Zoë Mir, an American teenager who has been residing in Bermuda since 2012, picked up two huge accolades in overseas baseball competitions this summer.

The 13-year-old headed to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, last month to play in the Baseball For All Nationals tournament, the largest competition for girls in the United States with her team, Philadelphia Liberty, finishing third in the under-14 Majors Division.

She went on to win silver at the Pony Girls Baseball World Series in Tochigi, Japan, with her team BFA Ambassadors losing in the under-15 competition to a side from the home nation, and Mir is thrilled to have created new friends alongside the competition.

“Playing baseball at BFA Nationals is always one of the highlights of my year,’’ Mir said.

“I love the camaraderie and the high level of competition. It’s inspiring to see several hundred girls come together with such excitement to play a sport we all love.

“I feel especially honoured to have had the chance to join the BFA Ambassadors under-15 team and representing the United States at the Pony Girls Baseball World Series this summer.

“The level of play and the coaching were world class and the tournament organisers were incredibly welcoming. I learnt so much from my coaches as well as the other ball players on my team and the teams from around the world, especially the girls from Japan and Australia.”

Mir, who was a student at Somersfield Academy for 11 years, in now at boarding school in the US, but she is not lost completely the game in Bermuda with plans to return to the island in November to play her part in developing baseball on the island.

“I wouldn't be the player I am today without the support and training that I have had in Bermuda from YAO Baseball over the last decade,’’ Mir said.

“I am eager to bring what I've learnt back to Bermuda, starting this fall, to help give girls in Bermuda the skills, mentorship, and encouragement that others have given to me, and to help expand the girls baseball programme here on the island.

“While I'm excited for the new opportunities I'll have in school in the US this year, I'll miss Bermuda and I'm looking forward to coming back on my school breaks.”

Jessica Gorman, Mir’s mother, said her daughter is already in the process of perfecting her plan to raise the baseball standards in Bermuda.

“She is starting to develop that plan now in consultation with the Baseball for All organisation,’’ Gorman said.

“She is one of 15 girls selected from across North America this year for the Junior Captains team. As part of her role, she is working with the BFA to grow and promote girls' baseball and will be working with girls in Bermuda to help them develop their skills.”

Mir started baseball training with YAO Baseball Bermuda in the league’s Tee-Ball division at the age of four and in the past decade has earned All-Star awards in every division. She was also the only girl competing in YAO’s Babe Ruth division for 13 to 16-year-olds.

To enhance her Bermuda-based training, Mir joined the Philly Girls Baseball programme last year and was part of the under-12 team that secured third place at the BFA Nationals.

Mir was also in the same team when they earned second place at the DMV Series, a major annual girls baseball tournament in Maryland last October, when they only lost the championship game in extra innings after the game finished 3-3 at the end of regulation play.