Five different associations hoisted silverware at the 2023 Open State Championships held at Werribee Softball Association, including a win for the hosts in the Open Women’s Pennant over the weekend.

Knox opened their campaign against Dandenong with an emphatic 6-0 victory, before suffering a heavy loss against Waverley, 11-1. They would eventually face-off once more in the Grand Final, where Knox ran out 7-1 victors to claim the Open Women’s Cup in 2023.

Sunshine captured the Open Women’s Plate in a tight affair against Casey, winning 7-6 in the Grand Final. Both Sunshine and Casey played strong tournaments, tying their first encounter 1-1 in the third round, with Casey suffering their only defeat in the Grand Final.

In front of a home crowd, Werribee secured the Open Women’s Pennant with their 9-5 Grand Final win over Geelong. A decisive 12-4 win over Melbourne earlier on day two set up the momentum for Werribee to finish the tournament on a charge in the Pennant game against Geelong.

Glen Eira claimed the Open Men’s Cup with an emphatic 7-0 win over Dandenong, repeating their first-round show of strength in a competitive group. Three of the four Men’s Cup teams finished with the same record, with Glen Eira’s two shut outs and 6-1 win over the hosts proving vital on their road to victory.

The Open Men’s Plate was won by the Northern District, as they fought their way to a 13-8 win over Sunshine in the Grand Final. Sunshine had the mental advantage coming into the Grand Final, with their first-round 22-3 thumping of Northern District still fresh on the mind from the day prior. The opening game proved all the motivation the Northern District’s men needed, as they conceded just four more runs from their remaining round-robin games to set up the rematch against Sunshine.

Grand Finals

Open Women’s Cup
Knox Women 7 def Waverley Women 1

Open Women’s Plate
Sunshine Women 7 def Casey Women 6

Open Women’s Pennant
Werribee Women 9 def Geelong Women 5

Open Men’s Cup
Glen Eira Men 7 def Dandenong Men 0

Open Men’s Plate
Northern District Men 13 def Sunshine Men 8

Click here for the complete results

Softball Victoria would like to send our congratulations to the umpires that levelled up at the 2023 Victorian State Championships.

Damien French – Level Three
Tobias Sadler – Level Four

We’d also like to recognise Talia McDonald and Brett Tyler who attained Level Six at the 2023 National Championships.

Softball Victoria would also like to acknowledge and thank the Werribee Softball Association and the SV Events Committee for hosting and coordinating the event, as well as all umpires, volunteers, officials, administrators, and participants for their contributions to a brilliant weekend of softball.

Images thanks to Change of Focus photography.