From Levin diamond to the world for young baseball players

Shontayne Rangiuia-Herbert, Flynn Warren and Fletcher Warren from the Levin Hustle baseball club.

Horowhenua is on the baseball map through the deeds of some promising young players and their coach.

Levin Hustle coach Hendrix Warren, who was awarded U13 Coach of the Year at the NZ baseball awards recently, said the selection of three youngsters for overseas touring teams heralded a break-through season for the fledgling club.

For the first time Levin Hustle sent an U13 team to the national tournament this year, where they were placed sixth out of 15 teams. They also took out the Wellington U13 championships.

Those results meant Levin Hustle player Flynn Warren, 12, was picked for the New Zealand U13 team to compete at the Cal Ripken World Series in Branson, Missouri, in late July.

Warren's Levin Hustle teammate Shontayne Rangiuia-Herbert, 12, was picked from a trial for the Wellington U12 Bronco team to play a tournament in Miyazaki in Japan, also in July.

Although 9-year-old Fletcher Warren was picked to tour Japan too, he was unavailable because he will instead travel to the United States with his family to support his older brother.

Warren senior said baseball was opening doors for young players in the short time the Hustle club had existed.

"There are significant opportunities for these players from our club, fantastic opportunities, not just for baseball, but life experiences that they will remember for a long time," he said.

"They love baseball."