05032018 sports

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SPORTS SECTION E

Soccer, Page 19

THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2018

Bahamian players face off in minor league baseball By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net JAZZ Chisholm and Chavez Young continue to alternate who has the better day on the stat sheet and whose team gets the win as the two Bahamian players and their respective clubs face off in minor league baseball. Young blasted his first home run of the season in the eighth inning to lift the Lansing Lugnuts to a 6-2 win over Chisholm’s Kane County Cougars yesterday in the Class A Midwest League at Cooley Law School Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. Young finished 3-5, scored two runs with one RBI and hit his first home run of the year in one of his top offensive outings of the season thus far. He laid down a bunt single in the fourth and was eventually plated by Kevin Vicuna in the

third inning. In the fifth inning, he reached safely on a fielding error and in his fifth at-bat, tacked onto the Lugnuts lead with his home run. Chisholm finished 1-5 on the day highlighted by his CHISHOLM single in the eighth inning. In game one, Chisholm won the individual head-to-head matchup on the stat sheet and his team got the win. The Cougars emerged with a 6-5 win over the Lugnuts as the series got underway on Tuesday. Chisholm finished 2-5 with one RBI and one stolen base as he continues his successful return

CHAVEZ YOUNG

from the disabled list while Young went 1-5 with one run scored. Chisholm doubled in the first inning and singled in the third inning while Young’s lone hit of the game came in the eighth inning on a groundball hit to Chisholm. Cougars sent Chisholm to the 7-day disabled list on April 20 due to a hamstring injury. Chisholm left the Cougars’ 13-2 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on April 18 after he awkwardly slid into third base. Since his return on April 26, Chisholm is on a five-game hit streak, hitting .367 with two RBI. Chisholm has already surpassed his home run total from last season. A torn meniscus cut short Chisholm’s debut season in Single-A baseball with the Cougars in the Midwestern League’s Western Division. He played in just 29 games hit .248 with, three stolen bases,

slugging .358, an on-base percentage of .325, an OPS of .683, 12 RBI and one home run. “It gave me a way different perspective of the game,” Chisholm said to the Kane County Chronicle when he referenced the injury. “I used to give it all I can, and now, I’m trying to push the limit of that. I’m not just giving it all I can, I’m giving it all I can give... It showed me that it’s baseball, it’s not you. It gave me way more love and respect for the game.” Chisholm was the highest ranked of any Bahamian prospect headed into the season, listed at No.3 within the Arizona Diamondbacks franchise. Young is in his first season with the Lugnuts after he spent last season with the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Appalachian League and was called up to the Vancouver Canadians in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League.

Cartwright and Whitfield make transition to American football By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

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ontinuing the trend of Bahamian basketball players making the transition to football, Michael Cartwright and Devanno Whitfield have shot up the recruiting ranks in the state of Florida this offseason. Both former junior national basketball team standouts have now made the conversion to football since a shift to high school in the United States and have fielded offers from collegiate programmes. Cartwright, a 6’5” 280-pound offensive lineman for the Champagnat Lions out of Hialeah, Florida, has developed into a highly sought after recruit. Cartwright’s blocking skills have been sought after by major programmes both in the state of Florida and around the United States. He has received offers from the Tulane Green Wave, FIU Golden Panthers, Indiana Hoosiers, Marshall Thundering Herd, FAU Owls, Southern Mississippi Eagles, Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions and the Pittsburgh Panthers. A junior in the class of 2019, Cartwright is expected to field even more offers for a Lions team that has become a powerhouse in their division. Last season, the Lions won their second Class A Florida High School state title 24-7 over eighttime state champion Jacksonville University Christian. Cartwright, a former student at Aquinas College, has also blossomed into a three-sport star for the Lions. On the basketball court he averaged 12.6 points and 15

MICHAEL CARTWRIGHT rebounds per game and in athletics, he became the school’s first multiple district champion in the shot put. Cartwright was a member of the Bahamas’ Caribbean Basketball Confederation Under-16 team that won gold in the British Virgin Islands. Whitfield was a member of the 2017 Centrobasket U-17 team but has undergone a physical transformation as a football player. He was 6’4”, 240 pounds when he began playing tight end but has been listed at 255 in just three months. This spring he has posted impressive performances at the Nike and Rivals camps and also at the Adidas 7 on 7 East Coast Regionals. A junior at Doral Academy, and former student at Anatol Rodgers, Whitfield has had several unofficial visits with FIU, FAU, Central Florida and University of Florida.

