When the email initially landed in her inbox, Nevaeh Fungalei\u2019s stepmother Ashley, was convinced it was a scam.<\/p>\n
The email was from Team Legacy Australia informing them Nevaeh had been selected to play in the Baseball for All National Girls Tournament \u2013 considered one of the largest girls\u2019 baseball competitions in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t actually believe it was real,\u201d Ms Fungalei said of her 13-year-old stepdaughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it came through as an email (Nevaeh) thought it was a scam or a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since then, Nevaeh, from East Hills, has been doing dead lifts at the gym, stocking up on protein and perfecting her swing in preparation.<\/p>\n
Once reality set in, the excitement was impossible to contain. <\/p>\n
Ms Fungalei remembered rushing to find her husband at the local barbershop to break the news mid-haircut. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were just so shocked and so thrilled,\u201d the proud caretaker said. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery baseball player dreams of going to America to play baseball but it\u2019s never something that you imagine happening at the age of 13.\u201d <\/p>\n
The BAF tournament is being held this July and will be the first time the little pocket rocket travels outside of Australia. <\/p>\n
As a proud Indigenous and Tongan girl, Ms Fungalei said Nevaeh is navigating a sport where she rarely sees herself represented. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no Indigenous women that we know of in baseball really repping their Indigenous culture or Pacific Island culture,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about showing other young girls, especially girls who look like her, that they belong here too.\u201d<\/p>\n