John Key Not The Only Heavy Hitter In The Family

John Key Not The Only Heavy Hitter In The Family

Prime Minister’s Son Wins National Batting Title in New Zealand Baseball National Championship Series

Auckland, New Zealand – February 23, 2009 — John Key’s son Max walked away with the National “Best Batter” award in his age division with an incredible .833 batting average, as 6 clubs from Northland all the way down to the South Island participated in this year’s Baseball New Zealand Championship, which began on Thursday February 19th and concluded on Sunday, February 22nd.

All-star teams in the “A” (12 and under), “AA” (14 and under), “AAA” (16 and under) and Senior divisions competed at Lloyd Elsmore Park in Pakuranga, Auckland and at Crossfield Reserve in Glendowie, Auckland. This was the first time the Northland club, now in its third season of operation, participated in the competition by entering a team in the “A” division.

West City made its first appearance with a youth team in a final at the AAA level and Central City, in only its second season of operation, achieved its first national win by sweeping the “A” division. Bayside-Westhaven scored decisive wins in the AA and AAA age groups. West City took the honours in the Senior division with a thrilling win against the Howick-Pakuranga club in that final. All four clubs are based in Auckland.

The longest competition game ever recorded in the NZ Nationals was also played between the Canterbury and the Howick-Pakuranga Senior Teams, who battled it out in a 16 inning game for over four and a half hours, with Canterbury ultimately prevailing, 6-4.

Baseball in New Zealand is celebrating its 20th year of play this year with many other historic firsts, including the introduction of a national program affiliated with Little League Baseball in America, the largest volunteer sports organization in the world, and the first overseas tournament victory by a NZ team, when the NZ U14 team finished first in the 2009 Kempsey NSW Regional Championships in Australia in January of this year.

“We’re extremely pleased to be seeing so much progress on so many fronts with baseball in New Zealand, “commented David Ballinger, president of Baseball New Zealand. “We’ve been steadily raising the level of play over the past few years to the point where we’re proving we can be very competitive in the international arena.”

The 2009 winners of the New Zealand National Championships are as follows:

“A” Division

Best Team: Central City, Auckland

Best Pitcher: James Boyce, Central City

Best Batter: Ian Vermeulen, Howick-Pakuranga

Special Coach’s Award: Viance Vano, Howick-Pakuranga

Most Valuable Player: James Boyce, Central City

“AA” Division

Best Team: Bayside-Westhaven

Best Pitcher: MacKauley Fox-Rolfe, Bayside-Westhaven

Best Batter: Max Key

Most Valuable Player: MacKauley Fox-Rolfe, Bayside-Westhaven

“AAA” Division

Best Team: Bayside-Westhaven, Auckland

Best Pitcher: Andrew Holmes. Bayside-Westhaven

Best Batter: David Canfield, Central City

Most Valuable Player: Andrew Holmes, Bayside-Westhaven

“Seniors” Division

Best Team: West City, Auckland

Best Pitcher: Taka Yokota, West City

Best Batter: Leigh Ryman, Canterbury

Most Valuable Player: Robert Turner, West City

For more information about baseball in New Zealand, please visit the BNZ website at www.NewZealandBaseball.co.nz

ENDS

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