BDF women crowned Shell-Vivo champions

Thato Kala | Monday June 9, 2014 07:49

 

It was sweet revenge for the army side who lost to Dinare in the maiden Barloworld Women’s Championship in Jwaneng. BDF IX started on the bat and did not look too good in the opening inning. Their first batter started the game with a foul ball before popping her second ball right into the hands of Dinare’s right field.

Bonang Lepotokisi came through and also popped her third ball to outfield and she was out. Their next batter only went as far as first base after a good low shot.

The other popped her first shot to short-stop to end a bad top one inning. Dinare failed to take advantage when their first batter popped her strike into the air and was taken out. They could not score a run in the inning.  The second inning was no different as the two teams failed to score. They both made amends in the third inning when they each scored three runs as a game that started off drearily took an interesting turn.

There was a hit to outfield that allowed the army side to open the scoring early in the top of the third inning through Bonang Lepotokisi.  The second run was scored by Maduo Banyenyane before Keletso Rampadi added another after a hit to centre field. Dinare pulled one back at the bottom of the third inning after a Chiedza Dikatolo shot. Lobopo Otlhomile scored the run before Monnosi Sanane and Dikatholo leveled terms as the inning wore on.

At this stage, Dinare, looked far better than and looked poised to make history by winning a national title.

But an error in the top four inning allowed Neo Seth to run from second base to get the soldiers’ fourth run as they took the lead again. Going into the bottom four trailing, Dinare’s first batter popped into the air and was out after that ball was caught.

The next was tagged out at first base before the third batter popped to short-stop and was out. Dinare kept their opponents at bay in the top five inning, tagging out two of their players early into the inning. The last batter was out on three strikes.

Trailing by one run, Dinare had the chance to draw level in the bottom inning. Their strongest batter, Dikatlholo carried their hopes to equalise, but she was walked. The next batter was also walked and the bases were full with under 20 minutes to go. They were only one player down and had their best chance of the day to wrap up the game. However, Dinare’s next two batters let them down with the first taken out on three strikes.

They failed to level terms, ending the game on the losing side. Otlhomile, who was outstanding for Dinare all afternoon, blamed inexperience for the loss.“We played very well though it was a bit of an intense game for us. We could have won it when we had bases full, but our batter was under pressure and could not give us a good strike,” she said. 

BDF captain, Sharon Ntshebe, who played first base in the final, was happy to bag her first title with the army side. “I’m happy for what we did, we played well though it was a tough game. The discipline we showed throughout the final was amazing,” she said.

Meanwhile BDF IX men’s team also produced a five star performance to beat Rail Giants 8-1 in the final. The match produced five home runs with the army side hitting three of those.