Another good day of baseball for the 15’s. DBV 2 – VOB 16

The squad was considerably smaller than previous weeks…with 13 players. The great trek to Durbanville meant a really early start to the day but everybody was in high spirits.

We hit 1st and with some great discipline batting, managed to load the bases with no outs, but somehow only managed to score 1 run This left the coaches a bit worried due to a dismal team performance at training the evening before. This was to be the last of the worries though as the kids found their “groove” with Rio managing a fantastic 1st frame from the mound and keeping Durbanville scoreless. 2nd batting turn was when they remembered how to play “VOB Baseball” & 5 runs were quickly scored. The next 2 frames were pretty much the same with Ghameem showing how the extra hitting with dad has helped by hitting a line drive over the 2nd basemen.

A pitching change with bases loaded & 2 outs, brought the composure we saw from Mikaeel last week, to the mound as helped his team get out the frame with just 1 pitch. 4 changes over 2 frames showed, once again, how hungry these kids are 2 be on the field. Even in their last batting turn and being quite a few runs ahead, they were still disciplined enough not to swing at bad pitches. With this, they managed to score 2 runs while still leaving bases loaded before Jamie, for the 3rd week running, got a hit to rightfield but this time scoring 3 runs.

Our last fielding turn proved to be extremely entertaining. This was finished off by the batter hitting a screamer straight back at Mikaeel on the mound and it clipping his glove to allow Josh November a very smooth barehand pickup to make the final out of the game.

The coaches are extremely proud of these kids as they continue to get better every week and show so much love for the game. The hard work being put in is really showing.

Wishing you all an amazing festive season and looking forward to what 2019 will bring our U15 team on the field.

No Comments 2018 12 08From the DugoutUnder 15Weekly Roundup

Masters maul Silvertree 8-0

We played at our home ground for the first time since the season started. God is great. Glen Joseph got the nod as our pitcher on the day and did a sterling job throwing a shutout. . Apparently not according to self appointed pitching coach Shaun Elliot who wanted to jerk him in the first inning after striking out the first two hitters then throwing two balls. Yep, it’s tough being in the Masters pitching rotation.

The hitting highlites was definitely Mark hitting a massive 3 run homerun clearing the left field fence by quite some distance. The fielding highlites belongs to Nigel who took an absolutely amazing catch in rightfield then throwing out the runner at 3rd.Brekkerag mos. Some of the guys were struggling a bit with the bat, but due to safety reasons I shall not mention any names.

Coach Jimmy once again had a massive headache as he had a tough time selecting a team from 20 odd players. Yes we’re struggling with the numbers.

All and all a good game all round with lots of laughter and good baseball. And the guava juice was flowing after the game as per usual. Final score was VOB 8-0 Silvertree.

No Comments 2018 12 01From the DugoutMastersWeekly Roundup

Macaw 12’s breeze past Mavericks

In a shortened game the kids managed to squeeze in 9 runs even though we could have amassed so much more. But due to the amount of inexperienced players we had to stop the running game which we are very good at. And play it base by base on our hits.

We had great all around play by our boys from Nur having a great catching game to Jaedon throwing a complete game in 35 pitches and picking off a player on one,to Caleb chasing down a base runner trying to go from 2nd to third. Then Talun coming in to catch for his first time and doing a great job.

But I must say that the play of the day came from Alex Boyle hitting a double over the center fielders head and then also taking a catch in right field. Well done boys

No Comments 2018 12 01From the DugoutUnder 12Weekly Roundup

12’s fight an alternate style of baseball and win 11-10.

The Kids pull off another last inning win this Saturday against Maitland Giants 11 – 10. Again we hit our way to victory, with the team getting 12 hits and 4 walks combined. This is a good indication of where we want to be with this team by teaching them to hit ahead of teaching them to take walks because sometimes the pitching is not good and they struggle to throw strikes. But our kids are not allowed to let a strike go past them. if it is hittable they will be swinging at it.

Even though the score says it was a hitting game it was not. giants only accumulated 3 hits in total they had amassed 11 walks in the game. Their coach had them bunting runs home and letting their kids steal home as well . Not the right way to be coaching 10 and 11 year olds at all. But none the less The Kids did themselves proud by pulling off a hard-fought win. Bottom of the 4th inning we had Tristan Jeftha drawing a walk and getting the winning run on base. Then up steps Dale Lewis with none down , he perfectly hits the ball to right field getting tristan to thirdbase and himself to second on the over throw. Storm doyle who is 2 for 2 at this stage drives the ball between 1st and 2nd for his 3rd hit and the Game winning RBI .

