The Indians’ two Major B sides were in action on the day with Wichita squaring up against Marks Park Mustangs in the shield final and the Benoni 2 team facing arch-rivals Kempton Park Red Sox in what is always a hotly competitive affair.
Although things did not go to plan for Wichita, who suffered a 14-9 defeat to Mustangs, it was the Benoni 2 team whose performance, a 25-2 mauling (via mercy rule), over Red Sox will long be remembered at the club.
A win over the old adversary is always one for the memory banks, but, considering that they had lost two extremely close games against the vastly more experienced Red Sox team in the league, this one was extra special for coach Grant Sayers’ side, which mostly consists of talented young and upcoming baseball players.
Benoni 2 also finished as runners-up behind the Kempton team in the league.
The game was all but over at the top of the second frame when the Indian batters managed to get a whopping 16 runners home safely.
The batters dissected the Red Sox field with aplomb to increase the score and up the pressure.
Sayers told the City Times that the performance, particularly the onslaught in the second frame, was definitely not what they had expected at the start of the day.
“The guys were crunching the ball all over the place and it is almost unheard of to get 16 runs in the second frame.
“We had them suffering from dehydration out there.
“To get a result like this one is simply awesome.
“They [Sox] have remained undefeated for five or six years and are filled with skilful old school baseball players.
For our youngsters to win like that is phenomenal.”
He added that although things did get a bit heated out on the field everybody returned to being big mates after the game.
The future looks bright for Indians with the selection of four players for trials the 40-man u-23 national provisional squad (Keagan Palmer, Rowan Ebersohn, Brenton Faulds and Bradleigh Peeters) set to take place this weekend.
CLICK HERE for a GALLERY of photographs snapped during the two Benoni sides’ matches.
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