Baseball NSW congratulates our Youth Women’s squad for winning the bronze medal at the 2026 Australian Youth Women’s Championship last 14-18 April at Melbourne Ballpark!
Both the NSW Women’s and Youth Women’s squads won bronze at this year’s tournament, cementing New South Wales as one of the top states for Australian baseball. The Women’s squad also won gold at the 2025 AWCs.
The NSW Youth Women’s squad opened the tournament with an 8-3 victory over Victoria, behind six runs scored in the first inning and an Emma Gainsford homer in the second.
Besides Gainsford, Amelia Mahboub, Heba Arifaki, and Taylor Stevens pitched in with RBI in a six-run first inning. Playing in her first AYWC, Gainsford then dinged a homer in the second to push the lead to 7-2.
On the mound, the NSW pitching staff kept their opponents at bay. Maddison Forbes and Ashleigh-Rose Thompson put in impressive relief stints.
Thompson allowed only two hits, zero earned runs, and zero walks and struck out three. Meanwhile, Forbes pitched 1.2 innings and allowed two hits, one walk, and zero runs while striking out three.
However, NSW suffered a comeback loss 7-4 to Western Australia in their next game, as the latter locked up a finals spot after a rally defined by homeruns.
NSW held a 4-2 lead at one point until Sara Scott nailed a solo shot to start her team’s comeback to book a top three spot in the 2026 AYWCs.
For the Blues, Mackenzie Paroz dinged a homer in response. The team built an early lead thanks to strong pitching from Gainsford, who threw 2.2 innings and allowed one unearned run with zero hits and struck out five.
Meanwhile, an RBI single from Taylor Stevens pushed the lead to 2-0.
In the third, Isla Kalebic singled and Summer Hiscock grounded out to tie the game, while Jessica Rosser singled in the fourth to put NSW up 4-2.
Three runs from Western Australia in the bottom of the fifth signaled their comeback. A homer from Scott, an RBI single from Hiscock and a double from Jaimie Vlasic finally put them ahead.
Another two runs in the sixth put Western Australia ahead for good.
Then, in the third game, Queensland walked off New South Wales 8-7 in a thrilling offensive showing from both teams.
NSW had mounted a comeback to overcome a 7-2 lead in the third inning, built by a Grand Slam from Anouk Newbury and a homer from Kayla Sparks.
In the fifth, NSW went on a tear of five runs and tied the game. Lucy Glastonbury dinged a deep homer, while Lily Baxter doubled and Taylor Stevens scored a pair.
However, Sparks capped off a big game with a walk-off single in the last inning. Ultimately, Sparks had a 3-3 line with 3 RBI and a homer.
For the Blues, Jess Rosser, Lucy Glastonbury and Emma Gainsford tallied two hits each. Glastonbury also nailed a homer and 3 RBI.
NSW then punched their ticket to the Finals with a massive 22-1 drubbing of South Australia. Jemma Pekert and Gainsford each homered.
South Australia had also played excellent team defense throughout the tournament, allowing only two runs in their entire run before facing NSW, who dropped 22 on them.
The Blues as a team gathered 19 hits, with 12 different players driving in runs. For instance, Emma Gainsford finished 3-3 with a HR, 2 RBI, and 2 BB. Meanwhile, Jemma Pekert hit a late-game pinch hit home run.
Mackenzie Paroz and Lily Baxter each collected three hits.
On the mound, Jessica Rosser allowed one run and struck out six in 3.0 innings, while Sklah Coyle allowed zero hits and a walk in 1.0 innings pitched.
With the win, NSW finished pool play with a record of 2-2 and joined Western Australia and South Australia in the Top 3 Finals Round Robin.
The NSW Youth Women’s team opened the final rounds with a 6-3 loss to South Australia, who built an early 6-0 lead and never really looked back.
South Australia scored three runs in the first and another three in the second, though NSW scored three late runs to make a game of it.
Despite the score, both teams’ pitching staff made it hard for their opponents. Both teams notched only seven hits combined.
Starting pitcher Emma Gainsford allowed six runs, while Georgia Gately tossed 3.2 innings and allowed zero hits and zero runs. She also allowed only two walks while striking out eight.
On the other hand, Lillian Sterry and Olivia George proved capable on the mound and kept NSW at bay. Sterry conceded only two hits, one earned run, and two walks while striking out nine in 3.1 innings. Meanwhile, George allowed only two hits and one run while striking out four in 1.2 innings.
With the loss, NSW had one more chance to play in the Gold Medal Game against Western Australia.
Yet it was Western Australia who came out on top against NSW, winning 10-4 on the backs of a pair of homers and remaining undefeated in the tournament.
Besides slugging two homeruns, Western Australia also relied on superb pitching from Jamie Vlasic and Summer Hiscock to propel them to the Gold Medal Game.
Jemma Golding started the game with her third homer of the tournament, while Sara Scott smashed her second homer of the tourney in the final inning to put a cap on the proceedings.
In all, Western Australia combined for 11 hits.
For NSW, Lily Baxter tallied a pair of hits and an RBI. NSW just could not mount any significant offense against Western Australia’s pitching staff, who helped build a 4-1 lead and pulled away deep in the game.
Western Australia moved on to win this year’s Gold Medal while NSW earned bronze. Both NSW teams have given terrific representation and proved their ability to compete at the national level.
Baseball NSW applauds the Youth Women’s squad for their heart, grit, and effort throughout this year’s tournament! We also tip our hats to the winners and congratulate all the teams, players, and coaching staffs who made this year’s AWC/AYWCs a massive success!
Photo: Studio Honsa/Baseball Australia