Another mention must go to Caleb Bell for making a play down the middle with runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 down in the 4th inning to end a threat of giants taking the lead, as well as Jaedon Jonathan coming in to relieve Talun on the hill when giants had their big inning. And the plays of the day for me was a diving stop by dante on first base and Nur’s drive to right centre in the second inning. Well done boys!!! things are looking bright.

No Comments 2018 11 27From the DugoutUnder 12Weekly Roundup

Giants 4 Macaws 19

And unbeaten Giants team, who feature in all CTBF offensive, defensive and pitching categories, were soundly beaten by VOB Macaws on Saturday at Chukker Road.

Giants, riding an unbeaten start to the season, visited Chukker road intent on showing that their newly assembled team will be a force to be reckoned with this season, but they left with many questions unanswered.

Derrick Bayliss started on the hill for Macaws while giants countered with Jayson Ripepi. Giants immediately took a 1-0 lead, but were stunned when the Macaws scored four of their own in the first inning. By the third inning giants had clawed back to 2-5 and then scored 2 in the fourth inning to make it a 4-5 game when Jesse Johnson replaces Bayliss.

Ripepi was replaced by younger brother Kyle and that’s when the floodgates opened and VOB scored 9 runs in bottom of fourth blowing the game apart. Giants brought on lefty Carlo Koks but, smelling blood, the Macaws went for the jugular and scored five more runs in the fifth to end the game by mercy rule 4-19. A great comeback from last weekend’s disappointing results.

Best hitters for Macaws were Michael scritten (3-3,/HBP/BB), Jared JH Haynes (2-3, 2B, 2BB’s), Luke November (2-4, 2B, HBP) and Lance Gordon (1-1, 3 BB’s, SF).

No Comments 2018 11 27From the DugoutMajor LeagueWeekly Roundup

Crusaders 17 VOB Macaws 18

The first suspended game played at VOB in recent history started at 11h30 this morning. Last weekend crusaders let a 16-11 lead in the 9th inning of the game slip to allow the Macaws to score 5 runs to tie the game before bad light suspended the game. With a string of pinch hit and pinch run changes in the 9th, the Macaws clawed their way back to tie the game and force the extra inning/s a week later due to double headers last weekend.

Michael scritten continues on the mound while Crusaders countered with Ashwyn Kleintjies.

Scritten was in complete control and looked to be sitting crusaders down without scoring when two mishits scored a run before Scritten struck out Jarryd Williams with bases loaded. Macaws came out swinging and the first three hitters tied the game before a misfit to 3B by Liam Willemberg scored the deciding run to give VOB the win to finish off a very satisfying weekend.

This young team will be up and down until they get plenty more ML games under the belts, but they have shown that the future is good at VOB

No Comments 2018 11 24From the DugoutMajor LeagueWeekly Roundup

U12 beat down Bothasig in the heat

This week the u12s got to play yet another game in the blistering heat. This time though we were much better prepared and it showed from the start of the game.

Starting pitcher Jaedon Jonathan did a sterling job and set the tone but sitting down 9 of 11 batters he faced ( 63 pitches 3 innings , 4 K’s 2 BB’s No hits and 1 run scored ) Storm Doyle came on and shut them down for 2 innings ( 28 pitches , 2 Ks 1 BB) Caleb Bell came on in the last and closed it down for the home team by striking out 3 of the batters he faced ( 14 pitches , 3 K’s).

Mention must go to Nur Scello for his hard work behind the plate (catcher) and for catching the whole game in the heat and throwing a runner out at second base from his knees. On this day our defense was amazing with the infield making all the plays that came to them. Talun with 2 assists and one catch, storm with 3 assists and one catch, Fayaad filling in at second with one assist while Riley and Dante splitting time at 1st base handling all the balls that was thrown at them! on the batting side I was even more proud of our players as the battled in the box against 2 hard throwing pitchers by scoring 2 runs in the first inning then 5 runs in the 3rd inning .

When Bothasig brought their second pitcher on it and he was throwing harder than the first pitcher we knew it was going to be tough. But we battled again and got on base quite a bit against him .

Jaedon Jonathan 2 for 3 ( 2 singles , 1 BB and 2 stolen bases) Talun Davies 1 for 2 ( Double and 2 walks 1 Stolen base) Caleb Bell 0 for 0 ( 3 BB and 4 Stolen bases) Nicolas 0 for 0 ( 1 BB 1 HPB 2 Stolen bases ).