DEVANNO WHITFIELD

BAHAMAS BOWL ALL SET FOR DEC. 21 THE fifth annual Bahamas Bowl has been set for Friday, December 21, 2018 at 12:30pm ET. The game, held in Nassau’s 15,000-seat Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, will be broadcast in the United States for the fifth consecutive year by ESPN. For the third straight year, the game date falls at the start of a long holiday period in the Bahamas, allowing for an early Friday afternoon game. “We have had great success the last two years with the move of our game to Friday afternoon as more Bahamians and their families have attended the bowl as the starting event to the holidays,” said Richard Giannini, Bahamas Bowl executive director. “As one of the constants on the Bahamas sporting calendar, our bowl has provided exciting competition in a great Bahamian gameday atmosphere for our fans in attendance, and it continues to be a yearly showcase of the Bahamas on ESPN. Thanks to the assistance of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Atlantis, we know that the 2018 bowl will build on our success.” The inaugural game in 2014 saw WKU beat Central Michigan 49-48 in a memorable offensive shootout. In 2015, Western Michigan beat Middle Tennessee 45-31, Old Dominion held off Eastern Michigan 24-20 in the 2016 game and Ohio beat UAB 41-6 in last year’s game.

JONQUEL JONES AND SUN TO BE LIVE STREAMED ON TWITTER By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN basketball fans will have even more opportunities to see Jonquel Jones and the Connecticut Sun live in action

Playoffs, Page 17

this season through social media outlets. The WNBA announced yesterday 20 games that will be live streamed on Twitter during the 2018 season as the social media app returns for its second consecutive season of live game coverage. Three of the 20 games will feature Jones and the Sun. The Sun will be in the first game broadcasted live on Twitter when the regular season commences on Sunday, May 20. They will face the Las Vegas Aces at 1pm. Their other Twitter broadcasts will be against the Dallas Wings, August 14 at 7pm, followed by the finale against the Los Angeles Sparks, August 19 at 3pm. Twitter’s four-game schedule on May 20 helps headline #WNBAAllDay, when all 12 teams will be in action as part of WNBA Tip-Off 2018 presented by Verizon. Every WNBA team will make at least two game

appearances on TwitXing Rui Flame to a ter during the league’s runners-up finish in 22nd season. In the Women’s Chinese addition to Twitter, Basketball AssociaWNBA games can be tion. Jones ended the seen on ESPN2, NBA regular season averagTV, WNBA League ing a team-high 29.3 Pass and the ESPN points, 18.8 rebounds App this season. and 2.9 assists over 31 During its inaugugames. ral season on Twitter, The 2017 season the WNBA averaged was one full of mile613,000 unique viewstones for Jones and ers per game for its JONQUEL JONES the Sun. The second20-game schedule. year forward was The Sun will open named to the Allthe 2018 season by hosting a two- WNBA Second Team after she day preseason event involving the averaged a double double, set the Dallas Wings, New York Liberty league’s single season rebounds and Los Angeles Sparks at Mohe- total, was named an All-Star and gan Sun Arena May 7-8. was awarded as the WNBA’s Most The Sun will close out the Improved Player. preseason on Friday, May 11, Jones finished the year averaghosting the Atlanta Dream at ing 15.5 points and 11.9 rebounds 7pm in Webster Bank Arena in per game - a dramatic increase Bridgeport. from her rookie season when Jones comes off a successful off- she averaged 6.8 points and 3.7 season where she led her Shanxi rebounds per game.

Her record-setting total was 403 rebounds for the season. She also added 20 double doubles. The Sparks finished the regular season with a record of 26-8, and the league’s top mark of 16-1 at home. Jones’ historic season included several individual milestones, including becoming just the second player in league history to record three 20-rebound games in a single season. Expectations will be even higher for both Jones and her team headed into the 2018-19 season. “The main thing this year is I’m just really comfortable in my position, comfortable with my teammates,” she said. “We’re really excited about our growth as a team in general. From the first time when I came to Connecticut to what we’ve been able to do last year so we’re coming into it ready to meet the expectations and to go above and beyond.”


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