The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The third time around proved to be the charm for the Jordan Prince Williams Falcons as they finally won their first Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) senior boys softball title.

Jordan Prince Williams, known for its basketball and track and field prowess, completed the final two-game sweep of the BAISS best-of-three championship series at Freedom Farm Monday with a 22-7 victory over the St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine after taking game one 24-12.

Jordan Prince Williams joined the Queen’s College Comets’ junior girls, SAC’s junior boys and the Nassau Christian Academy Crusaders’ senior girls, who clinched their titles on Monday as well with their respective two game sweeps over St Andrew’s Hurricanes (junior girls) and St Augustine’s College (junior boys and senior girls).

“The team performed very well,” said Falcons’ coach Dave Wood, who was assisted by his brother Andre ‘Star’ Wood. “We hit the ball very well and they played the type of defense that I know they were capable of playing. It’s the first time that I really didn’t have to be yelling all over the place for them to play here and there. They really wanted it this year.”

While Devaras Dames was the winning pitcher, Weymond Demeritte, Rashad Rolle and Stefano Beneby were the offensive sparks.

“We made sure they were mentally prepared for it. Our seniors worked very hard this year,” Dave Wood said.

“We started quite early this year practicing on Saturday mornings and it paid off. They worked very hard this year.”

The only thing the Falcons didn’t do was go undefeated. They lost two games during the regular season to the Bahamas Academy Stars and the St Andrew’s Hurricanes. But Hattie Moxey, head of the physical education department at Jordan Prince Williams, said the ultimate goal was achieved.

They won the championship title.

“The team played exceptionally. In the regular season, they were not batting as well as they should have, but in the playoffs and the championships, they hit the cover off the softball, which was most important,” she said.

“We had some home runs with bases loaded and we got the job done. What they couldn’t tote, they had to drag.”

Moxey said the victory was more gratifying because they finally knocked off the Big Red Machine.

“They are competitive and they love to win,” she said. “When you beat them, you beat a good team. They don’t give you nothing. What you want, you have to take from them. It’s our time. We have already been there knocking on the door in the last three playoffs. This is our time. When it’s your time, it’s your time.”

Dames, the winning pitcher, said he knew he had the team behind to ensure that the Falcons celebrate this year.

“We went into the game with the mind set that we were going to bring the trophy home and we had less errors than them,” Dames said. “We just executed as planned. Now we can celebrate our first victory. It feels great. This is our first one. We had a strong team and they played very well behind me so I was confident that they would catch the ball and get the outs.”

Not only did Jordan Prince Williams execute brilliantly on the defensive end, but they played exceptionally well offensively as they literally knocked St Augustine’s College out of the park.

Two of their offensive weapons - Weymond Demeritte and Rashad Rolle - noted that it was just a matter of taking care of business.

“I feel great. This is my first year on the senior boys team and we won it all,” Demeritte said. “We stayed together throughout the season. Although we had some difficulties, we still managed to win in the end. SAC always beats us, so it’s about time that they got a taste of their own medicine.”

Said Rolle, one of the senior members of the team: “We came together at the right time and we pulled it off. We never had any doubt that we could do it. When we got up, we kept the momentum going and we just pulled it off. Our defense was very strong and our offense was clicking. We have the best team in the nation. That’s how I feel right now.”

Without a true national tournament to prove that claim, Jordan Prince Williams was able to at least hoist the championship trophy in the air to display their dominance of the BAISS this year.