Taylor, who played a large role in getting the Ison Park facility off the ground, was named the junior Club Volunteer of the Year, while Cronulla Sutherland’s Stuart Hitchcock won the senior award.

“I was pretty overwhelmed when I first found out I had won the award, because I was honoured to just be shortlisted,” Taylor said.

“I got quite emotional and got flashbacks of all the people that I’ve met along the way, on my journey through baseball.

“Since it has been announced, a lot of those people have actually contacted me to congratulate me on the award.

“Looking at the larger picture, it’s great to see a country association such as us at the Mariners be recognised by Baseball NSW for all our efforts.”

Taylor, an ex-international player that has experience in the European League, was a founding member for the Mariners that has worked tirelessly in the hope to increase baseball awareness in the Shoalhaven region.

With a main focus in junior baseball, Taylor has helped plan and run outreach baseball programs in schools, with constant appearances at Try Baseball Days, and coached at many levels including representative with Illawarra and NSW Country.

“We are aiming to start running some more come and try days in September for juniors – which were very full received in past years,” Taylor said.

“The building on that, we are aiming to start school gala days next year moving forward.”