Dinare wallop panthers
Thato Kala | Monday March 24, 2014 14:57
Panthers’ pitcher, Boitshwarelo Sefo started well with Dinare’s batters failing to connect her fast pitches. Sefo thrust Panthers ahead with a run in the top two inning. Dinare, who, until then, fielded well, made an error at number eight when they dropped a ball with Sefo at third base. Sefo easily completed her run.
She continued with her fast balls in the bottom two and third innings.
However, she seemed a bit fatigued in the bottom four inning and Dinare started knocking her balls well. It was the longest inning of the game.
Five errors in the inning, most of them at shortstop cost Panthers.
Dinare made the bottom four their turnaround inning with seven successive runs as they launched a dramatic comeback. At this stage, they seemed to be in the swing of things with their batting to get bases.
Bonolo Molefhe levelled terms when she got the first run for Dinare. She capitalised on an error and the run seemed to have breathed life into Dinare. They took the game to their opponents and forced a few more errors, which they capitalised on to get runs. Chedza Dikatholo, who had progressed to third base when Molefhe scored a run, completed a run after yet another error. Katlego Thande added another shortly afterwards as Dinare took full control.
Cheludo Johane and Keamogetse Mooketsi scored two runs as Sefo struggled to pitch the way she had done in the opening innings.
Lebopo Othomile then got Dinare’s only solid hit of the inning and Kgomotso Kootsiwe got a run off the hit before adding another herself.
Several of Dinare’s efforts when they batted were fluke contacts.
The following innings were as bad as the first with Panthers bringing in a slower pitcher Lingani Galeboe, who did fairly well. Dinare coach, Basiame Moratiwa admitted her players struggled to deal with Galeboe’s pitching in the final three innings.
“We struggled to adjust when they changed pitchers because Lingani (Galeboe) was slower,” he told Sport Monitor. He was, however, happy with the team’s performance saying their target was now to secure a top four place. His opposite number, Kedisang Selemogwe praised his charges despite the loss.
“They did fairly well despite the fact that we lost, we committed a lot of errors, the opponents took advantage of the errors,” he said. He took solace in the earlier result when Panthers’ women beat army side BDF IX 8-6 in another closely contested match. In the men’s league game, Panthers beat Blue Angels 5-0.