Athlone Athletics Baseball Club won two out of two league matches this past weekend.
On Saturday, November 9, Athlone A’s beat the Maitland Giants 17-2 in Maitland.
On Sunday, A’s beat rivals, VOB Macaw 3-2 in a nailbiter played at the Vangate sports ground in Athlone.
Athlone A’s have now won five in seven Cape Town Baseball Federation’s Major League matches.
The victories move them into the fight for second spot, alongside VOB and Bellville Tygers. Unbeaten this season, Bothasig Baseball Club leads the pack.
After scoring the winning runs on Sunday, Dean Groenewald said it was tough conditions to play in, with the south easterly winds, however, scrappy baseball towards the end kept the crowd going.
“The elements were a bit rough but we push through to second on the league. Scrappy baseball is what wins at the end of the day, as long as we play as a team,” said Groenewald.
Head coach at VOB Macaw, Jody Burch said the game had a great pitching duel.
“At the end of the day it was one run that separated us. A couple of mistakes from our side. But that is baseball, it is game that goes your way or it doesn’t. What’s nice about it is you can always make up for it. The league is not done for us. I believe in this team and I believe in our qualities,” said Burch.
On Saturday, VOB beat Bellville 6-5. Coach Burch said they will play against Bothasig next Saturday, November 16.
“We had a tough game against Bellville. We beat them 6-5. Again, same situation, different story. That is sport. I believe in this team for the fact that each player knows their job. We focus highly on consistency and accuracy. This (loss) is nothing but a minor speed bump in what we want to achieve at the end of the season,” said Burch.
Head coach at Athlone A’s Leon Dodgen said the comeback on Sunday was sweet.
“The team had an awesome weekend. Winning both games. Sunday’s game was sweeter as we came back to win a game that was tough and close,” said Dodgen.
Round two of the league starts this coming weekend. Athlone A’s will play against Durbanville away on Saturday.
“The league performance for us has been average after the first round. We would need to step up our game especially against top opposition,” he said.
