BDF IX men lead the pack ahead of League Championship
Calistus Kolantsho | Wednesday March 5, 2025 10:12
The side started weekend's dominance when they forced Bears to forfeit the game in top four with BDF leading 15-0 on Friday and on Saturday, the army side walloped Rivals 12-0. BDF women are also in the mix as they also forced Bears to forfeit the game in the top three leading 26-0. BDF men coach, Tebogo Makacana, said his players had a good weekend at the National Diamond. He said the players were ready to deliver and they did just that. “I am quite happy with the progress the team is showing so far, especially the young players,” he said.
When asked how the postponement of the games last weekend due to rain affected his plan, Makacana said the decision altered the course of the intended plans. He explained that he had to alter the training programme a little bit to make up for the downtime. He said fortunately they have played all their games, and they have enough time to prepare for the league championship. BDF women side has had a good run this season, winning all their matches, and they are now left with Titans and the rescheduled match against UB Giants. The women’s coach, Mothusi Shalobane, explained that he advised his players that they were going to play Bears, which comprises of young players. “I knew my players were going to outclass Bears players, because they have the experience and expertise. That was not important, what was important was for our opponents to learn from us. When I give a signal, I expect my players to follow it. Those youngsters are the future of softball in this country and we should not undermine them,” he said. Shalobane said he knew that Bears was not going to stop the marauding BDF.
Meanwhile, Police women found their winning formula, beating their long time rival, Titans 7-2. The Police catcher who catches for the senior national team, Magdeline Mmapitsa, returned to action. The side also beefed up their squad by recruiting a pitcher, Boitshepo Gojane, from Panthers. Police coach, Phibion Tawina, told SportMonitor that the game plan was to be offensive in order to win and his players followed the plan to the core. “I am impressed with the win although I feel we could have played better if Titans pitcher was on the level we expected. There were many walks, which meant we did not hit the way we wanted. That made it impossible to gauge players’ performance,” he said. Tawina noted that aborted action last weekend affected his plans and they dropped in terms of the work they had done. He said they are left with one game against Bears before playing the championship.
Other results: Saturday: South Zone: Men: Wells 14-6 Vikings. Wells 15-0 Bears. Women: Vikings 9-8 Wells. Northern Zone: Men: Scramblers 7-0 Sua. Scramblers 4-3 Carats. Carats 4-1 Rail Giants. Women: Scramblers 11-1 Carats. Carats 11-6 Rail Giants.