04 Mar 2025

The mercy rule was applied in the bottom half of the third inning to end a softball ladies league match earlier than scheduled between BDF IX and Dinare at National Diamond on Sunday.

The mercy rule was triggered by the huge gap between the two teams as BDF IX was registering endless runs. Dinare surrendered with their opponent leading with a comfortable margin of 13-0, and the umpire applied the mercy rule to end the match.

In a post-match interview, BDF IX ladies coach, Mothusi Shalobana said the game against Dinare was not a tough encounter, therefore it was used to prepare for the remaining tougher opponents with seasoned players. Shalobana said young players, who were still working on establishing in the game, dominated Dinare, as such the match was an opportunity to work on some winning combinations.

He said the team had played and won all seven games and was at the summit of the log, and was left to play Titans and UB. Shalobana appreciated that softball was back in action, but the rhythm was still below par and the game was lacking passion from the young players.

He said a sport person must desist from unruly behaviour, respect the game and each another, adding that at BDF as a disciplined force, discipline was at the core of what they do and therefore players were equally drilled to have respect for the game.

Shalobana said in order for the game to grow, young players must be guided and develop future players who will be in a position to hoist the country’s flag high on regional and international assignments and club and national team levels.

Meanwhile, coach Prika Kegapetswe of Dinare said their team was made up of young players. Kegapetswe said it was a new team as the essence was to develop young players. He said Dinare used to be one of the formidable teams but had since lost its rhythm.

“I was brought in with the purpose of developing a team. Our focus is mainly getting and developing young players. This is a long-term project. We are not playing to win the league,” he said.

Kegapetswe said a league system was more beneficial for a developing team as the players will have more games and play against all the teams in the league, giving one ample time to work on the negatives and develop a winning formula. He said his team was playing against a team that was currently leading the log in the Southern Region.

“We were not expecting them to match BDF in terms of strength and skills level. We knew that we are behind as we are still learning,” he said.

He added that the team has been re-grouped with the intention to be amongst the country’s top teams in the next three years. Coach Kegapetswe said he was impressed with what the team has achieved so far.

“We have won three games, which is a bonus as we have exceeded our target of winning two. Those three wins were against tough opponents. We are left with one game, having played eight and so far I am impressed with the performance of the team,” he noted.

The mercy rule was also applied in both Bears men and ladies encounters against BDF IX on Friday evening with the score line reading 26-0 and 7-0 respectively.  Also, the men encounter between Police IX and Gideon Warriors was ended by the mercy rule, also known as the run-ahead rule. Police IX was leading 27-1 and the match was ended in the third inning. ENDS