Australian two-way fireballer Genevieve Beacom commits to college baseball

She's been on the mound -- and at the plate -- for Team Australia in the Women's World Cup at the tender age of 18. She was the first woman to pitch in the Australia Baseball League, taking the mound for manager Peter Moylan's Melbourne Aces in 2022. She can hit 86 mph on the radar gun.

Now, Australian pitching sensation Genevieve Beacom has committed to East Central College, a DII junior college in Missouri.

"I’m excited to announce my commitment to East Central Community College in Missouri to further my academic and athletic career," Beacom shared on Instagram. "I’d like to thank Coach Kelly for all his help throughout this process and providing me with the opportunity to further my career at the collegiate level."

Beacom is just the latest woman to commit to playing college baseball, joining USA National Team players Olivia Pichardo (Brown University), Elise Berger (Bard College) and Alexia Jorge (St. Elizabeth University) as some of the trailblazers on campus. As women's baseball continues to grow in popularity and with more baseball programs willing to give chances to female ballplayers, we should expect to see more of this in the years to come.

"It was the day after I pitched for the Aces, a little girl came up to me and said, 'I started playing baseball again because of you,'" Beacom told WBSC at the Women's World Cup last year. "It's the most heartwarming thing I've ever had said to me -- just knowing that me playing the game that I love has helped someone gain that love back for the sport and make them want to play again."