no hitter!

They scored at least 15 runs for their fourth consecutive game. They have scored 61 runs and a 4-0 record.

Like all of their games, NSW Blue had a full team effort.

Twelve players reached base, led by multi-hit efforts from Miranda Murray, Juno Bromley and Adele Acosta.

NSW Blue stormed out to a 6-0 lead before White cut back with four runs. But NSW Blue scored nine unanswered to end the game.

Emma Gainsford (2.2 innings), Chilli Hanlon (1.0 innings) and Miranda M combined to toss the no hitter.

Victoria Belles 16 def West Coast Rays 9

The Belles withstood a late West Coast Rays charge to win their third straight game and officially clinch a Top 2 spot in the group stages. They’ll play in Sunday’s championship game!

Despite allowing the first run of the game, the Belles scored eleven unanswered runs to lead 11-1. The Rays pushed back with six in the top of the fourth to make it 11-7 and say “Game on!”

However, the Belles immediately responded with a couple runs to push the lead back out.

Emily Mills had her second two-hit game of the day. Isabella McKenner, Hannah Wilson-Powell and Georgia Lovell all had two-hit performances as well.

Michaela Bucholz and Aubrey Mills had two RBIs for the Rays.

It’s the world’s first Little League Girls National Championships, and it’s happening in Australia.

Here you will find schedule, running results, broadcast, Game Changer scoring links and information.

From May 8-12 in Lismore in the beautiful Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, six Little League (U13) girls teams from across Australia will compete for the title of national champion.

For the initial announcement and basic information, click here.

Games will run from 9:00AM to approximately 2:00PM each day before the professional showcase games begin featuring the best Australian players and nine World Cup players from around the world.

The Gold Medal Game will be played Sunday at 12:00PM.

Games are free to attend.

Schedule

Download here, or run to results tab.

Broadcast

Watch Diamond 3 Coverage on Baseball+ live & free around the world.

Watch Diamond 4 Coverage on a single feed through Game Changer. Click this link or search Little League Girls Division in Lismore.

RESULTS / DAILY RECAPS

DAY 5 – SCHEDULE – RECAP HERE

9:00AM – Gold Medal Game – NSW Blue 15 def Victoria Belles 1 – Recap
11:45AM – Bronze Medal Game – West Coast Rays 10 def Brisbane Rebels 7 – Recap
11:45AM – Consolation Game – Adelaide Seahorses 18 def NSW White 4

Day 1 – RECAP HERE

NSW Blue 15 def Victoria Belles 6
Adelaide Seahorses 13 def NSW White 5
West Coast Rays 10 def NSW White 9
Brisbane Rebels 14 def Adelaide Seahorses 12

Day 2 – RECAP HERE

NSW Blue 15 def Brisbane Rebels 2
Victoria Belles 11 def Adelaide Seahorses 10
NSW Blue 16 def West Coast Rays 5
NSW White 15 tie Brisbane Rebels 15

Day 3- RECAP HERE

West Coast Rays 12 def Adelaide Seahorses 2
Victoria Belles 7 def Brisbane Rebels 1
Victoria Belles 16 def West Coast Rays 9
NSW Blue 15 def NSW White 5

Day 4 – RECAP HERE

9:00AM – Victoria Belles 13 def NSW White 8
11:45AM – West Coast Rays vs Brisbane Rebels
11:45AM – NSW Blue 13 def Adelaide Seahorses 6

Current Standings

MORE INFO / TEAMS

Click here for initial release and information.

Victoria Belles: The Little League Girls squad who helped push this momentum forward. In 2023, Victoria entered an all girls team for the first time in Australian history at the national Little League Division 2 championships. Tryouts were held with representatives from various clubs across the state.

West Coast Rays: In a similar fashion to the Rays, this group of girls from Perth are made up of players from across the state and metro Perth. The West is in a resurgence in junior girls baseball, finishing with a bronze medal at the recent U16 championships and hosting the Barclay Cup in late 2023.

NSW Blue + White: With a surge of popularity and a large number of players expressing interest to play in the Little League Girls tournament, NSW decided to enter two teams and divide them up in even numbers.

Adelaide Seahorses: South Australia has experienced growth in girls baseball and now the results are showing. In just their second ever year of having a U16 Youth Women’s State Team, South Australia won gold this April past. Their Seahorses team / name has a silver medal at the Barclay Cup. Now we see the next generation come through.

Brisbane Rebels: Queensland held a three-team qualifying tournament to determine their representative and a collection of metro Brisbane players took home the chocolates. They selected a Rebels name and now head to Lismore.