Baseball NSW congratulates our clubs Hills, Manly, and Cronulla for their outstanding representation, which included gold medals for Manly and Cronulla, at the 2026 Little League Girls and Little League Invitationals played last 7-11 July at Redcliffe!
The Cronulla squad clinched the gold medal at the Girls tournament, while Manly secured theirs at the Invitational. Meanwhile, Hills placed fourth at Little League Girls.
Matilda May starred for Cronulla on their way to the gold at the Little League Girls championship game against the West Coast Rays.
The starting pitcher dominated on the mound, throwing 5.2 innings and giving up only one run, one hit, three walks, and zero earned runs, while striking out 11.
Meanwhile, Haley Bone put Cronulla on the board twice, thanks to a two-out, two-RBI single in the third. Bone also recorded the final out by striking out West Coast’s last batter.
Still, the Rays pitchers held their own and conceded only two hits from Cronulla. Both starter Amelia Castle and reliever Rachel Hosken performed well for their team: Castle giving away only two hits and two runs in 2.0 innings, Hosken throwing 3.0 shutout innings with zero hits and eight strikeouts.
One of the two other base hits from Cronulla also came from Matilda May.
This win gave Cronulla their first Little League Girls title! Baseball NSW congratulates the team and their coaching staff for their excellent play throughout the tourney.
The team includes:
Emma Vuljanic
Kelsey Streater
Tayah Perrin
Haley Bone
Matilda May
Ruby Kosanic
Charli Hilley-Hulme
Isabelle Hutton
Emily Pekert
Catalina David
Gisele Streater
Emilia Maclean
Holly Fordyce
Charlize Anne Davis
The coaching staff includes:
Matthew Bone
Chris May
Ashley Streater
Kate Vuljanic
Curtis David
Meanwhile, Manly delivered a commanding performance against Adelaide on their way to the gold at the Little League Invitational.
Manly’s starting pitcher Oli Curtin was impressive on the mound, throwing 5.0 shutout innings and conceding only three hits and two walks while recording six strikeouts.
Moreover, Manly’s bats held their end of the bargain. Blaise Reid hit an RBI single in the first, while Max Brennan and Sidney Prevost each struck back-to-back RBI singles in the second to push Manly to a 3-0 lead.
Then, Manly broke the game open in the third with a four-run showing. Ryder MacPherson cleared the bases with an RBI double to extend the lead to 7-0.
Ultimately, Manly’s bats were too much for Adelaide, outhitting them 10-3. MacPherson and Curtin paced their team with two hits apiece.
Congratulations to the team for their national title! The team includes:
Lachy Addison
Ziggy Avalon
Eli Austin
Max Brannan
Oli Curtin
Noah Donnelly
Cameron MacBride
Ryder MacPherson
Kitt Mote
Ayden Prevost
Sidney Prevost
Blaise Reid
August Ropiha
The Hills Little League Girls squad also advanced to the Bronze Medal game, where they came up short against the West Coast Rays Gold team 12-2.
Sophie L opened up the scoring for Hills in the first, thanks to a double that scored their first run of the game.
However, the Rays ran off six runs off seven hits deep in the same inning to take control of the game with a 7-1 lead.
In the loss, four players collected one hit each for Hills: Hayley, Tamara, Emerson, and Sophie. Audrey J also joined Sophie in driving in a run each for the team.
Baseball NSW congratulates the Hills squad for representing the team admirably during the tournament! We hope our squads continue to aspire for excellence and to play with pride!
Photo credit: Baseball Australia/Studio Honsa/Michael Lovell