Special thanks must go to Thomas ( Father of Nicolas) who helped me as our first base coach while our assistant Coach Jean was on Concert Duty this weekend. More special thanks to all the parents that donated for our team braai that happened after the game , hopefully we can have another one next home game and have more kids down as they had a great time. Thank you to Stanton ( Jaedon’s dad ) and Brandon (Dales dad) for braaing and feeding the kids.

No Comments 2018 11 27From the DugoutUnder 12Weekly Roundup

VOB U18 In Comeback Win vs Bothasig 3 – 4 (W)

Two final innings rbi triples takes VOB U18 over the line

(W 2 – L 0)

Another hot still Saturday morning saw an evenly matched VOB and ‘Sig U18 face each other. After last season’s come from behind win at Bothasig both sides were anticipating another tough battle.

Luke Budler started well with a strikeout, then walked the next two. With runner’s at the corner’s aggressive running by Sig, and smart play by VOB’s infield saw an out in a run down between 3rd and home. Budler then closed down any further danger with the second of his eight K’s. A fielder’s choice and a hit to the right side of the diamond saw VOB put a runner on 3rd, but good pitching from Sig closed down our hitting. 0 – 0.

Two strike outs and a groundball saw Sig retired, and VOB up to bat again. Two none down walks set up an opportunity for VOB U18, only for a missed signal, resulting in a popped up bunt to the pitcher, and two strike outs, to see no runs scored. 0 – 0.

Budler then dominated the next Sig innings with 3 K’s. With the top order up again VOB looked to get things going as Luke November drove a middle infield single through the gap left by Sig shifting for a pull. Budler then singled to left field. With runner’s one and two, and none down, some overambitious running saw an out at 3rd. A walk saw runners a 1st and 2nd again, but a broken bat fielder’s choice and a K saw the game tied at 0 – 0 going into the 4th.

With Budler at 62 pitches and facing the meat of the Sig order this was going to be a moment in the game to watch. A walk, a “Texas Leaguer” landing just beyond 2nd base, a K, and a walk saw Budler give way to lefty Kian Afrika. Bases loaded, one down, and 0 – 0, was a tough ask. A good contest ended in an rbi walk and Sig were ahead. A K for the second out and it looked like the damage had been limited, but, with the hitter looking to stretch the count, another walk saw a second run come in. Kian then recovered get the third out. Facing the bottom of the VOB order the Sig pitching stayed on message and three K’s saw VOB 2 – 0 down.

Kian looked to back on track starting the fifth with a K, but then worked too fine and gave away a walk. A balk saw the Sig runner on 2nd , and a good jump saw him steal 3rd. A walk was followed by a ground ball to the right of the diamond and Sig were 3 – 0 ahead. A K closed out their hitting turn. With the clock winding down and facing 9, 1, 2 Sig let their effective rightie starter, who was sitting on a shut out, stay in. a K saw them two outs from the W. Budler drew a walk and Sig brought in their leftie to close. Two wild pitches saw Luke open the scoring for VOB. Matthew Blows, in for Keegan (injury) then drew the walk and VOB had the tying run on. Cleanup Jordyn Riffel then did his job and smashed a triple into deep left to tie up the game. Up stepped Seth Beukes. His walk off triple into deep centrefield settled the matter. 3 – 4.

Coach’s comment – Consistent hard swings paid off. A good game to win, but some work to do.

Batting: Seth Beukes 1 – 2 (triple), 1 IBB, 1 rbi; Jordyn Riffel 1 – 3 (triple), 2 rbi’s; Luke November 1 – 1, 1 bb, 1 HP; Luke Budler 1 – 2, 1 bb.

Pitching: Luke Budler 3.1 innings, 8 K, 1 hit, 5 bb, 2 runs, 2 earned; Kian Afrika (W) 1.2 innings, 4 hits, 4 bb, 1 runs, 1 earned.

1 Comment From the DugoutU18Weekly Roundup

Weekly Roundup 26th Nov 2017

Juniors

 

PeeWees vs

 

Result: not important

Peewees played Crusaders and drew 18 all. The game was well supported. The peewees batting and fielding was on par showing much improvement in their play’s. The players enjoy themselves and had fun today. Well done Peewees.👏👏👏

 

U10’s vs Crusaders

 

Result: 23-18 (VOB)

The U10’s played Crusaders won 23 – 18. Our boys managed to play 6 frames in the blistering heat and kept their opponents scoreless in 2 of the frames. Some errors were made in the diamond that we need to work on, but at the end of the day they had fun. The game was very close. Caleb Bell, Storm Doyle, Chad Pastor and Daniel Arendse hit 1 homerun each. Tulan Davis was very good with the bat today hitting the ball all over the park and hitting 2 brilliant homeruns. Thanks again to the parents for their support. Well done boys
U12’s vs Crusaders

