SPORTS SECTION E
MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2018
Freedom Farm champion boys! By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahama — Back after a year’s absence, Freedom Farm clinched a 4-3 walk-off-the-field victory to secure the boys’ 14-under championship title over the Grand Bahama Little League yesterday in the Bahamas Baseball Association’s National Championships at the Emera Baseball Stadium. With two out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth and time expired, Freedom Farm got struck out to extend the game. In the fifth, catcher Tyler Wallace got a one-out single to right field to plate shortstop Ryan Reckley with the game winning run. Reckley started the inning with a leadoff triple. Freedom Farm’s head coach Clarence McKenzie said it was a chance to regain their prominence. “This one was very sweet. After being absent last year, we had to prove that we are still the number one baseball league in the country,” McKenzie said. “The competition was very stiff. This is the second time we played them and it came down to a one-run differential in order to get the win. “That shows the high level of play to get the win. The game should have been over in the third, but we went to the fourth and had the winning run 80 feet away, but we couldn’t capitalise. We came back in the fifth with a runner on third
GRAND Bahama — The Grand Bahama Little League successfully defended their 18-under title with a 3-1 decision over the Junior Baseball League of Nassau in the only divisional championship that went to best-Baseball National Championships over the weekend. Only two teams participated in the division, while the other five divisions were decided on a onegame championship. In the clincher early Sunday morning at the Emera Baseball Complex, the GBLL held off JBLN 3-2. It was indicative of the scores in the other three games where GBLL won 3-2 in the opener and took a 2-0 lead with a 7-6 victory. However, JBLN, coached by Ken Adderley,
BASEBALL NATIONALS RAINED OUT By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS: Freedom Farm Baseball League’s 14-under players show off their gold medals. Photo: Dereck Carroll and no one before Tyler came up with the winning hit.” Wallace, the catcher, ended up going 1-for-3 with a RBI and was named the most valuable player. Reckley finished with a 2-for-3 day with a run scored. Right fielder Davante Brown was 1-for-2 and third baseman Cheriff Neymour and second baseman Raheem Stubbs both scored a run. “The first two out bats, I grounded out to second,
but on my last at bat, I drove it to right,” said Wallace, a 14-year-old preparing to enter grade 10 at St Augustine’s College in September. “I was looking for the pitch.” Davante Brown was the winning pitcher and Brandon Hutchinson got tagged with the loss. Hutchinson also helped his own cause by going 1-for-3 and both shortstop Jay Knowles and catcher Sterry Martin and third baseman Adari Grant all
scored a run for Grand Bahama, coached by Sidney Thomas. “It was a close game, but our defence wasn’t there,” Thomas said. “Hitting was our problem. We didn’t hit the ball like we are capable of doing. A lot of our good batters got strike out. We didn’t like we were capable of doing.” Thomas said he knew that it would have been a very close game because both teams are evenly matched. But Freedom
Farm put the timely hits when they needed and they came away with the close encounter. In their round robin match-up, Freedom Farm nipped GBLL 2-1 as centre fielder Andre Arthur was 1-for-2 with a RBI and a run scored and catcher Tyler Wallace was 1-for-2 with a RBI. Tyler Munroe got the win on the mound. Kymani Shepherd was the losing pitcher.
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GRAND BAHAMA LITTLE LEAGUE RETAINS 18-UNDER TITLE By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
World Cup, Pages 2 & 5
avoided getting swept as they pulled off a 2-1 win to cut the deficit to 2-1. In another exciting finish early yesterday morning, GBLL capped off another title with a stunning 2-1 victory and a 3-1 series advantage. “We worked hard year round,” said GBLL coach Keel Pinder. “We lost one or two players to school, but we held it together to defend our championship. “We were disappointed that we didn’t have more teams but we knew that JBLN was going to give us a good push. “Every game we played was either won or lost by one run, so at least it wasn’t a bad team we played. It was a fight to the end in every game. We are looking forward to coming back and defending our title next year. Hopefully we will have some more competition.”
