Baseball history has been made.
Genevieve Beacom became the first-ever woman to play professional baseball in Australia, as she pitched one inning for the Melbourne Aces in the team's Challenge Series game against the Adelaide Giants on Friday, 7 January.
Beacom, a 17-year-old left-handed pitcher, threw one scoreless inning. Reports indicate that she showed a good combination of fastball and changeup.
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On 2 January, Beacom signed a contract with the Aces as a development player for the 2022-23 season.
She recorded a zero earned run average (ERA) for the U-16 State level at Sandringham and became the first female athlete to be named in the Baseball Victoria U-16 squad to represent the State in 2018. She then became the first woman to pitch in the Victoria Summer League and competed in the 2019 Australian Youth Championship in Sydney.
The Aces head coach Pete Moylan welcomed her on the roster with these words: "I have watched this young lady develop as a baseballer from her junior days, including playing for Victoria and Australia and doing more than holding her own against the top baseballers in the country and from around the world. If anyone thinks this is just a token selection, then they need to think again because she has 100% earned her spot on the development list with the Melbourne Aces."
The Melbourne Aces won the first game of the Challenge Series on 7 January, 2-1. The Giants came back to win game two, 7-1, and game three, 10-2.
The two-time Australian Baseball League (ABL) defending champions Melbourne Aces will play a three-game series against the Auckland Tuatara from 28 to 30 January.
