The NSW Firestars capped off a scintillating week on the diamonds, defeating Queensland yesterday in a thrilling final to claim their 24th Open Women's National Title. The six-day National Championship was held at Hawker, ACT between January 9-14 2024. 

Recap 

The Firestars had a dominant start to the tournament with comprehensive victories over ACT and Western Australia on Day 1 to set the tone for the rest of the week. Our women in blue reeled off more impressive wins against competitive opposition to take our undefeated streak to ten games by the end of Day 4 up against quality athletes from Australia and across the globe. Another dominant display to start Day 5 against South Australia winning 11-0 had the Firestars brimming with confidence heading into our final round-robin game against Victoria. 

The first and only loss from the Firestars was against Victoria heartbreakingly losing 1-0 to take our record to 11-1 after the round-robin games. The loss to Victoria didn't dampen the spirits of the Firestars instead it motivated them in their semi-final clash against a quality South Australian side defeating them 7-0 to move onto the final eagerly awaiting our opponents giving us ample time to prepare. Amongst some of the top performers from our women in blue included Kaia Parnaby, Tahli Moore, and Stacey McManus. 

In front of a packed audience our Firestars would play Queensland in the Grand Final at 3pm on a glorious Sunday afternoon, showcasing amazing talent from both teams to produce a thrilling game of softball. The Firestars got the momentum rolling with an RBI double in the second inning by Gabrielle Plain to give NSW a 2-0 lead at the bottom of the second inning. The game ebbed and flowed with momentum with Queensland pulling a run back to get back in the contest. The Firestars were able to score another run in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 3-1 before Kaia Parnaby restricted the opposition with a scintillating pitching performance. The Firestars wrapped up the game 3-1 in a memorable and competitive final. 

Watch the Grand Final Here: 2024 Gilley's Shield Grand Final NSW vs QLD

Individual Award Winners 

Player of the Grand Final - Kaia Parnaby 

Rookie of the Year - Mia Gilmore (representing ACT)