• Bay's Woon makes Black Sox training squad

Bay's Woon makes Black Sox training squad

Hawke's Bay softballer Adam Woon celebrated his first taste of Black Sox selection with a superb display for his Saints club side tonight.
 
Pitcher Woon was dominant on the mound, striking out 10 of the 24 batters faced and conceding two hits. With the bat Woon produced two hits, a double and a single, from his three turns as Saints beat Fast Pitch 3-1 in a Hawke's Bay premier men's clash at Akina Park, Hastings.
 
Woon heaped kudos on his catcher Sam Coldicutt for some outstanding defensive plays. The sole Fast Pitch run came courtesy of a pass ball.
 
A 21-year-old Napier Glass glazier, Woon, admitted to being "pretty stoked" after being named yesterday in a 35-strong Golden Homes Black Sox squad to attend a camp at College Rifles in Auckland this January.

"Making the Black Sox squad has always been my long-term goal since playing for the Junior Black Sox at the 2016 Junior World Championship," Woon said.
 

Woon is considered a hot prospect for the New Zealand team to attend the Under-23 World Championship in Argentina next year. Some polished displays there would enhance his chances of making the Black Sox team for the North Harbour-hosted World Championship in 2022.

"We're doing a lot of hard work with the under-23 squad at the moment so that has to help me. There are five or six pitchers in the Black Sox squad and I would like to think I am among the top five," Woon said.
 
Black Sox team manager Casey Eden said: “The camp will be the first opportunity for the squad to convene post the disruptions of 2020 and a chance to kick start our preparations for 2022.”

“The players named represent all the players in the original squad minus some that have made themselves unavailable at this time, and Australian based players will also not be in attendance.

With the WBSC Men’s World Cup still some 15 months to go there is every opportunity for players outside of the squad to make the final team.

"The camp will focus on establishing a strong understanding of the year ahead, and what players need to be working on. We will have fitness, mental skills and nutritional support on hand. No games at this stage but we hope to have a trial weekend late March/early April.," Eden said..

Golden Homes New Zealand Black Sox Squad
Harry Valk, Kallan Compain, Zane Van Lieshout, Cole Evans, Pita Rona, Rhys Evans, Seth Gibson, Alfons Oveinikovas, Ben Enoka, Bradley Bennett, Campbell Enoka, Conor Peden, Maddix Rice, Rsychan Thompson, Thomas Enoka, Daniel Chapman, Liam Twigden, Taine Slaughter (Auckland), Jayden Stratford, Dante Makea-Matakatea, Jerome Raemaki, Zac Boyd, Alex Lundon, Damon Creasey, Reilly Makea, Josh Pettett, (Wellington), Joel Evans, Campbell Ngarimu (Hutt Valley), Bailey Hamilton, Callum Bishop, Jackson Watt, Ben Watts (Canterbury), Adam Woon (Hawkes Bay), Eru Drage (North Harbour), Ethan Johnston (USA).