A breakout Australian Baseball League season for the Canberra Cavalry has turned former Shoalhaven Mariner Cam Warner into an Olympic Games bolter.
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The second base was one of four Cavalrymen named in David Nilsson's 24-man squad to face Korean champions Doosan Bears in Geelong this week.
Cavalry pitcher-of-the-year Steve Kent (who played for Berkeley alongside Greenwell Point's Tim Atherton in 2019), catcher Robbie Perkins and relief-pitcher Josh Warner were also named on Wednesday, while David Kandilas was unavailable due to injury.
It's a good time to come on the Australian radar as they push for qualification for the Tokyo Olympics later this year.
Kent and Perkins are regulars in Australian squads, while the two Warners have thrust themselves into the spotlight this season.
Cam Warner finished with a batting average of .328, the best of his three ABL seasons, and established himself as a crucial cog at the top of the Cavalry's line-up, while Josh Warner had an earned-run average of 3.46 coming out the bullpen.
They'll have the chance to play two games against Doosan on February 16 and 18.
That will be a chance to stake a claim for the last-chance Olympic qualifier in Taiwan in April.
"Just trying to introduce them to the environment is the main objective," Nilsson said.
"Obviously I like the team to play well ... but the main thing is an introduction to the environment and how we operate and do things."
Both Kent and Perkins were part of a 22-man Cavalry team of the decade that was announced at their MVP awards on Tuesday night.
Perkins shared the catching duties with Jack Murphy, while Kent was named as part of the starting rotation.
Not surprisingly there were nine players from their historic Claxton Shield win in 2013, and six from the team that won the Asia Series the following season.
Canberra manager Michael Collins was named manager of the decade after being in charge of both of those wins, while his right-hand man and current manager Keith Ward was named as his assistant.
Cavalry chief executive Donn McMichael was especially pleased by the six Australians picked.
"It's an exciting team, but the good thing about it is the number of Australians that are in it," he said.
"It just goes to show the [development system in Canberra] is working."
Atherton, who played for Brisbane in the ABL, will once again headline the green and gold side, after helping them finish sixth at last year's Premier 12.
Australian Baseball Team roster:
Position players: Ulrich Bojarski (Perth Heat), Allan de San Miguel (Melbourne Aces), Wade Dutton (Brisbane Bandits), Darryl George (Melbourne Aces), Alex Hall (Perth Heat), Tim Kennelly (Perth Heat), Curtis Mead (Adelaide Giants), Boss Moanaroa (Sydney Blue Sox), Robbie Perkins (Canberra Cavalry), David Sutherland (Brisbane Bandits), Logan Wade (Brisbane Bandits), Cam Warner (Canberra Cavalry), Aaron Whitefield (Adelaide Giants), Jacob Younis (Sydney Blue Sox).
Pitchers: Tim Atherton (Brisbane Bandits), Travis Blackley (Brisbane Bandits), Sam Holland (Brisbane Bandits), Jon Kennedy (Melbourne Aces), Steve Kent (Canberra Cavalry), Mitch Neunborn (Perth Heat), Dan Schmidt (Perth Heat), Ryan Searle (Brisbane Bandits), Josh Warner (Canberra Cavalry), Luke Wilkins (Sydney Blue Sox).
Reserve pitchers: Mitch Ellis (Melbourne Aces), Scott Mitchinson (Melbourne Aces).