By Buntu Gotywa
Athlone A’s made light work of the visiting Helderberg Pirates at Vanguard Drive at the weekend.
A’s comfortably beat Pirates 12-2 for their second win in a row after dismantling Durbanville Villains 22-0 a week ago.
Baseball is back in full swing after along break enforced by Covid-19 and subsequent lockdowns.
A’s will be hoping to maintain their impressive start to the 2020/21 season when they visit Maitland Giants for their third game of the season.
Giants come off a 4-12 loss to Bellville Tygers at the weekend, having won their first fixture of the season against VOB Macaws.
For A’s they will be looking to keep things tight at the top of the log standings with much tougher competition in the form of Tygers and Bothasig Knights still to come later on in the season.
If anything can be read in their opening games, it is that A’s will be a much tougher opposition themselves with their strong batting unit.
Other results at the weekend saw Knights in their usual unapologetic mood running past Durbanville Villains 14-1 at home for their first win of the season, having on bye in the opening week. Knights showed they had missed running between bases and looking on from a distance in the opening week fueled them further.
And the unfortunate opponents at the receiving end of their vicious form was the young Villains side that has shown a lot of potential in recent years with their young core.
Bellville Tygers, a side that has time and again proven to be on par with Knights, made their own statement at the weekend with their 12-4 win against Giants.
They had beaten Pirates 13-1 in their opening fixture of the season, a scoreline that should send warning signs to the other six teams in the Major League that they will again be tough opponents.
VOB Macaws was the only team on bye this past weekend and will be looking to register their first win when they take to the mound again, having lost their opening fixture to 4-9 to Giants.
It doesn’t get any easier for the side though, as they will be hosting the high-flying Knights.
In the promotion league, Grassy Park Crusaders beat Lavender Hill 19-1. The games between Battswood and Westridge Yankees and Milnerton Mavericks and Thistle were suspended, giving Battswood and Mavericks default 9-0 wins.