Newly-established Kuils River Cardinals baseball club’s two-year wait for a homeground has come to an end as the side will finally play their home matches in their backyard, the Jagtershof sports field, from the 2020/21 season.
The club was established in 2018 and their first team is playing in Cape Town Baseball Association’s Third League.
They currently have three teams — the juniors who play in the under-10 league; the masters who play in the over-35 division and the first team. Their players come mostly from Kuils River and the surrounding areas.
And, due to the fact that they didn’t have their own pitch, they had to play their home matches at Durbanville Baseball Club.
“We have forged good relationships with our neighbours, like Durbanville Baseball Club, who allowed us to use their facilities,” said club captain Hilton Samuels.
He also noted that things changed for the better a few weeks ago. “We secured a homeground, thanks to the City of Cape Town, and much needed equipment. This will, without a doubt, help us a lot going forward,” he said.
“Over the past two years, the club has been fortunate to receive donations and sponsorships from its members and other organisations. A more recent donation was received from a USA-based non-profit organisation, Angels at Bat, in collaboration with a local non-profit organisation, PlaySport4Life, which included baseball equipment to the value of R40 000,” he said.
This, he said, was made possible by engagements between the club’s junior coordinator, Randall Thieras; Angels at Bat founder Max Bobholz and Miles October, who is a director at PlaySport4Life.
Samuels said they have set themselves a number goals going forward. “One of our immediate goals is to establish another junior team, for under-12s, and another senior team. In the long run, we want one of our senior teams in the major league,” he said.