The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE sound of "play ball" will ring out Saturday night as the New Providence Softball Association (NPSA) kicks off its 2012 season under new management with an improvement to the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

The season is expected to be made up of a number of teams (six men and seven women) and some changes in personnel.

And the Truckers and the Lady Sharks are eager to defend their respective titles. The women's opener between the Lady Sharks and Bommer Gee Operators is set for 7:30pm after a brief opening ceremony scheduled to begin at 7pm. The night will conclude with the men's game - Truckers against the YII Shipping Bulldogs in the feature contest.

"We're ready," said Proper Care manager Steve 'Bishop' Beneby. The team no longer has versatile Thela Johnson and Sharnell Symonette but they are "looking good," he said.

"We lost Thela and Sharnell but everybody else is in place. Debbie (McClure) is nursing an injury but, outside of that, everybody is ready. Let the chips fall where they may. We're going to come out there and give it a valiant effort to defend our title. When the final nail is knocked, we will be right there," he added.

In addition to the Operators - managed by Mario Ford who acquired the service of Symonette to bolster their pitching anchored by Desiree Coakley - there are five other teams entered in the women's division.

According to public relations officer Arthur Johnson, the YII Shipping Wildcats, managed by Vernie Curry and coached by Anthony Bullard, are expected to have the return of ace Mary 'Cruise' Edgecombe in their bid to return to their glory days as champions.

The others are the Sigma Brackettes, managed by Cyril Smith and coached by Bobby 'Baylor' Fernander, who still has veteran Ernestine 'Big Horse' Butler and their mixture of youth and experience and the Black Scorpions, managed by Mike Dillet, with Marvel Miller as their ace pitcher.

Two new teams are entered this year. One is the Lady Hitmen, managed by Dwayne Stevens, and they have acquired the services of Thela Johnson and versatile Belinda Bastian to lead their attack.

The other is the ASAP Assassins, managed by Felicie Knowles and coached by Alphonso 'Chicken' Albury. They are loaded with a lot of young players.

On the men's side, the Truckers have increased their bid to win another title by bringing back Edney 'the Heat' Bethel of Eleuthera to head an already loaded pitching staff that also includes newly acquired Eugene Pratt, who came over from the defunct New Breed.

"We've been working out. We've had some good workouts for the last few weeks," said Bommer Gee manager Perry Seymour. "We had a couple of fellows who stopped playing and so we have replaced them.

"We're still going to be strong. We are the defending champions so we are still going to be the team to beat."

Their opponents on Saturday will be the YII Shipping Bulldogs, managed by Anthony Bullard. They have picked up a number of players from New Breed, including Ken Wood, Godfrey Burnside Jr, Larry Russell Jr and Greg Burrows Jr.

Four other teams make up the men's division, all of which are considered to be loaded with players:

• The (Caribbean Civil Group) CCG Mighty Mitts, managed by Alphonso Albury - they are pretty young but Johnson said any team that Albury puts on the field is normally a competitive one.

• The Mighty Rams, managed by Andy Percentie and Everette 'Abe' Johnson as coach. Veteran Crestwell 'the Bommer' Pratt is listed as the biggest name on their roster.

• The Blue Chip Buccaneers are managed by Mike Dillett and will feature the battery mate combo of pitcher Cardinal Gilbert and catcher Angelo Dillett.

• The Dorin United Hitmen managed by Aaron Adderley and coached by Kervin Culmer - they will have the return of pitcher Alcott Forbes who is back after playing with the Grand Bahama champions last year.

Johnson said the league will see an improvement to the environment at the park and the Burnside-led executive team have re-engaged in the Bahamas Umpires and Scorers Association, headed by Anthony 'Rakes' Bowe to officiate as umpires and scorers this year. "We're ready to play ball," he said. "I can assure you that the fans will be in for a treat on Saturday night."