Cobras win best of three series against local rivals Raiders
Cobras captain speaks of returning the glory day of baseball to the area
Billed as ‘The Unfit Challenge’, Cobras Baseball and local friendly foes Raiders slugged it out in a best of the three games for temporary bragging rights.
Game one was hosted at Bill Jardine Stadium but the following two were held at the fields outside Bosmont Stadium on October 10 and 17. With an embankment littered with community support, the two teams swung and heckled their way between the diamond and the outfield, to rapturous cheers.
After winning game one 13–10, Raiders went into game two with plenty of confidence. Cobras, however, would have shaken the rust from their joints and recorded a turnaround 13–9 win to level the three-game series. Now sensing they had the measure of their opponents, Cobras focused their efforts to record an outstanding 23–6 game three win to wrap up the series.
Cobras captain, Ali Basson, put the blowout series-clinching victory down to three factors. “The pitchers gradually got back into their stride. That was complemented by an improvement in our batting performance and disciplined fielding. Team work rounded it all off and this confidence was evident in all the areas of the game: batting, fielding and pitching.”
Cobras have been in existence for 12 years but baseball in Bosmont and Florida goes back to the 1980s, and Ali has been part of it for 29 years. “Today we had a small taste of what baseball at Bosmont used to be like. The atmosphere was amazing, reminiscent of the glory days. We saw spectacular home runs hit by Keagan Lodewick and Imraan ‘Jakes’ Jacobs. So often we forget about the spectators that braved a hot day to support this initiative. We would like to thank everyone who came out to the fields.”
Hopes are for another series and possibly the inclusion of teams from within the Gauteng baseball structures, as well as softball games to encourage family participation. “The aim is to resuscitate the playing of baseball and softball in summer in the greater Bosmont and Florida,” envisioned Ali. “Everyone can play baseball with some guidance. It’s a fun sport to play.”
