The Auckland Tuatara have confirmed their roster for their debut series in the Australian Baseball League later this week.
Manager Steve Mintz has named a 22-man squad to take on the Perth Heat in the four-game series starting on Friday in Western Australia, with a mixture of local and international talent being fielded.
After strong performances in the preseason series against three-time reigning ABL champions Brisbane last week, Kiwi infielder Luke Hansen has been named as one of nine Kiwis to make the squad.
The pitching staff also features top Kiwi talent with Philadelphia Phillies prospect Kyle Glogoski featuring.
The bullpen will also have former MLB pitcher Josh Collmenter, Taiwanese star Chen Yu-Syuan and Diamondblacks right-hander Jimmy Boyce to form the starting rotation.
"We are very happy with the 22 we have picked, Mintz said from Brisbane.
"I have made these rosters in the ABL before and this is by far the toughest one I have done. There were lots of good choices but in the end we went with these 22.
"We hope that we can use all involved to help us as we move forward in the season.
"The Tuatara are excited to begin this new tradition with baseball in New Zealand."
The team is staying in Brisbane to train before flying to Perth later this week ahead of their debut at 11:55pm NZT this Friday.
They then play a double-header on Saturday before wrapping up the series on Sunday.
Following the series, the Tuatara then fly home for their first- home series, against the Bandits, in Auckland.
Auckland Tuatara
Pitchers: Josh Collmenter (USA), Kyle Glogoski (NZL), Chen Yu-Syuan (TAI), Jimmy Boyce (NZL), Elliot Johnstone (NZL), Yuki Harada (JAP), Scott Cone (NZL), Brandon Marklund (CAN), Ross Vance (USA), Nathan Crawford (AUS).
Catchers: Te Wera Bishop (NZL), Kuo Chun-Wei (TAI).
Infielders: Daniel Lamb-Hunt (NZL), Duncan Izaaks (NZL), Luke Hansen (NZL), Tsai I-Hsuan (TAI), Kris Richards (USA).
Outfielders: Eric Jenkins (USA), Zach Clark (USA), Max Brown (NZL), Guiyuan Xu (CHI), Shawon Dunston Jr (USA).
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