Seven Olympians and two debutants have been included among the 16 players announced in the Australian Women’s Softball Team, the “Aussie Spirit”, for the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Finals. The event will take place in Castions di Strada, Italy, from July 15-21. You can see the roster on Softball Australia's website.
Australian Head Coach Laing Harrow said: “With the amount of work the players have put in, they’ve made the selectors job incredibly difficult in picking the final 16. This is a team that has the perfect mix of youth and experience, and I can’t wait to take this talented group to Italy to compete against the world’s best.”
Athletes will have their final preparation with a camp in Brisbane in June before flying to compete in the Canada Cup, prior to travelling to Castions di Strada, Italy, for the eight-nation World Cup Finals.
The Aussie Spirit will be led by captain Clare Warwick who captained the team in last year’s World Cup Group Stage, where she posted a .333 batting average and an error-free performance in the infield.
Complementing Warwick are fellow Olympians Jade Wall, Michelle Cox, Stacey McManus, catcher Taylah Tsitsikronis, along with pitching duo Kaia Parnaby and Ellen Roberts.
Current NCAA Division 1 College athletes Shaylan Whatman and Madison Scott will be debuting for the Spirit. Rounding out the group of younger Spirit players set to make their World Cup debut are Jenna Trim and Sasha Willems.
Five more players complete the Aussie Spirit team from the 2023 World Cup Group Stage in Ireland: Shannon Keevers, Tamieka Whitefield, Pippa Adkins, Georgia Hood and Kandra Lamb.
Softball Australia CEO Sarah Loh added “From the moment we punched our ticket in Ireland last year, we have been relentless in our pursuit of World Cup glory. We’ve provided the support and resources for our team and I’ve been impressed by the way the whole squad, the coaches and staff have embraced the challenge and are clear in what they want to achieve.”
World No. 10 Australia is placed in Group B, opening the tournament against No. 2 Japan before taking on No. 9 Netherlands and No. 3 Puerto Rico ahead of the Super Round.
