Great Britain (GBR) are the 16^th ranked women’s softball nation and had suffered defeat at the hands of Australia in every encounter prior to the opening game of the 2023 WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup.

From the outset, it was clear that the first game of the Group Stage would a tough one for both teams. Ellen Roberts established herself quickly in the centre with, keeping a high tempo that produced dividends with three quick outs.

The Aussie Spirit looked to build on the momentum from the field but were faced with the challenge of Georgina Corrick with the ball in hand.

Tamieka Whitefield led the lineup, facing seven pitches to strike out swinging and could be seen offering some early observations to Shannon Keevers as they crossed paths.

Corrick threw one ball against Keevers, who faced six pitches to be out on a flyball and then came Taylah Tsitsikronis to the plate to firmly establish what the battle in front of the Spirit was.

With the count 1-2, Corrick thought she’d managed an early break against Tsitsikronis with a dipper that failed to draw the batter’s swing. Two fouls followed with a 2-2 count and Corrick looked to get Tsitsikronis to swing on an outside edge ball. The count was now 3-2 after seven pitches faced by Tsitsikronis, and two more fouls followed as the first base player continued to give the Aussies plenty of looks at the pitching of Corrick.

The duel finally ended as Corrick snuck one along the outside edge of the plate to strike Tsitsikronis out looking after 10 pitches. A nice long opening at bat for Tsitsikronis against one of the big weapons at the World Cup this year.

In the top of the second it was much the same as the top of the first. Roberts continued her work with the ball and the Australian fielders continued their switched-on defence. Three up, three down, and GBR were yet to make it on base.

Australia found some success in the bottom of the second, as Jade Wall caught a lucky break (of sorts) as she was hit by a stray Corrick pitch, giving Australia a runner on base with captain Clare Warwick up to the plate.

Corrick was cautious of the now 250+ cap Australian veteran, throwing two balls before Warwick gave chase with the bat only to be struck out swinging.

Next up was Kylie Steemers, who stepped up and immediately had an impact with a ground ball single to join Wall on base. Corrick recovered some ground somewhat as she dismissed Hayley Bonython in four pitches to claim the second out, but Australia still had two runners on first and second with Stacey McManus up to the plate.

After throwing three balls in a row against the known threat of McManus, Corrick was able to recover the inning, bring the count back to 3-2 before McManus had to chase and was ground out.

As the fourth inning began it was Australia with the momentum, but with Corrick’s strong showing so far, the hitters were expending a great deal of energy without the reward of a score. Up stepped Kendyl Scott to the plate for Great Britain to open the inning with a big first-ball home run over left field – throwing Australia’s momentum out the window.

Roberts was seemingly unfazed as Australia made the outs in quick succession to restrict GBR to the single score, but with Corrick proving an exceptional challenge to overcome, one run could have been all they needed.

In the bottom of the fourth, Corrick looked to be picking up the momentum, allowing Warwick a single to right field, but taking three strikeouts from four faced.

Roberts looked to continue the high-tempo approach in the fifth, taking the first out quickly, but Morgan Salmon’s single down the left and becoming the first GBR runner on base all game – despite leading 1-0.

GBR looked to cement the momentum shift, with quick successive singles to Katie Burge and Chloe Wigington – working their way to runners on second and third with two outs.

Australia was able to recover the inning as Roberts struck out Sydney Brown swinging to stop the scoring threat of GBR.

It was in the sixth that the game began to fall away from the Spirit. Tia Warsop with lightning feet made it on base, stole second, made it to third on a wild pitch before stealing home to double GBR’s lead as the Aussies looked to cover Corrick’s steal to second.

The bottom of the sixth saw Corrick take charge, bagging three quick outs as the Spirit looked to be aggressive with the bat.

With the score still 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Warwick dug deep to find something for the Spirit against the formidable Corrick. On 10 pitches faced, Warwick faced two balls and fouled seven times before grounding out 4-3.

Steemers gave the Aussies a chance, earning a walk with her patience and Olivia Kuzminski entered the game as a pinch hitter for Bonython, grounding out but advancing Steemers to second.

Georgia Hood was called upon at two outs as a pinch hitter for McManus but was unable to find a safe hit to keep Australia in the opener.

The opening loss is by no means the end of the road for Australia. On day two we face the host nation Ireland at 9:30PM (AEST) in what will be a critical opportunity for the Spirit to take charge of.