Last weekend, Sir Jack Brabham Park was buzzing with excitement and an audience packed with parents and spectators as Orange & District Softball Association hosted the 2023 Under 12 State Championships. The first day of the State Championship was impacted due to thunderstorms but it didn't dampen the spirits of the players and spectators. The weather turned in our favour on Day 2 with beautiful weather on display, setting the stage for a fantastic day of action-packed softball from our boys/mixed and girls teams. 

The following teams competed at the 2023 Under 12 State Championships: 

Boys/Mixed

Campbelltown 

Central Coast 

Cumberland Nepean 

Georges River 

Macarthur 

Orange 

Penrith City 

Southern Districts 

Girls Teams

Cumberland Nepean 

Macarthur 

Manly Warringah 

North Shore 

Orange 

Penrith City 

Grand Finals 

The 2023 Under 12 Boys/Mixed Grand Final featured both Campbelltown and Penrith City with both teams brimming with confidence after producing dominant semi-final displays against both Georges River and Southern Districts respectively. The Grand Final was a tightly contested game of softball with Campbelltown laying the foundations towards victory roaring out to an early lead in the opening innings with some excellent batting and defensive fielding. Penrith City started to mount a comeback with some fantastic pitching and batting to pull within one run of Campbelltown in the closing stages of the match. In the end, a brilliant piece of teamwork by Campbelltown at the bottom of the last innings halted Penrith City's momentum to take the honours 7-6 in a memorable Grand Final. 

Watch the full highlights of the Grand Final here: 2023 Under 12 State Championships Boys/Mixed Grand Final 

Furthermore, the 2023 Under 12 Girls Grand Final featured rivals Manly Warringah and North Shore with both teams confident of victory after finishing first and second at the end of the single round-robin tournament while seeking to maintain their momentum from fantastic semi-final displays. The Grand Final was a great contest with Manly Warringah pulling out all the stops to set the platform towards victory with outstanding batting and fielding to pull out to an early 7-0 lead at the bottom of the second inning. North Shore didn't give up and attempted to mount a spirited comeback through great teamwork and some excellent batting and pitching however, Manly Warringah proved too strong taking the honours 9-0. 

Watch the full highlights of the Grand Final here:  2023 Under 12 Girls State Championship Grand Final - Manly Warringah vs. North Shore - YouTube

Grand Final Umpires - Boys/Mixed 

Plate: Darren Keed 

First Base: Jeffrey Moon 

Third Base: Brian Delavere

Card: Mitchell Williamson 

Grand Final Umpires - Girls 

Plate: Andrew Walker 

First Base: Sophie Moon 

Third Base: Hannah Walters 

Card: Eva Kunce 

Final Placings - Boys/Mixed 

Champions: Softball Campbelltown 

Runners Up: Penrith City 

=3rd Place - Georges River and Southern Districts 

=5th Place - Cumberland Nepean and Softball Macarthur 

=7th Place - Central Coast and Orange & District

Final Placings - Girls 

Champions: Manly Warringah 

Runners Up: North Shore District 

3rd Place - Penrith City 

4th Place - Cumberland Nepean 

5th Place - Softball Macarthur 

6th Place - Orange & District 

Players Player Awards Boys/Mixed 

Campbelltown - Denzel Paratainga 

Central Coast - Rose Marchant 

Cumberland Nepean - Alex Paul-Blake 

Georges River - Kilifi Maugatai 

Macarthur - Josh Gilbey 

Orange - Sebastian Hewitt 

Penrith City - Aaron Jessup 

Southern Districts - Cooper Patten & Harry White 

Players Player Awards - Girls 

Cumberland Nepean - Sophia Doney & Carlijn Harvey 

Macarthur - Isabella Hanrahan 

Manly Warringah - Isobel Roberts 

North Shore - Madeleine Kunce & Annabelle Moriarty 

Orange - Imogen Tosevic 

Penrith City - Chloe Durham & Bridie Harper 

Softball NSW would like to thank Orange & District Softball Association and all of the volunteers, athletes, team management and attendees who made the 2023 Under 12 State Championships a great success. 

For any further information relating to the event, please contact Softball NSW Events & Facilities Coordinator Aimee Sutton at events@softballnsw.org.au or Softball NSW Media Marketing and Content Officer Angus Hewitt at media@softballnsw.org.au.