The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbbs@tribunemedia.net

Grand Bahama finally regained the women’s divisional title of the Bahamas Softball Federation as the Candies Wolverines completely dominated the 2014 National Round Robin Tournament over the weekend.

In the game that counted the most on Sunday night in the Banker’s Field at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex, the Wolverines stopped the Sigma Wildcats 10-2 in five innings in a lop-sided championship matchup.

“I knew all tournament that my team didn’t perform,” said Wolverines’ manager Sidney Thomas. “So I expected them to do much better and tonight, they performed the way that they are capable of performing.”

Ace pitcher Salaika Williams, who remembered how painful it was for her team to lose to the Sigma Brackettes last year, was simply on fire as she scattered three hits with four strike outs to shut down the Wildcats’ offensive attack.

“We came out hungry for the game, which is what we worked so hard for all year,” said Williams, who got to taste the thrill of victory for the first time since 2009 with the West End Conch Pearls. “We practiced hard, we came here and played as a unit and we came out on top.”

The Wildcats, however, played the game under protest after it was stopped via the seven-run International Softball Federation’s rules that was used by the BSF all tournament long. They claimed that in the technical meeting, they were told that the championship would be played over seven innings.

The Wolverines, who knocked off the Wildcats 9-5 in their first game in the round robin, took control from start to finish as they established who the best team in the country is this year.

The Wolverines struck twice in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by a RBI single by Larikah Russell before the Wildcats came up with a double play.

They added three more in the second for a 5-0 lead as Tesheena Pinder had a RBI double to plate Tameka Davis, who led off with a single. Pinder and Brashante Dareus, who followed with a single, both scored.

In the third, the Wildcats finally got on the scoreboard with two runs. With two-out, Lashanda Bethel got hit by a pitch, Maryann Ferguson doubled as Bethel scored on an error at the plate. On a grounder that the Wolverines couldn’t hold onto, Ferguson came home.

The Wildcats went on to load the bases after Jeannette Hilton and Vantice Bowleg both got hit by a pitch from Salaika Williams, but Mary Sweeting grounded out to end the rally.

However, in the bottom of the frame, the Wolverines got three more runs to extend their lead to 8-2, thanks to a two-out RBI single from Pinder and a two-run triple from Dareus.

The Wolverines also displayed their defensive skills as Larikah Russell orchestrated an inning ending double play on the Wildcats in the fourth.

A RBI single by Revica Russell, scoring Patrice Duncombe with one out to start the fourth, saw the Wolverines extend their lead to 10-2 with Russell scoring the other one on an error.

Williams went on to strike out the first two batters before she walked Hilton, gave up a single to Bowleg and forced Sweeting to fly out to end the game.

After the loss, coach Spurgeon Johnson gave a lot of credit to the Wolverines.

“They came here in shape and they played very well in this tournament,” he said. “They have a high powered team and they held our bats. Our legs were too slow to run, so we had to play a stationary game and they took advantage of that.”

The Wildcats clinched their berth in the final for the much anticipated New Providence versus Grand Bahama on Sunday in the bronze medal round as they pulled off a 3-2 walk-of-the-field win over the Tee’s R Us 2-0.

With the loss, the Spanish Wells based team took third place back to Eleuthera.

In the elimination game on Saturday night, the Tee’s R Us blasted the Sagoma Navigators 11-1, while the Wolverines held off the Wildcats 8-5. In the process, the Wolverines advanced to the championship. The Navigators and the Wildcats hooked up to determine who will meet the Wolverines.

The Navigators got eliminated and sent home Andros from further play on the final day of competition on Sunday with the Abaco’s Groceries Diamond Bolls, who didn’t win any of the four games they played in the round robin.