Baseball duo ready to raise flag at world cup

The Benoni Indians’ Joshua Cook and Tatum White are itching to put on the national jersey and belt out the national anthem at the World Baseball and Softball Confederation U12 World Cup in Taiwan from July 29 to August 7.

The duo is part of the 18-men travelling squad while teammates, Keegan Merifield and Logan Gardener, are in the non-travelling reserves squad.

Speaking to the City Times, they both expressed their excitement at the opportunity of representing the country.
“It’s amazing to see that I’ve grown a lot from playing for the U9s to where I am today. I’ve put in so much effort and work and it’s finally paid off.

“I started playing with my father. I started hitting the ball with him in the garden. I’d like to thank him for being the best coach in the world. I was in tears when I the team because I know how hard I’ve been working for it,” said Tatum.

Joshua said he is ready to raise the country’s flag.

“The last few weeks have been fun, exciting, tiring and tough. Our coaches have been drilling us.

“I’m so excited to go to Taiwan to compete against the best in the world. I’m also proud to be able to wear my national cap. This will always be a special moment.”

Also Read: Baseball galore at Benoni Northerns

South Africa will face Panama, Italy, Venezuela, Chinese Taipei and Mexico in the round-robin phase. Assistant coach Clifford White said although they are going to play against sides that are ranked in the top 10 in the world, their goal is to win three matches.

“Our preparation has put us in a better place to win three games. We’ve done a lot of work. The boys have been training five days a week for the past 12 weeks. We’ve done extensive training to prepare them for faster pitching.
“We are still a developing sport in this country. The nations we are going to play against are far more developed. We are the underdogs but we are more prepared this time around. I think we are going to upset some countries,” he said.

He added that they haven’t placed any mandate on the team. He said it’s important for the team to have fun.

“There’s a big reality about going to a world cup in baseball. We have made the players understand that they are not going to beat the likes of Chinese Taipei, USA and Korea. These guys are dominant in the world of baseball.

“The idea for them is to know that all the preparation they’ve done, they should go out and do their best. Regardless of the results, they have put everything into the game. Win or lose, they should have fun.”

South Africa’s fixtures are as follows:

• July 29: Panama vs South Africa at 12:30
• July 30: South Africa vs Italy at 12:30
• July 31: South Africa vs Venezuela at 12:30
• August 1: Chinese Taipei vs South Africa at 12:30
• August 2: South Africa vs Mexico at 08:30

Also Read: Benoni Indians to host baseball finals