 

Result:

No report received

 

U14 Softball

VOB vs

 

Result:

No report received

 

U15 Senior Sluggers

vs Crusaders

 

Result: 7-6 (Crusaders)

This week we travelled to the only unbeaten side in this league and we knew it was going to be a tough one. Crusaders latched onto Josh November who started on the hill and scored 5 runs in the 1st inning. There was no means of defending against this as Crusaders managed to find all the holes in the field. We came back in the 2nd inning with the bat scoring 4 and then a further 2 runs in the 4th thanks to an awesome bunt by Shakeel Jattiem.. Josh managed to contain Crusaders in the next 2 innings and was replaced by Jared Riffel. He totally dominated with his pace and variation allowing only 2 runs in his 3 innings pitched. Crusaders were lucky to remain unbeaten taking the game 7 – 6, but best they be ready for the return leg. A big thank you to Kevin Johnson who took over the game as I had to leave to go and coach the Young Guns.

 

 

Parents

 

Can we please ask that parents not get involved with calls made by the umpire or chirps from the opposition as this reflects badly on the club and the boys then think that they can do the same. At the same time kindly refrain from negative comments during a game. Remember, they are kids, they learning and they most certainly are trying their best so let’s be positive in the comments that get passed.

 

 

U15 Young Guns

vs Battswood

 

Result: 11-8 (Battswood)

Like Crusaders, Battswood also found all the holes in the field managing to score 9 runs in the first 2 innings. This must really have motivated Zinadene Rocks to throw harder as they only managed to score a further 2 runs in the next 3 innings. Zinadene threw with control and with total heart as he slowly took control of the game striking out 7 batters. With some of the regulars not available some positional changes were required and the ladies (Madison Blows at 3rd & Jade November at 1st) really performed exceptionally in their new positions. Best batter on the day went to the Jayden Davis and player of the day went to Zinadene Rocks for his sterling performance. This team is really showing what fun baseball is all about. Irrespective of the result you will always find them smiling and having a total blast. Final result 8 – 11 to Battswood.

 

U18’s vs Crusaders

 

Result:  11-5 (VOB)

VOB U18 Win from Behind – Again

 

Batting first at a breezy Rooikrans Sports Ground in Grassy Park, VOB U18 blew the chance to go into a dominant position in the first.  First up designated hitter Luke November drew a hit by pitched ball, advanced on a wild pitch and a steal, and scored on Luke Budler’s hit. Budler stole 2nd, and advanced on a wild pitch.  Jesse Johnson walked and advanced to second on catcher indifference. It looked like runs. Not to be as 4, 5 and 6 were retired by 2 K’s and a long fly.  Crusaders bounced back with a hit, a walk, and a double to score one, before starter Johannes Nuy was able to induce two pop fly’s and a ground ball to short stop.  1 -1.

 

Again VOB U18 got runners on through a walk and hit, but a missed signal cost us.  Crusaders then piled in as Johannes struggled to find the edges.  Two walks sandwiched a K, and then runs followed on a long double to left, and missed shallow fly, and blown run down.  Not our best performance.  1 – 5.

 

Up stepped the team.  Luke and Jesse walked.  Jesse punched a double, scoring Luke, and Jordyn Riffel singled over the 2nd base to score Budler and Jesse.  The top order had done their job and we were back in it.  Johannes in turn held firm and we were at 4 – 5.

 

3 walks and a fielder’s choice saw VOB U18 load up the bases, and Budler did his job perfectly, driving in Keegan Hickley and Abduraghmaan “Durie” Wakefield.  The bases were loaded again as Jesse walked, and Jordyn then drove in Luke and Budler.  Jesse then scored on a wild pitch as Alex Japhta drew a walk to end the innings on the 5 run rule with one down only. 9 – 5.

 

Up stepped lefty Kian Africa and he efficiently set about closing out Crusaders hopes of a comeback.  A further run in the top of the 5th from Liam Willemburg, who scored on Durie’s second hit of the day, kept the momentum shift going.  Alex Japhta, who had bagged 3 pop fly’s at catcher, and made a good recovery throw for a caught stealing at 3rd in earlier frames, then put the cherry on the top with a strong throw to 2nd for another caught stealing.  Kian promptly finished it off. 10 – 5.

 

Batting: Luke Budler 2 – 2, 1 bb, 3 rbi’s; Jordyn Riffel 2 – 3,  2 rbi’s; Abduraghmaan Wakefield 2 – 3, 1 rbi;  Jesse Johnson 1 – 1 , 2 bb, 1 rbi.

