NORTH Nowra baseball player Murray Lugg will step up to the plate for the NSW Country side at the under 18s National Youth Championships at Blacktown.
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Murray can’t wait for the famous call of ‘play ball’ to sound out around the Blacktown International Sport Park.
“The best baseball players from all over Australia will be taking part in the championships,” he said.
Murray has been playing in the nationals for many seasons but this year’s event will be his last junior representative competition.
He will be looking to go out on a winning note.
“We (the NSW country side) came third once and that was the best result we ever got,” he said.
The NSW Country side, who had built up a strong combination over the years, is a strong team and Murray said he was confident they would do well.
“We are a good all round team and we are athletic in the field,” he said.
“This is a major competition and talent scouts, including ones from America, will be watching.”
However, he knows the other teams will be hard to beat.
“Queensland won it in 2014 and Western Australia the year before that and both those states have strong baseball basis and so they will do well,” he said.
The event started on Friday.
“I am a quick runner, have a strong arm with a good range and I am safe in the field,” he said.
Murray, to prepare, has been regularly training hard at Bernie Regan Oval and throwing lots of baseballs in his backyard.
Michael Taylor from the Shoalhaven Mariners has been coaching Murray and in general helping him reach his sporting goals.
Once the competition is over, it will be a case of hitting the books.
Murray, a Bomaderry High School student, will be entering Year 12 and baseball will be put on the backburner but he will still play for the Mariners.