Boksburg gets a taste of international baseball flavour
The series was agreed to in Botswana last year at the Congress of World Baseball Softball Confederation with the hope that it will become an annual event leading up to Olympic qualification in 2020.
The French national baseball team brought some life back to their Presidents Cup seven-game series against South Africa when they tied matters 2-2 in the fourth game in Durban on November 7.
The national side kicked-off the series with a flying start at the Boksburg City Stadium by defeating the visitors 24-13 in the opening game on November 3 and 14-8 the following day to put themselves in the driving seat.
But the Europeans hit back in KwaZulu-Natal with a slight 11-9 win in the third meeting followed by a nail-biting 5-4 victory in game four.
The series has offered South African baseball fans a taste of international baseball in the inaugural Presidents Cup. This was the first time since the early 2000s that the national team has played a home match.
South African Baseball president Marc Moreau said he wanted to create an environment where South African baseballers play more international matches.
Commenting on the first two games played in Boksburg, South Africa captain Jonathan Phillips said: “Both teams came out swinging and scoring plenty runs early on and putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the pitching staff of both teams.
“We managed to get the big hits at the right time with runners on and, even more so, we scored a few runs on two down, which is like gold.
“In game one we were able to keep the scoreboard ticking over, making sure we keep the pressure on them at all times. We managed to keep our lead and ended up walking away with the win.
“In game two our starter did unbelievably well and our hitters came out swinging, basically picking up where we left off in game one.
“Within a few innings, we had a very nice lead which we ended up squandering away towards the end of the game through errors and some ‘not so good pitching’.”
When the skipper was asked whether he enjoyed playing in Boksburg, he enthused: “Yes I did.
“That was the nicest I have ever seen Boksburg before and I must take my cap off to all the organisers and the guys behind the scenes. They really set the bar high and it was really nice playing in Boksburg. The atmosphere, fields and hospitality were amazing.”
Coach Niel Adonis echoed his skipper’s sentiments.
“The conditions of the field were amazing. We appreciate the work put in by the council for helping present such a beautiful pitch.
“We hit the ball well in Boksburg. We were aggressive facing their pitching in the first two games but they played the conditions in Durban better. We didn’t adapt well and they began playing on a level we expected them to.”
Asked on how he thought the rest of the series would pan out, Adonis said: “It’s going to be very tough but we will be playing in front of our home crowd and we’re going to fight hard.”
The series, which concluded on Sunday, was still underway by the time the Advertiser went to print. The last three games moved to Cape Town and the results will be issued imminently. – @SabeloBoksburg
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