 

Pitching: Johannes Nuy 3 innings, 1 K, 4 hits, 3 bb, 5 runs, 2 earned; Kian Africa (W) 2 innings, 3 K, 1 hit, 1 bb, 0 runs, 0 earned.

 

Thanks to Liam’s dad, Craig, for acting as a base ump; and Brady for being a very able assistant coach.

 

Seniors

Saturday

Masters vs Bellville

 

Result: 12-2 (VOB)

 

Sunday

Masters vs Battswood

 

Result: 11-9 (VOB)

 

Saturday

Once again the bats were working for us with no errors I can remember. We welcomed a few new players over the weekend who proved that they still have it. Adie, Clinton Overmeyer, Shaun, Haliem and others with some great hitting. Highlight of the day was Mark Isaacs hitting 2 homeruns on his return like he wasn’t gone at all. Overall a great game played in great spirit and lots of fun and laughter as always.

Sunday

What should have been a fairly comfortable win turned out to be quite a challenging game. Ruan started a little off balance on the mound but in the end proved too strong for the opponents’ batting. One of the great comebacks from the boys with the bats. Trailing until the end where the bats once again woke up and went crazy. Some serious character shown by all. Some dodgy calls from the umpire, Glen Joseph, who cried to the coach saying that he wants to come into the game. Apparently the team needed him. Welcome Michael Kulp to the VOB team. Kulpie looked very comfortable in the VOB uniform and even handed out Blue energade to the guys after the game. Guys acted a bit strange after those drink so not sure what happened. A great comeback accompanied by great finishing with Ruan securing us this win. Lotsa fun and laughter made it a great day.

 

 

SATURDAY

MLR vs Crusaders

 

Result: 8-6 (VOB)

 

SUNDAY

MLR vs Pirates

 

Result: 13-2 (VOB)

Saturday

Another windy day out in Southern Suburbs saw VOB take on the Crusaders of Grassy Park. VOB were keen to build on the recent momentum gathered by the senior team. Eager to get out of the blocks early VOB scored three runs in the first inning. VOB started with Lee van Wyk on the mound and kept Crusaders scoreless in the first. Then VOB added two more runs in the second and allowed Crusaders to score one run taking the score to 5-1.

VOB went to sleep in the middle innings allowing Crusaders to pull back two runs while VOB failed to score, making it a tight game at 5-3 by the top of the 6th inning.

VOB started a rally at the top of the 6th to score 2 more runs. Matthew Darius replaced Lee van Wyk on the mound. In Crusaders batting turn they matched the efforts of VOB taking the score to 7-5.

VOB managed another run in the 7th and had to defend 3 runs to get the victory. Crusaders got their leadoff on but VOB remained composed and went for the easy outs, leaving the runner to score, but running out winners 8-6.

A game that remained close but one that we never seemed in danger of losing. The team has stepped up from the early season promise and is improving by the day.

 

Sunday

On another windy day with the temperature around the 30-degree mark VOB travelled to Somerset West for the Sunday fixture. The VOB players were eager to continue where they left off on Saturday with 16 players on the line-up sheet. This is unheard of for a Sunday reserve team fixture.

With players like Miguel Wilson, Robin Jones, Luke November, Matthew Darius, Jesse Johnson, Liam Willemburg all with Major League experience and many more players who are regulars in the Major League squad, it was always going to be a tough ask for Helderberg to keep VOB in check.

VOB started the game well, getting runners on base early but only managed one run. Jesse Johnson started on the mound and dominated the Helderberg line-up, keeping them scoreless in the first.

In the next 2 innings, VOB scored six more runs while keeping Helderberg scoreless, taking the score to 7-0. VOB made seven changes to the line-up in the fourth inning using all of their substitutes.

VOB scored six more runs in the final 3 innings taking the score to 13-0 before giving Jordan Leppan a stint on the mound. With the game won VOB was sloppy in the field making several errors and allowing two runs to score. The final score was 13-2 to VOB.

 

 

SATURDAY

ML vs Crusaders

 

Result: 8-3 (VOB)

 

SUNDAY

ML vs Pirates

 

Result: 12-8 (VOB)

Saturday

On Saturday we were on the road to Grassy Park to face Crusaders who, after surviving the relegation drop due to a league format change, went 4-0 to start the season. However, their fortunes were soon to change and they started skidding down the log table and the Macaws were wary of the dangerous “wounded animal”.

