Five Western Australian softballers have received selection across Australia’s two teams to compete at the Asia Pacific Cup in Blacktown starting late this month.
Four WA members will represent the Aussie Spirit with a further name included in the developmental Australia A side.
Stalwart Leigh Godfrey headlines the local talent in the Spirit squad where she will be joined by Amber Johnson, Verity Long-Droppert and Leah Parry. Tabitha Callander has earned inclusion in the A team.
Aussie Spirit head coach Laing Harrow will oversee both Australian teams ahead of what is an important year for Australian women’s softball.
“After personally attending the Gilley’s Shield last week in Perth, we’ve selected what we believe to be two teams made up of the best women’s softball talent in the country,”
“Every opportunity we can get for our players to compete against international talent is incredibly important, so we’re looking forward to seeing how we measure up in what will be our first international fixture of the year,” he said.
The Aussie Spirit and Australia A teams will face off against New Zealand, Italy, Chinese Taipei, China and defending champions and the world number two ranked women’s softball team Japan in this country’s premier international softball tournament.
The players from the two teams will also form part of the six teams to compete in the inaugural The Summer Slam – Fully Loaded Softball Series, an innovative new tournament which encourages exciting play by beginning with bases loaded and home run fences brought in closer to the diamond.
They will be joined by a number of international players with the full six teams to be announced in the coming days.
“The Summer Slam is again going to give us more valuable game time and give us a lot of opportunities to see how our team will take shape over the next 12 months,” Harrow said.
“Even though it’s not your traditional format, it’s still time on the diamond that will give us a good picture of where we’re at.”
The team announcement follows on from the news that the Aussie Spirit will compete as the Aussie Peppers of Minnesota in the 2019 National Pro Fastpitch season in the United States, which provides another crucial opportunity to compete at the elite level for Australia’s national team.
With softball returning as an Olympic sport in Tokyo in 2020 (along with Baseball) every opportunity for international exposure is an invaluable one for the Spirit, who are highly regarded and considered medal contenders in Tokyo.
The team finished fourth at last year’s World Championships and are currently ranked seventh internationally.
– with Softball Australia
