Tall, left-handed pitchers are hard to come by in baseball, which makes 12-year-old Melbourne girl Genevieve Beacom quite the rarity.
Genevieve recently became the first female to represent Australia in a non-gender specific team at a world series tournament in the United States.
"It's just a fun game," she told SBS World News.
"I got into it with my brother because he started playing it. I thought I'd just be playing club ball, having a good time with friends... I didn't think I'd ever be playing for Australia."
Genevieve's brother, Sam, began teaching her the basics when she was five.
While he went on to play for Lower Columbia College in the US, she would make history at home.
Genevieve's uncanny left arm saw her selected to play alongside boys in both state and national championships, before becoming the first girl to feature on the Australian team at the Cal Ripken World Series.
"Playing for Australia is just amazing," she said.
"Being a starting pitcher, you have this massive crowd, so much loud noise everywhere, and you feel like you're on top of the world with happiness and joy. It's so fun."
Beating the boys
Genevieve said being the only girl in many teams she has played with has never really been an issue.
But her father Brendon said it added an extra level of satisfaction.
"We didn't have to do anything to make Genevieve take baseball seriously," he said. "She just excelled at what she was doing. She loved it," he said.
"She loves playing against the boys and in particular she says she loved striking them out."
Genevieve will spend the summer playing club baseball before joining the Victorian Women's Youth team in 2018.
When she played for them this year, she was their youngest member, going up against girls four years her senior.
A role model for others
Al Tanner, a pitching coach for nearly 50 years, has been mentoring Genevieve since she was 10.
He admitted while he hasn't trained many girls, her talent was undeniable.
"Left-handed pitchers are in demand everywhere," he said. "When they're good, they're really good, and she's one of them.
"Some of the guys are really good as well, but she mixes it. She's as good as them at this level."
With her sights set on one day going pro in the US or Japan, Genevieve said she was hopeful more female players would follow in her footsteps.
Rick Wills, President of Victorian-based little league group Southern Mariners Charter Baseball, said she was a perfect role model.
"Baseball is a growing sport, and we see that it is growing among women," he said. "I can see Gen being the model going forward.
"She will certainly lift the profile of our sport, which can only be good."
