Upper Hutt schoolboy off to US

George McCarroll, 11, has been selected in the New Zealand under-13 baseball team to compete in the Cal Ripken Junior World Series of Baseball in the United States from August 3-11.

The selection of the Year 7 student at St Brendan’s Catholic Primary School capped off a fantastic week for McCarroll, who helped his Hutt Valley Hornets teammates win the United Airlines under-13 National Tournament for the first time.

They overcame a strong North Shore side to win 12-1 to be crowned National Champions, the team outside of Auckland to have won the tournament.

When he heads to the US, McCarroll will be competing against the best under-13 players from around the globe.

Teams from the United States, Canada, Japan, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Australia, Mexico and South Korea will also represent their nations in Branson, Missouri.

A feature of the tournament is the opportunity to play on youth-sized replica Major League Baseball Stadiums such as Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Tiger Stadium and Yankees Stadium.

In preparation for the series, the New Zealand team will hold a week long build-up tour of the United States. During the build-up tour they will play matches against US youth state sides and receive coaching from some of the Major League franchises’ top youth coaches.