Bouillon proud to have represented his country

LOCAL Kempton Park Red Sox baseball player and sales manager by day, Brandon Bouillon, represented South Africa in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers tournament in Blacktown, Australia, from February 11-14.

The team, made up of players from all over the country, played in a double elimination format – two losses eliminated a team from the tournament.

“We beat New Zealand 7-1 in the opening game but lost to Australia 4-1 in a tough battle against a professional team. This saw us take on the New Zealand Diamond Blacks again after their victory over the Philippines,” Bouillon said.

“We pulled together to defeat them 9-2 to advance to the final against Australia. With Australia being the outright favourites to win the tournament, we did not go down without a fight. We had a one-run lead of 4-3 after the sixth inning and were still going strong until we hit the bottom of the eighth inning.

“There we were tested in pressure situations and just weren’t able to pull through. Australia rallied and won the final game 12-5 to move on to the next World Baseball Classic in 2017,” said Bouillon.

“After this tournament we have definitely sent a message back to our local fans and fellow baseball players that we too can compete at these world events against professional teams with just the heart and belief that we have as a nation.”

The tournament opened the competition up to the world and funded each team through qualifying rounds to ultimately make the final 16 teams at the World Baseball Classic.

“Being chosen for the team was a thorough process and I am very privileged to have been part of it. To be selected for the South African national team you are selected from your club on your performance throughout the local league to represent your province at the annual national tournament. From there I was selected for the national training squad and then made the final team to represent my country internationally,” said Bouillon.

“I am very grateful to have been part of the team and it is always a privilege representing your country. Most of the players on our team work full-time jobs, so sacrifices need to be made to be prepared as best we could for this event in such a short time frame.

“It was really amazing to see how quickly we came together as a team and how each one of us was ready to back each other up with tremendous efforts from both our veteran players and ‘new caps’ on the team,” said Bouillon.

“It was awesome to be part of and definitely an experience I’ll never forget.”