Auckland club Ramblers are the National U13 Baseball champs after defeating neighbours Central City 11-1 in the final at Albany's Rosedale Park on Sunday.
Shortly afterwards the final NZ Ripken All-Stars coach Andrew Marck named his side to travel to Branson, Missouri later this year.
The team will participate in the Cal Ripken Classic in July, and one of the players who earned his selection in the side off the back of his performances over the weekend was 12-year-old Taikaha Wilson.
When told his performances had caught the attention of national selectors, the shy Te Ara Whānui student simply said "tino pai".
Marck, who has been involved with the U13 national side for the past four years says, "Taikaha was out there pitching today and threw really well, and he had a real bulldog mentality."
Marck is a former pitcher himself, so he believes he can help Wilson development in the sport.
"Yeah, I'm excited to coach him, so with my help he might be great," he says.
The tournament in July will see some of the world's most talented 11-13-year-olds on display, with teams from around the USA and traditional powerhouse baseball nations.
Marck is hopeful his side can compete, "the team better be ready. The boys over there can play. They got Japanese pitchers that throw harder than anyone by far here, and they've got Dominican kids who are a bit bigger than me who are apparently only twelve years old. They're going to come up against some real talent," he says.
This is the 4th year that NZ will be at the tournament, which provides a pathway for Māori players who are looking towards developing a professional baseball career.
"There are players like Ayden Hammond (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Toa) who are now potentially looking at getting signed with major league sides as well, and that all happened from a young age," Marck says.
For now, Taikaha Wilson is just looking forward to playing some more baseball with his mates.
Players selected for the NZ Ripken World Series team:
Mason Carey (Central Sports)
Keenan Easthope (Hutt Valley Hornets)
Arron Gollan (PK Pirates)
Nino Mason (Central Sports)
James Matthews (Nelson Heat)
George McCarrol (Hutt Valley Hornets)
Jayden Potts (Christchurch)
Ben Sinclair (Bayside Wolves)
Regan Soper (Central City)
CJ Taylor (Ramblers)
Flynn Warren (Levin Hustle)
Jayden Whittle (Ramblers)
Cameron Williams (HP Hawks)
Taikaha Wilson (Hutt Valley Hornets)
Harry Wurr (Bayside Wolves)
Non-travelling reserves:
Joey Hill (Central)
Matt Cross (Bayside Wolves)
Harrison Martin (HP Hawks)
Haz Mcloughlin (Orewa)
Brandon Wilmshurst (Bayside Wolves)