The crème de la cream of South African softball will trade bats at the annual Gordon Monk Softball Tournament that gets underway at the Red Sox Ballpark in Kempton Park this coming weekend.
The event is slated from Friday for the pool matches until the grand finale on Sunday.
The tournament is the second largest event on Softball South Africa’s (SSA) calendar of events as a preparation for the National Provincial Championships (NPC) to be held in the North West.
The tourney has changed its initial pattern from being played as provinces to regions. The tournament is held in honour of Gordon Monk, one of the softball pioneers in Gauteng.
Ekurhuleni Softball Association chairman Lucky Huma said the event was growing by leaps and bounds and they were expecting rising stars to give fans glimpses of brilliance.
“We are seeing so many teams coming from the regions to honour the late Monk as a softball ancestor. We regard Monk as a legend who was instrumental in the development of the sport in Gauteng.
The legend was laid to rest many years ago and we hope he is sleeping in eternal peace knowing that the game he loved so dearly is progressing well and that the country is producing international stars and capable administrators,” Huma said.
Ekurhuleni is going into this tournament solidly entrenched as the defending champions after beating Tshwane District 7-4 during last year’s edition at the same park.
The defending champions will be facing sterner opposition from Limpopo, who are sending two star-studded sides from Capricorn and Waterberg districts.
The Capricorn region will be represented by the country’s biggest hatchery of talent, Moletlane Texas.
The club has the most feared lethal pitching department that featured greatly in the World Baseball Softball Confederation World Cups since South Africa’s readmission to world sport.
Capricorn will descend to the East Rand armed with the country pitcher-in-chief, Tidima Kekana, aided by spin wizard, Jan Matlou, Maru Masemola and Merema Hlagala from Lebowakgomo Wild Beasts.
Head coach Thapelo Seshoka has expressed confidence in his charges, saying they are indispensable in both the batting and fielding lineups.
“I am taking most of the players who have contributed immensely for Limpopo when we won the NPC. We are using the Gordon Monk tournament to prepare these guys for the interprovincial tournament.
Our provincial league has not yet started and most of the players have had little game time. We are hoping to fine-tune our fielding combinations during this tournament,” Seshoka said.
Softball South Africa president Mash Matsetela said national tournaments like the Gordon Monk played a significant role in ensuring that the country was active in all provinces.
“Competitions like these help our players improve their performance. We need to keep these players active to improve on the international rankings.
We need to continuously improve on our international rankings and maintain our continental superiority. So far we are doing well in Africa and that trajectory needs to be translated on the global stages.
Our international rankings have been stagnant due to our non-participation at the under-18 tournaments globally because this age group is a key feeder of the senior team” said Matsetela.
