Stoke Eagles sisters Hannah and Lorin Cook have been selected in Great British age group softball teams.

Stoke players make British softball teams

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Softballing sisters who play for the Stoke Eagles club have been selected for Great Britain age group teams after a Christmas holiday to the UK timed perfectly for a national trial.
Hannah and Lorin Cook live in Blenheim but play in Nelson because there is no women’s league in Marlborough and qualify for the British teams through their British-born father. They say they first made touch with the Great Britain setup after they saw a posting on the Softball New Zealand website asking for players with UK heritage who may be interested in playing for Great Britain.
The girls travelled for two hours across London for a trial and they were put through their paces for less than hour. Lorin primarily was looked at as pitcher and while Hannah did the catching, she was being considered as a utility.
While Hannah favours play behind the catcher’s mask she is competent in most other fielding positions and she has been selected in the Great Britain Under 19 as a utility or outfielder. She is a handy leadoff batter for Stoke Eagles and runs the bases well. Hannah will head to the UK to join her team mates for some intensive training before heading to Ontario, Canada to compete at the Under 19 World Series.
Lorin got the nod as the second pitcher in the Great Britain Under 17 team to attend the European Cup in Prague in August.
However, like a number of sports it does come at a significant cost to Hannah and Lorin and their parents as the trips are totally self funded as softball is in its infancy in the UK and funding is practically non-existent.
Stoke Eagles coach Daryl Stratford will oversee the girls technical training prior to their tournaments.