VOB u15’s take down the Saints…

VOB u15’s take down the Saints from Ocean View in 18-0 rout.

It was the first meeting between these two teams since Ocean view were formed and the gulf between them was huge. Even though VOB has a mix of really good players and very young players, they easily outclassed the Saints.
VOB’s Promise Khamula started for the second week in a row even though he has never pitched before. His pitching is already growing in leaps and bounds even though he is only touching the surface of what he is capable of. This week he got through 2.2 innings, without conceding a run, before he was replaced by Josh November. Josh completed the game without any runs being scored for the 18-0 shut out.

However, it was the VOB hitters that were in fire in this one smashing everything that they could. Leading the charge was Jaime Brookes who went 4-4 with 3x3B and a double for a massive 11 total bases on the day. Not to be outdone, Jared Riffel went 3-3 with 2 HR’s. In his first game back from soccer, Jermaine Mohammed scorched 2 doubles and a homerun of his own. That was the 3-4-5 hitters and they did all the BIG damage. Notable mentions must go to 12 year old Talun Davies who was so terrified of playing u15 baseball that he threatened to quit baseball last week if he was forced to play. This week he plays and gets two good hits – well done young man. And lastly, the fair maiden on our team, Jade November, who has two good hits of her own and had the biggest smile each time she reached base, well done.

This team will get better as the season progresses as they love training and learning. Onwards and upwards.

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ML vs Athlone A’s 9-7 (VOB)

Our first game for the season started off really well. It shows the preparation paid off and the players are reaping the benefits from that. Michael Scritten was handed the ball for the season opener. As our only out and out pitcher on the day, his duty was to eat up as many innings as he could. Up to the task he gave us 6 strong innings whilst only giving up 1 run. Scritten left the game at 9-1 in our favour. I knew the game is not over as Athlone are a very resilient team and under coach Darren Wedel they were bound to bounce back on their home ground. True to form they nipped away at part time pitcher Zubair Larney who did a great job to eat up 2 innings in order for us to give the ball to our on the day closer Luke November. Luke showing maturity beyond his years and closed the game out in a tough fought battle. All in all, great defence and great base running won us this game. Well done boys.

No Comments 2019 10 12From the DugoutGame DaysMajor LeagueWeekly Roundup

MLR vs Athlone A’s 15-14 (A’s)

 Our seniors were on the road to visit our southern suburb rivals at Parktown. Although we had quite a few players unavailable for the season opener we still had a solid team on the field. Lee van Wyk had the pleasure of getting the first start of the season and pitched 2.1 innings (8 hits, 3 ER’s, 3 BB’s, HBP, 2 K’s) before he tired and was replaced by Luke Budler. Budler (2.2. innings, 5 hits, 0 ER’s, 3 BB’s, 2 IBB’s, 2 K’s) and finally Kevin Mullins finished the game with 0 hits and runs against him.  

On the offensive side we strung together some good at bats and kept ahead of A’s for most of the game, but just did not capitalise on the base runners that we were getting on all the time. We were up 14-11 at the bottom of the last inning and then allowed A’s to equalise through some poor defense. The game went into extra innings and A’s kept us scoreless and had everything to play for to win their home opener. Unfortunately we kept our worst efforts for that inning and allowed A’s to win through a wild pitch.  

Best hitters were Luke Budler (1-4, RBi, SB), Kevin Mullins (2-5, RBi), Miguel Wilson (1-4, 2B, BB, RBi), Yusri Pretorius (1-4, 2B, BB, 2 RBi’s) and Lee van Wyk (2-2, 2BB’s, 2 RBi’s).   A really fun game that had plenty of ups and downs, but this young team has plenty of talent and will grow over the season. Watch this space!  
No Comments 2019 10 12From the DugoutGame DaysMajor League ReserveWeekly Roundup

U15’s vs Battswood No result

Coming to the field on Saturday we knew that we would be short of numbers as we still have a few players finishing off their winter sport and were unavailable till next weekend. This did not dampen the spirits of those who have been training because they were told that we would be playing, irrespective how many players we had. We hosted our neighbours Battswood who rocked up with 27 players compared to our 6. We then had two u12’s, Jaedon Jonathan and Caleb bell, who jumped at the opportunity to play another game before their u12 game. I informed the opposition coach that we had 8 which meant we could legally play and I also warned him that we would probably be leading them by the time the u12’s would leave for their game – he laughed!

