Helping Hutt Valley win titles

By Frank Neill

Wainuiomata brother and sister, Connor and Georja Keall, helped their Hutt Valley representative softball teams to New Zealand titles. Playing in the ISA North Island Classic under 15 boys and girls Provincial Softball Tournament, held at Akina Park in Hastings on 24 and 25 January, the Hutt Valley girls were dominant in comfortably defeating Auckland 12-3.

The Hutt Valley boys faced a much sterner test in their final however.

Hutt Valley and North Harbour were deadlocked at the completion of the match schedule, and the outcome was decided in a tie breaker innings.

Hutt Valley won the tie breaker 2-1 to lift the national crown.

Georja, who played at second base, not only had a share in the victory, she was also named in the tournament team as an infielder.

Aged 13, Georja currently plays softball for Totara Park. She played for Wainuiomata until this season and moved clubs because there were not enough players in the Wainuiomata Softball Club to make up a team in her age grade.

She was one of two Wainuiomata players who helped take Hutt Valley to victory. Charlotte Woolley was also a member of the champion team. Aged 14, Connor played at catcher for the victorious Hutt Valley team. He is playing for the Hutt Valley Dodgers this season.

Connor began playing at the age of around seven or eight and has played for Wainuiomata until this season, regularly making the Hutt Velley representative teams in his age groups.

Just as there were with the girls, there were not enough Wainuiomata players for the club to be able to field a team this season.