SA lose to Botswana at World Softball games
The only two African teams in the 11th edition of the World Junior Men's World Softball Championships in the US battled it out on the field recently
LIMPOPO – South Africa and neighbouring country, Botswana faced-off at Curries Stadium in Emerson Park, Michigan where they vied for ninth place in a league of just 12 teams.
Botswana, who were extremely explosive with the bat, clobbered South Africa 9-4 in a fast-pitch encounter.
Botswana and South Africa made their last Junior Men’s World Championship appearance in 2008 in Whitehorse, Canada, where Botswana finished 12th and South Africa in ninth place.
There was a sense of déjà vu on 30 July, when the two sides revived their rivalry in spectacular fashion.
South Africa had a rocky start to their international campaign after they were beaten 8-1 by a belligerent Mexico side.
As if their defeat against the Mexicans was not painful enough, a resilient Japan side rubbed salt into their wounds with a 14-0 hammering.
The South Africans staged a spirited comeback after smashing bottom of the log Israel 12-1. The excitement was short lived as the star-studded New Zealand side beat South Africa 16-1.
They went on to lose again as Canada denied the South Africans a point on the scoreboard, winning the game 8-0.
The only consolation for head coach Mamphiri Backstage Sethosa and his team came when they managed a slender 1-0 victory over Denmark, courtesy of Kwena Nkuna’s 11 strikeouts.
On the other end of the log, Japan went on to beat New Zealand 2-1 in an electric finale, winning the championship and cementing their place as the world number one junior baseball side.
The Japanese dominated the proceedings throughout the tournament, finishing with an undefeated record of eight wins and zero losses. The 2020 Olympics host nation regains the world title after a 25-year drought, as their last title win was at the inaugural U/19 youth championship in 1991.
In a close scoring game, Japan attacked first, scoring one run in the second inning when Kento Morita ripped a liner up the middle to score. The bats were silent until New Zealand tied the game in the fourth innings as Zac Boyd singled to centre to drive in Reilly Makea for a 1-1 ball game. No other runners scored as the game entered the seventh innings. With no outs and a tied ball game, Morita stepped up to the plate to hit his second RBI of the game to drive in Taichiro Ikeda for the walk-off single and the gold medal.
The 12th Junior Men’s Softball World Championship will be held in Prince Albert, SK, Canada in July 2018.
