A dozen of the Border’s most talented young softballers have returned from successful national championship campaigns with Victoria at respective events held across the country.
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Under 19 men’s representatives Bradley Nicholson, Alex Clayton and Locky Spinelli helped Victoria to a fourth place finish after the pool matches in the championships in Brisbane.
They needed to win the last game against ACT to consolidate their position on the ladder and came away with a 6-2 result, forcing them to meet the same opponent in the elimination final.
Victoria couldn’t produce the desired result and went down 7-2, eliminating it from the competition.
Clayton played at first base and in the outfield and batted strongly.
Nicholson pitched and was mainly used as a pinch hitter, but was the designated player for the pitcher in the final two games, while Spinelli played outfield and catcher throughout the rounds and performed well with the bat.
In the under 15 girls, the region was again well represented by Joanna Garoni and Julia Ball at their championships in Perth.
Garoni pitched every game except one match on the first day, either starting or ending the game.
Her pitching kept the side closer to the higher-placed teams and helped them to five wins for the week.
Ball started in the outfield, but ended up playing second base, taking several catches and being involved in numerous outs at first base.
Both fielded strongly and accurately and batted well to advance base runners.
The team finished out of the finals, but were happy to keep in touch with the higher-ranked teams.
The Victorians were second overall for runs scored.
Tynan Purtell, Ethan Patrala, Liam Williams and Clae Reddy all made the Victorian under 15 boys side, who also competed in Brisbane.
The team had some good wins and took care of the top-placed team, before finishing sixth overall, but had plenty of highlights.
Williams and Patrala were solid in the outfield, while Reddy was strong on third base and Purtell pitched well.
Spinelli was also a part of the under 17s championships alongside locals Nash Livy, Declan Patrala and Stephen Martin, who played in Canberra earlier in January.
Whilst they didn’t win the title, the team was extremely competitive, winning two games and losing two fixtures by two or less, pushing powerhouses NSW and Queensland in the process.
Spinelli was the standout batter for the Victorian team and led from the front on and off the field as vice-captain.
Martin pitched up a storm and batted very well, despite going into the tournament with an injured foot, which failed to deter him playing beyond expectation.
Patrala played at left field and was outstanding, robbing a Queensland batter of a home run after taking a spectacular catch on the fence.
Livy hurt his throwing arm during the tournament and had limited opportunities, but made the most of them when they came.
Assistant coach Keith Quinn was extremely proud of the Albury-Wodonga state representative players.
“Travelling to Melbourne for training each and every Sunday for four months, in addition to training and playing softball locally and in Melbourne, is a credit to their commitment and dedication to the sport,” Quinn said.