{"id":15540,"date":"2011-11-18T14:27:29","date_gmt":"2011-11-18T22:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/?p=15540"},"modified":"2011-11-18T14:27:29","modified_gmt":"2011-11-18T22:27:29","slug":"new-zealand-black-sox-squad-named-for-aussie-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/?p=15540","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand Black Sox Squad Named for Aussie Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
Click for original press release.<\/figcaption><\/figure>Cap tip Blair Setford<\/em>
\nFrom Softball New Zealand<\/strong>
\nBlack Sox Squad Named for Aussie Tour<\/p>\n

Father and son named for Black Sox<\/p>\n

NORTH Harbour\u2019s Pita Rona will have extra incentive to perform at his best in this month\u2019s Black Sox tour to Canberra.<\/p>\n

Rona \u2013 a 17-year-old student in Year 12 at Glenfield College \u2013 will have his father Brad watching every move he makes from within the team.<\/p>\n

Brad \u2013 the 35-year-old celebrated player at club, provincial and international level \u2013 has been named in the Black Sox to set up a rare father-son double-act in international sport.<\/p>\n

Ironically this is the second time the pair has been named in the Black Sox but the first time they will tour together.<\/p>\n

Both Ronas were named for this year\u2019s North American Tour but Brad had to pull out following a knee injury.<\/p>\n

Head coach Eddie Kohlhase is looking to both men to reinforce their claims for inclusion in the squad for the 2013 World Championships to be held at Albany\u2019s Rosedale Park from March 1-10.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good story to have a father and son in the squad and they are there on merit.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there\u2019s no promises come the World Champs. There\u2019s still a lot of work to be done on and off-the-diamond by all the players.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Kohlhase has put all the Black Sox players on notice saying \u201cthere are no guarantees for anyone\u201d he is gradually fine-tuning the squad to hit a peak for the World Championships.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will name a squad this time next year so there\u2019s still time for players to play themselves out or play themselves into the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously we have an idea of who we want and what style of game we want to play but with so much at stake we want to have as much depth as we can,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Talented Auckland player 18-year- old Ben Bull is included in the side and along with Jerome Raemaki and the young Rona he will give the side a youthful look.<\/p>\n

Kohlhase makes no apologies for introducing the young players.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur game has a great history of bringing through exciting young players \u2013 we are no different. These young guys give the team an edge.\u201d<\/p>\n

The squad also sees the return of the talented catcher Aaron Neemia and the battle-hardened pitcher Regan Manley.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth men deserve their place in the squad,\u201d said Kohlhase.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have both addressed significant issues in their lives and we see them as vital parts of the Black Sox team.<\/p>\n

\u201cAaron is regarded as one of the premier catchers we have got while Regan continues to impress as a pitcher of high quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank Pointon also returns to the mound to establish a formidable pitching roster featuring the Hutt Valley\u2019s Shaun Jamieson and Manley.<\/p>\n

The inclusion of Canterbury veteran Daniel Milne as a catcher also excites Kohlhase.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no secret we don\u2019t have too many quality catchers so seeing Daniel front up in that role shows the calibre of the bloke.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is undoubtedly one of our most professional players and that\u2019s the attitude we want.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team will be lead by Hutt Valley\u2019s Rhys Casley.<\/p>\n

The Black Sox will take part in the high intensity Skins tournament against the best teams Australia has to offer plus the Samoan international team.<\/p>\n

For the rules of the tournament and the draw go www.softball.org.nz<\/p>\n

The squad departs for Sydney on Tuesday November 29 and returns on Monday December 5.<\/p>\n

The squad is:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rhys Casley (Hutt Valley) Captain
\nBrad Rona (North Harbour) Vice-captain<\/p>\n

Pitchers:<\/strong>
\nRegan Manley (Hawkes Bay)
\nFrank Pointon (Wellington)
\nShaun Jamieson (Hutt Valley)<\/p>\n

Catchers:<\/strong>
\nAaron Neemia (Wellington)
\nDaniel Milne (Canterbury)<\/p>\n

Outfield:<\/strong>
\nWayne Laulu (Wellington)
\nBen Enoka (Auckland)
\nJerome Raemaki (Wellington)
\nCampbell Makea (Wellington)
\nJerome Haretuku (Auckland)<\/p>\n

Infield:
\nTyson Byrne (Hutt Valley)
\nTyron Bartorillo (Canterbury)
\nPita Rona (North Harbour)
\nBen Bull (Auckland)<\/p>\n

Designated player:<\/strong>
\nPatrick Shannon (Auckland)<\/p>\n

Management:<\/strong>
\nCoach; Eddie Kohlhase
\nAssistant-Coach; Dave Workman
\nPhysiotherapist; Rob Cashman
\nManager: Doug Golightly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cap tip Blair Setford From Softball New Zealand Black Sox Squad Named for Aussie Tour Father and son named for Black Sox NORTH Harbour\u2019s Pita Rona will have extra incentive to perform at his best in this month\u2019s Black Sox tour to Canberra. Rona \u2013 a 17-year-old student in Year 12 at Glenfield College \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,35],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-international","8":"category-oceania","9":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15540"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15541,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15540\/revisions\/15541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}