Ex-Crusaders players Michael “Mikey #1” Scritten was given the ball to take on his old team. This would not only be a game against 9 opponents, but ALL the Crusaders supporters as well. They gave Scritten plenty of stick, but he handled it brilliantly and pitched 7 innings (2 hits, ER, 5BB’s, HBP and 4K’s) before he handed the ball to our Canadian pitcher Andy Orfanakos to close the game. Andy (2 inn, 2K’s) faced the minimum 6 hitters and closed like a true closer.

As we have become accustomed this season so far, our hitters kept their best for late in the game, scoring from 4th to 8th inning to take the game away from crusaders. Best hitters were Kieran Moore (2-4, RBi), Altino Elliot (1-2, SF, HBP, RBi) and Zubair Larney (2-3, HBP, 3xSB, 2 RBi’s).

Contrasting feelings with the Macaws continuing on their 5-game win streak while Crusaders plummeted to their 5th straight loss.

Player of the game was Michael Scritten for his sterling pitching performance.

Sunday

On Sunday we took our first trip to Somerset West to face Helderberg Pirates in years. The wind was pumping, but it was still scorching hot. With the team on a nice 5-game win streak the belief in the team can be seen by all. This is a new team currently and starting to play a little to their potential.

The ball was given to Josh Rich to continue the streak, but he struggled to get going and we were forced to make a change early as Pirates were just connecting and finding all the gaps. Josh (1.2 inn, 6 hits, 6ER’s, BB, 3 HBP, K, WP) was replaced by Jayde “madmax” Thorne to”stop the bleeding” which he did perfectly. Thorne (7.1 inn, 10 hits, 2BB’s, IBB and 7K’s) only gave up 2 more runs for the rest of the game to keep the Macaws winning streak going.

Although the hitters were getting on base regularly, they just did not make it count and left 10 runners on base before eventually exploding for a big inning when some pinch hitting changes were made. The best hitters were Lance Gordon (3-3, BB, SB, RBi) and Michael Scritten (2-4, 2B, BB, 2RBi’s) with Marc “makes” Quickfall getting the big pinch bases-clearing triple that blew the game apart in the 8th inning.

Two wins over the weekend gets the Macaws into third position on the log and continues the streak!

We also need to thank our behind-the-scenes-always-there scorer, Judi Beukes, for doing such a selfless job so brilliantly. Thanks Judi!

No Comments Weekly Roundup

Weekly Round Up 11 November 2017

This past weekend it was on the road for most of our teams, with only our new u15 Young Guns playing at home.
Our undefeated masters team travelled to Southfield to take on Silvertree, our undefeated u18’s was at neighbours Battswood while the rest of the teams were hosted by Durbanville Villians in the stifling heat of Durbanville.

After a successful last weekend our teams were keen to continue the upward momentum that has been evident this season so far.

Our club chairman, Kevin Johnson, has also brought more focus to our club by being appointed as the South African u15 head coach – well done!!

On to the weekend’s games!!

Youth teams

PeeWees vs Durbanville – Result: not important
The Peewees played Durbanville away and won the game 22 – 11. We managed to play 3 frames in the blistering heat and good batting was the order of the day. Our Peewees was just outstanding in the field. Rustem De Bruyn hit a homerun. Zeake Seller hit 2 homeruns and Caleb Abrahams hit 2 homeruns and took 3 catches. All nine batters scored runs in the last frame. Thanks parents for your support. Well done peewees for a good win.

U10’s vs Durbanville – Result: 30-20 (VOB)
The U10’s won Durbanville 30 – 20. We started the game with good batting scoring 8 runs in the first and second frame. The boys fielded well in the diamond and Durbanville’s only choice was to hit to the outfielders. Chad Pastor, Caleb Bell and Caleb Abrahams hit a homerun. Nur Scello, Tulan Davis and Storm Doyle hit 2 homeruns. Caleb Bell took 2 excellent catches off the bat at first base. My player of the day was Caleb Abrahams for hitting his first homerun in a U10 game and took 3 brilliant catches at pitcher. I want to thank the parents again for their good support today. Well done boys.

U12’s vs Durbanville – Result: 9-8 (Durbanville)
Having to be in Durbanville at 07h15 for our 8h15 game, seemed to be a bit early for some of the u12’s but after some encouraging words from coach Barry, they seemed ready to go. Being an away game, we batted first managed to get 2 runs on the board which gave the team some much needed confidence.
Fadiel was given his 1st pitching start for the season but looked as if he’d been doing it for months. Joshua Smith seemed to be very composed behind the plate as he didn’t stay at uncle Paul’s house Friday night and therefore got enough sleep.
Lots of discipline in the batter’s box by majority of the team and Shaun Sani’s 1st hit into the outfield allowed our 1st 5 run frame, for the season (u12’s using the 5 run, side away rule).
Mickey was handed the ball late in the game and did a superb job getting the ball over the plate and forcing hits to 2nd base where Fayaad happily fielded everything and put the runners out at 1st base.
Unfortunately, the excitement got the better of the team which resulted in a few costly errors, allowing Durbanville to also score 5 runs, leaving VOB 2 runs down in the last frame. They fought hard, but a few concentration lapses meant we only managed 1 run and therefore lost 8-9.

