Bears make dramatic comeback to claim second spot

THATO KALA
Correspondent | Wednesday May 15, 2013 00:00

 

Bears, Dinare and BDF IX finished tied on points in the Southern region league and had to fight for second, third and fourth positions.

Bears won their two games, starting off with a narrow 5-4 win over BDF before the memorable victory over Dinare. Dinare had earlier lost to BDF 10-4, a result that saw them settle for fourth place.

But it was the final game between Bears and Dinare that gave fans highlights of what to expect at next week's finals.  Dinare started off strongly in the first two innings after managing to score three quick runs in the first inning.

By the end of the second inning they led 4-0 and looked set to wrap it up early through the run-ahead rule. Bears batted badly in the first two innings but later picked themselves up in the bottom of the fourth inning when they got their first inning.

Thereafter, Bears restricted their opponents from increasing the lead with some excellent fielding and kept scoring runs to eventually win the game. Bears could have finished tied on points with Police, but had to forfeit two points after some of their players did not turn up for a fixture against BMC recently.

Bears captain Tshepho Letsholo said their performance in the final game was enough testimony that they are ready for next weekend's finals. 'Judging from our play today, I think we are ready for the National Championships.

Of course, there are a few things we need to work on during the week before the weekend,' Letsholo told Monitor Sport.  The Southern region league's top four will be drawn together with four top teams from the north next weekend. Comets, Wipers, Rail Giants and Carats all made top four and will be part of the two-day National Championships.