Tygers and Knights covering all the bases ...

DEFENDING champions Bellville Tygers remain the only unbeaten team in the Baseball Association of WP Major League competition as teams enjoy a two-week festive break after 13 rounds.

Tygers hold a slender two-point lead over arch-rivals and former champions Bothasig Knights who they beat 14-12 in their first-round fixture.

According to Tygers coach Alan Phillips, it was their come- from-behind victory against former champions Athlone A’s which gave their season impetus. They were 2-1 down in the bottom of the ninth inning and turned things around for a 4-2 win.

Phillips adds that hard work and the great attendance at training are bearing fruit on the ball park on any given Saturday.

He believes the right combination of experience and youth has added another dimension to the Tygers’ game. With the speed and agility available now, they have utilised the short game – bunting – when needed.

Hitting has always been their strength, but this has been backed up by a solid defence who are making fewer errors than before. They have conceded the fewest runs, and possess an effective pitching department.

Phillips’s advice to his team has been: “The fewer runs we concede, the less we need to score”.

Bothasig Knights have been in a similarly destructive mood and were unfortunate to go down to Tygers. Besides this loss, the Knights have not been overly extended in their games. They overpower teams with their pitching, they have a long hitting line-up and they have scored the most runs this season.

Bellville have 26 points and Bothasig 24, while there is a 10-point gap between between them and the next three teams who are all on 14 points.

Both Athlone A’s and VOB Macaws, who had terrible starts to the season, find themselves in this group along with Westridge Yankees.

VOB have been been fortunate in a few games and in some games have fought hard to come from behind.

This allowed them to have the third longest winning streak, at seven, which helped them regain ground on the log. They had come-from-behind victories against Van der Stel, Maitland Giants, Grassy Park Crusaders and Athlone A’s, to mention a few.

Athlone A’s have blown hot and cold this season. They were well placed in both their games against Tygers to hand them their first defeat. In the first game they were 2-1 up in the bottom of the ninth and lost it 4-2, and last week they were 4-3 down at the top of the eighth, and lost it 9-5. The flip side is they were terrible against Helderberg Pirates in both games, they had to come from behind against Van Der Stel and they blew a decent lead against VOB.

Westridge Yankees should be sitting in a better position with possibly two or three extra wins under their belt. Their two losses to A’s and their defeat against Maitland Giants could come back to haunt them come the end of January when the top six move into a league of their own. Minimising errors and crucial pitching decisions could have seen different results in these games. A fitter and stronger Yankees should see them more competitive in more games and in a better log position.

The next positions on the log see Grassy Park Crusaders and Maitland Giants both on 12 points, followed by Van der Stel and Durbanville Villans on six and Helderberg Pirates rooted at the bottom with two points.

Although baseball is on a festive break, there is an international invitational youth series taking place between a select Cape Town group, the German Baseball Academy and an invitational USA team. Games are being played at VOB, Durbanville and Van der Stel from today until January 5. Please contact the respective clubs for more information.