There were no surprises in week eight of the Cape Town Baseball Federation (CTBF) as top contenders maintained their grip at the summit of the log.
As it has been for the past couple of seasons, Bellville Tygers and Bothasig Knights are again expected to be the two sides contending for league honours.
Teams that are, on paper, expected to get the results their way at the weekend did exactly that and did so in style by showing their dominance over their opposition.
The two giants of Cape Town baseball have been interchanging the top spot between themselves.
Between the two sides, whoever gets the better of the other in their two league encounters is usually the one that goes on to win it all at the end of the season.
With that in mind, Tygers might be on course for glory this season as they have managed to win their first meeting between the two sides.
If anything is to change, Bothasig will have to get a huge win when they host their rivals in the reverse fixture.
Teams like Athlone A’s and VOB Macaws, however, cannot be underestimated in having a say in the title contention as they have been steadily making strides to close the gap between them and the two top sides.
A’s and Macaws have plenty of experience in their dugouts with players who have national and international experience.
A’s captain, Jason Carelse, earlier in the season made it clear that they did not want to be just another team adding numbers in the CTBF but to make their way to the top.
A take that he says can only be good for CTBF, having more teams playing at the highest level. And looking at the muscle they added this season, he was on the money as they have been able to keep up with the two leading sides.
At the weekend, Bellville Tygers made a trip to Chukker Road looking to maintain their 100% start of the season to take on Macaws. As much as Macaws are no pushovers, Tygers again showed why they are at the pinnacle of the league, winning 18-2.
The star-studded Tygers seem to be in no mood to drop points and running the risk of Knights overtaking them on the standings with eight games having been played so far.
For Macaws, the last two game weeks were not kind to them as a week ago they welcomed Knights on their home court, losing that game too.
Perhaps having back-to-back games against the two top contenders can be a confidence-booster going to game week 9.
They have won four of their eight outings so far.
And as the league just entered the second round of the league, there will be no room for any slip-ups as teams like Maitland Giants are hot on their tails.
Giants were hosted by Durbanville Villains at the weekend, with the Giants going back home with their third win of the season.
The final score at the end of the afternoon was 17-7 to the Giants.
Villains have not had the season of their liking but will take pride in the fact that the side is dominated by youngsters still trying to find their feet among the big boys.
They have only managed a solitary win this season.
The win came a week ago against division newcomers, Westridge Yankees.
The Yankees made their way back to the highest division after some time with the promotion league. The Mitchell’s Plain side would have expected to have a tough outing in their return to the higher division, So far it’s fair to say they have managed to hold their own, proving this is where they belong. They have managed to have two wins under their name in the eight played. At the weekend, they went down to another tough customer of the ball game in Athlone A’s at home.
A’s were ruthless, running out 30-5 winners.
A’s win was their sixth of the season and remain within a touch of the leading pack in third place.
Knights had an easy afternoon at home against Helderberg Pirates, winning their encounter by 9-0 for their seventh win. Their only blemish came at the hands of their foes in Tygers earlier in the season.
