UB Giants squash Dinare

Thato Kala | Monday February 24, 2014 14:09

 

Dinare has done exceptionally well this year, maintaining a top four position as they target a berth in the National Championships. But UB proved too strong for them on Saturday afternoon, scoring two home runs in the thrilling encounter. The match started off at a low pace with both teams struggling in the opening inning.

UB woke from their slumber in the top two inning as Kaone Sekate gave them their opening run. Sekate capitalised on Dinare’s error after their player failed to catch a seemingly easy fly ball. The bottom two inning was a dreary affair with Dinare struggling to make any headway. The closest they came to making progress was after Kagiso Magetse was walked to first base. Going into the top three inning, Dinare made two positional switches, but that did not stop Kagiso Ditshabisa from handing the students their second run of the game.

He hit a long ball that cut through Dinare’s fielders right to the pitch boundary. He managed to move to second base before a well-struck ball by his teammate enabled him to complete a run. Thereafter, UB made two successive batting blunders and were taken out.

But they came back stronger in the top five. Laone Morebodi scored an infield home run, giving his side a 3-0 lead. Straight afterwards, Misael Thompson scored another homer, this time an outfield one, on his first ball. Moloi Motshegetsi killed the match as a contest when he scored UB’s fifth run.

Dinare showed little persistence when they took to the home plate in the bottom five inning. Their opponents also looked relaxed in the top six inning as they carried a comfortable lead. Probably fearing the former BDF IX star, Thompson, would hit another home, Dinare gave him a free walk when it was his turn to bat. The next batter after him was taken out after just two balls. There was nothing to write home about in the seventh inning with Dinare struggling to bat.

UB player-coach, Thompson said he was happy that his players responded well to his instructions. “I feel great about today’s result, we played according to plan and it worked pretty well in both games. My players seem to be enjoying their game and I feel we are making lots of progress,” said the Cuban mentor. Earlier on Saturday, UB beat Police IX 13-5 in another thrilling encounter.  Thompson attributed both wins to his players’ concentration and motivation.

In other matches, Vikings beat Wells 10-3. Vikings then went down narrowly to Dinare on a 1-0 score-line in a closely contested tie. Bokamoso Diseko scored Dinare’s solitary run in that game. It came in the sixth inning after a Kagiso Magetse bunt and an overthrow by Vikings. Diseko said: “It was quite a tough game, they really gave us a strong challenge. We had hoped to win the UB one as well, but they also put up a good fight and eventually won.”