Established players and new talent in White Sox squad

A number of talented Māori have been named in the first White Sox squad and Coach Kevin Gettins says the squad is a mix of established players plus a number of younger players from the successful Junior White Sox teams of the last few seasons.

Among those selected are Kuraroa Ratu-James who at the two previous Junior Women's World Championships finished in the top 10 batters and Rita Hokianga who pitched her West Texas College team to win the Division Two College World Championship in 2014.

According to a press statement the squad includes a number of the White Sox team who finished a very credible 8^th at last year's World championships in The Netherlands. There are 12 players who are based in the USA on scholarship, one in Australia and the balance residing in New Zealand.

Kevin Gettins says, “It is important we develop a squad where players have to compete for their place on the team for the 2016 World Championships.  It is critical for the success of the national programme that we have our best players available. This will be a focus going forward.”

The inclusion of 17 year old Mereana Makea reflects the confidence Coach Gettins has in the young Wellington outfielder, "Makea has had a standout year in age group softball and performed very strongly at NFC and National Interclub tournaments, she is an exciting prospect for the future ".

The competition for a place on the 2016 World Championship team starts now and as the season starts players performances will be continually monitored.

Meanwhile the Black Sox put on an impressive performance against Canada in the World Series final yesterday however, Canada proved too strong and took out the championship 10-5.