Indians players make cut for world cup team
Benoni Indians has five players in the traveling squad and one in the non-traveling reserves.
After a successful preparation camp at Benoni Northerns last month, the South African Baseball Union (SABU) announced an 18-player squad that will travel to Taiwan for the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) U12 World Cup from July 25 to August 3.
The squad, which includes five Benoni Indians players, was trimmed down from the 21-man training squad announced by SABU in May.
It includes eight players from Gauteng, seven from the Western Cape, two from Limpopo and one from the Eastern Cape.
It also includes three non-travelling reserves.
The Benoni Indians’ Luke de Lange, Seth Hains, Nate Lerwill, Jarred Long and Sebastian Savides are in the travelling team, while Jonathan Stacey is part of the non-travelling trio.
“This team represents the future of South African baseball. We are proud of their achievements so far and confident they will carry our flag with honour on the world stage,” said SABU President Marc Moreau.
The squad will be led by head coach Shawn Schwartz, with Quinton Amos and Alroy Savides as his assistants. Anita Hains is the team manager.
During the training camp, Schwartz and his technical team took the players through focused sessions in tactical play, pitching, fielding and game simulations.
The coach expressed his confidence in his charges, saying they are not going to Taiwan to make up the numbers.
“This group has worked hard, shown discipline and developed tremendous chemistry. We’re not just going to compete, we’re going to represent South Africa with pride and purpose.”
South Africa have been drawn in Group B with the USA, South Korea, the Dominican Republic, Panama and the Czech Republic.
SA fixtures:
• South Korea – July 25
• Panama – July 26
• USA – July 27
• Dominican Republic – July 28
• Czech Republic – July 29
The squad will meet for a final camp from July 19 to 22 before leaving for Taiwan on July 23.
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