Putting South Sudan on the baseball map
South Sudan, playing in their first international tournament since being affiliated with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WSBC), won three of their six contests.
“The emotion… I can’t describe it. I’m very proud just to be part of this,” said Peter Daniel Deng, secretary general of the South Sudan Baseball Federation and the team’s head coach.
“Being part of WBSC allows me to bring young kids who are aspiring to be baseball players and give them the opportunity to compete internationally and see how baseball is played in Africa and internationally.”
The South Sudanese team featured pitchers with flame-throwing raw talent, including 15-year-old Atem Biol, who trains and studies at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ academy in Mpigi, Uganda. In addition to his work on the mound, Biol hit 0.600 over the tournament, including a two-home run performance against Kenya.
“I think a lot of people are going to be surprised [by our players,]” said Joseph Deng, who coached the team’s pitchers and was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers last year. “These kids have really good arms and good mechanics. These are things Major League scouts are looking for.”
Despite flashes of talent, South Sudan’s inexperience showed. The team was forced to forfeit one of its games against South Africa after a flub regarding pitching rules. They had fielded a pitcher who had thrown 43 pitches the day before, requiring a rest day.
“We take full responsibility as the coaches for this,” said Peter Deng. “It will be important for us to have more technical awareness about this, maybe at least before each game.”