The Baseball Confederation of Oceania have awarded hosting rights for the 2018 Under-23 and Under-15 Championships to Australia and New Zealand respectively ©BCO/Facebook

The Baseball Confederation of Oceania (BCO) have announced the hosts for two age-group championships for next year.

The sport’s governing body on the continent confirmed the Under-23 Championship will be played in Lismore, a city in New South Wales, Australia.

Dates for this tournament are still to be decided.

The host nation are expected to be strong contenders for the title after finishing second at last year’s Under-23 Baseball World Cup, where they lost 10-3 in the final to Japan.

Australia will host the Under-23 Oceania Baseball Championship in 2018 ©WBSC/Facebook
Australia will host the Under-23 Oceania Baseball Championship in 2018 ©WBSC/Facebook

It was also announced by BCO bosses that the Auckland region of New Zealand has been selected to host the Under-15 Oceania Championship in 2018.

The stadium where matches will be played will be confirmed at a later date with the BCO saying several clubs are expected to be interested in staging the competition.

Games are scheduled to be played between January 18 and 23, although this might change depending on how many teams enter.

Both New Zealand and Australia competed at the most recent Under-15 Baseball World Cup, held last year in Japan.