Host Kwara State is holding on to a huge advantage after Day Five of hostilities in the maiden edition of 1st Honours Independent National Baseball League taking place at the Baseball Park, Ilorin, ahead of the closing ceremony tomorrow, Saturday April 12, 2025.
Kwara team, leading after playing five matches at the end of Day Four, defeated Ondo state 12 runs to seven this morning, and were leading Delta by six runs to one in the last game of the day before force majure sets in, forcing the remaining part of the game to be reschedule to tomorrow morning.
The state also has a crucial game against their toughest challenger, Bayelsa state, which also won their seventh game against Ondo state by nine runs to one today.
Kwara State began its journey in the competition on Tuesday, defeating both Delta and Oyo teams by four runs to three and 20 runs to nil respectively, but lost the third game on Wednesday to Bayelsa by 14 runs to four.
The team bounced back with a comfortable 20 runs to four victory over Ondo, capping it up with 11 runs to six victory over Oyo, to end with 55 runs for, and 27 runs against, after five games.
Apart from the make-up game between host Kwara and Delta tomorrow, three matches are on the card, as part of the activities marking the closing ceremony of the competition which signals the total revival of the game of baseball.
Oyo is expected to take on Ondo in the first match, after the carry-over match between Delta and Kwara, while Kwara will take the centre stage again, against Bayelsa, in a game which promises to be the star match of the day, while Delta takes on Ondo in the last game.
The tournament will feature a ₦300,000 star prize for the champion, while the second and third-placed teams will receive ₦200,000 and ₦100,000, respectively.
Tomorrow’s game will be witnessed by the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Executive Chairman of the State Sports Commission, Mallam Bola Magaji, the sponsor, Anaekwe Gideon Godwin, Baseball and Softball enthusiasts, Board members and others.
The second phase is expected to come up before the year runs out.
