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West City up for National Championship title defense
Meeting Howick for the third time, West City hoping to repeat as champs
LLOYD ELSMORE - The BNZ National Club Championship trophy will return to Auckland for the fifth successive time in the tournament's five year history.
West City hopes the hardware returns to its clubhouse - again.
On Sunday at 1pm, West City (2-1) will defend its National Championship title against Howick (3-0) in the 2010 BNZ National Championship game at Lloyd Elsmore.
"It's the game of the year," West City manager Ken Sommers said. "West City would like, as any team, to do the best we can. In terms of strategy in the game, that's something you can observe when we play."
"What would make the difference between winning and losing, believe that you just have to play a good game," Sommers said. "And that is the big goal of the West City team."
There will be few surprises in the contest between the two Auckland powers.
The meeting marks the third time the two countries have faced each other in this National Championship and the tenth time in National Championship play dating back to the inaugural event in 2005.
To get to the finals, West City defeated Canterbury, 8-0, in the final pool game on Saturday evening. Howick topped IPC, 7-1, in their final pool game on Saturday afternoon.
"I never thought it would come true, that we will be playing against them three times" Sommers said. "We were able to come up to the stage together. I really feel great respect for the Howick team for that. This really shows the strength of the baseball League in Auckland."