THE BAAAs Senior Athletics Championships, presented by Kalik, featured many of the Bahamas’ top competitors in the sport, one of whom shifted disciplines for the two-day meet. Reigning Olympic 400m gold medallist Shaunae Miller-Uibo opted not to compete in her signature race or the 200m, but took to the field instead for a pair of events at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium. Miller-Uibo won the high jump with a mark of 1.70m and was also the lone competitor in the shot put, recording a mark of 11.48m. Big 10 Track Athlete of the Year, Devynne Charlton, was unchallenged in the 100m hurdles and
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BUDDY TO HEADLINE ROSTER FOR AMERICAS WORLD CUP QUALIFIER By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
BBA president Sam Rodgers presents medals to Grand Bahama Little League players. Photo: Dereck Carroll
Miller-Uibo wins high jump, lone competitor in shot put By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
GRAND Bahama — Interrupted all weekend by the inclement weather, officials of the Bahamas Baseball Association had to call off the completion of their inaugural Andre Rodgers National Baseball Championships, featuring the amalgamation of all the island leagues, after heavy showers left the Emera Baseball Complex under water. Teran Rodgers, the tournament director, said they will hold an emergency meeting tonight to decide the outcome of the games not played. The good thing, he said, is that the games undecided are being played between teams from New Providence. While the champions were decided in both the 18-under and 14-under divisions, officials were forced to call off all of the other games after the rain came pouring down on Sunday with the 16-under, 12-under, 10-under and 8-under divisions still undecided. The 16-under boys championship game between the Junior Baseball League of Nassau and the Grand Bahama Little League was halted in the bottom of the second. JBLN was holding a 1-0 lead at that point. In the bronze medal game in the 16-under boys division, Freedom Farm pounded North Abaco 10-1 as centre fielder Tre’en Dorsett and catcher Ethan Bain were both 2-for-3 with a RBI and two runs scored.
finished in 13.27s. Xavier Coakley won the men’s 110mH in 14.27s followed by Sakeem Smith in 14.41s. Alonzo Russell won the 400m in 45.52s, followed by Stephen Newbold in 46.17s, Michael Mathieu was third in 46.40s and Ramon Miller was fourth in 46.60s. In the men’s triple jump, Latarrio Collie-Minns fended off a challenge from Kaiwan Culmer to retain his national title. Collie-Minns took first place in 16.53m followed by Culmer at 16.52m. Leevan Sands was third at 15.95m and Lathone Collie-Minns was fourth at 15.73m. Donald Thomas won the high jump at 2.23 ahead of Jamal Wilson who recorded the same clearance. Trevor Barry was third at 2.15m and Ryan Ingraham fourth at 2.10m. Alexis Gray took the
women’s 100m in 11.85s ahead of V’Alonee Robinson in 11.86s and Tayla Carter in 11.88s. Jaida Knowles finished fourth in 11.92s. Gray went on to also finish second in the 200m in 23.72s behind Tynia Gaither, who won the event in 23.17s. Warren Fraser won the men’s century in 10.36s. Shavez Hart was second and Cliff Resias third – both in in 10.45s, while CARIFTA gold medallist Joel Johnson was fourth in 10.46s. Hart took the men’s 200m in 20.90s, followed by Anthony Adderley in 20.98s and Ian Kerr third in 20.99s. Tamara Myers took the women’s triple jump at 13.67m and Charisma Taylor was second at 12.85m. Johnie Jean-Jacques’ throw of 13.69m won the men’s shot put. Katrina Seymour won the 400mH
in 59.23s. Andre Colebrook took the men’s race in 50.74s followed by Matthew Thompson (53.91) and Shakeem Smith (54.02). Colebrook also won the 800m in 1:55.83. Shiloh Seymour was second in 1:56.04 and Lhvine Joseph was third in 1:59.98. Quanisha Marshall took the women’s 800m in 2:18.36. Drexel Maycock won the discus with his throw of 50.65m. The championships served as the qualifier for the Central American and Caribbean Games, set for Barranquilla, Colombia, July 20 to August 3 and the NACAC Senior Championships in Toronto, Canada, August 10-12. For the first time, NACAC will be offering prize money for the top finishers in the championships, which is expected to boost the participation of the top athletes in the region.
MEN’s senior national basketball team head coach Mario Bowleg called this current Bahamas roster “one of the most talented the federation has put together” as they continue to seek FIBA World Cup qualification. Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield will headline the roster for the third window of the Americas Group qualifier as the Bahamas gets set to take on the US Virgin Islands on June 28 and the Dominican Republic on July 2 in Puerto Rico. Other current professional players on the roster include Jaraun “Kino” Burrows (FOS Provence Basket – French B), Michael Carey Jr (Etoile -French B), Zane Knowles (Etoile - French B), Kadeem Coleby (Akita, Japan), Shaquille Cleare (LNG Switzerland), Lynden Rose of the NBA G-League’s Salt Lake City Stars and G-League draftee Danrad ‘Chicken’ Knowles. Team Bahamas will also feature recent NCAA Division I graduates Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr (Michigan State), Dwight Coleby (Western Kentucky) and current Division I players Jaron Cornish (Stony Brook) and Travis Munnings (ULM Warhawks). “I got the easiest job in the world. To have this team to choose from, these aren’t tough decisions. The
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