MEDOWIE 16 year old Mindy Latimer has helped pitch Australia to victory in two of its toughest games en route to a silver medal at the Women's World Baseball Championships in Venezuela.
Australia went down 13-3 to Japan in the gold medal game early this week. But they may never have survived the earlier rounds except for Mindy's astounding form at the mound.
In her international debut she opened the pitching as Australia upset Chinese Taipei 4-0.
Mindy was sensational, striking out eight in four innings and allowing just one hit and three walks.
Keeping the Chinese score sheet clear rocked tournament expectations and drew personal praise for Mindy from Australian coach John Gaynor.
"Mindy was just outstanding in her debut today and I think the whole team fed off her performance," he said after the game.
Due to staunch restrictions for 16-year-old competitors, Mindy was prevented from pitching again until Australia's all-important second round match against the USA.
There she led a 19-6 annihilation of the Americans in front of 7000 fans in the city of Maracay, qualifying Australia for the semi finals.
Back home Mindy's grandfather Col Garland sweated on live online score updates throughout Australia's campaign.
"We are so, so proud to see what Mindy has done," he said.
Email a friend