Haylea Petrie: Port's softball hall of famer

On Tuesday, Petrie was told she would be inducted into the international Softball Hall of Fame.

It's a massive honour for Petrie, who played for the Brown Bombers in Port Macquarie early in her career.

She went on to play in four World Series and won a bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

Petrie now has an honour to top them all. It was still sinking in when she spoke to the Port News on Wednesday.

"It's a very nice honour," she said. "I think I probably haven't got my head around it."

Petrie began her career as a pitcher but in later years played in the outfield for Australia.

She rates her biggest achievement - before this one - as playing in the under 19s Australian team in one of those World Series.

The U19s Australian team was invited to play against the best in the world in Canada. Petrie turned 18 on that tour.

She was a standout and named one of the top nine players in the world.

"We only went over there to get some experience," Petrie said.

As a person who always goes back to her roots, Petrie said making mates for life and playing in the country was the standout from her life in the sport.

"They've kept me pretty grounded," Petrie said.

Those mates inundated Petrie's Facebook account with congratulatory messages.

"That's the thing that's overwhelmed me," she said. "Because it's about what you do as a person. It's okay what you do on the field, but to maintain that respect off the field, that's very important to me."

Petrie dedicated the honour to her late father Ron, who would take her to Sydney regularly for training as a youngster.

"Dad and I went everywhere," she said.

Another big inspiration was Petrie's first coach Lance Davis.

"He took me under his wing," she said. "He coached me every day of the week."

Petrie's former teammate Brooke Wilkins will be inducted alongside her, and Petrie said that was an added bonus.

"I'm extremely proud to be in the same calibre as her," Petrie said.