Once again, the enthusiasm of these boys was undeniably amazing and the improvement, as a team, is visible.

A special Thanks to Shanaaz, Tracey and Moerieda for the help. You ladies are awesome.

U14 Softball – No report received

U15 Senior Sluggers vs Durbanville – Result: 7-4 (VOB)
A nice outing to the Villians for the Sluggers as they walked away with 7-4 win. Aside from the heat that killed everyone our pitching staff slaughtered the opposition. Young Josh “51” November had an awesome outing going 3 innings before being replaced by Shakeel “stretch” Jattiem. Our closer Zinadene “Zizo” Rocks as always did an awesome job. Player of the day went to Alec Adonis hitting 3-3 and taking 4 outs from 3rd.

U15 Young Guns vs Silvertree – Result: 13-7 (VOB)
The game got off to a very slow start with both pitchers struggling to consistently struggling to find the strike zone. This saw us go down I the first inning. However, this did not stop the young guys and girls at all, as Lee threw his heart out on the mound, who was later replaced by Nicholas Jefferies. Our team fought from the first at bat to their very last, equalling Silvertree’s runs in the first inning. Our young guns did extremely well in the last inning of the game by shutting Silvertree and scoring an extra 5 runs to seal the victory for them. Jade November, got the base hit to right field in her last batting turn to score the fifth run, ending the game.
Many lessons were learned through this game and but each week, we can definitely see our players growing. Keep up the amazing work and Spirit and see you at the ball park in the week.

U18’s vs Battswood – Result: 12-9 (VOB)
A strong first innings was squandered, as Battswood were let back into the game, only for VOB U18’s to compose themselves, and, for the second time this season, pile on the pressure and the runs in the top of the last frame, and come away with the win.

Aggressive hitting and a couple of walks saw VOB U18 piling on the pressure in the top of the first and coming away with 4 runs as the top order scored off rbi’s from Luke Budler, Alex Japhta and Liam Willenberg. On the downside two runners were left behind in scoring position. Battswood showed they were not just going to lie down, driving in 2 runs in reply. 4 -2.

The second, third, and fourth saw VOB U18 leave five runners in scoring positions on base. VOB starter Johannes Ney had been very neat and tidy in the bottom of the second and third, facing only seven batters, but with the VOB hitters not doing their job, the door was still open. With one down in the bottom of the fourth, Battswood took advantage of Johannes’ first walk to work a very neat bunt play. A drive to left field saw Kian Africa come to the mound with bases loaded. After initially struggling, Kian righted the ship, but Battswood were 4 – 8.

A three up three down batting turn and VOB U18 were back out there. They settled, and closed out the bottom of the fifth comfortably. Still 4 -8, with the top orders of both team up and the clock showing only the sixth would be played.

VOB U18 No 9 Haydn Abrahams did his job and got on ahead of his top order, and then Luke Budler, Jesse Johnson, Jordyn Riffel, and Alex Japhta all collected hits and VOB U18 went ahead on Liam Willenberg’s single through the infield. Luke November then scored Liam, Josh Adonis and Haydn (his second run in the innings). 12 – 8. After an opening walk, Kian settled and Jordyn took responsibility, covering lots of ground to take to snag fly’s. Two down. Battswood tried to run to rally, stealing home to score with the battery focussed on getting the batter at the plate. K. Game over. 12 – 9 win.

Batting: Luke Budler 4 – 5, 1 rbi; Liam Willenburg 3 – 4, 2 rbi’s; Luke November 3 – 5, (1 double) 3 rbi’s; Jesse Johnson 1 -3 (1 x double), 2 rbi’s, 1 bb; Jordyn Riffel 1 – 3, 1 rbi’s; Haydn Abrahams 2 – 3, 2 BB 2 RBI; Alex Japhta 1 – 3, 2 rbi’s; Josh Adonis 0 – 1, 2 rbi’s.

Pitching: Johannes 3.1 innings, 4 K’s, 5 hit, 1 bb, 5 runs, 5 earned; Kian Africa (W) 2.2 innings, 2 K’s, 1 hits, 5 bb, 4 runs, 4 earned.

