The ADF women’s softball team finished fifth in the Queensland Women’s Open State Championships, reaching the qualifying finals for the first time.
Defence opened strongly with two wins from three games on day one of the competition in Redcliffe, that ran from September 1-3.
Warrant Officer Class 1 Virgina Morris’ impressive pitching resulted in a ‘shutout’ win against Wynnum, 0-9.
Powerhouse outfielder Leading Aircraftwoman Madison Tough kept Logan on their toes with high-speed precision throwing from centrefield to home plate – nearly 70 metres – stopping the eventual tournament champions with a 9-5 win to ADF.
On the second day, Defence won two games from four, with one draw and one loss ranking them third in the pooling round.
The first game of the finals resulted in an 8-1 win for ADF over Redcliffe White, avenging last year’s loss in the C-grade final.
A couple of errors cost the women a close 9-8 loss against Caboolture in a tough last match.
Petty Officer Chris Murray has devoted seven years to coaching the ADF teams and took them to New Zealand as head coach.
“Some of our team only get to play half a season a year, and some girls haven’t thrown a ball in five years, yet they show up and still play competitive softball at a high level,” Petty Officer Murray said.
Leading Aircraftwoman Tough, an ACT state player, took an amazing catch on the last day to keep them in the game, despite a knee injury.
“She did a full-on superman diving catch. Although she was hurt the night prior sliding into a catcher, she was still outstanding in the field, throwing people out from outfield to home plate,” Petty Officer Murray said.
Short stop and second-base player Aircraftwoman Michaela McLennan represented her first NSW state team for under 16s and made it into the junior Australian team prior to enlisting in 2022.
This year was her first state championship with Defence.
“There is so much talent in the team and even though we had never trained together, you wouldn’t have known that, seeing us play and how good our banter was during the game,” Aircraftwoman McLennan said.
“It was a competitive yet fun team to be a part of and I can’t wait to play again with these girls. It was such an incredible experience.”
The squad of 13 women was selected at last year’s ADF Nationals tournament and included a blend of youth versus experience. They played their first game together the afternoon before the tournament.
“I arrived late on Friday morning, put my shoes on, just about to go on field and I was introducing myself to some of the girls because I’ve never met them before,” Warrant Officer Class 1 Morris said.
These tournaments give Australian coaches the ability to scout the talent within the ADF, according to Petty Officer Murray.
“Our men and women are away so much they can’t play in clubs, so any opportunity to play at a higher level is really good for them,” Petty Officer Murray said.
“I’m not the best softballer in the world, but I’m good at keeping the team level and making it fun, because even though we are a serious team, we will always finish a game laughing and smiling regardless of if we win or lose.”