Promise was told that he would be starting the pitching and his immediate reaction was “I can’t pitch coach”. He was the told that if he can throw a ball, he can pitch. And what a debut it was. He blew the Battswood hitters away and grew in confidence as the game unfolded. It helped that his catcher, Josh Smith, was solid behind the plate and worked hard. We shocked Battswood by taking the lead from the very first inning and never let them back in the game. By the time Josh November relieved Promise, it was game over because the fireworks was coming. November blew the batters hitters away and any hope that they had faded quickly. When it was time for the u12’s to leave for their game our game was about halfway which meant we never had enough players to constitute a legal game. Even with 6 players they still could not score, but their coach was determined to get the result.

We settled on a 6-5 win for Battswood (versus a default result) even though we scored 15 runs in the game compared to their 3. That’s is how strong our players were on the day. A special mention to Caleb Bell’s great defensive play at 2B and welcome back to Jade November to baseball. This is going to be a fun season for these kids.  
No Comments 2019 10 12From the DugoutGame DaysUnder 15Weekly Roundup

U12’s vs Battswood 15-3 (VOB)

The boys did really well for their first game for the season. I want to say hearty congratulations to all the first year u12s that had their first taste of pitch ball. They performed really well and were able to get multiple hits in the game. Samuel, Joel, Noah Rathner(u10) Troy and Jaiden Johnson all getting hits in their first game. Battery mates JJ and Kolbe linking up well to stop any base runners from reaching first base in the few innings that they were together. Zeake finished off the game beautifully for the u12s. Thank you to all that helped clear up and support your team. We appreciate it. Mention must go to JJ for his huge home run in his second at bat.

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U10’s vs Battswood 16-12 (BBC)

The season opener saw us host our neighbouring club Battswood. Our young and energetic U10 team did well and, in all honesty, held their own even though we had a few players playing for the first time. The game was very evenly matched during the first 2 innings as we went into the 3rd inning with the scores tied at 7-7. We went a bit by the way side as we were only able come up with 5 runs in our next 2 batting turns which was cancelled out by their 9 runs. Everyone in our team batted well with a special mention of Slade Sellars, Caleb Abrahams, Noah Rathner and Haniem Mosaval. Defensively our team did pretty well considering the other team was hitting the ball pretty hard. A special mention of Zeke Sellars (SS) , Zion Bell (P) and Caleb Abrahams (1B) who were outstanding in the field. We also had a few rookies in our team such as Gia Beukes, Jemma Jonathon, Zion Bell, Haniem Mosaval, Noah Smith and Jaydon Quickfall who were all phenomenal in their first baseball game. The result did not go our way but our kids played with lots of heart and had tons of fun out on the field which is the most important thing. A special thanks to our scorer Zulfah Mosaval, Umpire Yusri Pretorius and to Coach Kevin and Coach Paul for preparing the fields. Watch this team as the season progresses. 

No Comments 2019 10 12From the DugoutUnder 10Weekly Roundup

Macaws end season on a high

Macaws end season on a high

Final day of the season and the Macaws were on the road to Durbanville to face the Villians.Two pitchers who will be in various WP teams at the national championships were given the ball in this one. Villians went with Stuart Baron while Michael Scritten wanted to finish the season on a high note for the Macaws.


Both pitchers labored in this start with Baron going 4 innings while Scritten only managed 3 before they were replaced. Derrick Bayliss (VOB) and Tyrone Baglione (DV) both threw till the end of the game. Bayliss, however, was better at shutting the opponents done and walked away with the win.
VOB ended the season the same way they have played over the final 5 weeks by being their own worst enemies with plenty errors gifting DV runs.

However, some outstanding hitting ultimately settled this one and the Macaws ended the season on a high and potentially in 3rd or 4th place in the log (depending whose rules one listens to). Luke November (3-4, 2BB), Derrick Bayliss (2-4, 2B, 2BB) and Marvin Mahoney (1-3, HR) hit well, but the star hitters on the day were the veteran Jared “JH” Haynes (3-5, 2B, 3B, BB) and rookie Jesse Johnson (4-5, 2B, HR).

Final score was 11-8 and the Macaws ended a decent season on a high note.

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