Oxley High School's Jessie Johnson was a late inclusion into the North West side for the NSWCHS Softball Championships but by the end she was named North West Player of the Championships.
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The year 7 student was one of two late call-ups and Johnson took the opportunity with both hands.
"She was pitching to kids who play in the under 18s state national league," manager Ellen Lowndes said.
Coach Sherelle Moore added: "She's been awesome. She's taken it all on board and ended up being one of our starting nine in the infield. It's lovely to see her come in and play well."
Schoolmate Claire McGuirk was named North West's Most Valuable Player while Tamworth High's Brianna-Maree Goman also picked up a special trophy - the Peter Ziegel award.
"Every game as a coach, we nominate a best and fairest from the opposite association and [Brianna-Maree] was nominated nearly every game," Lowndes said.
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The North West side wasn't able to win a game at the championships but they went so close.
After near misses in the opening two matches - North West lost both games by one run - the side's best result came on day two when they drew 7-all with South Coast.
"They're not discouraged. They all have a great attitude and they've just had fun and a good time which is really lovely to see," Moore said.
"Most play one game a year in the knockout and then they come to this tournament with the team and they start looking like softballers and thinking like softballers and it's rewarding to see that."
Ben Jaffrey
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
