AFTER a wet opening weekend delayed the start of the season, Wangaratta Rangers Softball made its debut this past weekend in the Softball Albury Wodonga season and produced two clear wins to open their tallies for season 2023/24.

The under 12 side, with everyone in the team playing their first ever softball game, came out strong with a spectacular performance against the Wodonga Warriors.

Charlie Cummings was the star for the Rangers, pitching a strong inning to the start of the game, and following that up later in the game with a base-clearing home run to give Wangaratta the lead.

There were contributions from all over the park, with Isaac Maiden solid behind the plate, and fantastic pitching and defence from Isla O’Keeffe and Tia Wells.

The end score for the game was Rangers 18 to Wodonga 11.

Junior training will be on Wednesday at 4pm (new players are welcome) and then next game will be Albury Bears Green next Saturday.

The senior women’s side then stepped up to the plate and produced a dominant performance against the Albury Comets which will send a message to the league.

After only coming together in the past two months, the Rangers came out to play to start the game, scoring five runs in the first innings and continuing that formidable offence throughout the game to produce 17 runs en route to a 17-5 win.

Jess White pitched a complete game and produced with the bat, collecting two hits.

Jenny Warfe, Brooke Thomson, Candice Jones and Sarah Warfe all collected multiple hits as well to finish the game strong.

The result leaves Wangaratta at the top of the ladder after the first round.

Rangers' next game will be against Wodonga Gladiators who should provide a test for the new squad after also winning this weekend.