The Member of Parliament for Cape Coast North Constituency, Dr. Kwamena Minta Nyarku has paid a surprise visit to the Ghana under 18 Baseball5 team at the University of Cape Coast Sports Complex.
Speaking to the team, the Cape Coast North MP expressed his elation at what he has seen so far at the venue. "I want to thank you all for representing Ghana. I was told you've won all your matches and you're playing well. If you get to the finals and are able to win, I've a surprise for you. Already I've donated one thousand cedis to support you", Ragga stated to the applause from the team
Albert K. Frimpong, African President for Baseball and Softball welcoming the MP said he was very elated for the presence of the Cape Coast North Member of Parliament and his words of encouragement to motivate the Ghanaian contingent.
"I'm very happy to be the African President and very excited to see the MP leave his busy schedule on short notice just to visit us, it is motivating enough for the team", he noted.
The MP has decided to visit again tomorrow to meet the President of the World Baseball Softball Confederation and that is humbling for us as a team and "I'm looking to introducing Dr. Minta Nyarku to the world President of our confederation", Mr. Frimpong stated.
When asked if he thinks the Ghanaian contingent can win the tournament, Mr. Frimpong indicated that" I'm sure we can win if complacency doesn't set in", he assured.
The 8 participating countries includes World No. 6 South Africa, No. 8 Tunisia, No. 24 Tanzania, No. 28 Zambia, No. 33 Ghana, No. 37 Burkina Faso, unranked Benin, Uganda and Nigeria. The Baseball5 tournament is a mixed gender sports made up of 5 boys and 4 girls.
Cape Coast is hosting the Baseball5 Youth African Championship. The week-long championship which started on the 16th of May is expected to end 21st of May. The event is a qualification tournament for the first-ever WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup.
Baseball5 is a relatively new sport which is a shorter and simpler version of baseball and softball that can be played anywhere with minimal equipment. It is referred to as a street version of the classic games of baseball and softball.
One needs a bat and ball which is played over five innings with five players per team. The ball is hit with the bare hand - so all one need is a ball, a bat and a suitable area to play. It is designed to be inclusive, and be played as a mixed-gender sport.
