Easterns helps province net silver at NBC

The Easterns Baseball Association played a crucial role in helping Gauteng Province Baseball Council (GBPC) claim a second-place finish at the National Provincial Baseball Championships (NBC) in Cape Town recently.

All the province’s age group teams lost to the Western Cape in the finals to claim a silver medal. It was the first time in five years that the Gauteng A sides lost a match at the championships.

GBPC comprised Easterns players from the Benoni Indians, Boksburg Cardinals, Palm Ridge, Kempton Red Sox, Alberton Astros, Springs Stealers, Alex and Elsburg Royals.

Tatum White from the Indians was chosen as the shortstop of the tournament, and Kanya Kamisa was selected as one of the best infielders of the games. They both were selected for the team of the tournament. Coach Clifford White applauded the players for their courageous efforts. He told the paper that with the abundance of talent at the games, the future looks bright for the South African Baseball Union (SABU).

“It was a good tournament. Nelson Mandela Bay re-entered the tournament after suffering a decline in numbers. Regions like Limpopo and the Free State took part in their first interprovincial tournament but only had teams in the older groups, as they were in a building phase.

“From a growth perspective, the boys faced some tough pitching, with Western Cape A side pitcher Jamie Moran throwing above 60mph over the short distance of 15m. They kept calm and produced a few hits against him.

“Their improvement has come leaps and bounds and their confidence is growing. The games taught the boys they shouldn’t give up when things are tough. Rather, push to the end. Slowly doing things right will get you where you need to be.
“It taught us that one loss isn’t the end and even the strongest teams can be beaten,” said White.

SABU will select an elite training squad to prepare for the Baseball u-12 World Cup in July in Taiwan.

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