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Genevieve Beacom

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Genevieve Beacom
Pitcher
Born: (2004-10-30) October 30, 2004 (age 19)
Melbourne, Australia
Australian Baseball League debut
8 January, 2022, for the Melbourne Aces
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Genevieve Beacom (born 30 October 2004) is an Australian baseball pitcher who in 2022 became the first woman to pitch in the Australian Baseball League. Beacom made her debut on 8 January 2022 for the Melbourne Aces in a game against the Adelaide Giants. A left-hander, Beacom throws a curveball, an 85.9 mile-per-hour fastball, and a changeup, and stands at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m). Beacom stated she intends on coming to the United States to play college baseball for 2023.

Biography

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Early life and amateur career

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Genevieve Beacom was born on 30 October 2004[1] to her father Brendan.[2][3] Growing up, Beacom watched her brother, Sam Trend-Beacom, play baseball, and started herself playing Tee-ball at a young age.[2] Beacom played one year of softball, which she stated she "hated".[2] In 2018, she struck out seventeen batters in a youth women's competition.[4] She was the first woman selected to the Baseball Victoria under-16 team, and was the first female pitcher for the Victorian Summer Baseball League;[3] she pitched to a 0.00 earned run average in the under-16 tournament,[5] which consisted of the best 200 players in Australia.[2] She played in the 2019 Australian Youth Championships.[5]

Beacom signed with the Melbourne Aces of the Australian Baseball League (ABL) around 1 January 2022 as a development player[5] without pay so as to not interfere with her eligibility to play college baseball in the United States.[2] Beacom made her ABL debut against the Adelaide Giants on 8 January 2022 for the Aces, where she pitched one inning, allowing one walk and no hits as the Aces lost 7–1.[3][6] When she made her debut, she became the first woman to pitch in the ABL.[4][7] A left-hander, Beacom throws a curveball, an 85.9 mile-per-hour (MPH) fastball (as of May 2023;[8] most women baseball pitchers throw in the upper 70s for MPH)[9] and a changeup, and stands at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m).[2] Beacom stated she that intends to take a gap year for 2023.[9]

In January 2023 Baseball Australia invited Beachom to its men's under-18 national team camp.[9] She was a member of the 2023 roster for Australia women's national baseball team.[10] In the 2024 Women's Baseball World Cup, she went four for thirteen batting and pitched 5+13 innings with eight strikeouts. Australia went 2–3 and did not advance to the finals.[9]

College career

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On March 22, 2024, Beacom committed to East Central College, a DII community college, to play college baseball.[11]

Personal life

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Beacom's brother Sam played college baseball for Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington.[2] In an interview with MLB Network in January 2022, she stated her favourite baseball team is the Atlanta Braves, and her favourite player is Gerrit Cole.[12] She graduated from Flinders christian community college in Tyabb, Victoria in 2022. She stated she would like to study psychology at university in the United States.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Roster | Melbourne Aces". melbourneaces.com.au. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Waldstein, David (12 January 2022). "'Genevieve Is Pitching Because She Can Get Outs'". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b c Axisa, Mike (9 January 2022). "Genevieve Beacom, 17, becomes first woman to pitch for a professional baseball team in Australia". CBS.
  4. ^ a b Bennett, Russell (10 January 2022). "Melbourne teen blazes trail as first female to pitch in Australian Baseball League". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  5. ^ a b c "Genevieve Beacom Signs with the Melbourne Aces as a Development Player". Melbourne Aces. 1 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Beacom becomes 1st female pitcher for an Australian pro team". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 10 January 2022.
  7. ^ Sterling, Wayne (9 January 2022). "Genevieve Beacom becomes first woman to pitch in the Australian Baseball League". CNN.
  8. ^ a b Delahunty, Erin (6 May 2023). "Australia's baseball prodigy has a fastball that could take her to the major leagues". The Guardian.
  9. ^ a b c d Clair, Michael (17 August 2023). "Australia's two-way superstar Genevieve Beacom drawing Ohtani comparisons". MLB.com. Major League Baseball.
  10. ^ "Women's Baseball Update Emeralds 2023 World Cup Squad Announcement". baseball.com.au. Baseball Australia. 30 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Australian two-way fireballer Genevieve Beacom commits to college baseball". mlb.com. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Genevieve Beacom – the 1st woman to play professional baseball in Australia". MLB Network. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022 – via YouTube.