Marks Point baseballer Mitchell Ellison has gained selection in the Australian Schoolboys side after winning a national title in Adelaide earlier this month.
The title was the second the 17-year-old has claimed with the NSW Schoolboys, having won the same tournament at Cairns in 2017.
His side beat South Australia on their own turf in the final, overcoming earlier losses to the home team in pool games to win 2-1.
Ellison, a Hunter Sports High School student, had an enjoyable tournament, playing in all eight games and batting at an average of .321.
“I hit pretty well,” Ellison said. “I was pretty happy with my performance, I played really good defence as well.
“I was lucky enough, our second game on the first day, I performed really well and got MVP (Most Valuable Player) against W.A.”
The MVP award was given out after each match to one player from the two competing sides, selected by consensus from both coaches.
READ MORE: Newcastle Herald junior sport news
Ellison only began playing the sport about six years ago, after transitioning from softball.
Outside of school sport, he’s represented NSW Country at the under-18 national titles for the past two years, plays locally with Belmont, and for Baulkham Hills in Sydney over summer.
He hopes to pick up a college opportunity in the USA when he finishes school at the end of the year.
The Australian Schoolboys side will tour the States for three weeks in September, giving Ellison and the rest of the side a chance to impress in front of American scouts.
“I was really happy, all the hard work had paid off for something good – an Aussie team,” Ellison said of his selection. “This is the first Aussie team [I’ve made], I’m really keen to play against some good school teams. It’s like a bit of a showcase, we go over there and play against Div. 1 college schools right down to junior colleges.”
NSW CHS Netball
Whitebridge High School girls netball team finished third at last week’s NSW Combined High Schools state finals in Wollongong.
It was the second consecutive year the school made the finals after their sixth-place finish in 2017. The side was coached by WHS teacher Ashley Miller. Warners Bay High finished seventh.
Three Hunter girls were chosen for the NSW side: Zoe Peden, Whitebridge High; Abbey Leyshon, Hunter Sports High; and Maddie Mueller, Warners Bay High.
Hockey Champs
Newcastle’s under-18 boys hockey side won back-to-back state titles on Sunday, taking out Division 1 of the Field State Championships at Bathurst.
They were undefeated in their pool games and blew North West Sydney away in the final with a 4-0 victory.
The NSW Athlete Acceleration Program squad will be named at 10am on Tuesday.
- To contribute junior sport news to the Newcastle Herald, email: max.mckinney@fairfaxmedia.com.au
