A move to Wellington has paid off for former Dunedin softballer Dan Tarapi, who has been selected for the national side.
Tarapi (25) has been picked for the Black Sox to play in a nine-game series against Australia in December.
The Black Sox have retained just four players from the side that lost to Australia in the world championship final last year.
Coach Eddie Kohlhase said bringing new players into the team was an attempt to raise the bar to win the next world championships, in Auckland in 2013.
Dropped players were still in contention for the squad, he said.
Tarapi said it was a thrill to gain a berth, and it had made his move to Wellington worthwhile.
He started playing tee ball in Dunedin and first played for Otago when he was 13.
He then made junior Black Sox sides and played for the Southern Pride.
Realising he would have had to move north for national honours, he accepted an offer to play for Wellington club Poneke-Kilbirnie at the start of last season.
"The standard up here is a lot tougher," he said.
"You know you have to turn up and play well in every game.
But that is what you want if you want to get any higher.
"I think I've been hitting the ball pretty well and the guys are here are really friendly, so it has worked out well."
He plays third base for his club side and Wellington but has been picked as an outfielder for the national team.
He impressed last season with his Wellington side, which won the national title.
Tarapi attended a three-day camp last month in North Harbour with other national hopefuls to test fitness levels.
The Black Sox hope to play a warm-up game against Argentina in Christchurch in early December before taking on Australia in nine games in three days in Sydney.
Tarapi is believed to be the first senior Otago-raised player to represent New Zealand since pitcher Peter Meredith in the late 1970s.
In 2004, Mike Crowley from Dunedin attended the Junior Boys world series in Canada.
