It has been a rapid rise for Wallerawang's Sara Lane.
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In only her second year of playing baseball, the 14-year-old will be heading to her first national championships next month.
Sara has been selected to represent the NSW Country Youth Womens team to play in Canberra from April 14-19.
She is excited to take her game to the next level however it has taken a lot of hard to get the chance to play with the best junior baseballers in the country.
In all, Sara dedicates around 15 hours a week to getting better at the game she loves.
"It's just a fun game to play," Sara said.
The year 9 student at Portland Central School trains every day at home, practicing her throwing, batting and fielding.
She is the first one in 25 years to play for NSW Country from our association.
- Father Jason Lane
She also travels to Newcastle every week to train and play games against other girls.
Sara plays in a mixed team for the Wallerawang Hawks under 14s in the local junior competition.
The Hawks were crowned premiers for 2016/17 after defeating the Geckos in the grand final on Sunday.
The Lane family lives and breathes baseball.
Father Jason and mother Louise Murphy played the game in their younger years and Sara’s two older brothers have also been heavily involved in baseball.
"She's been around baseball since the day she was born basically," said Mr Lane, who is also the president of Wallerawang Senior Baseball.
Mr Lane said one of the game’s positives is that the girls can play on an equal level with the boys.
"We're just happy with how our comps going, she is the first one in 25 years to play for NSW Country from our association," said Mr Lane.
"This is what it was all about. We were taking her down just to play with other girls and see how she went with them, hopefully that will encourage more of our girls to see that there is a pathway to do something else."
Sara plays as an outfielder which is a good fit as she believes her catching is the strongest part of her game.
Her team’s goals for the national championships are to win a medal and to improve in each game they play.
The Country Blue Sox will play nine games in total if they qualify for the final. They will be trying their best to get the better of their NSW metropolitan rivals.
Mr Lane also thanked former Lithgow resident Kylie Pack and secretary of Belmont Baseball club for her help in registering Sara in the Newcastle competition.