Thanks to “Liam’s mom Stephanie” for scoring.

Senior baseball teams

Masters vs Maitland Giants – Result: 19-3 (VOB)
Thank you Adie Langeveldt for bracing us with your presence and pitched the whole game. Great pitching. Homeruns by Adam and Shaheen was part of the run scoring fest. Bailey back with the bat, batting 1000.Hadley batting well. The bats were hot as always. Although their pitching was not very challenging to be fair. Everybody got a hit somewhere down the line and then there was Wayne. When Adie decided he was going to throw so the field can do some work, our centre fielder Ricky decided otherwise. But he almost caught the ball 4 times. Highlight was Ruan rounding third and tripping-rolling into 3rd being laughed at by Glen. Glen then decided to do a Ruan and went one better and did a double forward roll at the exact same spot and took out his shoulder. Lag nog!!! Let’s just say it was a you tube moment. Lotsa laughter and loads of fun with guys still Loving the game of Baseball.

MLR vs Durbanville – Result: 13-2 (VOB)
It was not the ideal preparation for the game, as the start of the game had to be delayed with players having to rush from the 18u game at Chucker road battling traffic. The Durbanville coaches were kind enough to agree to start the game a bit later to accommodate us.
A young Durbanville side showed grit early on against VOB that is starting to settle nicely. In the first inning, VOB managed one run and the Villians pulled one back immediately. Lee van Wyk started on the mound for VOB, and the lack of time for a warm-up may have assisted in allowing early runners on. He then went on to keep Durbanville scoreless for two more innings before Jesse Johnson replaced him.
VOB steadily accumulated runs throughout taking a 6-1 lead by the time Jesse took the mound in the fourth inning.
Durbanville battled with their pitching resources and VOB managed to capitalise on this in the top of the fifth inning. VOB batted through the order taking the score to 12-1, but Durbanville only managed to pull one run back taking the score to 12-2.
In the last inning, VOB managed another run but Durbanville could not manage to score after having the bases loaded ending the game at 13-2 to VOB.
Everyone contributed to the win, but the consistency shown by the pitchers ensured that the opposition had to earn their runs which they were unable to do.

ML vs Durbanville – Result: 16-6 (VOB)
Coming off a very emotional come- back win against A’s the week before, it was imperative to keep the focus and play good baseball against a young Villains team.
The game started with us storming out of the blocks with a 4run 1st. Josh Rich got the start this week and had a fairly comfortable 1st inning. 4-0
We added a run in the 2nd but had a sloppy bottom half of the 2nd, giving up 3 ER and 6 runs in total. That would be all for the villains on the day! The game lasted only 8 innings with us scoring in every inning but the 5th. Josh went on to pitch 3innings giving way to new boy Andy Orfanakos who pitched 2 scoreless innings with Kieran Moore coming on to pitch another 3 scoreless innings to close out the game.
While the pitching settled down, the boys broke out the bats, with the team combining for 17hits and 13 RBI’s on the day!
Paul Bell going 2-4 with 3 RBI’s, Jody Burch 2-5 with 2 RBI’s, Michael Scritten 2-4 with 2 RBI’s, Marc Quickfall 3-5 with 2 RBI’s, Altino Elliot 2-5 with 2 RBI’s and Grant Emmanual 1-1 with 3 RBI’s.
With all the hitting that has been going on, it is easy to miss the one really good aspect of our play over the last two weekends, we have now given up only two errors in two weeks which is a massive improvement in or defensive play and a testament to some of the hard work going on behind the scenes by the players and coaches.
With the high ceiling that this team possesses, we will be looking to keep the momentum going this weekend at home to a difficult Giants team.
See you at the ballpark!

Senior softball teams

SL – No reports received

2nd – No reports received

Anniversaries, birthdays, etc.
Adam Jaffer (14/11), Jesse Johnson (15/11), Rio Harrison (19/11), Randall Hendricks and Josh Adonis (20/11) all celebrate birthdays this week. Congratulations from the VOB family. Please don’t forget to let us know of any important dates so we can congratulate our members.

Events, Fundraisers, etc.
On Sunday 19/11/2017 from 11h30-13h30 we will be having our official club photoshoot as well as a boerewors fundraiser for club members who will get selected to represent WP this season. All players to come in club uniform as tem photos as well as a club photo will be taken.

Thought for the Week
All Life is a chance so take the chances that gets presented to you!! The person who makes the most of his/her chances, gets the furthest.

KEVIN JOHNSON

No Comments Weekly Roundup