Upsets and emotional accolades at this years North West Champs finals

Reigning champions Port Hedland were left stunned after Vikings defeated their rivals by 12 runs in the final of the of the softball North West Championships. The two day tournament is a highlight of the softball calender with teams from across the Pilbara including Port Hedland, Karratha and even a Perth team travelling to Tom Price to see who would come out on top. It marked a return to the the competition after last years championships were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hedland Softball Association were the favourites heading into the tournament and showed their class all weekend during the round robin stage of the contest. At the end of the of the eight game round robin, Hedland were sitting on top of the ladder with six wins, one game clear of Karratha,Vikings and Tom Price who all had five victories. Wickham sat fifth with two wins while Dampier struggled all tournament managing a surprising draw against Port Hedland but racking up seven losses. The grand final saw the Vikings take it to the reigning champions early in the game holding a five run lead at the halfway point. The Vikings bats exploded in the back end of the game, stunning Hedland to storm to a 12 run victory, 19-7. The championships also saw lifelong softball stalwart Mitzie Cassidy recognised for her years of dedication to growing softball in the region. An emotional Cassidy was presented a life membership to the North West Softball Association by West Pilbara Softball Organisation president Barrie Sargeant.