04 Aug 2016

Botswana under-19 softball national team was applauded for a sterling performance in the just ended 11^th Junior Men World Championship Games in Michigan, USA. 

The under-19 team played seven games, won three and lost four securing a plate position and awarded a silver shield. Botswana’s pitcher Gideon Mpuang recorded the fastest time ball of the tournament.

During a welcome ceremony in Gaborone, team manager Letsweletse Jonas announced that they had a fruitful journey with their boys impressing scouts.

He said after arriving in Michigan they were afforded to play against local teams there, as part of the preparatory matches ahead of their first fixture. He said this helped the boys to climatize because the weather was different to that of Botswana, as it was very hot during their stay.

The team had a series of friendly matches’ against the local teams. He said it was during those games in which teams realised that Botswana was a force to reckon with.

Jonas said initially they were supposed to play against USA but had to be rescheduled due to a storm. Then they proceeded to play against Denmark which was scheduled to be their second match.

Overall Jonas said the boys showed a lot of character and composure, with scouts very pleased to watch them in action.

He cited that winning three games at the world championship is not an easy thing to do, therefore they can only applaud the boys for a good work that they did.

He further said the team had an urge over other teams, citing that most teams were intimidated by the stature of Botswana players which led them to question their age.

He explain that his team was made of high school going children as compared to theirs who are older and in tertiary schools.

“These children we got them from school and had only two months to assemble and prepare for the competitions,” he said.

Jonas said unlike other countries who keep their children on the squad for a long time which help them to be a formidable side, Botswana can only afford a little time with them.

He said this was a disadvantage and advised that there is need to work with the children in preparations to such championships in order to reap positive results.

He explained that their opponents were not tactically better than Botswana but had the best understanding of the game. 

He said this was due to good structures created by those countries and with the team playing together for a long time.

“We were able to defend well but failed in offence, those guys were very good with base running. Every ball that passed the catcher they would make sure they score.”

The team's captain Tumisang Moakofhi also said his team mates went into the games focused, even though they struggled with adjusting to the weather that was very hot.

Moakofhi said even though they had the best pitchers in the tournament, which others managed to set best record during the tournament however he said they learnt a lot from the championships with regard to the game of softball.

Moakofhi explained that while they preferred fast balls, they learnt their opponents preferred to spin balls which proved to be a challenge for them when tracking the ball.

Moreover, Moakofhi said they made sure they left a mark in Michigan, because during their stay there they won themselves fans in most of the softball enthusiasts as now they know about Botswana being a great softball country. ENDS