Fielding errors cost the Marks Park Mustangs an important game in the Gauteng Major League Baseball, as runners from the Benoni Northerns Indians found time and space on the bases for an easy eight-run win.
It was a sunny and hot day at Marks Park Sports Club, Emmarentia, on 30 October, and the teams were both on the field early and eager to start the nine-frame game. As the visitors, Northerns Indians in red batted first. The first innings was over shortly, with good fielding from the Mustangs in grey. But this in no way set the tone for the rest of the game.
Many dropped catches and fumbling in the field from the Mustangs allowed 10 Northerns Indians runners to return back to the home plate for runs, while only two Mustangs players were able to score runs.”
GALLERY: MUSTANGS DROP THE BALL
We dropped too many catches and let too many runners through,” said chairperson of baseball at Marks Park, Allen McCabe. He added that the team had started preparing for the National Championship 2017, which they will host in April next year.
The league is important for preparations for this event, and according to McCabe, the team will need to improve its fielding if it hopes to succeed in the league. Northerns Indians captain, Michael Serfontein put the win down to getting the basics right on match day. “We did a lot of work with the bat before the game and it paid off,” he said, adding, “There were not a lot of errors, the fielders were good and the pitchers did a solid job on the mound.”
