The Sutherland Shire Softball Association U18 girls have won the NSW State Championships at Blacktown International Sports Park- it's been 10 years since the Shire juniors U18 team have been crowned NSW Champions.
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The grand final saw the Sutherland girls defeat Manly Warringah 5-4.
After a full rescheduling due to wet weather, the 2024 Under 18 Girls' State Championship went ahead on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May at Blacktown International Sportspark, showcasing the best Junior female softballers across the state with eight teams participating in a full round robin weekend.
For the Sutherland team - Maya Gillies was named their MVP and the overall batting award went to Sutherlands Charlize Aplitt- with a 0.818 batting average, a 1.091 slugging average and a .929 on base average with 12 runs 3 RBI.
Gillies, who is a Year 12 student at Endeavour Sports High, has also been selected to play for Australia in the upcoming U18s Women's Softball World Cup Group Stage in Dallas, Texas - to be played from 29 August to 2 September 2024, while the finals will take place in 2025.
Sutherland umpire Craig Hemphill also successfully achieved his Level 3 National Umpiring Accreditation during the 2024 Under 18 Boys' and 2024 Under 18 Girls' State Championship events.
The 2024 Under 18 Girls' State Championship Grand Final was a highly-anticipated event, after two challenging elimination Semi Finals earlier in the afternoon - one with a come-from-behind win for Manly Warringah over North Shore, and the other with an 8th inning extra time showdown allowing Sutherland Shire to progress over Cumberland Nepean.
Manly were looking to take their first title in this age group since 2017, with an undefeated streak across the weekend and Sutherland was trying to take back the shield for their first appearance in the NSW Grand Final in 10 years.
With both teams battling through their fifth game of the day, at the end of the seventh inning it was a 1-1 deadlock.
Smart batting and fast base running at the start of the tie-breaker gave Manly a 4-1 lead at the top of the eighth, but a handful of outfield singles and a two-run double from Sutherland's Maya Gillies in the bottom tied the game back at 4-4.
With the winning run now on second base, and Sutherland down to their last out, Addison O'Connor's RBI double to the fence at right centre secured the game.
With a three-run deficit, Sutherland weren't ready to go down without a fight, taking out the Under 18 Girls' State Championship title five runs to four, in one of the best State Championship Grand Finals hosted at the Sportspark.
John Veage
Thirty five year photographer for Fairfax -former NSW Chief Photographer for FCN and now Photo Journalist for the St George and Sutherland Shire Leader in southern Sydney.Official photographer for Cycling Australia (20 years) Official photographer for Surf Life Saving Australia (30 years) Founding Life Member of Cronulla Boardriders Club and Life Member of Surfing Sutherland Shire among other things.
Thirty five year photographer for Fairfax -former NSW Chief Photographer for FCN and now Photo Journalist for the St George and Sutherland Shire Leader in southern Sydney.Official photographer for Cycling Australia (20 years) Official photographer for Surf Life Saving Australia (30 years) Founding Life Member of Cronulla Boardriders Club and Life Member of Surfing Sutherland Shire among other things.
